Not too many surprises in the AFC North in Week 1… but here’s the breakdown…

Baltimore Ravens: W (1-0) against Chiefs (0-1). The Ravens aired it out and totaled more than 500 yards of total offense – good for best in the AFC and second best in the NFL. But we didn’t really learn too much about this Ravens team. Beating up on what may be the league’s worst team, and giving up some big plays at crucial times, doesn’t bode well. In short, the Ravens are still a mystery. Don’t bet on 500 yards against the Steelers. This Week: at San Diego (1-0).

Pittsburgh Steelers: W (1-0) against Titans (0-1). Classic Steelers football on Thursday. The defense took a few drives to find its feet, but shut the Titans down later in the game and never let things get out of hand. Big Ben and the offense took a few shots, but made the plays when they had to. Many fans had to be wondering why the Steelers were even in the game in the third quarter – but that’s how good football teams play. This week: at Chicago (0-1).

Cleveland Browns: L (0-1) against Vikings (1-0). The Browns introduced themselves as the division whipping boys this season with a blowout loss against Minnesota. The Vikings proved they are deserving of mentions as Super Bowl contenders, running and throwing all over the Browns. Brady Quinn and the offense showed some signs of life, but never made it count against a tough Vikings defense. This week: at Denver (1-0). Read the rest of this entry »

Joe Flacco is not Trent Dilfer.

That not certainly does not come as a surprise to any fan of the Ravens. But around the league, to other fans and commentators, Flacco was nothing more than a glorified Trent Dilfer throughout his rookie season.

Take a glance at the numbers though, especially the Ravens heavy reliance on the run (nearly 40 attempts per game),  and it is easy to see why anyone not intimately familiar with the Ravens would confuse the two. Flacco’s mediocre 80.3 passer rating certainly didn’t help his cause, either.

But on Sunday against the Chiefs, Flacco stood up and put the Ravens offensive attack on his shoulders in a way that Trent Dilfer never did. And, with all respect to Dilfer, Flacco did so in a way Dilfer would never be able to.  Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

It may not have been the prettiest win the Ravens have had – especially not as double digit favorites at home – but it was still a win and impressive in many ways. The 38-24 final in the Ravens win over the Chiefs doesn’t even sound like a score from the Ravens in recent years, but eager fans will take it.

Offensive Game Ball: Joe Flacco. To open his second season, Flacco set career highs in touchdowns, passing yards and passing attempts. He topped 300 yards for the first time in his career as well. Despite a few overthrown balls and a brutal interception that really had the Ravens spinning, Flacco managed the game well and showed that he is no Trent Dilfer. The Raven said they were going to test this offense’s limits, and they did it perfectly today. Flacco never looked overmatched and the offense fired on just about all cylinders.

Welcome-Back Ball: Todd Heap. Between injuries and blocking assignments in recent years, most Ravens fans had forgotten why Heap made it to a pair of Pro Bowls and was once considered among the league’s most dangerous tight ends. Today, they remembered what it’s like to see a tight end simply dominate a defense. Heap had five catches for more than 70 yards and a momentum-changing touchdown. Defenses beware: the Mormon is stormin’ again.

Read the rest of this entry »

It was a season ago that the Baltimore Ravens dumped nearly their entire coaching staff, ousting Brian Billick and bringing in young gun John Harbaugh.

Harbaugh might have been green when it came to leading an NFL team, but he proved his worth last season in taking the Ravens to an AFC Championship Game appearance.

This season, the Ravens have said goodbye to the final holdover from the Billick era; Rex Ryan is now in charge of his own team in New York.

But take a look at the 2009 Ravens coaching staff, study them a bit, and there is something oddly familiar. We’ve seen these guys before.

That’s because Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens general manager, has a pretty good mold for what he wants his coaching staff to look like.

He finds coaches that fit his mold, just like players, and just drops them in. If that sounds a little too similar to an old-fashioned sci-fi movie, I apologize. But the system works.

So I present to you your 2009 Ravens coaching staff, led by The Mastermind himself, Ozzie Newsome… Read the rest of this entry »

Change is supposed to be a good thing, but it may be hard to convince fans in Baltimore that a minor overhaul of a storied and respected defense will end up helping their football team.

Despite a familiar chorus of criticism directed at the offense, most of the Ravens’ moves this offseason have involved the defense. Unfortunately, not all of the changes were entirely voluntary.

Defensive coordinator Rex Ryan has found a new home, this time in New York as a head coach. Under Ryan, the Ravens defense never finished worse than sixth in the league in yards allowed, and they also consistently ranked near the top of the league in rushing yards allowed as well as turnovers.

And it is not just Ryan who’s gone. He took with him star linebacker Bart Scott and safety Jim Leonhard, who filled in for the injured Dawan Landry for nearly the entire 2008 season.

Top it all off with the fact that three-time Pro Bowl selection Chris McAlister, the team’s lockdown cornerback for the last nine seasons, is gone as well.

For the Ravens, the combination of coordinator and player changes will lead to some pretty glaring differences on the field. Given the team’s depth and breadth of defensive talent, however, you can be sure that Baltimore will again be ranked among the league’s best defenses. Read the rest of this entry »

Coming off a surprising and superb 2008 campaign, expectations for the Baltimore Ravens are high as the 2009 season approaches. But the offseason has not been kind to General Manager Ozzie Newsome and company, who have parted ways with a number of big names. Newsome did his best to fill the team’s biggest holes, but even wizards fall short sometimes.

The good news for Ravens fans is that the core of the team is still intact. For a group that found its way to the AFC Championship, that is not an insignificant statement. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed still lead a strong defensive unit and Joe Flacco and Derrick Mason anchor the offense—hardly a bad place to start on either front.

Unfortunately, the weaknesses threatening a repeat of last year’s playoff run will sound all too familiar. In training camp, the Ravens two weakest positions will line-up face-to-face on every down. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s start the way we have to…What a season. What a freaking season. We might not be happy to say it today, but Ravens fans cannot walk away from the run these Ravens made with any regrets.

But that is plenty of sappiness. Real football talk to follow.

The Ravens were simply one-upped tonight. They were in this game until the bitter end—six minutes to play, even—and it is hard to complain about a game that stayed so close for so long. A game that was winnable in so many ways until that six minute mark.

The Blame Game

Darren Stone: 40 Percent. Steep, I know, but deserving. Stone cost the Ravens upwards of 30 yards of field position on the most crucial drive of the game. Instead of starting near their own 45 yard line, the Ravens started all the way at their own 14. And instead of needing to game between 20 and 30 yards to get into field goal range, they suddenly needed more than 50 yards.

It changed everything. All because Stone wanted to get a lick in that didn’t faze his man anyway. When the Ravens hit the field, Flacco and the entire unit were pressured to pass and get big yardage. And that pressure is a big part of why Troy Polamalu wound up in the end zone just minutes later. Read the rest of this entry »

Quarterback: B-

Joe Flacco had trouble finding open receivers and hitting targets against a zone defense, but he still kept his cool and controlled the game. He made only one major mistake, which certainly hurt, but otherwise he was fine. His completion percentage was down, but many of his incompletions were hitting receivers in the hands, so how much blame can we really assign?

Running backs: B Read the rest of this entry »