Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Baltimore 7 at Carolina 10 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Baltimore Ravens: QB Chris Redman looked quite comfortable in the offense; showed good arm strength and accuracy. He is a very impressive play action passer but shows absolutely no mobility. He has a lot of confidence in his arm, sometimes making throws he shouldn't. He threw one interception and had one almost picked off by Terry Cousin. RB Jamal Lewis didn't show any signs of his knee injury. When given any space to operate in, he displayed the combination of speed and power that made him a first round choice in 2000. WR Brandon Stokely is the Go To WR and looked solid. Rookie Ron Johnson has potential. TE Todd Heap looked better than his 5 catches for 20 yards would indicate. He is athletic and catches everything thrown his way. He might be the best receiver option. Carolina Panthers: QB Rodney Peete looked sharp in his first start since '98. He was in full command of the offense; his passes were accurate and had nice zip. He finished with 136 yards (1td/1int) but could have easily had about 200 and 2-3 TDs were it not for a few dropped passes and some plays called back. RB Lamar Smith showed good patience and vision and always keeps his legs churning for the extra yard. He has below average speed which keeps him from breaking long runs. He finished with 84 yards rushing on 24 carries. Makes the most with what he has. WR Muhsin Muhammad looked better than his stats would indicate (2-37). He had a couple of receptions called back (including a TD), and also had a nice run on a reverse for 17 yards. Carolina's defensive line was excellent, constantly applying pressure. Brentson Buckner and Kris Jenkins spent a lot of time in Baltimore's backfield. Julius Peppers was quiet until the end of the fourth quarter when he essentially won the game with a quarterback pressure leading to a Dan Morgan interception. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Baltimore Ravens QB: Chris Redman: Is a pure pocket passer who burnt the defense with accurate passes when given time. He had a nice TD pass to Ron Johnson in the first quarter. He was very adept at play fakes, and the defense often bit. He missed Ron Johnson who was wide open on what would have been a 40 yard TD. Downside is he showed zero mobility. RB: Jamal Lewis - Had 17 rushes for 64 yards; and was often an outlet for Redman catching 4 balls for 33 yards. He was very decisive in his runs and didn't show any lingering effects of his knee injuries. Baltimore did however choose to pass a couple of times on third and 2; whereas they would have run with Lewis in 2000. WR: Brandon Stokley: Is the go to receiver. Caught 6-83 and had a 14 yard run on an end around. Made a couple of nice sideline grabs and does well in traffic over the middle. Travis Taylor: Caught 2 for 53. Didn't look like a first round draft choice. Dropped 2 catchable balls. Ron Johnson: His first NFL reception was a nice 14 yard TD in the back of the end zone. He was once wide open for a 40 yard TD; but Redman missed him. At 6' 2" / 225 pounds, he creates some mismatches. TE: Todd Heap: Redman's safety blanket. He made a couple of very athletic catches, and holds on to the ball when he is hit. Pass Defense: Applied a lot of pressure to Peete; sacking him twice. The secondary is average; FS Edward Reed showed a lot of promise. Rush Defense: Not even close to the force they were the last couple of years. The 3-4 doesn't seem to allow Ray Lewis to run as free as he used to. The loss of Tony Siragusa has really hurt. Special Teams: Matt Stover faked a field goal and pooch punted the ball. The Ravens downed it at the 5. It was an impressive play. He did miss his one field goal attempt. Javin Hunter was unimpressive in the return game - they'll miss Jermaine Lewis. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Carolina Panthers QB: Rodney Peete: Surprisingly, looked very good. He made the right reads and had excellent accuracy on short to intermediate passes. He missed a wide open Muhammad about 30 yards downfield but was rushed on the play. He had a 10 yard completion to Brad Hoover called back. He also had a 35 yard TD pass to Muhammad called back. Steve Smith dropped a very catchable ball which would have been a 25-30 yard gain. RB: Lamar Smith: Was very Lamar Smith like meaning he ran hard but just doesn't have talent to be a big producer. He was decisive and showed nice vision; but lacked break away speed. His longest run was 13 yards. He had an 8 yard reception called back on a penalty. You can do a lot worse though than 24 carries for 84 yards. Nick Goings: Looked pretty good in limited duty. He had 4 rushes for 19 yards; and lost 3 yards on a reception. Brad Hoover: Also looked good when he touched the ball. He had 5 rushes for 29 yards and had a 12 yard reception. WR: Muhsin Muhammad: Looked better than the stats show. He had a 10 yard reception called back on a penalty, and a 35 yard td called back on an instant replay review. He was once WIDE open 30 yards downfield with room to run, but Peete was pressured and overthrew him. He dropped a very catchable ball about 20 yards downfield. Steve Smith: Got the start over Isaac Byrd. Finished with 4-38. He looked good. He failed to make what would have been a spectacular catch for about a 25 yard gain. TE: Wesley Walls: Had a nice 20 yard TD reception. Only had 2 catches as Kris Mangum(backup TE) 'stole' 2 receptions. Pass Defense: Defensive line looked great; pressuring Redman the whole game. Brentson Buckner had a number of hurries and stuffs in the backfield. He also had a sack which was in large part due to excellent coverage by the Panthers DBs. Kris Jenkins also had a sack. Julius Peppers doesn't show up in the stats at all and was controlled for most of the game by Edwin Mulitalo. However; when the Ravens were driving with under 2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Peppers hit Peete causing the ball to fly into the hands of Dan Morgan. Rush Defense: Great penetration by the defensive line, and Dan Morgan has moved to middle linebacker where he looks very comfortable. He had 7 individual tackles, 1 assisted tackle and an interception. Special Teams: John Kasay went 1 for 2 missing from about 45 yards out.