Three story lines to follow as the Bengals come to Baltimore on Sunday…

1. Carson Palmer can beat the Ravens.

The Carson Palmer of 2009 may not be in the same form we’ve come to know, but he is still Carson Palmer. And Carson Palmer has the ability to throw the ball all over the Ravens when he’s feeling good. He’s done it before.

Overall, in nine games against the Ravens, Palmer has a quarterback rating of 87.6 with 12 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Not outstanding, but not shabby either.

But those numbers are skewed a bit. Palmer either plays his best or his worst against Baltimore. Palmer has six games against the Ravens with a QB Rating over 90 – in four of those games his QB rating is well over 100. In the other three games, his rating is under 60. There’s no middle ground.

Again, this year’s Palmer may not be able to do that – the Bengals are not the offensive force they once were. But if he’s done it before, he can do it again.

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Hey Everybody,

As many of you know, this blog has been nominated for a Baltimore Sun award called a Mobbie (Maryland’s Outstanding Blogs). We started slow but have risen strongly through the course of the contest.

Right now we are ranked as the #2 Ravens blog and #3 Sports blog! Our goal from the very beginning was to be top three in any category we were in, but with the end so near, we have the win in our sights in at least one of these categories.

We know many of you have been voting frequently and we thank you so much! With two days left, we just need a strong push to the finish… visit www.baltimoresun.com/mobbies or click the picture to the right and vote for One Winning Drive!

Thanks for your readership and support!

Tony Fein, a member of the Baltimore Ravens during the 2009 preseason, died Tuesday morning in Port Orchard, Wash., according to his agent. No immediate details were available concerning Fein’s death, his agent, Milton D. Hobbs, said. Fein, 27, was an undrafted rookie free agent who was released by the Ravens during final cuts on Sept. 5. Fein was an Iraqi war veteran.

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and Safety Ed Reed will not be fined for their post-game remarks criticizing the officials in the team’s 27-21 loss to the Patriots. Read more here.

Quite a surprise, actually. Lewis in particular just went off on the officials in the game. But in reality, both players were criticizing the league’s recent moves to protect quarterbacks. As Lewis sees it, the new rules and interpretations make it impossible for a player to hit a quarterback without getting flagged.

No word yet on whether John Harbaugh will be fined for his in-game tantrum, which drew a personal foul, and his post-game remarks which were similar to Lewis and Reed. I would expect Harbaugh to see a lighter paycheck this week.

Fair is Fair. It’s been pretty well documented elsewhere, but the Ravens simply didn’t do the right things to win Sunday’s game. Somehow, though, at game’s end, the Ravens were still just yards away from winning (or perhaps just one Mark Clayton catch away). All told, that says a lot of good things about the Ravens. For as poorly as they played (from special teams to penalties), they were still right there with a chance in the final moments – and not a hail mary chance, a legitimate chance.

Today as power rankings are released we’re already seeing the Ravens fall a bit, but not too far. ESPN has the Ravens 7th, right behind New England.

Run the Damn Ball, Cam. I’m still trying to decide whether the Ravens failure to run the ball was the result of in-game panic or just a bad game plan. My bet is a bit of both, with a pinch of “inability to adjust” as well. Cameron’s game plan was to pass frequently. As much as we may not like that in hindsight, it actually worked fairly well for most of the game. Minus a Joe Flacco miscommunication leading to an interception, the passing game looked alright.

But the pass-favored attack was made worse by an early deficit. Last year one of the Ravens’ greatest strengths was that they never panicked, even when down early. On Sunday, it seemed quite the opposite. Some early scoring by the Pats had the Ravens scattered.

Finally, even when the Ravens seemed to regain some control over the game in the second half, they failed to reset themselves and their gameplan. One big reason to run the ball is not just to balance the defense, but even a mediocre run nets yardage. 3rd and 7 looks so much friendlier than 3rd and 10.

The Refs. Still not a fan of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed mouthing off – even if I agree with the broader sentiment that quarterbacks are overprotected. And I’m not a fan of John Harbaugh getting in on the action, even in a more subdued, passive way than he did on the field.

It has been interesting, however, to see the national reaction to the Terrell Suggs personal foul in particular. No one seems to like it. In a Baltimore Sun article today the wording of the rule was emphasized – contact to the quarterback below the knee must be forcible to warrant a penalty. Suggs’ contact certainly wasn’t forcible.

I’ve heard it argued that had Brady not moved his leg, it would have been much worse. But last I checked, the NFL didn’t give penalties for almost pass interference and almost facemasks. It’s a fast game, what looks like it could be a penalty one instant can very clearly change.

Offensive Game Ball: Ray Rice. Rice ran for more than 100 yards on just 11 carries, including a 50 yard run that set up the Ravens third touchdown and made it a three point game. Rice also gets the game’s underused game ball for only seeing 11 touches. Even 10 carries for 50 yards sounds good (Rice’s numbers minus his big run), so we all have to be wondering why Cam didn’t put the ball on the ground more.

Feelin’ Fine Ball: Ray Lewis. Because I’m feeling a fine coming his way for his post game remarks. I didn’t agree with every call on the field out there today, but the Ravens need to learn how to take their losses and the game’s circumstances and move on.

Lesson Learned Ball: Terrell Suggs. Asked post-game about his personal foul on Tom Brady, Suggs replied quietly, “it is what it is.” That shouldn’t be taken to mean Suggs liked the call, but he knows how to keep his pay check fat.

Buddy Buddy Ball: Tom Brady. Brady played a good game. But between his Manning-esque “flag wrist” asking for a personal foul and the closing shot of Brady walking off the field with the refs… I can’t help but think it. These refs know they have a job to protect the league’s stars.

Fired Up Ball: John Harbaugh. I’ve got mixed feelings on Harbaugh’s tantrum. I don’t think it cost the Ravens as much as some fans do, but there’s no way to tell. I do know that I want my coach to care enough that he’s ready to go. First time we’ve seen Harbaugh go off like that. Probably won’t see it again for a while.

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1. These may not be the Patriots of 2007, but they are still the Patriots. These Patriots may have lost a game early to a team they usually dominate, and they may have struggled against a questionable Bills team, but they are still the Patriots. Tom Brady is just three games in to a recovery that many times can take a full season, or more. And yet, last week against Atlanta, the Patriots we all fear showed up and dominated a familiar Atlanta Falcons team.

Familiar why? Because they are built around a stud second-year quarterback, a dominant run game, and a stout defense. Sound familiar, Ravens? The Ravens have plenty going for them, but it won’t be easy.

2. The Ravens balance on offense gives them hope. The Ravens offensive attack this season might be the league’s most balanced. It’s not just balanced pass-to-rush. The rushing game itself is brilliantly balanced between three runners of varying styles – the speedy Ray Rice, the deceptive Willis McGahee, and the powerful Le’Ron McClain. The team may not be able to put all three on the field for every play, but each is strong enough to keep this offense moving on its own. Even in pass heavy victories against the Chiefs and Browns, the Ravens runners have made an impact.

But the real key to the Ravens success on offense is its line. The Ravens line is, for the first time ever, a good at pass protection as it is at opening holes for the running game. The Ravens can open up three and four receiver sets and truly trouble defenses.

3. The Ravens have plenty of holes. Not sure why the Ravens seem to be such favorites in this game around the country, but they are getting a lot of love. I’m not even entirely against it, but it is a bit curious. It was just two weeks ago that Philip Rivers threw for 440 yards against a battered Ravens secondary – without several starters on his offensive line. The Pats offer just as many problems: a steady, deadly quarterback in Tom Brady; a corps of tall, speedy receivers featuring Randy Moss; and a powerful offensive line that specializes in pass blocking.

If the Ravens pass rush can’t get to Brady, be wary. If the Ravens secondary can’t handle Moss, be wary. The hope for the Ravens here is that thanks to less-than-super rushing game in New England, the Ravens may be able to devote all of their efforts to the pass rush. But good luck.

After watching the dominating Ravens win Sunday, in addition to the earlier games this season, it really seems that Joe Flacco is continuing to improve. He looks better now than he did his rookie season, and that was a pretty impressive rookie campaign. After the game I couldn’t help but think how if things were different Flacco may not be advancing the way he is. In some ways I can see it being possible that he would not even be playing yet at this point.

Going into last season the Ravens had Kyle Boller, Troy Smith, and Joe Flacco as their QBs. While Coach John Harbaugh was quiet about his plans to name a starter most thought it was going to be Boller by default, and Boller did start the first preseason game. Some thought it was going to be Troy Smith. Most people I talked to or listened to did not think it was going to be or should be Flacco.

I think a lot of fans would not have been happy if at the start of training camp Flacco would have been named starter. A lot of fans, and some former players and coaches, worry about starting a rookie QB too soon. They say it is possible to ‘ruin’ them due to too much pressure and them not being ready to handle it. I don’t buy that myself, it’s a really tough position both mentally and physically so my thought is that if a QB starts his rookie year and doesn’t turn into a good QB than I don’t think he would have after sitting a year or so either.

Harbaugh’s choice as a starter was taken out of his hands when both Boller and Smith went down in the preseason and Flacco had to take most of the snaps. In Boller’s case he hurt his shoulder against the Vikings and was out for the year. Troy Smith had a rare and dangerous form of tonsillitis that hospitalized him and had him unable to practice for a while after that.

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Watching the Ravens against the Browns on Sunday, I felt something I haven’t truly felt watching the Ravens in a long time. It didn’t entirely strike me as I was watching the game, but I certainly realized as I reflected a bit on the trouncing of the Browns.

There was never a moment, not even an instant, during that game where I thought this Ravens team would not complete the blowout. There wasn’t even a fleeting thought in the back of my head that it could even be a close game. It simply didn’t exist.

And looking back on the game, the Ravens seem to have been filled with the same emotion.

They were relaxed; they were just playing football. And playing it well.

It’s an indescribably weird feeling. There is supposed to be some kind of drama, some kind of suspense, in football. There are supposed to be big plays on both sides and “What if…” moments.  There’s supposed to be that any given Sunday, any given play mentality. But it simply didn’t exist.

Both on offense and on defense, the Ravens looked like a team in absolute control. Not necessarily in control of the Browns, but in control of what they were going to do. It wasn’t so much swagger, as we saw in 2000 under Billick. It was that subtle, simple, understated confidence in their ability – their ability to drive 90 yards on 16 plays or drive 70 yards on just three plays, their ability to make a stop on 4th and goal or their ability to make an interception at any moment.

But comfortable can be a bad thing sometimes. We’ve seen the Ravens get complacent before – we’ve seen them give up little plays expecting to make big plays. We’ve seen them settle for a run expecting the defense to pick up the slack.

Personally, I don’t see that with this Ravens team. I see their comfort as having a soothing effect, relieving the anxiety that “the only way to win is to be perfect.” In reality, there’s not a lot you can do about how the other team is going to perform – you can only impact how you are going to perform.

So what do you think? Are you seeing the same thing? Are you worried that this team might get too comfortable, too confident? Is it giving you hope or worry with a big game in New England on the docket?

First, in case you hadn’t heard already… this blog has been nominated for a Mobbie! That would be a Baltimore Sun award a one of Maryland’s Outstanding Blogs. We are nominated both as a Sports blog and a Ravens blog. Click the link to the right to vote for us! You can vote once per day for the next two weeks. Show the world you love your ExtremeRavens and One Winning Drive.

But here are some other random thoughts …

–Steve Tasker brought up an interesting point from John Harbaugh during yesterday’s Ravens victory. Harbaugh said that he expects the Ravens defense to give up more yards as the team’s offense improves. It sounds a bit funky at first, but it seems somewhat valid. As the Ravens score more points, they are putting pressure on opponents to score more points as well. Which means instead of just trying to grind it out and not make mistakes against the Ravens, opposing teams are going to let loose.

I’m not entirely sure how much I buy it, mainly because I don’t buy that other teams weren’t trying to get yards against us before. But additionally, I think when opponents really press to move the ball against this defense, they will force themselves into mistakes and ultimately hurt their own cause. But there may be some merit to the view that with a good offense, its hard to keep defensive numbers perfect.

–I don’t mean to hate on Rex Ryan and crew, but I’m not buying the Jets quite yet. They’ve won some great games and looked pretty strong… but I just don’t buy that their defense is the league’s best. And I really don’t buy that their offense can win games for them when necessary. The Jets beat the Patriots and Titans, both formidable opponents, but both at home. And both with glaring weaknesses.

First, the Titans, for as good as they “should” be, were 0-2 heading into New York. They lost a close game to Pittsburgh in overtime, giving up well over 300 yards passing to Big Ben and company. Then in Week 2 they gave up 34 points to the Texans. The Texans, people. The Titans are not the force they were last year, and they ran all over the Jets.

Meanwhile, the Patriots are a big question mark right now. Maybe I’ll change my mind after the Ravens game this weekend, but for now, they are a question mark. The Pats defense has been suspect since last season – and the Jets weren’t exactly able to exploit that weakness. Meanwhile, the Pats offense lacks a running game in any way, shape or form. Which opens up all kinds of opportunities for Rex Ryan and his pass rush madness.

Bottom line… the Jets have been playing well, but I think there are weaknesses that will be exposed. The Titans were able to run on the Jets, they just weren’t able to hold the ball. There are paths to glory here.

–The AFC North will be a lot of fun this season… short of the Browns. The Bengals late upset of the Steelers yesterday not only put a twinkle of great hope into the eyes of all Ravens fans (a two game lead on the Steelers?!) but also solidified the Bengals as true contenders. Perhaps what is scariest about the Bengals is that they have been successful despite mediocre play from Carson Palmer. If (when?) Palmer finds his way back to the star he once was, that team will be scary. Meanwhile, the Bengals-Ravens match-up two weeks away looks stellar – it may prove to be the Ravens first true test offensively (depending on the Pats game).