At the end of the first half, and into the third quarter, I was so disgusted by the play from the team, I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be posting anything about this game for a few days. It wasn’t just the level of play, it was how they were playing.

For the first half of this game, the Ravens looked just weak. Instead of looking like the proud, fiery, intense team we’ve come to love, they looked like a shell of themselves. There seemed to be clear issues on the defense that no one wanted to address… players just left staring at each other.

And all the while we got it rubbed in our face as Brett Favre pushed up and down the field, jumping and smiling like a little kid who’d just picked up a football for the first time. That’s the way the Ravens used to play.

The second half – and the fourth quarter especially – changed that though. Offensively the team was outstanding, of course. But the excitement and intensity of the offense, the electricity of Ray Rice and the subtle confidence of Joe Flacco, seemed to become contagious. The defense found it.

The defense certainly didn’t play lights out and win the game for us, suddenly. They could have, but they didn’t. But they did at least play with a level of confidence that leads me to believe, or at least hope, that they can find some level of greatness again. The feeling was at least familiar.

And even with Steven Hauschka missing that kick, I have to think that the Ravens left the field knowing they didn’t deserve to win that game. They deserved to win the fourth quarter, but not the game. And so perhaps we’ll see that intensity from the very beginning in two weeks when we play Denver. If we do, if this team can play with the heart it was lacking all the while against Cincinnati and for most of the game in Minnesota, there is plenty to look forward to.

He’s not getting the most blame – and he doesn’t deserve the most blame – but someone has to say it. And I will if I have to…

Steven Hauschka: 30%

Like it or not… when you need a field goal to win, a very makeable field goal, in a dome, with no wind or other issues… it needs to be made. That’s the end of it. The end. There’s nothing more to say. Clutch or not. Last minute or not. Field goals matter at all times; this one happened to determine the outcome of the game. Haushcka has to make the kick. The end. Throw blame everywhere else for our position up to that point, but Hauschka  has to make the kick.

In the words of a friend, let’s call it “poetic justice.” The minute Stover is picked up elsewhere, the makeable kick is missed. In all honesty, I love Hauschka and all that he brings to the table… but I was probably giving him better odds than most when I was thinking “this is 50-50…”

Ravens Secondary: 60%

Domonique Foxworth, Fabian Washington, Dawan Landry, Chris Carr, Lardarius Webb, Frank Walker. Frank f’n Walker. We’re looking at you. For the fourth time in six games you all looked worse than bad. You were pathetic. I’m not holding back anymore. I don’t know if you’re just confused or if you simply don’t have the ability, but you are the reason this defense is crumbling. Even the 100-yard rushers connect back to you.

Seriously, Frank, what are you doing? Is it even possible for you to be on the field and NOT have a flag thrown at you. Or not have the QB single you out? And Dawan… on yet another big play you looked absolutely lost. In fact, on one of Favre’s late TDs you almost seemed to be telling Brett to throw it to the man you were simply refusing to cover. Get it together.

Coaching: 10%

The Ravens defensive woes are not solely the fault of the players or the greatness of the opposing offense. Greg Mattison needs to find a way to get this unit to work together. Maybe it’s about getting Samari Rolle on the field. Maybe it’s about getting Paul Kruger on the field. Maybe it’s about play-calling. Whatever it is, do it.

Mattison has been unable to adjust his schemes and his plays to the needs of his players and the strengths of his opponents. Apparently the Ravens are just too easy to read.

Even offensively, Cam Cameron took long enough to find his groove. Had the Ravens started showing life just one possession earlier, perhaps that last kick is less necessary. Nice recovery, though, of course.

Ravens Rush Attack vs. Chargers Rush Defense:

The Chargers defense is not quite the feared force it was growing into in 2006 and 2007. They are a decent at stopping the rush, but not superb, allowing just over 100 yards a game in 2008 and allowing well over 100 yards on the ground against the Raiders. The Chargers will struggle mightily with the Ravens multi-faceted rush attack, especially if the Ravens return to their run-oriented gameplan and control the clock. Even with limited touches, the Ravens showed they know how to use their running weapons, getting quality touches to Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and even Le’Ron McClain. We may not see any back top 100 yards on their own, but the Ravens expect to be pushing 200 yards as a team on a weekly basis. Edge: Ravens.

Ravens Pass Attack vs. Chargers Pass Defense:

The Chargers pass defense suffered last year after the loss of star linebacker (and former Maryland star) Shawne Merriman. Without Merriman for 15 games last season, the Chargers pass defense fell to 31st in the league in yards allowed and amassed only 28 sacks. But in 2007, with Merriman, the pass defense was in the league’s top half, and the Chargers were a top five team in pressuring the quarterback. Merriman appears healthy, but it’s unclear if he’s truly back on top of his game. The Ravens pass attack showed tremendous improvement in week one, but the Chiefs are about as bad as defenses come. The Ravens will have to work much harder this week to protect QB Joe Flacco, and Flacco himself will have to work harder to execute on his passes. The Chargers have 45 interceptions over the last two seasons, best in the NFL. Edge: Even.

Chargers Rush Attack vs. Ravens Rush Defense:

There aren’t many defenses that can even hold a candle to the Ravens when it comes to stopping the rush. But a tandem of good backs can change everything. Last year, it was the Giants’ with Brandon Jacobs and Danny Ware, and in the playoffs, the Titans with Chris Johnson and LenDale White. The Chargers offer up LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles. A fast-and-faster version of the infamous thunder-and-lightning attack. Luckily for the Ravens, Tomlinson is hampered by an ankle injury that may keep him out of the game entirely. But Sproles proved last season that he is more than capable of handling the Chargers rush attack solo. It’s a new season, though, and Sproles will have to prove himself all over again – he rushed for just 23 yards against the Raiders. Edge: Ravens.

Chargers Pass Attack vs. Ravens Pass Defense:

The Ravens pass defense has been the unit’s true struggle for several seasons. Even with Pro Bowler and superstar Ed Reed picking off passes at his leisure, the Ravens secondary and pass rush have failed to make their mark when the game’s been on the line. A handful of speedy new corners is supposed to help, but even against the Chiefs last week, the team allowed some bigger plays than they would have liked. The Ravens pass rush still hasn’t developed as fully as fans would like either, often leaving too much time for good quarterbacks to find open receivers. And the Chargers Philip Rivers is certainly one of the better quarterbacks the Ravens will face this year. If the Ravens give him too much time, he will find an open man. And Rivers will be helped by one of the league’s biggest and most physical receiving corps, led by freak of nature tight end Antonio Gates. Once again, the good news is falling to the Ravens, though, as the Chargers will likely be without two starters on the offensive line. Edge: Even.

Special Teams:

Nate Kaeding is one of the league’s best kickers and can boot the ball as far as anyone. Darren Sproles is one of the league’s most dangerous return men. Mike Scifres regularly punts the ball over 60 yards – sometimes even 70. Meet the Chargers special teams. The Ravens? Well, there’s second year kicker Steven Hauschka, who is still earning his coach’s trust. Return man Chris Carr, who had some good times in Tennessee, but hasn’t yet in Baltimore. And the star of the group, Sam Koch, who may be the league’s most underrated punter. Edge: Chargers

Miscellaneous:

The Chargers are at home, where they’ve lost just 5 games since Rivers took over at QB. Joe Flacco, though, loved the road last season, throwing 10 touchdowns and earning a QB rating over 90. The Chargers are also notoriously slow starters, especially in their last two seasons led by Norv Turner. And as previously mentioned, the Chargers are in a bit more injury trouble than the Ravens. But homefield is homefield, and flying east-to-west has never been the Ravens strong suit. Edge: Chargers

Prediction:

It likely won’t be pretty, but as the Ravens move back to running ball more, they’ll be able to control the clock. Flacco and the passing game will still play an important role, especially in keeping the Chargers off balance. The Chargers will likely have their drives and score some points, but in classic Ravens style, they’ll bend but never break. The key will be turnovers, and a late turnover will likely decide a very close game.  Ravens 27, Chargers 23.

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.

Lame Ball: Kelly Washington. The Ravens most recent addition to the receiving corps made three catches for 43 yards and helped Heap, Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton all do their jobs better. But the first down dances were too much, too soon. Washington embodied this team’s smug attitude after his first catch, which is part of why the Ravens wound up fighting through the fourth quarter for this win.

Ugly Ball: Special Teams. Kick-off coverage was the unit’s only saving grace. Sam Koch had a punt blocked in the Ravens endzone for a touchdown. Steven Hauschka missed a field goal and his other kicking attempts were far from pretty. And returner Chris Carr simply was not a factor. All three (Koch, Hauschka and Carr) can and should do much better. The Ravens didn’t work hard to develop their offense to see the special teams slip away.

Defensive Game Ball: Kelly Gregg. After a season on the sidelines, Gregg made his presence known. His six tackles tied for the team lead and the Chiefs struggled to contain him. Even when he didn’t make the play, Gregg was always a part of keeping the pressure on Brody Croyle and company. You can be sure Haloti Ngata and Ray Lewis are happy to have Gregg back.

Hide Your Hankies Ball: John Harbaugh. With no disrespect to Coach Harbaugh, who has had a brilliant short career with the Ravens so far: someone else on this team needs to be in charge of instant replay challenges. Maybe he’s getting bad advice from the booth, maybe he just trusts his eyes (Dave Trembley?), but Harbaugh has yet to master the art of the red flag.

Prove Me Wrong Ball: Willis McGahee. It’s doubtful he reads this blog, but no one has been harder on McGahee during his tenure with the Ravens than me. McGahee has taken his bump to back-up with an impressive show of his character. He looked in shape physically and mentally, and his impact on the victory cannot be overstated. Not only did McGahee run effectively (after getting in rhythm), but he caught a few balls and blocked well. The Ravens first touchdown came on play in which McGahee made his cut block, found his feet, and still had managed to get open and find the endzone. Bravo.

Understated Ball: Offensive Line. The Chiefs may not have the league’s best defense or its best pass rush, but a solid effort should not be overlooked. The Ravens offensive line man-handled the Chiefs all game, giving the Ravens back plenty of holes and Flacco hours to pass (as Ian Eagle said at one point, “Flacco could balance his checkbook back there.”) More impressive, perhaps, was that the line never let up mid-play. Flacco eluded tacklers in the backfield when he had to, but not without help from his lineman, who were happy to turn back and take another shot at the defense.

Full Time Ball: Ray Rice. Taking over the starting duties for the Ravens at tailback this season, most critics have predicted that Rice has the skills to be successful, but lacks the endurance to be a full-time back. Rice proved this afternoon that, with the help of McGahee and Le’Ron McClain, he’s more than capable. He also proved that he doesn’t need 25 carries a game to make an impact – 19 carries for 108 is perfectly fine.

Pay Attention Ball: Rich Gannon. Gannon is generally one of CBS’ better color commentators, but something was off today. Perhaps it was his pairing with Ian Eagle, who seems to do the play-by-play for every Ravens game, or maybe he just needs some more time. Gannon was flat out wrong in some of his commentary (Chiefs fumble at the goal line, fumble by Croyle at game’s end), but also seemed out of touch with the pace of the game.