Ravens Shoot Off Foot...Again

Derrick Mason's drop of a pass in the endzone was one of 3 touchdowns the Ravens cost themselves in a loss against the Steelers.

The common theme in Ravens' losses against quality opponents has been the Ravens tendency to shoot themselves in the foot, costing themselves a win. This was no different last Sunday, as the Ravens choked their way to a 23-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Ravens had 3, count 'em, 3 touchdowns called back because of penalties or dropped passes. There was the Dominque Foxworth interception and touchdown, which was called back because of a Terrell Suggs block in the back on the return. There was Willis McGahee's TD, called back because of a Kelley Washington holding call, and then there was Derrick Mason's drop of a pass in the endzone in which he was wide open.

In total, the Ravens had 10 penalties for 103 yards and are still the NFL leaders in penalty yards, by far. And that, my friends, must be laid at the feet of head coach John Harbaugh. Harbaugh has gotten rid of players he couldn't get along with (Chris McAllister) and it's been widely known that players such as Willis McGahee and Todd Heap have been in Harbaugh's doghouse. So, if Harbaugh has the guys he wants on this team, then he must shoulder the blame for the Ravens chronic penalty problems.

Last year, the Ravens appeared to be a more disciplined team than the Brian Billick-lead teams, who seemed to do their own share of melting down (see the 2005 Lions game and the 2007 Patriots game). But now we appear to be back to a Ravens team dominated with players who play sloppy football and can't control their emotions. Like O'Niell Cousins, who hit Steelers linebacker Lamar Woodley long after the whistle blew, knocking the Ravens out of a potential game-tying field goal.

As for the impact this loss had on the Ravens playoff hopes, at the time of the loss, it was decimating. But, after the Broncos and Janguars both lost, and the Colts let the Jets win, the Ravens still control their own destiny as the #6 playoff team. So if they win in Oakland this weekend, they are still in the playoffs.

But will Harbaugh be able to reign this team in for a playoff run? That is the question.

Aside from the maddening mistakes, penalties and dropped passes that cost the Ravens this game, there were some standout performances. Joe Flacco hooked up with Todd Heap for 2 TD's and his 1 INT came on a tipped pass. Ray Rice had the first 100-yard rushing game against the Steelers in almost 2 seasons, rushing for 141 yards. And Derrick Mason hauled in 7 passes for 77 yards, the sure-fire TD pass he dropped the only blemish on an otherwise stellar day for the veteran wide receiver.

On defense, Dominque Foxworth had an excellent game, the abovementioned INT his biggest play of the day, and he was also in on several pass defenses. Chris Carr had a shaky start to the game, but stepped up as time went on. Frank Walker, as usual, was picked on all game, and failed to step up.

So, there you have it. Another excrutiating Ravens loss which came at the hands of themselves. But if they can beat the Raiders this weekend, they will still get into the playoffs and face either the Bengals or Patriots.

Remember, Oakland has beaten Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Denver this season, so assuming the Ravens go into Oakland and demolish the Raiders could make an ass out of you and me. But, the Harbaugh-lead Ravens teams have never lost to a team with a losing record.

It would just be nice if he could beat teams with a winning record a little more often.

Bear Hunters

Todd Heap caught 2 of Joe Flacco's 4 touchdowns.

The Ravens solidified their playoff hopes yesterday with a big win over the Chicago Bears, 31-7. It was a day where everything seemed to go the Ravens' way, from Joe Flacco's career best 4 touchdowns to the playoff hopeful Jaguars, Broncos, Dolphins and Jets all losing.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, however, won on the last play of their game, beating the Green Bay Packers. The Steelers, at 7-7, are still in the hunt for a playoff spot and with the Ravens traveling to Pittsburgh this weekend, things are shaping up for another epic game with the Ravens most hated rival.

As for the game yesterday, it was all Ravens all the time.

In a game that was delayed to 4:15 p.m. to give the stadium crew more time to remove snow from the premises (the MSA and MTA did an awesome job by the way), including a delayed flight from Chicago for the Bears, the Ravens forced 6 turnovers en route to their victory.

Right off the bat, the Ravens cashed in on an early Dominique Foxworth interception of Jay Cutler, as Flacco connected with Todd Heap for his first of 4 TD's on the afternoon. On the next drive, the Bears held the ball for almost 6 minutes and drove to the Ravens' 14 yard line before Jarret Johnson intercepted Cutler. Six plays and 81 yards later, Flacco hit Heap for his second TD, putting the Ravens up 14-0.

The next drive saw the Bears move the ball to the Ravens 4-yard line with first and goal, where they failed to score on a 4th down. At that point, it was clear that a win was in the cards for the Ravens.

The Ravens allowed the Bears to return a punt for a TD, and closed the lead to 14-7 at the half, but the Ravens responded immediately after halftime, as Flacco hit WR Demetrius Williams for his 3rd touchdown of the day (and Williams' first TD of the season).

On the kickoff, the Bears fumbled, and the Ravens recovered the ball and after 5 plays, Flacco hit Derrick Mason for Flacco's 4th TD of the game. After a Billy Cundiff 40-yard field goal put the Ravens up 31-7, both teams essentially packed it in during the 4th quarter.

On the ground, Ray Rice rushed for 87 yards. The receivers, Mason and Williams, each had big games, racking up 87 and 71 yards respectively. Williams, who was sitting behind Mark Clayton for most of the season has taken advantage of the opportunity he was given when Clayton was injured. In the Green Bay game a few weeks ago, he was the target of 2 deep passes in the endzone that drew pass interference penalties. Even though he didn't record a catch in that game, he was a threat on the deep ball. And yesterday, Williams got open consistently and his TD catch was in tight coverage, so tight, that the refs called pass interference on the Bears defender.

On defense, the Ravens allowed the Bears to move the ball during the first half, but they tightened the screws during halftime and the Bears only managed 62 yards of offense in the second half. They didn't allow a point, as the Bears' lone touchdown came on a special teams play.

If The Ravens win their next 2 games, they will make the playoffs as the #5 seed. But the road to the playoffs still goes through Pittsburgh, as we thought it would at the beginning of the season.

Funny how things change during the course of a season, and after the Steelers loss to the Browns a weel ago that knocked them down to 6-7, they looked to be dead in the water. But next week is sure to be another epic game between two division rivals, each with their season on the line.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cowardly Lions

The Ravens set a franchise record for total yards (548) in their 48-3 win over the Lions.

The Ravens beat up on one of the worst teams in the NFL yesterday, like they should, winning 48-3. It was a record setting day for the Ravens franchise. They racked up the most ever yardage on offense (548), and tied their mark (48) for the most points scored.

If the Lions were a better opponent, even a mediocre team, the Ravens could rally around this game as they contend for the playoffs. But the Lions are 2-11 for a reason, and are very much the same team that went winless a year ago.

But, yesterday the Ravens went back to what worked in 2008, and that was the running game. They rushed for 308 yards and 5 rushing TD's. Ray Rice ran for 166 yards and a TD. He had runs of 52 and 59 yards. Willis McGahee also ran well in mop-up duty, rushing for 76 yards and 2 TD's, and Le'Ron McClain chipped in as well, scoring a TD on 32 yards.

Hopefully the Ravens will stay with the run as they move foward, and get away from Cam Cameron's cute throw-first offensive scheme that has gotten them in trouble in the past. The Ravens clearly have 3 capable running backs on their roster and should utilize that strength more against better teams.

On the passing side, Joe Flacco had a good game after his 3 INT debacle in Green Bay last Monday night, throwing for 230 yards and a 62-yard TD to Derrick Mason who shook off two tacklers converging on him at the same time for the score.

The defense played the way it's supposed to against a 2-11 team, allowing 229 yards of total offense and forcing 3 turnovers. They allowed some Detroit receivers to get open early in the game, which is cause for some concern, but once the game got out of hand the defense dropped back into pass-coverage from first down and took away any chance of the Lions cutting into the lead.

I won't get too excited about this win. I've seen the Ravens shoot themselves in the foot with bad turnovers and stupid penalties too many times to get excited about the Ravens going schoolyard bully on the Lions.

The 5-8 Bears might offer up more of a challenge next week, but with their playoff chances eliminated, I wouldn't be surprised to see them lay down either. Basically, the rest of the season hinges on beating the slumping Steelers in Pittsburgh. I don't want to look past the Bears, but if the Ravens consider themselves playoff contenders, they have to beat Chicago and go into Pittsburgh and handle a Steelers team that has lost 5 straight, including losses to the Chiefs, Raiders and Browns. The Steelers also face the red-hot Packers this week, so it could very well be 6-straight losses for the Steelers when the Ravens buses roll into the Steel City on December 27th.

So there you have it. The Ravens still need some help to make the playoffs, as the Jaguars are ahead of them for the 6th seed, but if the Ravens win out, I do believe they will get in.

Are they good enough to do it? Even though they shellacked the Lions yesterday, I am still not sure.

The uncertainty of the up and down 2009 Ravens season continues.

Slayed by Green Bay

The Ravens allowed 350 yards of offense to the Packers in the 27-14 loss.

The Ravens let another game get away from under them yesterday, but ironically, they never held the lead in the game. No, instead they just committed 12 penalties for 135 yards that helped the Packers on their way to a 27-14 win. Even more ironic, the Packers committed 11 penalties themselves, for a whopping 175 yards, but the Ravens still couldn't come away with the win despite the advantage.

A large part of that is thanks to Joe Flacco, who threw 3 interceptions in the game, 2 of which came in the red zone and killed scoring drives that would have either given the Ravens the lead when they were trailing 17-14, or pulled the Ravens within 3 points of the Packers when the Ravens were down 24-14.

Don't look now, but Flacco is a mediocre QB. After a lightning hot start to the season in which Flacco threw 8 touchdowns in the first 5 games, versus just 3 INT's, Flacco has now thrown 8 INT's in his last 7 games, including the 3 he threw last night. He now has 14 TD and 11 INT on the year.

His decision making has taken a step back as well, and last night saw him throw into triple coverage on one INT as well as throwing across his body on another. Maybe Flacco is suffering from the general lack of focus that the Ravens are suffering through right now, as they lead the NFL in penalties. Who knows. One thing is sure, and that is Flacco is costing the Ravens games more than he is winning them.

The Ravens gained only 185 yards of offense on their own, and couldn't get any thing going on offense all night. Ray Rice was held in check for 71 total yards from scrimmage.

On defense, the Ravens reverted back to their pre-bye vanilla defense. While they did force the Packers into 4 turnovers, they allowed 350 yards of offense, and got to the much-sacked Aaron Rodgers only once. Once! A QB who has been sacked 45 times this year. ONCE!!!

Going forward, the 6-6 Ravens are still in the hunt for the playoffs along with pretty much every team in the AFC minus the Browns and the Chiefs, but at this point, it's hard to even care anymore. The Ravens routinely find ways to beat themselves so excuse me while I go back to work instead of working out the scenarios.

The Ravens host the 2-10 Detroit Lions next week.

One for Two

After a trip to Prague, Vienna and Budapest, I'm back in the states.

On one hand, I'm happy to be back in the land of hot showers and free water at restaurants. On the other hand, I'm back at work. I'd much rather still be across the Atlantic, looking up how to say "thank you" in Hungarian, even if that means being 3,000 miles away from my Ravens.

But it didn't feel that long. During my week-long jaunt, I was able to catch the second half of the Ravens loss to the Colts at a bar called Jama Pub. It's owned by a Chicago native, and he's able to show a few games each week thanks to the American Forces Network. I am not sure if I should be thankful for that or not. The game was a classical Ravens choke job against a superior opponent that I wished I'd missed.

Flacco threw for 256 yards, but no TD's and his lone INT was costly.

In a game that many Ravens fans thought would be lost before the first quarter ended, the Ravens hung with the Colts for the entire game, despite not scoring a touchdown on the day. The defense held Peyton Manning in check for the most part, holding him to just 1 TD, and intercepting him twice. The Ravens forced the Colts into 3 turnovers on the day but still couldn't come away with the win.

After a Joseph Addai rushing TD put the Colts up 14-9 in the second quarter, the Ravens eventually took the lead at the start of the 4th quarter thanks to newly signed kicker Billy Cundiff's 5th FG of the day. The FG, however, came on a first and goal situation where the Ravens were unable to find the endzone. And after a Matt Stover FG (remember, he plays for the Colts now, sigh) put the Colts back up 17-15, the Ravens had an opportunity to win the game on their final drive.

Joe Flacco lead the team down to the Colts 14-yard line, and they were already in position to set up a potential game-winning field goal, but Flacco threw a pass over the middle which was intercepted by Colts linebacker Gary Brackett.

Game over.

It was another Ravens loss full of missed opportunities and self-inflicted wounds. Where to begin? Despite Cundiff hitting 5 FG's on the day, he missed one, which was the difference in the loss. Then there was the failed goal line stand that resulted in a FG. And then there is Flacco's costly INT, which was just another reminder that he hasn't been himself since the Minnesota game where he suffered a foot injury after being stepped on. And finally, there was coach John Harbaugh calling a timeout, then deciding to challenge a questionable call by the refs, which he lost, resulting in another used timeout.

So another season comes and goes without being able to beat the Colts.

The only bright spot of the game was Derrick Mason, who hauled in 9 passes for 142 yards.

The loss to the Colts set up a huge game at home against the Steelers the following week, after the Steelers lost to the Chiefs in a game where QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered a concussion. Safety Troy Polemalu was also still out, meaning that the Steelers would be severely undermanned coming into Baltimore. Third-string QB Dennis Dixon would be starting, and Ravens fans were frothing at the mouth for some payback against a Steeler team they had lost to 3 times the year before.

Rice rushed for 88 of the Ravens 132 rushing yards against the Steelers' #1 rush defense.

And despite being undermanned with the aforementioned injuries, the Steelers gave the Ravens all they had, before eventually losing in overtime.

It was a game the Ravens desperately needed. A loss would put them at 5-6 and essentially end their playoff hopes. But even with the win, the game showed why the Ravens are still in trouble going forward.

For one, penalties plague this team. They committed several boneheaded penalties last Sunday night, especially on Special Teams, which is Harbaugh's former specialty as a coordinator. You'd think he'd be able to reign that unit in, but they've regularly had good returns called back thanks to block in the back penalties.

Secondly, this team still has no pass rush. Dixon didn't throw very often, but when he did, he had all day. Whether it is Greg Mattison failing to design effective blitz schemes, refusing to blitz at all, or the players failing to execute, something has to be done to get more pressure on the QB.

Also, the Steelers ran the ball very effectively against the Ravens, totaling 152 yards on the ground. Thankfully, the Ravens were able to offset some of that with a solid rushing game of their own against the #1 ranked rush defense in the NFL. They gained 132 total rush yards.

And while the offense moved the ball up and down the field pretty well (393 total yards), they still failed to put the ball in the endzone consistently, which allowed the Steelers to hang around for most of the game, and eventually take the lead in the 4th quarter thanks to a Dennis Dixon 24-yard scramble for a TD.

Thankfully, the Ravens answered, eventually tying the game with 1:51 left in the 4th. They had an opportunity to win the game on a 51-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff, but after Flacco was sacked and fumbled with 25 seconds left, the Ravens had to hurry, which resulted in the ball dropping just feet in front of the goal post.

The Ravens held the Steelers in overtime, and a Paul Kruger (remember him?) interception of Dixon set up the Ravens game-winning Cundiff field goal. Dixon had played a good game up to that point, but you had to wonder when the Ravens would take advantage of his inexperience coming from his first career start in the NFL. And it was good to see Kruger, who had been inactive for most of the games this season and looking like a second-round bust, play a key part in the victory.

The win helped the Ravens as much as it hurt the Steelers, who have lost 3 in a row and are 2-3 in the division. They, like the Ravens, are 6-5.

Going forward, the Ravens still have two very tough games on the road remaining, next Monday night in Green Bay and December 27th in Pittsburgh. At 6-5, the Ravens could afford one more loss and still have a chance to make the playoffs at 10-6. But it'd be even better to run the table and basically guarantee a playoff berth at 11-5.

But the Ravens issues, and injuries, pretty much making running the table impossible.

The 2009 season was saved last Sunday night...but it still remains very much in jeopardy.

It's Cundiff

The Ravens signed Billy Cundiff today, replacing released kicker Steve Hauschka.

It was between Cundiff and former Buccaneers kicker, Mike Nugent.

I would have preferred Nugent over Cundiff, but it's like picking between a green and red M&M.

Cundiff has played for the Cowboys, Saints and Browns. The Browns called him when their kicker, Phil Dawson, was injured earlier this season, and Cundiff went 6 for 6, including kicking the game winning field goal during the Browns' only win this season.

So it's safe to say that Cundiff is battle tested (joking).

Before the Browns, Cundiff was out of the NFL for 2 seasons. His career field goal percentage is 74.2%.

He's not Matt Stover, but he should be an improvement over Hauschka and that is all the Ravens can hope for in a kicker during Week 11.

Hauschka Outschka

The Ravens released kicker Steve Hauschka yesterday.

Much was made about Hauschka since he missed what could would have been the winning field goal in Minnesota in week 6. His other key miss was last week against the Bengals, a kick that could have brought the Ravens within 1 touchdown of the Bengals. Instead, he missed the kick and the Ravens eventually lost 17-7.

All said and done, Hauschka was 9 for 14 in his field goal attempts with one extra point blocked.

I do believe that Hauschka took a lot of the blame for the Ravens currently disappointing 5-4 record. Had he made that kick in Minnesota, the Ravens would be 6-3 and tied with the Steelers for second place in the division. But the Ravens defense, which allowed 426 yards to the Vikings is as much to blame for that loss.

That said, it's time for the Ravens move on. Hauschka couldn't be counted on to make crucial kicks.

The Ravens are expected to sign either Billy Cundiff or Mike Nugent today. Either kicker is likely to be an improvement over Hauschka, but not as consistent as Matt Stover, who has been perfect kicking for the Colts while Adam Vinatieri is injured.

***

NOTE: Terrell Suggs will miss 2-3 weeks with a torn MCL obtained from Brady Quinn's low block during an interception on Monday night. He could also miss the rest of the season....St player and back-up safety Haruki Nakamura will miss the rest of the season with a broken ankle.

Interesting...

The ironic history of Baltimore football is on display this week.

Last night, the Ravens played the Browns. The Ravens were the Cleveland Browns before they moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season, ditched the Browns colors and history, and became a new franchise.

Cleveland was awarded an expansion team -- the new Browns -- in 1999.

This Sunday, the Ravens play the Indianapolis Colts, who played in Baltimore until 1984.

Just thought I'd point that out.

Brown Out

Ray Rice ran for 89 yards and a touchdown on Monday night.

The Ravens (5-4) looked very unimpressive on offense in their 16-0 win over the Browns (1-8) last night. In a game they should have won by at least 20 points, the Ravens were blanked by the Browns defense in the first half and only managed to score points when the defense created turnovers deep in Cleveland territory.

They totaled just 274 yards of total offense against the Browns 31st defense. That's 3 straight games now where the Ravens have failed to go over 300 yards of total offense.

Joe Flacco and Ray Rice lead the way again, with Flacco tossing for 155 yards and no turnovers while Rice rushed for 89 yards and the only touchdown on offense. Derrick Mason turned in a decent performance after being shut down in Cincinnati with 78 receiving yards.

But despite some decent single performances, the offense as a whole sputtered for most of the night. The Browns defense does deserve some credit for stepping up and playing a good game, but the Ravens offense, which was 9th in points scored coming into the game, should've put the game away in the first half. Instead they went into halftime tied at zero and needed Browns turnovers to score points on offense.

Last night's game is just another example that the league has figured out the Ravens offense. Give Rice his yards, but pressure Flacco and box out the Ravens WR's.

And the Colts, who come to Baltimore this Sunday, have been figuring out the Ravens for years.

The Ravens' lone bright spot last night was the defense, which held the Browns' 32nd ranked offense to just 160 total yards and no points. They played physical, and did an excellent job pressuring Browns' QB Brady Quinn, but I won't put too much stock in their shutout last night. The Browns offense is worse than most college teams and maybe some high school teams. They didn't attempt to stretch the field until their final drive. They failed to challenge the Ravens' weak secondary. And they barely used Jamal Lewis, the kind of physical running back the Ravens have had trouble stopping this season.

Also, the controversy surrounding kicker Steve Hauschka should continue for another week after he missed his first field goal attempt of the game, a 36-yarder. He did, however, come back and make a 44-yarder later in the game but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Ravens make a move this week. Too bad a certain former Raven future Hall of Fame kicker will be wearing a Colts uniform this Sunday.

Anyway, the Browns are bad, really bad, and the Cleveland fans should have stuck to their plan of walking into the stadium after kickoff, leaving the stadium mostly empty for the start of the game. However, during the weeks since that plan was announced the Browns have taken steps to mend the fences in Cleveland and the stadium looked mostly full at kickoff.

All in all it was a less-than-impressive win over the Browns who are easily the worst team in the NFL. The Ravens on offense look slow and uninspired and the defense will still have issues against a team that can actually complete a forward pass.

Last night the Ravens played the worst team in the NFL. This Sunday, they play the best.

They better bring their A-game against the Colts, or the Ravens will be looking more like the team they were before they moved to Baltimore.

Missing McClain

The Ravens have sorely missed Le'Ron McClain on offense this season.

Looking at the Ravens and what ails them 8 games into the season, it's not hard to see that the Ravens have struggled to maintain drives during their 4 losses.

Yesterday, the Ravens held the ball for only 20 minutes.

In 2008, the Ravens lead the NFL in time of possession. And one of the biggest reasons for that was RB Le'Ron McClain.

In 2008, McClain had 902 rush yards, 10 rush TD's and 1 receiving TD. The Ravens used him in a closer role, as McClain's massive 260 pound frame wore down opposing defenses in the 3rd and 4th quarter of games.

Flash forward to the mid-point of 2010 and McClain has just 78 yards rushing, and 1 TD.

The reason? In 2008, McClain had future Hall of Fame fullback Lorenzo Neal blocking for him. In 2009, McClain is doing the blocking for Ray Rice and Willis McGahee.

It's a shame the Ravens let Neal walk and then never picked up another fullback during the offseason. Because the Ravens are much better off with McClain sharing duty with Rice as one of the Ravens running backs.

So who is to blame for this oversight?

None other than Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

Cameron is too enamored with his new weapons, Joe Flacco and Ray Rice, to realize what he has in McClain. Cameron has basically brought his San Diego offense with Philip Rivers and Ladanian Tomlinson and set it up here in Baltimore. Only, Flacco and Rice are not at the level of Rivers and Tomlinson -- yet -- and the Ravens offense is much more one-dimensional than the Chargers ever were. If opposing teams can contain Rice you can shut down the Ravens offense.

So maybe an embarrassing loss to the Bengals and a 4-4 first half will wake up Cameron and some of the Ravens coaches, prompting them to realize that McClain needs to be reinstated as a RB instead of a FB.

Ravens lose to Bengals, playoffs in jeopardy

Joe Flacco was sacked 4 times by the Bengals in the Ravens' 17-7 loss.

Technically, the Ravens played a football game yesterday.

I beg to differ.

The Ravens turned in one of the worst performances in a couple years, yesterday, in a "not as close as the score indicated" 17-7 loss to the Bengals.

The Ravens fell to 4-4 on the season and erased any momentum they gained after crushing the Broncos a week before. They came out flat on both sides of the ball and the Bengals picked them apart.

On the first drive of the game, Carson Palmer drove the Bengals drove down the field on a 6 minute long drive that resulted in a touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell, putting the Bengals up 7-0. On the Ravens first drive, they sputtered out quickly, not even holding the ball for 2 minutes. The Bengals got the ball back, and drove down the field over the course of 4 and a half minutes, and scored another TD, this time coming from Cedric Benson.

Once the final seconds ticked off the clock in the first quarter, the Ravens had the ball for just over 4 minutes, were trailing 14-0 and had gained just 41 yards of offense.

When the second quarter began, it didn't get any prettier. The Bengals first drive lasted for 7 minutes and resulted in a field goal, putting them up 17-0. Thankfully, the Bengals must've eased up on the gas pedal after taking the 17-0 lead because they didn't score again.

But that still didn't make the game any less of an embarrassment for the Ravens.

The Ravens' longest drive of the day was 2:43. They scored a measly 215 yards of offense. Joe Flacco played what could possibly be the second worst game of his pro career, throwing for 195 yards, 0 TD and 2 INT. Again, Ray Rice was a large chunk of the Ravens offense, gaining 135 total yards. The Ravens' receivers couldn't get open, they were bottled up by the Bengals secondary all afternoon.

You have to give credit to the Bengals though. Thy held the Ravens 5th ranked offense to just 14 total points in their 2 wins over the Ravens. They just had the Ravens figured out, and it showed.

On defense, the Ravens reverted back to the defense from their 3-game losing streak. There was no pressure on Palmer. The secondary was routinely beaten. And again, Cedric Benson abused our defensive line for 117 yards and a TD. So much for a consecutive streak of holding opposing RB's to less than 100 yards, Benson has already done it twice this season. Even with Haloti Ngata, who missed the game with an injury, it wouldn't mave made much of a difference.

The writing is on the wall, ladies and gentlemen. The Ravens defense is finished.

Greg Mattison may have been a poor choice to take over for Rex Ryan but it's not all his fault. The Ravens put on another poor tackling clinic yesterday, trying to finger tackle Bengals players all day. Ed Reed, obviously still bothered by his neck injury looks like a shell of his former hard-hitting self. He whiffed on several tackles. Maybe it's time to see what Tom Zbikowski or Haruki Nakamura can do in his place.

And finally, Steve Hauschka missed a crucial field goal that would have put the Ravens within a touchdown with 7+ minutes left in the 4th quarter. It was a 38-yarder, not a chip shot by any means, but still...at some point he's going to have to make some crucial field goals. Meanwhile, Matt Stover is perfect for the Colts.

At 4-4, the Ravens are on the fringe of the playoff race along with the Steelers (5-2), Chargers (5-3), Texans (5-4), Jets (4-4) and Jaguars (4-4). They still have several tough games on their schedule. A record of 11-5 will likely get you a seat at the table, but 10-6 could also get you in too. That means going at worst, 6-2 down the stretch. Based on what I saw yesterday, there's no chance this Ravens team can do it.

They looked like a team beaten before the game began yesterday. The win over the Broncos may have been their last hurrah. And on top of that, the Bengals showed the NFL how to destroy the Ravens in their two wins and teams around the NFL will take notice. The Colts and Steelers already know how to beat them. They've been doing it for years. But teams like the Bears and Packers just saw how to beat the Ravens.

It's sad to see, but this isn't your Ravens of old any more. No more smash mouth defense, grind it out offense. It's been replaced by sketchy coaching, poor tackling, and ill-timed penalties.

The Ravens motto this year has been "Play like a Raven".

I used to know what that meant, but I have no clue what the hell it means any more.

Bye bye losing streak!

The Ravens got back to their winning ways yesterday in a big way, shutting down the previously undefeated Denver Broncos, 30-7.

The Ravens were coming off a bye week that had followed 3 consecutive losses. A loss to Denver yesterday would have put the Ravens at 3-4 and likely ended their chances for the postseason with the Bengals and Steelers sitting atop the division at 5-2 each.

But the Ravens came out of their bye week a drastically energized team that pretty much fixed all their problems on defense. The first play set the tone -- Jarrett Johnson came in untouched and sacked Broncos QB Kyle Orton for an 8-yard loss. The Broncos went 3-and-out and the Ravens never looked back on their way to the win.

They held the Broncos to 200 total yards of offense. They sacked Orton twice and forced a fumble. Most importantly, the secondary played excellent, and held Broncos start WR Brandon Marshall to 4 catches and 24 receiving yards.

On offense, the Ravens had some trouble getting started. They kicked a couple of field goals to take a 6-0 lead before Ladarius Webb returned the post-halftime kick off 95 yards for a TD to put the Ravens up 13-0.

And after some costly penalties resulted in a prolonged Denver drive that ended with a Broncos TD, the Ravens tightened back up and the offense -- meaning Joe Flacco and Ray Rice -- got going.

Flacco completed his last 14 pass attempts and finished 20 of 25 for 175 yards and a TD. Rice rushed for 84 yards and a game-sealing score late in the 4th quarter. On the receiving end, Kelley Washington hauled in 4 passes for 58 yards, 3 of which came on 3rd down conversions. And Derrick Mason caught 4 passes for 40 yards and a TD.

In the end, it was a huge relief to see the Ravens come out and shut down the Broncos yesterday after 3 consecutive close losses. It also restored the fans hopes that the Ravens can still contend for the division or the wild card.

Next week, the Ravens travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals, who stole a win from the Ravens during their previous meeting in Baltimore.

It's another must-win game for the Ravens, who are pretty much playing "must-win" games for the remainder of the season.

Third time's a harm

Ugh, it's been hard writing this blog the last 2 weeks, and as I write now, it's been about an hour since the Ravens lost to the Vikings, 33-31. I figured I might as well get it all out of my system now and move on rather than wait until tomorrow morning and pick at the wound after it's had a chance to scab over.

First, let me say that we should consider ourselves lucky for even being able to watch that game on pins and needles. When the Ravens were down 17-3 and 27-10, I thought the game was over and didn't want to watch any more. But, the Ravens staged an amazing comeback, scoring 21 points in the 4th quarter, and took the lead, 31-30 with 3:37 left on the clock.

But, as the Ravens defense had done all day, they allowed too many big plays, and a Brett Favre to Sidney Rice 58-yard pass put the Vikings in field goal range, where they kicked the go ahead FG to take the lead, 33-31.

Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense got the ball back with 1:49 left. Flacco has not yet completed a game-winning drive, and it looked like today would be his first when he drove the offense down to the Vikings' 27-yard line, where Steve Hauschka attempted his first game-winning FG.

It was just slightly wide-left.

The Vikings win, remain unbeaten at 6-0 and the Ravens drop to 3-3.

It was hard to take at the time, but some minor reflection does put the game in a more positive light. Especially when you consider the offense.

Flacco absolutely exploded today, for 385 passing yards and 2 touchdown passes. Ray Rice had 194 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns. And Derrick Mason returned in a big way after being held without a catch last week, with 97 receiving yards and a touchdown. Even Mark Clayton got in on the action, with 57 receiving yards and a TD catch. Clayton had been the unfortunate whipping boy during the Ravens previous 2 losses.

But, as good a day as the offense had today, the defense was just as disappointing. For one, they gave up another huge day to the opponent, this time it was 426 yards to the Vikings. Favre tossed for 278 yards and the Ravens allowed their second consecutive 100+ yard rusher as Adrian Peterson rumbled for 142 yards.

The secondary is becoming, in a word, shitty. They routinely left Viking receivers wide open all over the field and exemplified poor tackling all day. The only positive that can be taken from the defense today was their ability to hold the Vikings to field goals late in the game, when touchdowns would have ended the game a lot earlier. But those "holds" only came after allowing huge plays to the Vikings offense, so even that positive is outlined in negativity.

Greg Mattison is not having a good showing as Ravens Defensive Coordinator through his first 6 games as he's allowed opponents to rack up yardsand points week after week. His failure to design effective blitz packages have allowed opposing QB's to have success picking the Ravens secondary apart. So while the secondary is extremely weak, it's not all their fault. The Ravens simply have to get after the QB more often.

Then there is Hauschka.

There was some talk by fans during the preseason that letting Matt Stover go was a mistake. Hauschka was untested, and Stover had been money when making crucial kicks late in games. And while Hauschka unfortunately missed the potential 44-yard game winner today, there is no guarantee that Stover would have made the kick either.

The Ravens were right to go in a different direction. Stover's leg was getting weaker with each kick and his failure to handle kick-offs forced the Ravens to waste a roster spot on a kickoff specialist (Hauschka, last year).

If there was any mistake made by the Ravens relating to the kicker position, it was going with an untested kicker in Hauschka. Maybe they could have gone after a different kicker, who was younger than Stover, and had been tested in crucial late situations.

But all that is just second guessing in my opinion. Pinning losses on a kicker has always been something I've hated, because there are usually a ton of other things that could have prevented putting the game into the kicker's hands. And today the Ravens could have stopped the Vikings offense on any number of occasions. So today's loss is squarely on Mattison and the Ravens defense.

Hopefully Steve Hauschka will get another chance to knock a game winner through the uprights and settle his nerves.

As for the Ravens, who are 3-3 as they head into the bye week, it doesn't look good. The way I see it, the Ravens are going to need a 11-5 record to have a chance to either win the division or make the playoffs as a Wild Card team, and that means going 8-2 down the stretch against tough teams in Denver, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh x2, and then Chicago and Green Bay.

The Ravens can still make the playoffs, but they are going to have to make drastic changes to the defense to do it.

Until then, it's probably a good time to enjoy the bye week. The same should go for the team too.

Ghosts of the Colts

While watching the wonderful ESPN "30 for 30" documentary, The Band that Wouldn't Die, about the Colts leaving Baltimore and the marching band that stayed behind, I got to thinking about my childhood as a football orphan in the wake of the Colts moving to Indianapolis.

I am 30 years old, which means that I was 4 going on 5 when the Colts left Baltimore in the winter of 1984. I don't have a single memory of the Colts.

Part of me is mad that I can't connect with the old Colts fans who occasionally still scratch their Colt phantom limbs. When they bring up the past, I feel alienated and frustrated to the point of saying "let it go". After all, we're lucky to have the Ravens who have already won a Super Bowl and are competitive year in and year out.

Then another part of me is glad that I didn't have to go through the heartbreak of losing a beloved team.

Take the Orioles for instance. They've been here for my entire lifetime, and I came up an Orioles fan. It was the same as inheriting my parents features -- I inherited their love of the O's. And even though the Orioles haven't supplied me with a wealth of fond memories (I basically live off of '89, '96 and '97), they are still my one and only baseball team.

And if they ever left Baltimore, I'd be devastated.

For my generation of football fans in Baltimore, we grew up as orphans.

We knew little of the Colts in Baltimore, so we were forced to adopt other teams to root for. I dabbled in fandom for the Bengals and Steelers (Yes, I'll admit it) while my friends attached themselves to the Saints (they had family in New Orleans) while my cousin jumped on the Cowboys bandwagon during their Super Bowl runs in the early 90's.

A lot of kids I went to school with became Redskins fans, and it wasn't hard for them to do since the Redskins were winning Super Bowls in the late 80's, early 90's.

I'd like to think that experience as a football orphan made me a better, more loyal fan when the Ravens arrived in Baltimore. When that happened I instantly fused them with my being, and I never take them for granted.

Meanwhile, as an Oriole fan, I have a blog called "The Bad Oriole" where I trash the Orioles every chance I get, and believe me, they don't leave me with a shortage of chances to do it.

But while watching the documentary, directed by Baltimore native director Barry Levinson, I was reminded of how strong the Colts roots were in the city and how much of an impact the team had on today's NFL. The 1958 Championship game versus the New York Giants transformed the NFL into the TV giant it is today. And Super Bowl III forced the NFL to recognize the fledgling AFL, even if the Colts had to play the part of the once-favored loser.

But most of all, it gave me a new found respect for the old Colts Marching Band. At Ravens games, they strut out on the field at halftime, play their renditions of five year old pop songs while fans either call their friends for their fantasy football score, or go to the bathroom. I've even gone as far as calling the band an embarrassment.

But all that changed while watching The Band that Wouldn't Die. I realized that they were largely instrumental in keeping Baltimore at the forefront of any NFL expansion or relocation. They toured other cities' stadiums, and kept Baltimore in the minds of the powers that be. And they didn't give up, even after the NFL passed Baltimore over in the 1993 Expansion for Carolina and Jacksonville.

So when they come out on the field at the next home game, I may not exactly enjoy their cheesy performance, but I will give them a hearty applause. They deserve it for enduring for so long.

In the end, The Band that Wouldn't Die made me proud to be not an Orioles fan or a Ravens fan, but a Baltimore fan. There is so much history around us and sometimes we get so caught up in the present that we forget that the past is even there.

And while we may roll our eyes whenever some salt-of-the-earth Baltimore fan calls into a sports radio talk show and brings up the Baltimore Colts, the past would cease to exist if we weren't occasionally reminded of it -- packed up into Mayflower vans and driven off to some barren wasteland.

Ravens stumble against Bengals

It was one of those games that could be brought up in the future for many reasons.

It could be the game where the Bengals showed us why they are to be taken seriously in 2009. After all, they are a fluke play away from being 5-0.

It could be the game where the Ravens showed that they are unable to play as a favorite.

And it could be the game where Ravens fans have to finally accept the fact that the defense is not the team's asset any more and is now the team's liability.

The Ravens allowed 403 yards of offense yesterday in their 17-14 loss to the Bengals including 120 rush yards and a touchdown to Cedric Benson, the first 100+ rusher they've allowed since Larry Johnson in 2006.

The Ravens also committed a ton of penalties that were either sloppy and undisciplined or were ticky-tack calls by the referees who seemed to be trigger-happy after the Ravens were critical of them after their loss to New England a week ago.

But penalties aside, the Ravens looked as flat as a pancake yesterday in pretty much every aspect of the game.

The offense couldn't get anything going for most of the game. They totaled just 257 yards and lost the game clock battle by almost 10 minutes. They scored one touchdown, and even that came on a Joe Flacco screen pass to Ray Rice, who scrambled 48 yards for a score. It was almost like they scored their one touchdown by accident.

But even after that TD, the Ravens were up 14-10 and looked to be in control. After stopping the Bengals on the following drive, all they had to do was burn the clock, which was at 5:29. They killed over 3 minutes of the clock, but after a deep 3rd down Flacco pass to Mark Clayton was overthrown, the Ravens had to punt with 2:10 minutes left. The Bengals had 2 timeouts and the two minute warning in their pocket.

And that was when the defense handed the Bengals the game. They allowed Cincinnati to waltz down the field on them, and even handed them an extra 25 yards on the drive via 2 penalties, which included a vicious late hit by Ray Lewis on Chad Ochocinco.

Carson Palmer found Bengals WR Andre Caldwell a few plays later for the go ahead score.

Ballgame. And my worst nightmare come true.

Where were Derrick Mason and Willis McGahee yesterday? Why was Cam Cameron both aggressive and conservative at the same time? And WTF is up with the penalties? The Ravens committed 10 for 76 yards and are the most penalized team in the NFL. I thought John Harbaugh had this team well disciplined after last season, but now they appear to be coming apart at the seams.

At least the Ravens are now in their comfort zone again. Their backs are against the wall and they are no longer the favorites. They seem to thrive in the underdog role, and that's exactly what they'll be next week when they travel to Minnesota to take on the 5-0 Vikings.

It doesn't look good. And if the Ravens lose next week, they'll be heading into the bye-week 3-3, which will be almost impossible to overcome. Teams like Denver, Cincinnati, Green Bay, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh (twice) are still on the schedule. Ouch.

So in closing, yesterday's game could also be the game where the Ravens forced fans to re-evalaute their expectations for the season. And the post-season.

Patriots beat Ravens (with help from officials)

The Ravens lost their first game of the 2009 season yesterday, 27-21, to the New England Patriots. It's a game they could have easily won if they made some plays late in the game and had the officials not been a part of "the Brady Bunch" all afternoon.

The game included, quite simply, some of the worst officiating I have seen in a Ravens game in a long time. Terrell Suggs, after swatting at Tom Brady as he fell to the ground, was called for a 15-yard "roughing the passer" after Brady pleaded to the refs to call a penalty and the ref obliged. The penalty extended the drive which resulted in a Patriots TD that made the score 17-7. Earlier in the game, a similar penalty occurred when a Ravens defender (I can't remember who) went for the ball and came down, brushing up against Brady's grill. He too was called for a RTP penalty, which extended the drive which resulted in a Patriots TD. Also, head coach John Harbaugh could be heard on the telecast complaining about a bad call, calling it a "bullshit call", to which the ref, who must have virgin ears, threw a flag on the Ravens bench for another 15-yard penalty. Thankfully, that drive ended in a Patriots punt.

The officials must have gotten a memo from the NFL before the game that read: "Dear officials, we cannot accept the Patriots going 2-2. Throw flags at will".

Horrible, terrible and disgusting officiating aside, the Ravens beat themselves. On 4th and 3 on the Patriots 14-yard line, Mark Clayton dropped a pass from Joe Flacco that hit him in the chest. It would have given the Ravens 4 shots at the endzone to win the game from within the Patriots' 10 yard line with 25 seconds left on the clock.

Also, I have to wonder what Cam Cameron was thinking yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I love the man and he has brought a whole new identity to the Ravens offense, but he had several occasions yesterday to establish the run and decided to pass the ball 47 times and run only 17 times even as the Ravens RB's averaged a whopping 6.8 yards per carry! The lack of running game allowed Brady and the Patriots to control the game clock (34:56 to 25:04) and gave the Patriots too many chances to put points on the board.

The defense also allowed too many long drives (thanks in part to the terrible officiating which extended multiple drives), and the secondary was exposed, especially cornerback Dominique Foxworth. The Ravens also failed to pressure Brady, sacking him just twice. He literally had all day in the pocket to pick the Ravens secondary apart despite a key sack of Brady that resulted in a fumble and a Ravens defensive touchdown.

Harbaugh, a former special teams coach, must be fuming at the lack of performance by his special teams. Return man Chris Carr fumbled the opening return, giving the Patriots the ball on the Ravens 20-yard line. Thankfully the defense held them to a field goal. However, the Ravens' ST unit failed to give the offense a decent starting position for most of the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the offense had their worst performance of the season. Flacco played reasonably well, throwing for 264 of those 363 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 1 costly interception at the end of the first half that took away a chance at a field goal. Derrick Mason disappeared after having a huge first drive in which he hauled in 6 catches and a touchdown, but had only 1 more catch the rest of the game. Kelley Washington, who had been a key part of the offense in the last 2 weeks and was facing his old team, disappeared for the most part, catching 4 passes for just 31 yards. And Clayton, who had a chance to extend what could have been the Ravens' winning drive, caught 5 balls for 45 yards.

On the rushing side of the offense, Ray Rice had a great game, running for 103 yards on just 11 carries, which makes the lack of consistent running plays that much more depressing. Rice was slashing through holes all day, but Cameron kept opting for the pass instead.

In the end, the Ravens lost a close game they should have won due to crucial mistakes which are only magnified by some pretty awful officiating. It should force Cam Cameron to look at the boxscore, realize he only ran the ball an unacceptable 17 tiems with what could be the best 3-pronged rushing attack in the NFL, and revamp the offense in the coming week to focus more on ball control.

The Ravens host the Bengals this Sunday in what will be a battle for first place in the AFC North after the Bengals squeaked out an overtime win against the Browns. Both teams are 3-1 with the Steeler a game back at 2-2. The Browns are 0-4.

NOTE: OL Jared Gaither, who was carted off the field after suffering an apparent spine injury, was taken to an area hospital and was able to move his extremities. LB Brendon Ayanbadejo will likely miss the rest of the season after injuring his knee.

Brown Beatdown

There's not much to say about yesterday's 34-3 win over the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens looked great on both sides of the ball against a Cleveland team that probably couldn't beat some college teams.

The Ravens got it started early, with Dominique Foxworth intercepting Browns QB Brady Quinn on the Browns first drive, which set up a Willis McGahee TD, his first of 2 TD's on the day. From then on, the Ravens drove the ball at will and treated the Browns like they were an annoying kitten.

Joe Flacco had another career game, passing for 342 yards and a touchdown. McGahee is also looking like a fantasy beast, racking up another 2 TD's and 67 rush yards. Even Ray Rice finally found the endzone for the first touchdown of his career.

On the receiving end, Derrick Mason hauled in 118 yards and a touchdown on a 72-yard pass while Kelley Washington continues to be a huge part of the passing game, with 66 yards. Mark Clayton also caught 3 balls for 35 yards, and looks like he has been passed by Washington as the #2 WR for the Ravens.

The defense was their old selves. They needed to come up big after a disappointing performace in San Diego a week ago, and they answered the call. They held the Browns to a total of 186 yards and 11 first downs. They forced 4 interceptions. The Browns only points of the game seemed to come out of spite. Down 27-0, Browns head coach Eric Mangini opted to go for a field goal, ending the shutout, instead of going for it on 4th down in the red zone.

If anything, the game was a warm-up for next week. The Ravens travel to New England to take on the 2-1 Patriots in what is shaping up to be an epic game for the Ravens. The Patriots are showing signs of slowing down despite finding ways to win and the Ravens look like a team that is just finding its stride. If they can put pressure on Tom Brady and force him to move around in the pocket, they could replicate the success the Jets had against the Patriots a week ago. The health of Patriots WR Wes Welker will also weigh heavily on this game.

Meanwhile, the Bengals knocked off the Steelers yesterday, sending the Steelers to 1-2 and the Bengals to 2-1.

The Ravens are 3-0 and are second in scoring only to the New Orleans Saints.

Taking Charge

The Ravens overcame the Chargers and their 474 total yards to win 31-26 in San Diego yesterday to improve to 2-0.

It was a win that had me sitting on the edge of my seat for most of the second half, and one that despite the win, has me worried going forward.

Let's start with the 474 yards allowed, 421 of which came on the arm of Chargers QB Philip Rivers. If the Ravens defense did one good thing yesterday (besides the final play of the game), they limited the Chargers to just 53 yards rushing, which is why the Chargers had to rely on Rivers to win the game. And he almost did. Rivers routinely exposed the Ravens' secondary and their lack of effective pass rush gave Rivers enough time to pick the Ravens secondary apart.

Don't get me wrong. The Ravens defense stepped up when it mattered most, especially on the final play of the game. The Chargers had the ball on the Ravens 15 yard line and needed a touchdown to win the game. It was 4th and 2. Rivers handed off to Sproles and Ray Lewis came through the line untouched to demolish Sproles for a 5 yard loss. (Yahoo! Sports is saying it could be Lewis' best play of his career. I disagree.) The secondary also came up with some great defensive plays to bat away balls that would have put the Chargers in a better position to win the game, avoiding pass interference calls in the process.

But going forward, the Ravens are going to have to address their weaknesses on defense. Despite allowing only 188 yards to the Chiefs last weekend, they did allow them to drive 80 yards for a touchdown at one point in the game. And yesterday, their lack of pressure (2 sacks) on Rivers almost cost them the game.

Thankfully, the offense stepped up to the plate for the second week in a row. Whereas the Chargers relied on explosive big plays to stay in the game, the Ravens stayed with what works best for them -- ball control -- and used it effectively.

For most of the game, the Chargers' depleted defensive line were unable to stop the Ravens running game, which resulted in 130 yards rushing offense. Willis McGahee is starting to take over as the go-to guy for the Ravens, and his 73 yards on 15 rushes and 2 touchdowns is proof of that. Ray Rice also ran effectively, 36 yards on 8 rushes, and helped on screens, catching 5 balls for 46 yards.

Joe Flacco had a workmanlike afternoon, and ended up with 190 yards passing, 2 touchdowns and an interception. He spread the ball around well, and Kelley Washington lead the Ravens in receiving yards, with 58 yards and a touchdown that came on a blown assignment. Derrick Mason caught 3 passes for 31 yards, and came up big on a drive before halftime. And Todd Heap caught his second TD in as many weeks, becoming a bigger part of the Ravens offense than he was a year ago.

True, the Ravens offense did enough to win the game, but they came up short with 25 minutes left to play in the game. After a Rivers INT lead to the Washington TD with 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the Ravens' next 3 drives only resulted in a Steve Hauschka field goal.

Thankfully it was enough.

All things considered, this was a huge win for the Ravens and one that can set the tone for this season. But the Ravens will have to study the game film and try to fix what went wrong. Yes, they won, but they allowed 474 total yards of offense, which cannot be ignored. And with good offensive teams like the Patriots, Vikings, Colts, Packers awaiting the Ravens this year, they might find themselves in trouble during those games.

But don't let me spoil this victory. In the end the Ravens came up big and won. And that's all that matters.

The Ravens host the Cleveland Browns next week at 1 p.m. in the first AFC North divisional game of the season.

Chief Rocka

The Ravens opened up the 2009 season with an impressive showing by the offense. They racked up a total of 501 yards, a franchise record, en route to their 38-24 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

It was much closer than the score would indicate, as two key turnovers lead to Chief touchdowns, the first coming on a blocked Sam Koch punt deep in Ravens territory and the second being set up by a Joe Flacco interception by Derrick Johnson who returned it 70 yards.

The Ravens trailed early in the 3rd quarter, 17-14, and at one point the game was tied at 24. But the Ravens closed it out with 3 scores in the 4th quarter to put the game away, and while the end result was a win with a seemingly strong 14 point margin, the game was a lot closer than most Ravens fans would have liked.

Thankfully, Flacco's interception was his only mistake of the day. He had a career game, going 26-43 for 307 passing yards, with 3 TD's and 1 INT. He spread the ball around the field nicely, resulting in Mark Clayton and Todd Heap each having more than 70 yards receiving and a TD. Ray Rice lead the rushing attack with 108 yards, and added another 12 receiving for 120 total yards of offense. Willis McGahee also had a great game, rushing 10 times for 44 yards and a score and hauling in 4 passes for 31 yards including a TD.

The defense played well, allowing only 188 total yards of offense and can only be held responsible for one of the Cheifs 3 touchdowns on the day. The one TD the Chiefs did score was impressive though. Starting at their own 20 yard line, the Chiefs marched down the field almost at will, driving 80 yards in 6 plays and picking on cornerback Fabian Washington for most of the drive. But the Ravens sacked Chiefs QB Brodie Croyle 3 times during the game, 2 of which came from Jared Johnson, and took RB Larry Johnson completely out of the game, 11 carries, 20 yards rushing.

Disappointingly, the Ravens committed 8 penalties for a whopping 65 yards, something that is somewhat out of character for a John Harbaugh coached Ravens team.

Looking forward to San Diego, the Ravens will have to protect the ball better and play a more disciplined game to beat the Chargers. That said, the Ravens did pretty much everything else about as well as they could have.

It just goes to show you how turnovers can change even the most lopsided of games.

P.S. I hope Ben, Katie, Jay and Jaime all enjoy San Diego and may the Ravens treat you to a win. Enjoy the cruise.

2009 Predictions

Well, it's just a few days before the start of the 2009 season, so you know what that means: prediction time.

Looking back at 2008, I couldn't have been more wrong. I predicted the Ravens would go 3-13, but they exceeded everyone's expectations and came just a few plays short of making the Super Bowl. So needless to say, my expectations going into 2009 are going to be high. Especially after watching the first team breeze through the preseason with a 4-0 record.

One thing that troubles me is that the Ravens face a second-place schedule that is much harder than the Steelers' first-place schedule since the Dolphins and Titans each finished in first place in 2008 while the Patriots and the Colts each took second.

But, if you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best. So here goes:

Kansas City -- The Chiefs look to be in for another year of rebuilding. They traded for Matt Cassel, who led the Patriots to a 11-5 record last year in the absence of Tom Brady, but they still missed the playoffs. Cassel is hurt, but Tyler Thigpen passed for 18 TD's a year ago before going down with an injury. WR DeWayne Bowe is a threat, but the Chiefs traded away TE Tony Gonzalez last season. They still have RB Larry Johnson, but their defense is in shambles. The Ravens should be able to control the tempo of the game from the kickoff, and I don't expect anything resembling a close game unless Joe Flacco and the Ravens commit several turnovers, most of them coming deep in their own territory. I've got the Ravens starting the 2009 season in a big way, winning 30-3.

@ San Diego -- The Chargers miraculously came back from a horrible 4-8 start to the 2008 season by winning their final 4 games and winning the division before making a little noise in the playoffs, when they knocked off the Colts in the first round. Philip Rivers has established himself as an elite QB and their defense is strong. They still have RB Ladanian Tomlinson, TE Antonio Gates and WR Vincent Jackson is becoming a beast. This is going to be a very hard game for the Ravens to win, and ultimately, I don't think they will. I've got some friends traveling to San Diego for this game and I'm afraid they'll be in for a letdown. Ravens lose, 24-18.

Cleveland -- The Browns looked to be a strong contender for the division in 2008 after they finished 10-6 in 2007, but they fell apart. Derek Anderson reverted back to his turnover-machine self and was eventually benched in favor of Brady Quinn, who played only 2 games before being injured. Meanwhile, WR Braylon Edwards couldn't catch the ball after putting up a epic 2007 season. The Browns are still a mess, even under strict-HC Eric Mangini. They might be a little more disciplined this season, but they don't have enough talent to hang with the Ravens. Ravens win, 28-12.

@ New England -- All you need to know is Tom Brady is back after the Patriots still went 11-5 without him in 2008. The game is in New England. The Ravens will have to play perfect to win, and I don't think they will. Ravens lose, 20-10.

Cincinnati - The Bengals could be a sleeper team this season, with Carson Palmer (somewhat) healthy and their defense coming on as one of the better defenses in the AFC. But their offense and defensive lines are still weak and it shouldn't be long until Palmer is injured again. He might not even be healthy by week 4. Put me down for a Ravens win, 27-13.

@ Minnesota -- Unless you've been under a rock for the past month, Brett Favre is now a Viking. Whether that scares you or not depends on how you think the 39-year-old veteran can perform at this stage in his career. The Vikes still have the best running attack with RM Adrian Peterson and had the best run defense in the NFL in '08, but Favre doesn't make them much better than they were a year ago. It's going to be a tough game for the Ravens to win, but if they can contain the Vikings running attack, they can win. Ravens win, 23-17.

BYE

Denver -- The Broncos are starting to fall apart. They traded loud-mouth QB Jay Cutler to the Bears and got Kyle Orton in return and Brandon Marshall is a powder-keg. Their once-fearsome running attack is now populated by a slew of RB's who scare no one. The Broncos defense was ranked 30th last year, and didn't get much better. The Ravens should soundly beat the Broncos at home, 34-13.

@ Cincinnatti -- Besides the blowout the Ravens handed the Bengals in Cincy last year (I was there with friends), the Bengals have played the Ravens tough at home in the recent past. This game will depend on the health of Carson Palmer more than anything. That said, I still think the Ravens should come away with a victory, 27-20.

@ Cleveland -- Like Cincy, the Browns always give the Ravens fits at home. And the Ravens needed a huge comeback last season to beat the Browns in Cleveland. I don't think they'll need one this year. Ravens win, 34-16.

Indianapolis -- Oh boy. If there is any other team in the NFL I hate almost as much as I hate the Steelers, it's the Colts. After they inched their way past the Ravens in the 2006 playoffs, I have loathed them. Then there is the whole "they used to play in Baltimore" thing. Put simply, the Colts have owned the Ravens since 2001, regardless of whether the games have been played in Baltimore or Indianapolis. But I think this could finally be the year we beat the Colts. For one, the Colts are under a new head coach (Jim Caldewell) after Tony Dungy retired last season, and Peyton Manning will be without WR Marvin Harrison for the first time in his career. I am sure Reggie Wayne and Anthony Gonzalez will be a nice WR tandem, but if ever there was a time for the Colts' offense to slow down somewhat, it's now. Plus, Joseph Addai became a disappointment last season, prompting the Colts to draft rookie RB Donald Brown. Safety Bob Sanders (the Colts version of Ed Reed) has been hampered with injuries his whole career and is already slated to miss the first 4 games of the 2009 season. And without Sanders, the Colts defense is vulnerable. If the Ravens can finally get after Manning, it could be a long day for the Colts. Finally. Ravens win, 28-24.

Pittsburgh -- What a nice 2-game combo this is, huh? The Steelers beat the Ravens 3 times last season en route to winning their 6th Super Bowl in franchise history. Blah, blah, blah. The Ravens finally get the Steelers at home during a prime-time game and if they are going to beat the Steelers any time soon, it's going to be at home. Since these games are so late in the season it's hard to predict what each team will look like by then after injuries, but I still think the Ravens will pull out at least one win against the Steelers in '09. Ravens win, 17-13.

@ Green Bay -- Aaron Rogers established himself as a top-QB last year, and he looks to continue his roll in 2009. That said, the Packers defense is still a question mark and playing in Lambeau Field is not the dreaded task it has been in the past. Ravens win, 30-24.

Detroit -- The Lions didn't win at all in 2008, but they should have at least 1 win by the time they come to Baltimore. Top draft pick Matt Stafford has been pegged QB#1 in Detroit and Calvin Johnson is one of the league's best wideouts, but the Lions are still in shambles. Ravens win 44-10.

Chicago -- The Bears got QB Jay Cutler from the Broncos during the offseason and that move alone makes them a more dangerous offense. However, their WR's are questionable and their defense is not what it once was. But second-year RB Matt Forte looks to be a large part of their offense again, like he was in '08. I am glad the Ravens are playing the Bears at home, because I don't know if the Ravens could pull this one out in Solider Field. Ravens win, 20-13.

@ Pittsburgh -- The Ravens aren't going to sweep the Steelers, unless I am dreaming, so I just have to put this down as a loss on principle. Ravens lose, 17-14.

@ Oakland -- The Ravens close out the season with 2 road games, including this trip to the west coast. With the way the Raiders offseason has been going, it's questionable if they will even exist come week 17. But if they are, it won't be pretty. The Raiders do have some good parts, including CB Nnamdi Asomugha, RB Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas, and rookie WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. I also think QB JaMarcus Russell could be poised for somewhat of a breakout year after performing well in his last few games of the 2008 season, but there are too many problems that run too deep in Oakland. Plus the Ravens should be extra-motivated to win this game, since they could be fighting for the division title or possible home field advantage. Ravens win 27-10

Ravens Record: 13-3

Is there a ton of homerism in that prediction? You bet. I am thinking that a 11-5 record is a more realistic possibility,with losses coming against the Colts and Vikings, but I figured I'd reverse my 2008 prediction for continuity.

I just hope I'm not as off on this prediction as I was on that one.

Ravens over Panthers

The Ravens continued to roll in the preseason, improving to 3-0 with an impressive 17-13 win over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday night.

Take from a 3-0 preseason record what you will, but one thing is for sure, the offense looks like it's coming together in year 2 of Joe Flacco as QB and Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator.

Things got off to a shaky start, however, as the Ravens drove to the 1-yard line in their first possession of the game, thanks to several Flacco passes of 10+ yards to Derrick Mason and Kelley Washington, only to be backed up by consecutive penalties. And when they couldn't get into the endzone, Steve Hauschka missed a 27-yard field goal, leaving the kicking situation up in the air.

On the Panther's second drive, the Ravens demonstrated their "bend don't breal" defense, allowing the Panthers to drive downfield almost at will before being bottled up at the Ravens' 20-yard line. John Kasay kicked a FG to make the score 3-0 Panthers.

Then the Ravens picked right back up where they left off on their scoreless drive. Starting on their own 20-yard line, the Ravens gave the Panthers a steady dose of Ray Rice before Flacco connected with Washington again, this time for a 42-yard gain. Then after more Rice, Flacco threw a perfect TD pass to Todd Heap.

The next Panthers drive was a 3-and-out.

On the next Ravens drive, the Ravens previewed what we could be seeing a lot in 2009, Ray Rice as a receiver. He caught passes of 15 and 14 yards to kick off the drive, which eventually ended in a Willis McGahee TD run.

Before the starters left the game in the 3rd quarter, Flacco did drive the Ravens down for another Hauschka field goal attempt, which he did make this time. But when it was all said and done, the Ravens offense looked well-oiled and ready to steamroll their way over Kansas City's non-existent defense in week 1.

Flacco finished with 247 yards passing, 1 TD, 0 INT and a 115.3 QB rating.
Rice finished with 32 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards.
Mason finished with 71 receiving yards.
And Washington had 66 receiving yards.

And there you have it. Cam Cameron isn't afraid to call passing plays and Joe Flacco isn't afraid to spread the ball around the field to different receivers. I only hope they continue to pass as often as they have this preseason when the regular season begins.

Let's unleash Flacco on the NFL.

Keep in mind, this is all happening without Mark Clayton, who has yet to play a down in the preseason. When he comes back, it will be just another target for Flacco to work into this exciting offense. And Todd Heap, who'd been bothered with injuries and then had been busy blocking when healthy, finally factored into the offense again, hauling in that TD pass and then making a great catch, going up for the ball and then taking a tough shot before falling to the ground awkwardly in a now typical Heap fashion. He finished with 35 receiving yards and a TD.

The defense collected 2 sacks, and pressured Jake Delhomme well, but rookie RB Mike Goodson rushed well against the Ravens, one week after Jets RB Leon Washington carved up the Ravens pretty nicely too. However, Terrell Suggs has yet to play in the preseason, so hopefully the Ravens will be able to contain opposing RB's better than they have in the last 2 preseason games.

But all in all, it was an impressive showing by the offense, which might actually be asked to do more than kill the clock in 2009. And by the looks of it, they are chomping at the bit to do so.