Conservative Ravens give away win to New England

Deion Branch celebrates a 4th quarter touchdown catch in the Patriots' overtime win over the Ravens.

It was one of those games when your team is up in the 4th quarter and you start thinking about how sweet it will be to see that opposing team's fan at work on Monday and rub in the win.

I mean, the Ravens had a 20-10 lead in the 4th quarter. The lead should have been safe with the Ravens defense, right?

Wrong.

The Ravens, who had been able to move the ball well against the Patriots defense all day, switched to conservative mode on both sides of the ball with the 10 point lead and the Patriots climbed their way back into the game and eventually won 23-20 in overtime.

It was the kind of loss where Ravens fans want to run the coaching staff out of town: Cam Cameron for sticking with Ray Rice too long and refusing to throw down field in the 4th quarter, Gregg Mattison for using the prevent defense, which only prevented the Ravens from winning, and John Harbaugh who elected to punt on a 4th and 1 on the Ravens 47-yard line with 9:10 left in the game, instead of going for it and killing the clock.

Joe Flacco had an excellent day, completing 27 of 35 passes, throwing for 285 yards, 2 TD's and 0 INT's. And yet Cameron didn't trust Flacco to throw down the field in the 4th quarter? I'm sorry, but when you take the girl to the dance, you dance with her. Cameron's erratic treatment of Flacco thus far has been head-scratching and infuriating.

Ray Rice, meanwhile, had trouble getting going all day. He had 28 rushes and 88 yards which comes out to a 3.1 YPC average, yet Cameron put the game on Rice's shoulders in the second half, and failed to adjust when it became apparent that Rice was not able to move the chains. Willis McGahee, meanwhile, didn't get a single snap the entire game. If Cameron was insistent on running the ball to kill the clock, McGahee's fresh legs may have helped.

And the defense didn't help either. In Baltimore, you think that a 10 point lead is safe in the 4th quarter, whether at home or on the road. After all, it's the way the Ravens have won games in the past -- but those were different times when the Ravens had no offense -- and Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason and TJ Houshmandzadeh were playing in different cities. But the Ravens defense had a hand in the loss, too. The Ravens defense allowed New England put together 2 4th quarter drives that forced overtime: a 4 minute, 8 play drive that resulted in a touchdown to make the score 20-17 and then a 7 minute, 13 play drive that resulted in the game-tying field goal.

And like the conservative play calling on offense, the Ravens defense switched to vanilla schemes, rushing only three linemen, giving Tom Brady ample time to throw in the pocket with zero pressure.

And in overtime, the generic play calling continued. The Ravens were content to engage in a battle of field position with the Patriots when they should have been going for the jugular. A Le'Ron McClain unsportsmanlike conduct penalty backed the Ravens up to their 17 yard line instead of getting the gall at the 27. And on that drive, the Ravens gained 35 yards, which would have put the Ravens around the Patriots 38-yard line. Granted, it would have been a 55-yard field goal, and Billy Cundiff has been nothing but erratic with the Ravens, but when it's for a win on the road, you have to take a shot.

But in the end, it was the Patriots who won that battle. The defense allowed the Patriots to get into field goal range with a 5 minute, 7 play, 45-yard drive that resulted in the game-winning field goal with just under 2 minutes left in overtime.

The media will lap up the Patriots come from behind win and continue to hang from Tom Brady's jock while celebrating the return of WR Deion Branch, who had several clutch catches late in the game. But most intelligent football fans will also realize that the Ravens took their foot off the throat of the Patriots sometime toward the end of the 3rd quarter, and gave the Patriots life.

It's becoming obvious that Cam Cameron has some glaring flaws in his game planning strategy. His refusal to stick with Ray Rice and his 5.4 YPC average in Cincinnati ultimately cost the Ravens the game and his insistence to stick with Rice last Sunday cost the Ravens another game. It's as if the criticism from his time as offensive coordinator in San Diego has followed him to Baltimore and he's learned nothing from it.

That said, if there is anything positive to take away from the loss, it's that the Ravens can learn from their mistakes. If they hadn't taken their foot off the gas pedal late in the game, they could have very well won. This isn't the mid-2000's Ravens anymore where a 10 point lead must be treated carefully like a valuable artifact. We've got a top-tier quarterback in Joe Flacco. We've got three excellent WR's in Boldin, Mason and Houshmandzadeh. There's a reason why Ozzie Newsome brought those guys in here -- and it's to win football games with them.

Yet on Sunday, it felt strangely like 2004 again.

The Ravens take on the Buffalo Bills this Sunday before their bye week on 10/31.

Ravens tame the Broncos, 31-17

Ray Rice had a huge day in the Ravens 31-17 win over the Denver Broncos.

By now, Denver has to hate Baltimore. Even the crabcakes.

The Ravens improved to 5-0 against the Broncos in Baltimore with a 31-17 win.

Ray Rice woke up from his 2010 slumber, rushing for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns. Joe Flacco and Willis McGahee each chipped in with rushing TD's of their own and Flacco also threw for 196 yards, supplementing the Ravens ground game which was in cruise control all day.

And while the Broncos' Kyle Orton threw for 314 yards and 2 TD's, it was mostly of the garbage variety. The Broncos trailed 31-10 during the final 5 minutes of the game. The Ravens defense gave up the passing yardage, but shut down the run, and employed a bend-don't-break mentality all day.

All in all, it was a good sound win as the Ravens improved to 4-1.

Ravens beat Steelers!!! And I was in Cancun!!!

My wife Kelly and I, watching the Ravens vs. Steelers game at the Tequila Barrel in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.

Our friends, Jason and Jaime, watching the game with us.

It's been more than a week since the Ravens topped the Steelers 17-14 in what was one of the greatest Ravens wins in franchise history.

Trailing 14-10 with just a minute left in the 4th quarter, Joe Flacco finally devised one of those game-winning drives that all other great QB's have in their portfolio, hitting T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the endzone and silencing the Steeler fans in Pittsburgh. It was the first time the Ravens have won in Pittsburgh since 2006.

The reason for the late blog entry? I was in Cancun.

Was I able to watch it, you ask?

You bet.

I searched far and wide for a bar that was showing the game and finally found one in Playa Del Carmen. It was called the Tequilla Barrel. Cool place. And there was even a Steeler fan there watching the game, too.

So instead of recapping the game, which I am sure has been burned into the brains of Ravens fans by now, I'll share my experience of watching the Ravens beating the Steelers while I was in paradise.

My wife, Kelly, and my friends, Jason and Jaime, decided to go to Cancun for a much needed vacation. We'd never gone on an extended trip together, outside of Ocean City, so it was great to finally have another couple to hang out with at our resort. We arrived on Saturday, October 2nd and stayed the entire week at the NOW Jade Resort just outside of Puerto Morelos, which is about twenty minutes south of Cancun.

Originally, our plan had been to go to Carlos N Charlies, which is also located in Playa Del Carmen, a touristy town about a half an hour south of our resort. We'd heard rumors that the sports bar in our resort would be showing the game, but we didn't want to risk it. If we stayed, and the resort was not showing the game, we'd be screwed -- and miss the game.

So dressed in our Ravens jerseys, the four of us caught the local ADO bus to Playa Del Carmen. Whereas taxis can cost upwards of $30 to get to Playa Del Carmen, the ADO bus cost $1.60. If you're thinking that the local bus in Mexico is like it usually is in the movies, with people holding chickens in the back of a busted van, you couldn't be more wrong. The ADO buses are basically tour buses, the same kind that blue hairs take on their trips to Atlantic City. They are air-conditioned, have a bathroom and show movies.

When we arrived in Playa Del Carmen around eleven o'clock, we scoped out Carlos N Charlies. And when we saw it was closed, Jason began to panic. Since Cancun is an hour behind Eastern Standard Time, the games started at Noon. And with less than an hour to go, we still wanted to be 100% sure that the game would be showed, and now it looked like we'd be waiting until game time to see if the game was going to be aired because we couldn't get a definitely answer if any place would actually be showing the game.

I'd read on TripAdvisor.com that the Tequila Barrel was actually a better place to watch the game. So we headed to the other side of PDC to find it. Along the way, someone we ran into on the street confirmed that the Barrel was indeed better than Carlos N Charlies.

Along the way across town, store owners tried to lure us into their stores. "Flacco, Flacco, Flacco," they called after us, since three of us were wearing Flacco jerseys. They showed us Ravens ponchos. Mostly, they just tried to get our attention so they could sell us their wares. A few people asked us if we wanted to get high.

When we finally found the Tequila Barrel, we were able to confirm that the game was actually going to be showed, along with all of the other NFL games that day, since the bar has the NFL Sunday Ticket. It was also filled with fans of other teams, who had come there for the same reason -- to watch their teams play while on vacation. So we breathed a sigh of relief and ordered some beers, waiting for the game to begin.

Ironically, our friends Jason and Jaime knew another couple, Chris and Kim, who were staying close by in Playa Del Carmen that same weekend. So by the time the game started, we were six deep in the Tequila Barrel, cheering the Ravens on. We were representing!

The game, as Ravens fans know by now, was a certified classic. I nearly lost my voice screaming like a little girl when Flacco hit TJ Houshmandzadeh for the game winning touchdown. The Steeler fan in the bar with us tipped his cap before heading back out into the sunshine and to celebrate, the four of us did shots of pomegranate (purple) tequila.

I went on record saying that it was probably one of the best days of my life.

I still stand by it.

As we headed back toward the ADO bus for the trip back to our resort, a few more people called after us, "Flacco, Flacco, Flacco!" Some of them asked us again, "Do you want to get high?"

We were already high off a Ravens victory...and we still had a week to spend in beautiful Mexico.

It would have been an amazing trip even if the Ravens had lost. The Ravens win was just icing on the cake.

Ravens top Browns 24-17

Touchdown! Anquan Boldin celebrates one of his three touchdown receptions in the win over the Browns.

It wasn't pretty, but the Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns at home yesterday, 24-17, to improve to 2-1 and 1-1 in the division.

Joe Flacco rebounded in a big way after his 4 interception debacle in Cincinnati last week, chucking 3 TD's to Anquan Boldin and passing for 262 yards and no interceptions. But the running game failed to ignite the offense and the defense allowed Peyton Hillis of all people to run roughshod for 144 yards.

And the Ravens were lucky to win the game, actually. After trailing 14-3 for much of the first half, the Browns battled their way back before halftime, putting the score at 14-10. And after a scoreless third quarter, the Browns took a 17-14 lead at the beginning of the 4th quarter and sucked the air right out of M&T Bank Stadium.

Were the Ravens, after being shut down in Cincinnati last week, going to blow another divisional game at home against the winless Browns? Was the defense really going to be trampled by the Browns anemic offense?

Flacco and the offense answered that question quickly scoring a little less than 5 minutes later, with Flacco hooking up with Boldin in the endzone for a pretty 27 yard TD and retaking the lead 21-17. A Cundiff field goal put the final nail in the coffin at 24-17.

But the defense was still abused to the tune of 304 total yards and 18 first downs. Hillis ran for 144 yards and a TD. Seneca Wallace completed 75% of his passes. They failed to create a turnover.

While it was a divisional game, and a win is a win, the Ravens have not yet hit their full stride, 3 games into the season. Flacco and Boldin were on fire yesterday, but they were pretty much the only ones. Ray Rice rushed for just 80 yards before being removed from the game in the 4th quarter with a sprained knee. Willis McGahee only ran for 40 yards. And Todd Heap was the only one able to horn some yards, 46, away from Boldin's 144.

So it's tough to take much away from a win like yesterday's. Flacco and Boldin played well, the offensive line kept Flacco upright, but everything else was ho-hum. And that's not going to be enough to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh next week.

The Steelers are chugging along 3-0 after dismantling the Buccaneers yesterday in Tampa Bay, 38-13. Their defense is playing insane and their offense, with Charlie Batch under center, is finally moving the ball and scoring points.

The Ravens still have to get better if they want to beat the Steelers. And hopefully yesterday was a step in that direction.

The fuss about Flacco

Joe Flacco has become a hot button topic in Baltimore. Is a QB controversy brewing? I hope not.

After Joe Flacco turned in his worst game as an NFL quarterback, including throwing a career-high 4 interceptions, it's understandable that fans will be talking about his horrid performance.

Read any message board or tune into any local sports show on the radio and you'll see or hear it.

But some are just taking it too far. They are saying Flacco is holding the team back. They are saying that Marc Bulger should be playing. They are basically writing off Flacco's career -- a career that we're only 34 regular season games into.

In case people have forgotten, the Ravens have gone 21-13 in the regular season with Flacco as the QB since 2008. They have won three playoff games in 2 years. You'd think people would be able to take that into account, but apparently not.

Instead, Ravens fans are harping on Flacco's miserable day against the Bengals -- and even going back and complaining about Flacco's performance in the week 1 over the New York Jets.

Excuse me, but did these people watch the same game I did that Monday night?

The Ravens won that game because of Joe Flacco.

The Jets took away the running game and forced the Ravens to throw -- and they did -- to the tune of 248 yards -- the same number of yards that Tom Brady threw in a week 2 loss to the Jets. Flacco made several great passes to extend drives, especially on the 76-yard drive at the end of the first half that put the Ravens up 7-6.

But it seems that some fans have played too much fantasy football. Not only do they want to win, they want to rack up touchdowns and passing yards. Don't get me wrong, I would love for the Ravens to win like the Colts and Saints have, but let's be real. We aren't those teams. At least not yet.

The Ravens have one of the league's best running backs in Ray Rice. He had over 2,000 yards from scrimmage last season. But so far in 2010, he has only had 37 rushes -- and only received 16 touches against the Bengals despite a 5.4 yard per carry average. So what is the problem with running the ball more -- or using more screens to Rice? It worked last year.

And this is what it comes down to. I believe Cam Cameron is not putting Joe Flacco into the best situation to succeed. Yes, Flacco shouldn't have thrown 4 interceptions last week, and he has a lot of room to improve as a QB. But I don't believe the Ravens are ready to become a pass-first offense, nor do they need to be. Not when you have Ray Rice and Willis McGahee in your backfield.

Flacco should continue improving his numbers during his third year as a QB in the NFL. With Anquan Boldin, TJ Houshmandzadeh, Derrick Mason and Todd Heap at your disposal, there is no excuse not to. But let's remember that the Jets were the #1 defense in the NFL last year and the Bengals were #4. So it's not like Joe Flacco has struggled to perform against middle of the road defenses so far in 2010. He has struggled against the best of the best.

Now, I would like to see him take those steps and beat a top defense, decisively, but for now, I think we need to scale back our expectations of Flacco and be happy with what we have in him.

The last thing I want to see if Flacco heading to another team the way Drew Brees and Donovan McNabb have.

But it seems like some Ravens fans have already reached that point.

Flacco turns in miserable game, Ravens lose to Bengals

Joe Flacco and Derrick Mason are disgusted after the Ravens' 15-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

It was hard to watch.

After so much hope for a new high-flying offense this past offseason, the Ravens have only scored 20 points two weeks into the season.

Yes, the first two games were on the road against two playoff contending teams in the Jets and Bengals. And yes, it takes time for an offense to gel.

But it was still hard to watch.

The Ravens had only 259 yards of total offense yesterday, and couldn't figure out the Bengals defense yet again. In the last 3 games against the Bengals, all losses, the Ravens have been held to 14, 7 and 10 points. Joe Flacco threw 4 interceptions, a career high, which was the difference in the game, as the Bengals had only 253 yards of total offense themselves. Each team had 14 first downs.

Flacco played what was probably his worst game as a pro. He looked slow, both physically and mentally. He threw off his back foot. And he routinely forced passes into double and triple coverage. He finished with 154 yards passing, 1 TD and 4 interceptions for a passer rating of 23.8.

Ouch.

The Ravens fared a little better on the ground, with Ray Rice rushing for 87 yards and a 5.4 yard per carry average. It makes you wonder why offensive coordinator Cam Cameron didn't stick with the run a little more when it was apparent that Flacco was having trouble making his throws. Cameron seems hellbent on making Flacco the next Drew Brees, but clearly Flacco is not ready for it.

In addition to the horrendous Flacco turnovers, the officiating didn't help out the Ravens either. Ray Lewis was called for tripping Bengals QB Carson Palmer when he was blocked and fell over, and Palmer fell over Lewis. Terrell Suggs was called for roughing the passer when he tackled Palmer as soon as Palmer released the ball. It looked like a fine play to this Ravens fan, as well as many fans across the NFL, since many football experts agreed that it was a bad call. But in the end, both penalties prolonged Bengals drives that resulted in field goals.

The Ravens defense played well. They still have not allowed a touchdown all season. They need to get after the QB a little better. Carson Palmer was only pressured intermittently and sacked only once.

Overall it was a game to forget. Despite Flacco's 4 interceptions and the offense's struggles, they still had a chance to win the game. The bad officiating also plays a part, but compared to Flacco's poor play, the bad calls are microscopic by comparison.

Thankfully, the 0-2 Browns visit Baltimore next week. Hopefully the Ravens can fix what went wrong yesterday...because there was a lot that went wrong.

It would be nice for Cam Cameron to shelf his desires to make the Ravens offense a passing offense and return to the run. It worked in 2008 and in the second half of 2009. It's clear this team cannot open up games passing on opposing teams. They still need the run to set up the pass and to set-up the play action pass.

Ugh. There's no other way to describe yesterday's loss. Just ugh.

Ravens edge Jets for first win

Ray Lewis was pumped up last night, kicking ass and chewing bubblegum. And he was all out of bubblegum.

Between the Jets and the Ravens, the hype alone was enough to power the electricity in the new Meadowlands Stadium last Monday night: many football experts had picked both teams to advance to the Super Bowl this season.

And there was no shortage of bad blood between the teams. The Jets, lead by loudmouth head coach and former Ravens defensive coordinator, Rex Ryan, have several former Ravens on their defense including Bart Scott and Jim Leonard. And Ray Lewis, never one to stay silent, returned the Jets' banter and backed it up with his performance.

But despite all the hype, once the tempers had flared, the whistles blew, and the game was played, it was the Ravens who were the better team.

The score of 10-9 won't tell you much. It was a close, defensive struggle for that reason alone. But digging deeper, the Ravens domination of the Jets becomes more apparent.

The Ravens had 282 yards of offense. The Jets 176.

The Ravens had 20 first downs, the Jets 6.

6 of the Jets 9 points came from Ravens turnovers.

Each QB was sacked 2 times.

Neither team did much on offense, but the Ravens did a little more, and that was the difference. If the Jets are "for real" anywhere on their team, it's on the defensive side of the ball where they were ferocious last night. On the Ravens first offensive play, two Jets defenders sandwiched Joe Flacco in a brutal sack and fumble that had Ravens fans everywhere cringing. Flacco was OK, but it was a bad omen to start the 2010 season that way.

After the sack and fumble, the Jets recovered the ball on the Ravens 11 yard line but were held to a field goal. Jets up, 0-3.

On the next Ravens drive, they moved the ball down field well, with Flacco connecting with new-Raven Anquan Boldin for 14 yards, Todd Heap for 16 yards, and Ray Rice for 16 yards. On the Jets 20-yard line, Willis McGahee fumbled the ball, ending a promising drive that had taken 9 minutes and 10 seconds off the clock.

The Jets went three and out on the next drive and the two teams were stuck in a battle for field position for most of the second quarter. The Jets kicked another field goal, to put them up 0-6 with 8 minutes left in the half.

The next Ravens drive was chugging along nicely, thanks in part to a Jets 28-yard pass interference penalty and a Flacco to Derrick Mason 12 yard catch, but the drive ended abruptly when Flacco was intercepted by Jets CB Antonio Cromartie at the goal line and returned the interception 66 yards to the Ravens Ravens 31 yard line. Flacco had been working well with Boldin so far, and forced this pass into coverage.

However, Jets RB Shonne Greene fumbled the ball early in the Jets next drive and the Ravens recovered the ball on their own 24-yard line.

And then the Ravens offense finally showed what it can do, albeit for just one drive.

Flacco connected with Houshmandzadeh for 27 yards. Then found Mason for 9. The Jets were getting angry with themselves at this point, and committed a 22-yard pass interference penalty on Houshmandzadeh that gave the Ravens the ball on the Jets 1-yard line. A McGahee run got nothing. A pass to fullback Le'Ron McClain was overthrown by Flacco. Finally, McGahee found paydirt, putting the Ravens on top for the first time in the game, 7-6.

And the loud Meadowlands stadium fell silent during halftime.

The second half of the game was largely a battle for field position. A nice drive from their own 8-yard line resulted in a Billy Cundiff 25 yard field goal, to put the Ravens up 10-6. On the drive, Flacco connected with Boldin for 38 and 27 yard passes.

The Jets forced the Ravens back against their endzone for a drive that got the Ravens to their own 3-yard line where Sam Koch was forced to punt with his back to the goal post. The Jets got the ball on the Ravens 35-yard line. Their drive only went 5 yards, but it was enough for Nick Folk to kick a 48-yard field goal to make the score 10-9.

The Ravens next drive stalled at the Jets 42-yard line. They pinned the Jets deep on a punt, and the Jets couldn't get past their own 24. With 4:35 left, the Ravens started from their own 26 and Flacco found Heap for a 35 yard gain on the first play of the drive. It was a ballsy move that paid off when most Ravens teams of the past would have elected to run the ball and kill the clock. The drive eventually stalled at the Jets 36-yard line. The Ravens punted, putting the Jets at their own 18 yard line with a minute thirty-seven to drive down field within field goal range.

So it came down to this. Was golden boy Mark Sanchez a good enough QB to drive the Jets down to within field goal range against a stout Ravens defense that had smothered them all game? Was the hype surrounding him premature? Sanchez showed flashes of greatness in his rookie year, especially in the playoffs as the Jets shocked the NFL and advanced to the AFC Championship game before falling to the Colts. But Sanchez had never been that kind of QB who could win the game with his arm. Many think he never will be.

The Jets' drive didn't get off to a good start, when a false start backed them up 5 yards to their own 13. A screen to Ladanian Tomlinson gained 9. Another pass to Braylon Edwards gained 9 more. Then, on 4th and 10 with 0:36 left on the clock, Sanchez passed to tight end Dustin Keller for a 9 yard gain. Keller, either not realizing where he was or unable to overcome his momentum, ran out of bounds one yard short of the first down marker, ending the Jets drive and giving the Ravens the win.

It was refreshing to see the Jets, such a hyped and loudmouthed team beat themselves on that play. Rex Ryan, standing on the sidelines where the play took place, starting clapping, thinking Keller had gotten the first down.

Wrong. More like the loss.

So how did the team perform individually?

Joe Flacco played well against a tough Jets defense that sacked him twice, including that brutal opening sack and fumble. He moved around in the pocket nicely and appeared recovered from his foot injury from last year, and extended many plays by ducking the pressure and stepping up in the pocket. He passed for 248 yards and made on one mistake on the forced pass to Boldin at the goal line that resulted in an interception. The offensive line played well against the Jets front seven, which blitzed early and often. They had their problems, but overall they played nicely.

Anquan Boldin stepped up and showed us why we traded for him this pass offseason, hauling in 7 passes for 110 yards. He was Flacco's favorite target once the Jets unwisely took Darrelle Revis off Boldin. Todd Heap had a good game as well, catching 6 passes for 72 yards. It was nice to see Heap become a part of the offense again.

On the ground, the Ravens had trouble getting the running game going against the tough Jets defense. Ray Rice ran 21 times for 43 yards. McGahee ran 6 times for a total of -2 yards despite the touchdown.

On defense, the Ravens came to play. They sacked Sanchez twice and pressured him when he stood in the pocket too long. Ray Lewis delivered a punishing hit on Dustin Keller over the middle on the final drive of the game, knocking the ball loose at the first down marker. It was a play that embodied the game on defense for the Ravens, and showed that Ray Lewis is still one of the best linebackers in the game at the age of 35.

On special teams the Ravens did what they could with what they were given, and Jalen Parmalee returned 3 kicks for 57 yards, while Tom Zbikowski had one return for 15. The Ravens allowed a few big returns from Brad Smith, including a 32-yard return, but overall, kept the Jets out of the Ravens side of the field for the most part.

It was a close game. A defensive struggle. And it lived up to the hype. But once the Ravens protected the football, they were clearly the better team. They passed a test last night, proving that they should be considered for the super bowl while people may need to reconsider the hype placed on the Jets.

The Ravens travel to Cincinnati this Sunday to take on the 0-1 Bengals.