Joe Flacco had his worst game of the 2009 season on Sunday against the Bengals. While he completed more than 70% of his passes, only 4 of those completions went to receivers. Flacco also threw two interceptions, one on the Ravens final offensive play.

It wasn’t an awful performance, but it was not the Joe Cool performance Ravens fans have become accustomed to.  For the second week in a row, Flacco threw an interception in the red zone – wasting a Ravens scoring opportunity. Last week, miscommunication with Mark Clayton caused Flacco to throw a ball outside while Clayton went inside. This week, Flacco rushed his opportunity and failed to read CB Jonathan Joseph cutting underneath Todd Heap’s route.

That opening drive by the Ravens was their best of the game – though it came apart in its final plays with a false start on center Matt Birk and an unnecessary timeout. Early in the drive, Flacco completed 4 of 5 passes and the Ravens were moving with some consistency.

After the interception, however, Flacco and the offense really lost their focus. Flacco seemed timid when it came to throwing downfield and to his receivers; he rushed his reads and settled for the check-down too often. And unlike last week in New England, where Flacco seemed to be the offense’s general, this week we saw Flacco flustered and apparently outmatched.

Not many people are talking about Flacco’s play in this game; it’s been too easy to blame the defense for blowing a late lead. But Flacco had a subpar game.

The good news is that Flacco is still this franchise’s best chance to win. Flacco can and will provide for this offense. He just needs to settle down again and find the calmness that earned him the nickname Joe Cool. He can make any throw you need him to, if he is patient enough to make his reads and trust his line.

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.

Defensive Game Ball: Terrell Suggs & Dwan Edwards. Suggs sacked Brady, stripped the ball and Edwards found it in the endzone for the touchdown. That play changed the game and gave the Ravens hope.

Special Teams Game Ball: Sam Koch. Koch is arguably the league’s best punter right now. He has learned how to kick it far, but his penchant for putting it inside the 10 is what makes him truly great.

Special Teams Goat Ball: Chris Carr. Bad decision, bad execution. Carr was benched as return man, as he should have been. The question is whether he can reclaim his job. Fans don’t want to see him anymore.

Tough Team Ball: The Patriots D. They may not have been perfect, but the Patriots as a team and as a defense especially beat the Ravens at their own game most of the game. The Pats came up with big plays when they mattered and kept the pressure all game long. Credit deserved.

What a Catch! Ball: Derrick Mason. He went up, he took the hit, he came down hard and held on. Mason’s first quarter touchdown let the Patriots know that the Ravens were not too bothered by an early deficit.

Get Well Ball: Jared Gaither and Brendon Ayanbadejo. Gaither’s head/neck injury was the scariest moment of the season so far – he seemed to be lying on that field for an hour. The news is good so far for Gaither, though no word on when he might return to the field. Ayanbadejo, who last week won the league’s defensive player of the week award, isn’t so lucky. He’s done for the season, it appears.

Disappearing Act Ball: Le’Ron McClain. Not sure if McClain had injury problems or was just pulled in favor of the empty backfield, but he vanished in the second half. The Ravens could have used McClain on those short yardage situations, but McGahee got the call instead. Questionable.

Helluva Game Ball: Leigh Bodden and Brandon Merriweather. The Pats CB and S duo were all over the field. Bodden’s red zone interception of Joe Flacco was impressive and stole at least three points from the Ravens (imagine being down just three on that last drive!). Meanwhile Merriweather was in on almost every tackle it seemed, finishing with 9 total tackles and 2 passes defended.

Butter Ball: Mark Clayton. Hard to blame him for the touchdown drops – both would have been hard to catch. But easy to say ‘shame on you’ for his 4th down drop to end the game. Sigh. We love ya, Mark.

1. Two Ravens runners will top 100 yards. That’s pretty bold, right? I’m leaning towards Willis McGahee and Ray Rice, obviously. Not sure that there are even enough carries in one game to get them both over 100 yards, but it only really takes one big run (and the Browns specialize in making those available). If this doesn’t happen, I won’t be losing any sleep. Just a gut feeling.

2. It won’t be a shut-out. As much as Ravens fans and the team want it, the Browns are going to score. This Ravens defense is not there yet, especially not with Josh Cribbs helping out with field position. Not sure if the Browns will find the endzone or not (based on yesterday’s score prediction, I’m leaning towards not), but they will put something up on the scoreboard. But man, what would a shut out do for the Ravens points allowed average!

3. The Bengals will upend the Steelers. Ok, so this one isn’t Ravens, obviously. But there’s only so much to say about Ravens-Browns. Looking at the other division game this weekend, I’m loving the Bengals. Their defense is more legitimate than most think at the moment, and with the Steelers unable to run and vulnerable to the sack, there’s hope for Cincy. I also love Hines Ward saying that Pitt isn’t worried about their running game because the passing attack can handle it – for how long, Hines?

Three Questions:

1. Will the Ravens big play defense show up? The Ravens are facing a pair of back-up runners (one a rookie). Their also facing an inexperience quarterback leading a sloppy offense. The turnovers should be there for the taking – so will the Ravens take them? I expect a couple of turnovers, of course. But the bigger question is can the Ravens turn one into their signature scoring play? Fans are waiting – Ed Reed, Fabian Washington, Haloti Ngata, we’re looking at you.

2. Will the Ravens secondary improve? It better, given the opponent is far less advanced than San Diego was last week, but we all still have doubts. Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said the defense will be returning to more standard secondary arrangements, hopefully keeping everyone on the same page and (we can only hope) in the right position. It would also help if he taught his smaller corners how to defend a pass, and not just run stride for stride with a receiver. But we can only hope for so much in a week.

3. Will the Browns implode? Their play on the field has already collapsed, obviously. That’s not really the question. But the whole team seems on the verge of absolute self-destruction. If the Ravens really pound the Browns, it might just be enough to send them over the edge and on the path to being one of the truly memorable bad teams in football history. Ray Lewis has a history of leaving bad memories for opponents, we can only hope he delivers here.

One game in and the debate is already raging. The Ravens won their first fight of the new season, amassed more than 500 yards of total offense, and exploded with four second half touchdowns. And yet a debate rages on.

Did the Ravens throw too much against the Chiefs?

The answer is probably yes. But the question is stupid.

Critics of the suddenly pass-happy Cam Cameron and Joe Flacco are pointing to the fact that after an especially pass heavy first half (25 passing plays to 14 running plays), the Ravens were still deadlocked with the Chiefs at 10-7. And that amid a pass-happy 3rd quarter, the Ravens trailed for the only time in the game following a Joe Flacco interception.

But following a 38 point showing and 14 point victory – if only a victory in the final moments – asking too many questions can be a bad thing.

The Ravens intentionally shifted to the pass on Sunday. And they will intentionally shift back to a more run-oriented attack in future weeks. We call these changes “game-planning.”

The Chiefs boasted one of the league’s worst pass defenses last year, including the worst pass rush in NFL history (10 sacks in 16 games). Attacking that weakness was a good move on the part of Cameron and John Harbaugh,  even if it came with some mixed results.

First and foremost, it helped to set up the crucial running success the Ravens had later in the game. It will probably help the Ravens run game for the rest of the season. No future opponent can look at the performances by Joe Flacco, Todd Heap, Derrick Mason or the offensive line and not take that into consideration when planning for the Ravens arrival. Putting the ball downfield forces a defense to account for that possibility – especially if you’re able to complete three of those attempts for over 20 yards. If anyone thinks the Ravens early passing did not have anything to do with their success on the ground late, they are simply wrong.

Also important, however, is giving Joe Flacco room to stretch. The second year is notoriously known as the Sophomore Slump for a reason. Usually, good rookies are asked to do more – or try on their own -  and the results can be catastrophic. Flacco will certainly be asked to do more this season for the Ravens, and at various levels. But allowing Flacco to show off his gun-slinging ability against the Chiefs was a good move. It not only builds confidence in the quarterback and offense, but it allowed Flacco to find his own limits in a safer environment.

This Sunday against the Chargers, you can certainly expect to see an offensive game plan more reminiscent of years past. The Ravens have not forgotten how to run the ball. Not even close. They elected to show off their passing ability against an inferior opponent, and it worked. Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain will get plenty of work.  But Joe Flacco and the receivers will have their chances as well.

And that change can only be for the better.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

“Always tease tease tease
You’re happy when I’m on my knees
One day is fine, next day is black
So if you want me off your back
Well come on and let me know
Should I stay or should I go?”