View Full Version : And Mason drops the ball!!!
Raveninwoodlawn
12-27-2009, 03:37 PM
That play was a microcosm of our season.
Not blaming any particular player, but all year, we have had plays...some of them basic, that if we make them, we are fighting San Diego for a bye...maybe even the Colts.
Lets count them...
Patriots...we all know about the Clayton drop. Who knows what would have happened if he makes that catch, but we all felt good about our chances.
Bengals...even before the Cincy game winning drive, a play we all forget about is our last offenive play before. Joe had Clayton WIDE open streaking down the sideline and overthrew him by 2 yards. Make that connection and that TD drive is moot.
Vikings...we all know about that one.
Colts...who knows if Joe doesn't throw that pick...maybe Peyton goes down the field in 80 seconds and wins. But that was definately a key play
@Pittsburgh...11 points wiped off the board in the fourth quarter when we had ALL momentum on our side...and lost by 3.
All phases and all players have had hands in different ways to lose.
Just a surreal season.
Ravenswarrior19
12-27-2009, 10:48 PM
Just a surreal season.
The most frustrating season in memory.
We are a very good team, but we don't play like it. We can outplay every team in this leagues, but we invent new ways to lose close games week after week.
In critical situation, we need to make plays to win the game. This season, we have everything but make those plays.
Lee Van Cleef
12-28-2009, 03:34 AM
It amazes me that this team has had the chances they have had and they repeatedly spurn them in this way. For a team to rack up the pens like they have this season, and still have those chances to win that they've had has been a consistent surprise to me.
The only team that's stopped us being elite is ourselves, I really don't know how a team can have so many mental errors in one season and still be in with a shout.
Apparently though, Harbs was incredibly pissed off last night. As he should be.
Endzone 84
12-28-2009, 06:06 AM
Thats funny I said the same thing last week. I think we are a better team then what our record shows. We just have had some bad breaks this season. There were those 4 plays this season, were we could have won and now there are 5 plays. So now we were 5 plays away from being a 13-3 team.
Ravenswarrior19
12-28-2009, 09:27 AM
It amazes me that this team has had the chances they have had and they repeatedly spurn them in this way. For a team to rack up the pens like they have this season, and still have those chances to win that they've had has been a consistent surprise to me.
The only team that's stopped us being elite is ourselves, I really don't know how a team can have so many mental errors in one season and still be in with a shout.
Apparently though, Harbs was incredibly pissed off last night. As he should be.
There are not any truly elite teams this year. There are a few very good teams (Colts, Saints, Chargers), and a handful of mediocre teams (Miami, Jax, Den, Jets, and us).
When we dropped winnable games vs. Min, Cincy, Indy, and yesterday, I assumed the losses would haunt us and keep us from the playoffs. However, the teams that should slam the door on us keep losing too. No one seems capable of handling their own business, and thus we still control our own destiny. Its inexplicable.
ravenjoe
12-28-2009, 05:32 PM
The most frustrating season in memory.
We are a very good team, but we don't play like it.
WRONG! Good teams are disciplined, and make plays to Win! This team is just the opposite, and slightly above average, as 9-7 will (hopefully) indicate.
RAVENOUS52
12-28-2009, 08:56 PM
WRONG! Good teams are disciplined, and make plays to Win! This team is just the opposite, and slightly above average, as 9-7 will (hopefully) indicate.
Testify my brother, TESTIFY!!! http://anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgdrillsergeant.gif
camdenyard
12-28-2009, 09:41 PM
Rarely have I had such a slack-jawed, incredulous expression after a play. I simply could not believe anyone - Mason, me, my ten year old - could drop such an easy ball.
StingerNLG
12-28-2009, 10:41 PM
Rarely have I had such a slack-jawed, incredulous expression after a play. I simply could not believe anyone - Mason, me, my ten year old - could drop such an easy ball.
An it wasn't even the drop that pissed me off. EVERYONE drops passes and Mason never drops a pass like that.
It was the fucking SMILE after he got up. Like it was an "oops" and that's it.
Lee Van Cleef
12-29-2009, 05:09 AM
It was the fucking SMILE after he got up. Like it was an "oops" and that's it.
Apparently he was very dejected after the game. I don't think the smile was "oops" I think it was more complete disbelief that he could drop it.
Losac
12-29-2009, 08:34 AM
Apparently he was very dejected after the game. I don't think the smile was "oops" I think it was more complete disbelief that he could drop it.
:iagree:
That's a ball Mason catches 999 times out of 1000. It's almost surreal how we kept shooting ourselves in the foot and that drop just played right into it.
ravensnhokies
12-29-2009, 09:07 AM
I would say our players are pretty much Un-Clutch.
Lee Van Cleef
12-29-2009, 09:20 AM
I would say our players are pretty much Un-Clutch.
I've been saying that the team doesn't have a clutch mentality for a month now. They lose their heads in big games.
Fanman
12-29-2009, 01:28 PM
I agree w/ every post here.
The only time I recall a player stepping up and making a play when the game was on the line this year was Paul Krueger w/ the pick vs Pittsburgh.
Other than that the players on this team have collectively botched every chance to grab victory when the outcome was in the balance.
It's beyond reason if you ask me.
FM
baltimore_hokie
12-29-2009, 01:55 PM
I was at the game, and my seat was in the corner of the end zone right where the ball was thrown. Right before that play, I said something to my buddy next to me about the Steelers corners jumping Mason's curl routes all day.
I saw them jump yet another and Mason run a beautiful route. I stood up and put my hands in the air when I saw the play develop, with Mason dropping a PERFECTLY thrown ball being the last thing I expected to happen.
I utterly could not believe my eyes and those inbreds went crazy. Pitiful.
Rex Thunder
12-29-2009, 02:30 PM
An it wasn't even the drop that pissed me off. EVERYONE drops passes and Mason never drops a pass like that.
It was the fucking SMILE after he got up. Like it was an "oops" and that's it.
Listen that smile was irritating depending on how you look at it. You gotta put yourself in his shoes. He couldn't believe he dropped it. Haven't you ever laughed at something when it was so ridiculous you could only laugh or cry?
I remember watching the Lakers play the Spurs in the 1999 playoffs. Kobe Bryant missed back to back free throws in a 2 point games with seconds left on the clock. He laughed, because he absolutely couldn't believe he missed them.
It's actually a sign of a confident player. A player without confidence would beat himself up immediately. Not that I like to see the smiles in a situation like that- cuz it was irritating to see- but when you understand it- it's hard to get too worked up about it.
Rex Thunder
12-29-2009, 02:37 PM
I agree w/ every post here.
The only time I recall a player stepping up and making a play when the game was on the line this year was Paul Krueger w/ the pick vs Pittsburgh.
Other than that the players on this team have collectively botched every chance to grab victory when the outcome was in the balance.
It's beyond reason if you ask me.
FM
I think Ray Lewsi would disagree with that after his 4th down stuff of Darren Sproles in San Diego.
Remember Flacco to Clayton for a touchdown against Kansas City. Didn't seem like a great win then- but we've seen KC upset quite a few teams.
And if you're talking about a player making a play with the game on the line. How about Ray Rice against Cincinnati. We lost- but he stepped up and single handedly has us in position to win with his long td run thru 6 bengal defenders. Same against Minnesota...
Overall though I agree with your point- but lets not completely forget the highlights while we dwell on the lowlights.
Fanman
12-29-2009, 02:46 PM
I will give you the Ray Lewis hit on Sproles.
But the Clayton catch was in a game we won 38-24 and the Ray Rice runs were in games we lost. But I do see your point.
But I am so done w/ Clayton...hope he gets cut next year.
FM
RAVENOUS52
12-29-2009, 04:07 PM
This loss has devastated me so much I've decided that there will be no Heroes & Goats thread this week, simply because I cannot muster the positive state of mind to nominate anyone for hero status.
I'd only be further contributing to the general foul mood around here right now, so for this week I'll have to be content with wallowing in my own Ravens misery, wondering why we have a team that, like Plaxico Burress in a nightclub, can't stop shooting itself in the foot.:grbac:
That drop was much worse than the Clayton drop in NE, BTW...
Dave Lap
12-29-2009, 04:12 PM
This loss has devastated me so much I've decided that there will be no Heroes & Goats thread this week, simply because I cannot muster the positive state of mind to nominate anyone for hero status.
I'd only be further contributing to the general foul mood around here right now, so for this week I'll have to be content with wallowing in my own Ravens misery, wondering why we have a team that, like Plaxico Burress in a nightclub, can't stop shooting itself in the foot.:grbac:
That drop was much worse than the Clayton drop in NE, BTW...
Hey, we still have time to get it together. Just because we've played poorly so far doesn't neccessarily mean we can't. Just sayin'.
Will miss Heroes and Goats but maybe not writing it for a week will be what's needed to break the jinx that's been on our team.
RAVENOUS52
12-29-2009, 06:37 PM
Hey, we still have time to get it together. Just because we've played poorly so far doesn't neccessarily mean we can't. Just sayin'.
Will miss Heroes and Goats but maybe not writing it for a week will be what's needed to break the jinx that's been on our team.
Maybe Mason's appearance on "C'MON MAN!" last night will inspire him to finish off the Raiduhs early Sunday evening... Chris Carter and Keyshawn Johnson had some very pointed commentary about his dropped TD, given the insults DMase offered them earlier in the season.:laugh:
http://tv.fooyoh.com/fooyohtv_videos_viral/5475951
Maybe Mason's appearance on "C'MON MAN!" last night will inspire him to finish off the Raiduhs early Sunday evening... Chris Carter and Keyshawn Johnson had some very pointed commentary about his dropped TD, given the insults DMase offered them earlier in the season.:laugh:
http://tv.fooyoh.com/fooyohtv_videos_viral/5475951
Yeah I saw that. Carter said Mason called him and Keyshawn bums. But wasn't Keyshawn who called the Ravens WRs bums. Dumbass.
OwingsMillsAlex
12-30-2009, 12:03 PM
Gotta love Twitter:
WNST #Mason was VERY combative today: when asked about fans not liking that he smiled after his drop, he said he didn't "give a sh*t." #Ravens
So he didn't give a S that he dropped the ball and laughed it off or that the fans are pissed that he dropped the ball and laughed it off???
effo5231
12-30-2009, 12:23 PM
So he didn't give a S that he dropped the ball and laughed it off or that the fans are pissed that he dropped the ball and laughed it off???
What he didn't give a shit about was that fans were unhappy with him for smiling after he dropped the pass.
Personally, I agree.... what else can you do when you have a brain fart like that? There's nothing to learn from it.... there's nothing to take from it.... you just have to immediately forget it happened and go back out there ready to catch the next one. We always say that athletes are supposed to have a short memory. Pitchers can't remember that homerun, hitters can't remember that bean ball, corners can't remember getting burnt, and Mason had no reason to dwell on missing that catch. To do otherwise is to invite himself to start thinking instead of reacting and that's the surest path to consistently choking.
This (hilarious AND well researched) article sums up what I'm talking about:
Why are some players "clutch" and others "chokers"? It has to do with how the brain learns new information.
When you first learn a skill, you learn it explicitly, which means you learn the technique of what you're attempting in a methodical, mechanical way. Like a robot.
But after a few thousands lay-ups or bat swings or alligator throat punches or whatever, the process becomes implicit, meaning you can do it without even thinking. If you're doing it in the realm of high-level athletics, that's absolutely essential because every move is done with split-second timing. Kobe Bryant often has to decide how he's going to approach the basket while in mid-air. There's no time to think, so how well you perform depends entirely on how well you've trained the instinctual part of your brain.
For the small portion of our readership who aren't professional athletes, you may have experienced the difference between explicit and implicit skills while walking in front of a room full of people, or typing while someone looks on, or flying down a stair case when some asshole tells you to "watch where you're going with that chainsaw." The moment you start thinking about it, the thing you've done a million times becomes awkward or impossible.
The problem is every now and then, particularly in high pressure situations, the explicit part of the brain that first learned those skills a thousand repetitions ago wants to come to the party, too. Your body suddenly reverts back to the technical, deliberate, awkward movements it took to learn the game. Suddenly, you're thinking through the task ("step one, grab the alligator around the jaws, step two, make a fist...") instead of just doing them in one lightning-fast, smooth motion. The ground ball skips off your glove because you're trying to field it with a part of your brain that hasn't played baseball since you were in little league. You "choke."
If Mason allowed himself to stay in the explicit mindset and actually focused on how bad he fucked up, odds are he would have done it again. For proof, look at guys like Jake Delhomme; all the talent in the world, but when he derails, he derails all the way. He can't just forget the last pick and make the next throw... he continues to play awkwardly and unintuitively. Compare him to a guy like Brady or Manning, they've thrown stupid passes... but they immediately shrug it off and throw the next one without thinking about it.
Anyone pissed about him laughing that one off has probably never played competitive sports.
StingerNLG
12-30-2009, 06:19 PM
Apparently he was very dejected after the game. I don't think the smile was "oops" I think it was more complete disbelief that he could drop it.
He seemed quick to put the game behind him afterwards. He didn't look dejected to me.
Listen that smile was irritating depending on how you look at it. You gotta put yourself in his shoes. He couldn't believe he dropped it. Haven't you ever laughed at something when it was so ridiculous you could only laugh or cry?
I remember watching the Lakers play the Spurs in the 1999 playoffs. Kobe Bryant missed back to back free throws in a 2 point games with seconds left on the clock. He laughed, because he absolutely couldn't believe he missed them.
It's actually a sign of a confident player. A player without confidence would beat himself up immediately. Not that I like to see the smiles in a situation like that- cuz it was irritating to see- but when you understand it- it's hard to get too worked up about it.
There is a difference between beating yourself up, and being serious about the mistake you just made.
To answer the question, I have not; and I have played sports. I don't laugh off mistakes. It seems to be part of the culture of the team these days that these mistakes they make are no big deal.
I'm not asking Mason to drop to his knees in the endzone, throw his hands in the air and scream "WHHHHYYYYYYYYY??????". But laughing like it's no biggie doesn't do it for me. That's all.
xmradiodave
12-30-2009, 07:08 PM
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f28/xmradiodave/JokersBoner.png
He was laughing at his boner!
B-more Ravor
12-30-2009, 08:16 PM
Gotta love Twitter:
So he didn't give a S that he dropped the ball and laughed it off or that the fans are pissed that he dropped the ball and laughed it off???
Gotta love NST getting the quote wrong and then having to issue a correction, since The Sun and everyone else quoted it properly:
Correction on #Mason quote: He said "I don't care, I really don't care. That sh*t's over with." #Ravens
about 7 hours ago from web
For the full accurate quote - and video:
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/blog/2009/12/mason_isnt_smiling_now.html