Glennon battered, bruised while Flacco goes unscathed The Tampa Tribune, published 13 October 2014 The bruises on Mike Glennon’s body were telling, and so were the shocking numbers on the final stat sheet. Tampa Bay’s second-year quarterback took a brutal beating in Sunday’s 48-17 loss to the Ravens, even while he managed to throw for 314 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In contrast, counterpart Joe Flacco walked off the field looking like he had just enjoyed a spa session. Baltimore registered five sacks to Tampa Bay’s none and the competition in terms of quarterback hits was even more lopsided: Ravens 15, Bucs 0. “We didn’t execute as a line today,’’ Tampa Bay center Evan Dietrich-Smith said. “If you allow stuff like that to happen, it will.’’ Led by linebackers Elvis Dumervil and Terrell Suggs, the Ravens hounded Glennon relentlessly off the edges. Tampa Bay’s lone turnover was a direct result of Baltimore’s pressure as veteran corner Jimmy Smith deftly came off his assigned coverage on the left sideline and picked off Glennon’s fluttering pass intended for Louis Murphy. “He threw it up for grabs and I made the play,’’ said Smith, whose 31-yard return to the Tampa Bay 22-yard line set up the second of Flacco’s five touchdown passes. “It was a bad throw for him, but we had a very strong rush on the play. It wasn’t a sack, but it was definitely a hurry ... and we had a bunch of them today. Our guys up front made our day very easy.’’ Glennon had been sacked only once in each of his two previous starts this season, but he found himself flushed out of the pocket repeatedly by one of the NFL’s stingiest defenses. “Obviously, we didn’t play as well today,’’ Glennon said. “But we have a really good offensive line. We eventually started getting going, but it was way too late. Coverage softened up when they had such a big lead. They were protecting themselves.’’ The men paid to protect Glennon offered no excuses for continually placing their young quarterback under duress. “That’s a good defensive line and they came out and really beat us,’’ Bucs right tackle Demar Dotson said. “This offensive line against that defensive line, they won the match.’’ Spurred on by an impressive turnout of purple jerseys in the stands, Baltimore improved to 4-2 by establishing physical superiority in the trenches. That was a Ravens trademark in 2012, when coach Jim Harbaugh led them to a Super Bowl victory. “Hats off to Baltimore,’’ Tampa Bay guard Patrick Omameh said. “They came in and whipped us today. Nothing fancy, just a good, old-fashioned NFL whipping.’’