Dennis Haley

[purplepoe]

While everyone will pick at stuff that went wrong today (which was alot) and talk about McNair's big day and Mason's game winning TD, I want to make sure Haley gets his due.

This guy wasn't even going to be activated until today until Ray was deactivated. Even then, he was only going to see time on special teams. Instead, after Smith went down, he played out of position and made some great plays. Yes, the Titans did run the ball effectively but Haley was all over the place on special teams and on defense.

He deserves the defense's game ball.

Great job.

PP

[Ravens0587]

Damn, i think we won despite him, not because of him.

Maybe he made 1 or 2 good plays but, that doesn't mean he deserves the game ball.

Before our D was good, but we gave up big plays (mostly passing). We didn't have a problem stuffing the run.

Forgot game ball, we were shredded on the ground compared to how our run D usually plays.

[RavensDomination]

Haley was getting owned until the last qtr. I'll give him props for stepping up on those 2 plays but I don't know what he was doing when Travis Henry was gashing us for numerous long runs through huge holes.

[purplepoe]

Sorry, but Haley made a bunch of plays on defense.

Let's remember that the guy doesn't even play MLB and was activated this morning.

I agree that he's not Ray and we absolutely missed him but Haley played his ass off today IMO.

The defensive line was also getting owned in the 1st half when Henry was ripping off those big runs.

And Haley was in on almost every special team's tackle as well.

If there was a player that we won despite of it was Samari Rolle.

PP

[Ravens0587]

your infatuation for Haley has left you blind. He tipped one ball to prevent a 3rd down conversion. Other then that I can't remember anything big.

he played ok, but nothing to write home about

[Sephy]

Agreed on both counts. Haley had a very important deflection that was a sure TD.

Rolle is an absolute embarassment. I can barely remember when this guy was a good CB.

[camdenyard]

If there was a player that we won despite of it was Samari Rolle

No shit. When your receiver is 1 yard away and you just watch him catch the ball, something is wrong. Put your arms out, for crissakes.

[purplepoe]

your infatuation for Haley has left you blind. He tipped one ball to prevent a 3rd down conversion. Other then that I can't remember anything big.

he played ok, but nothing to write home about

Umm, he had some huge stuffs for no gain in the 4th quarter.

It's not an "infatuation" at all.

It's realizing that the guy isn't even a MLB, wasn't actiavted until a few hours before the game, and had some nice plays when we needed them.

If you think that his only big play was the tipped ball, well then maybe you are the blind one.

PP

[Raineman]

Hmmmmmm! How valuable is Ray?

[Tspot-D-Ravenator]

Agreed on both counts. Haley had a very important deflection that was a sure TD.

Rolle is an absolute embarassment. I can barely remember when this guy was a good CB.

When you give the opposing QB 7-8 seconds to find a guy open, any cornerback is gonna get beat with one-on-one coverage :insane: Our pass rush wasn't up to par :eyes: Young had way too much time to find recievers open:grbac:

[donnaj]

I saw 58 flying in on many of the tackles today and was impressed by his constant presence and hard hits to stop plays. Yes our run defense was very weak, but perhaps that just shows you how much we missed having Ray in there. Ray doesn't make every play and muc has been said about him being a step or so off this year, but what he does do on the field is influence the direction of the play. Offenses plan around Ray most of the time and his mere precense in the middle influences where the play will go that elevates the play of those around him. Additionally, it looked at times like the defense was lost and unorganized. When Ray is out there he is the general of the defense, they were missing their leader to change up calls effectively and keep the group gelled together.
I would like to know why Dan Cody was not activated today instead of Haley? Haley was a guy we originally had on the cut list and then pick him back up, correct? Dan Cody is supposed to be the heir apparent to Suggs and Trevor Pryce, so why is he not getting chances to get any game experience? I really wish they would explain what is going on here. I have heard that it is a business decision since they may not be able to keep Suggs and AD both on the roster under the salary cap next year, but come on if the guy never gets on the field how do we know what he is capable of in gametime?

[Tspot-D-Ravenator]

I saw 58 flying in on many of the tackles today and was impressed by his constant presence and hard hits to stop plays. Yes our run defense was very weak, but perhaps that just shows you how much we missed having Ray in there. Ray doesn't make every play and muc has been said about him being a step or so off this year, but what he does do on the field is influence the direction of the play. Offenses plan around Ray most of the time and his mere precense in the middle influences where the play will go that elevates the play of those around him. Additionally, it looked at times like the defense was lost and unorganized. When Ray is out there he is the general of the defense, they were missing their leader to change up calls effectively and keep the group gelled together.
I would like to know why Dan Cody was not activated today instead of Haley? Haley was a guy we originally had on the cut list and then pick him back up, correct? Dan Cody is supposed to be the heir apparent to Suggs and Trevor Pryce, so why is he not getting chances to get any game experience? I really wish they would explain what is going on here. I have heard that it is a business decision since they may not be able to keep Suggs and AD both on the roster under the salary cap next year, but come on if the guy never gets on the field how do we know what he is capable of in gametime?

I heard that Cody has not picked up on dropping back into coverage...He is a beast, but when you can't get in because of a numbers thing, you don't have problems just depth...He isn't a middle linebacked. The knock on him is that he can rush the QB, but can't drop back:eyes:

[Sephy]

When you give the opposing QB 7-8 seconds to find a guy open, any cornerback is gonna get beat with one-on-one coverage :insane: Our pass rush wasn't up to par :eyes: Young had way too much time to find recievers open:grbac:

Not even close. Young didn't need 7-8 seconds. In fact, I'd bet he wasn't given that much time on any single play. 2-3 seconds post snap, he'd find Bennett on a comeback route, and then Rolle would go and miss the tackle.

Young released the ball very quickly today, and it absolutely killed Rolle.

Pass rush wasn't great, but it wasn't 7-8 seconds bad.

[52decleetzu]

Ravens pass rush was non existent except on maybe 3-4 plays.Suggs got some pressure a couple times and AD a few,but other than that he Mcnai.....I mean Young had all day back there.

[Ravens0587]

Ok, I rewatched the game and I'm invoking my self proclaimed right to change my mind. He did have a good game.

[sailorsam]

the Sun reported that Coach Ryan simplified the d at halftime; I think we all agree they did much better in the 2nd half. I don't doubt Haley's inexperience was part of that. I think I read he had 4 solo tackles and 5 assists, so he definitely produced (of course the system is set so the mlb makes tackles).
Vince Young might be the Next Big Thing in the NFL; or he could be another M Vick that can make great plays but won't win consistently at this level. (he sure impressed me a lot more than Reggie Bush.)
I thought Haley played pretty well.

[purplepoe]

Ok, I rewatched the game and I'm invoking my self proclaimed right to change my mind. He did have a good game.

So Im not blind afterall?:179421:

PP

[Ravens0587]

no sir, it was just a simple case of the sun being in my eyes

[Filmstudy]

First of all, let em say Dennis Haley played way better than we had any right to expect. He's a 2nd year player, on the practice squad till last weekend, and deserves real props for what he accomplished at Tenn.

He flew all over the field like a special teams player, but the Titans found ways to pick on him, which led to several big plays in the first half. His tips in the 2nd half were good, but more experienced QB's will pick on him even more.

If he pays this week, I am hoping he is assigned as the spy for Michael Vick. I think he might be able to contain, since that's a big part of special teams play. He should have a great coach on the sidelines in Ray, and an assistant coach assigned to him to make sure he gets his individual assignment each play. I could not tell for sure, but the way Haley was looking at the sideline this last week, I think he had someone sending him signals in particular.

The optimist in me would love to believe Denis Haley could have a huge game this Sunday and become the new Edgerton Hartwell. I can envision a 6-tackle game where he contains Vick (35 yards rushing), allows Bart and Adalius to roam free for 3 sacks between them, and hurries Vick into an interception.

Back in this world with the yellow sun, however, I really don't think we can go to any significant playoff depth without Ray. We miss him as a ballhawk in the passing game, as a technician in his understanding of the run game, and as a leader.

Regardless of the outcome, I don't think there is anything Dennis Haley could do this Sunday which would preclude him starting again at some future time.

[Ravens0587]

Regardless of the outcome, I don't think there is anything Dennis Haley could do this Sunday which would preclude him starting again at some future time.

Well I mean I'm sure if he were to get 20 tackles 5 for a loss 3 sackes 2 picks and a TD that would make him a candidate to start.

Now I doubt that would happen but I wouldn't say "regardless of the outcome"

[Ravenswarrior19]

Word in the Sun today (Thursday) is that Jarret Johnson will be starting at MLB is Ray is still out.

And, for the record, I thought Haley had a great day last week. He made some key 3rd down stops even in the 1st half, and he hit hard. It was the kind of performance that the coaches love and will probably keep him on the team for a while (example: Bart Scott, Ed Hartwell).

[RavensDomination]

If Haley played as great as a lot of people on here say he did then he would be starting at MLB.

[Filmstudy]

Regardless of the outcome, I don't think there is anything Dennis Haley could do this Sunday which would preclude him starting again at some future time.

Restated this means:

His play against the Falcons, even if bad, will not mean he can't start somewhere down the line.

[Ravens0587]

my bad, I def. misread that, I find myself apologizing to yet another poster on the same thread.

I QUIT

[ravensfan86]

According to Jamison Hensley, Jarrett Johnson will get the nod to start. I have nothing against Jarret in fact I like his country boy style approach to football. From all accounts Johnson works very hard, is smart and quick to pick up reads and so forth. I am just a little curious why the Ravens rotated Johnson in on down and distance last Sunday after Smith went down instead of Haley and now start this week?

I really think Rex Ryan is making a mistake putting Johnson in on first and second down (on the left side of the defense opposite Scott who will move to Ray's position). I like the idea of rotating Haley in, but I would do just the opposite. Haley has closing speed Johnson will never have. Johnson, in my opinion will struggle shadowing Vick and containing Dunn. I would rather have Haley assigned to Dunn for any runs to his side and contain the corner. I think Haley has the quickness and speed to contain Vick and Dunn in space. Johnson simply doesn't.

I think the Ravens will have trouble on defense this week. I think the difference last year when Ray was out was the combination of Tommy Polley and Bart Scott. Both have experiance in the NFL and Polley played much better then his reputation. I am concerned with Ray not having a suitable replacement. (I am not sold on Mike Smith either). There is a big drop off when Ray isn't in there.

Now if we were playing the Steelers or Browns, I would say the defense can rotate around and compensate for Johnson and limit his outside running abilities. I like him on inside runs up the gut. Johnson will hold his ground and make the ball carrier adjust and get tackled at or close to the line.

As far as Haley and his play last Sunday.... You guys are a tough crowd. I thought given the circumstances and Haley's status with the club, he played all world! In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see him rotated in more as the season winds down even after Ray comes back. Especially if we grab an early lead and the game isn't hanging in the balance. I thought he did a really good job with virtually no prep time or playing time with the 1st team defense. Henry snapped off long runs, but some of that is on the d-line.

That is the first time I can recall in quite some time where Kelly Gregg was outplayed by Maweii (sp?). Ngata was also getting pushed around and I wonder if we will start seeing less and less of Ngata (hitting the rookie wall) and more of Justin Bannan. I really like Ngata and think if he works at his technique this off season and his stamina, he could become a real force on the dline. I really like Bannan and Gregg in there together. Although undersized, they have non stop motors and make plays due to sheer hustle and determination.

Anyone else a little worried about (what Rob Long -WNST, called the transformation)? Little ground game. Defense not so great and spread offense winning games with Steve McNair. Thats all fine and dandy now. But come playoff time, we better tighten up defensively and figure out how to run the ball better. While I agree there is no single answer to why Jamal is averaging 3.4 YPC this season. I think we can all agree that Jamal might be spent after the 2003 season. He is a shell of the runner he once was. And while that is ok and we can get it done in other ways, (passing) it is a problem facing teams like Denver and Indy. The best way to beat the Colts or the Bengals is to keep their offense off the field and tire out their defense. That is done best by controlling the clock with effecient work on the ground and in the air.

The Ravens all of the sudden have become a very effective offense and not so steller defense. Not being able to contain the run and giving up big plays in the air is going to hurt the Ravens in the playoffs. Having said that, Steve McNair seems to have convinced his team mates to not give up and no lead is insurmountable. He is truly been magnificent!