Friday afternoon that means just 48 hours til game time. Here’s how the ExtremeRavens staffers see the upcoming Ravens game against the Houston Texans…

Baltimore Ravens (5-3, W3) at Houston Texans (3-5, L1)

Danielle: Texans 17, Ravens 12. Houston has won three straight at home, and the Ravens (even with wins at Miami and Cleveland) still struggle on the road. Is Baltimore capable of winning this game? Absolutely. The result lies with the Texans’ backup quarterback, Sage Rosenfels, ability to exploit a pass defense that has been exposed in the past.

John: Ravens 23, Texans 17. Texans have won three straight at home. Rosenfels hits a big play to Andre Johnson, but also turns the ball over a few times which makes the difference in the game. The Ravens three-headed monster will carry them to fourth straight win.

Andrew: Ravens 31, Texans 14. The extremely talented Andre Johnson will get his numbers, but the Ravens will shut down the Texans run-game and will harass Sage Rosenfels all day. On offense, Jared Gaither will be able to keep his ACC-rival Mario Williams incheck while the Ravens continue to progress on offense.

Dan: Ravens 27, Texans 10. The Ravens are averaging more than 30 points per game over the last three games, including to games on the road. This week, against a young secondary and coming off a strong performance, Joe Flacco will really show off.

What’s your take?

Welcome to Week Two in this 2008 NFL season… er… I mean… Week 10.

The Ravens head to Houston this week to take on the Texans in the game rescheduled from Week Two,  postponed after Hurricane Ike barreled into southeast Texas and damaged the Texans’ Reliant Stadium. The schedule changes brings together two teams in very different situations than eight weeks ago.

Early in the season, the Texans had high hopes. They were supposed to breakout and perhaps even challenge the elite of the AFC South - if not for a playoff position than at least for some standing in the division. Meanwhile, the Ravens were entering this year as a rebuilding process behind a rookie coach, rookie quarterback and aging defensive unit.

How things have changed.

Entering Week 10, the Ravens are now fighting for an AFC North division title and a playoff spot. Their five wins already equals their total from last season. The Texans have been on a rollercoaster of their own, though. Following an ugly 0-4 start,  the Texans had won three straight until last week’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

As we head into the weekend, here are two key match-ups to keep an eye on as the Ravens and Texans finally get to square off.

Texans Offense vs. Ravens Defense

WR Andre Johnson vs. Ravens Secondary

There are two undeniable facts here. First, that Andre Johnson is proving to be a beast and having a career year in 2008. Second, that the Ravens secondary continues to be the defense’s greatest weakness.

Such a combination - great receiver against weakened defensive backs - seems to always spell trouble for a team that relies heavily on the success of its defense.

Let’s start with Andre Johnson. Johnson entered the 2008 season as a good wide receiver, bordering on greatness, but oft limited by his own team’s ineptitude. Last season, Johnson truly broke out in an injury-shortened season. In just nine games he had more than 850 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. This year, Johnson has continued to the trend from last season. Already in just eight games he has 60 receptions, more than 800 yards, and three touchdowns.

And as if the Ravens needed more trouble from receivers, it’s worth noting that Johnson does his absolute best work at home in Reliant Stadium.  In four home games this season, Johnson has led the Texans to a 3-1 record by averaging more than 10 receptions and 148 yards per game. 148 yards in eight home games alone is enough to give Johnson an 1100-yard season. Read the rest of this entry »

Five quick facts and ideas to take into consideration as you set your line-up and check the waiver wire this week.

The Jaguars Can’t Run

For the last two years the Fred Taylor / Maurice Jones-Drew running tandem in Jacksonville was one of the most heralded in fantasy land. Taylor ran for over 1000 yards in 2006 and 2007, scoring five touchdowns each season. Jones-Drew averaged over 800 yards and 11 touchdowns in those two years as Taylor’s accomplice. This year, the story has changed.

No one’s sure why, but the entire system in Jacksonville has fallen off. At this point, it’s officially time to stop waiting for things to straighten out. Taylor is not worth owning anymore; you can find plenty of replacements on your waiver wire. Jones-Drew is worth holding on to, but only as a third running back. His complimentary receiving stats are all that make him interesting at this point.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a snippet of some of the comments from fans of the Cleveland Browns over at DawgBones.com and DawgTalkers.net. The Browns were victims to a come-from-behind offensive attack by the Ravens, and Cleveland fans rained boos all over the stadium. Read the rest of this entry »

Quarterback: B+
Joe Flacco continued his solid play against the Browns. He remained cool, calm and collected, even after the Ravens fell behind by two touchdowns. He showed nice touch on his throws and made some spectacular passes into tight coverage. There is still a bit of a learning curve (intentional grounding penalties, being one of them), but the rookie continues to make positive strides.

Offensive line: A
This unit was solid throughout the game. Flacco was well-protected throughout the game and had plenty of time to make his reads downfield. The line opened up holes for the most part, but softened up when it counted most.

Wide receivers: B+
Welcome to the offense Mark Clayton. The wide receiver notched his first touchdown in two seasons. Derrick Mason continues to be Flacco’s favorite receiver, snagging nine passes for 136 yards.

Running backs: A
Ray Rice continued to dominate among Baltimore’s running corps for the second week in a row. The rookie averaged just over seven yards per carry, and created running lanes of his own. Le’Ron McClain was solid in his performance, and added a touchdown that was setup by a beautiful Rice run.

Defense: B-
The defense did a solid job of stopping the run, but struggled a bit against the pass. If the Browns hadn’t insisted on running the ball against the best defense capable of stopping the run, the Fabian Washington and Frank Walker would have been in for a long and brutal day. If Braylon Edwards doesn’t drop that very catchable ball from Derek Anderson, the outcome of the game might have been different. Bart Scott led the team in tackles (10) and Terrell Suggs snagged a key interception and returned it for a touchdown that sealed the victory for the Ravens.

Special teams: C+
The Ravens were helped immensely by the Browns’ ineptness, which setup great field position for the Ravens for much of the first half. The special teams coverage continues to have ups and downs. In this game, they had both, and sometimes at the same time. For instance, Matt Stover punts a 62-yarder, which is pretty good for a 40-something. The bad news is that the Browns’ Josh Cribbs returned it 92 yards for a touchdown.

Well now… that was one doozy of a game.

The Ravens scored early, faltered often, scored late and some how pulled out a win - even if it wasn’t the strongest, most convincing victory in recent memory.

Here are some quick thoughts coming out of the game…

Game Balls: Offensive game ball goes to Ray Rice. 150 yards on 21 carries, including a huge run late in the game to set-up the go ahead score. Rice was strong throughout the game, even when it appeared the offense was having issues. He ran straight at blockers and only made moves when he had to. And boy, those moves were pretty. Standing in for Willis McGahee, you can’t say enough about Rice’s performance as a rookie.

Honorable Mention: Mark Clayton, welcome to the 2008 Baltimore Ravens offense. We’ve been waiting years to see this guy contribute in the way he did today. Cam Cameron and the Ravens finally seemed to figure out how to use Clayton in this offense: send him down field and challenge defensive backs to catch him. Sending Clayton downfield opened up the offense in other ways too - drawing linebackers out of the box and asking safeties to cheat. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s just 48 hours to game time, the injury reports are in, the match-ups are locked; you’ve had all week to think about this weekend. So now it’s time to lay it on the line. The 3-4 Browns against the 4-3 Ravens, in Cleveland, for a whole lot of momentum heading into the 2nd half of the season.

Here’s what our staff has to say…

Debbie Downer, I mean, Ken: Browns 24, Ravens 10. With a weakened secondary and a suddenly undisciplined offensive line, the Ravens return to their struggling ways away from the comfort of the purple seats. The Browns have found a winning stride, while the Ravens are still trying to handle theirs.

John: Browns 17, Ravens 14. Defensive struggle for most of the game. Neither team puts up impressive numbers. Browns and Ravens have trouble running the ball. Anderson hits a big play through the air that makes the difference.

Andrew: Ravens 24 Browns 21. The Browns will pick on the Ravens battered up secondary quite a bit, but for the most part the Ravens front seven will get enough pressure on Derek Anderson. The Ravens offense will continue to progress and get just enough production to win. This will be a close one.

Spen: Ravens 17, Browns 14. The Ravens and the Browns meet for a tough close game. Flacco has a rough day and yards are hard to come by but the Ravens grind out around 17 points. The Brownies score late to make the game appear closer than it was. Good guys continue on their road trip happy.

Danielle: Ravens 17, Browns 13.  Just as easily could go the other way with the same score. It’s going to come down to who’s effective in the red zone. Right now the advantage is to Le’Ron McClain over Jamal Lewis.

John B.: Ravens 31, Browns 10. Cleveland’s overall defense is still near the bottom of the league, while Baltimores offense is slowly creeping up overall. The pressure from the defense on Anderson will neutralize Edwards, Winslow & Jamal Lewis. The chants for Brady Quinn will be heard in the backround by mid way thru the 3rd quarter.

Dan: Ravens 26, Browns 6. Take a look at the numbers and you’ll see that even in their recent victories, the Browns haven’t exactly been shutting down their opponents. They won’t find much room to move against the Ravens this week.

The midway point of the season is upon us as the Ravens enter their eighth game of the season against the Browns - the first divisional rematch of the season for either team in 2008. Oh, how things have changed since that game win Week Three in Baltimore.

The Ravens enter at 4-3, riding their second two-game win streak of the season, and feeling good again. Not only are they winning, but the offense has shown signs of life against two weaker opponents.

Meanwhile, the Browns enter at 3-4, have won three of four games, including beating the defending champion New York Giants. The Browns reversed that 0-3 pretty quickly and confidence is running high in Cleveland these days. The big question is can the Browns keep up and truly return to the playoff-caliber team we saw last season?

As we look at this Week Nine match-up, here are two key player-to-player battles to keep an eye on…

Ravens Defense vs. Browns Offense

LB Terrell Suggs vs. QB Derek Anderson

The Ravens defense must not have liked getting embarassed by the Colts three weeks ago in Indianapolis. Since then, against two weaker offensive opponents, the Ravens defense has found its fire again, and the Dolphins and Raiders were the victims of all their built up rage.

Fronting the charge for this defense in both games, though, was not Super-Raven Ray Lewis. Instead, it was Lewis’ younger, pass-rushing protege Terrell Suggs that was really on top of his game and giving the defense its life.  Over the course of the season, Suggs has shown his strength not only as a Pro Bowl caliber player, but as a legitimate defensive leader. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a quick look at the ExtremeRavens’ Power Rankings for Week Nine. See the complete rankings here.

And here’s how the Ravens line up in other polls from around the nation…

ESPN.com: 14 - It’s no secret that QB Joe Flacco has a strong arm. But who knew he had great hands, as evidenced by his 43-yard catch Sunday?

FoxSports.com: 20 - The Ravens have a Super Bowl-caliber defense — No. 1 against the run and No. 2 overall in the NFL. But Baltimore still can’t throw the ball downfield well enough to be a true contender — with an NFL-low 3 touchdown passes in 2008.

CBSSportsline.com: 17 - After getting blown out by Indy two weeks ago, they’ve bounced back with two victories. Credit goes to the defense. It has dominated the past two weeks.

Yahoo! Sports: 19 - How cool was that 43-yard Troy Smith pass to Joe Flacco – and how funny was it that John Harbaugh referred to it as the “Suggs Package?”

What’s your say? With the Ravens at 4-3, how do you see things this week in the NFL?

Fans saw a new look from the Ravens offense yesterday, dubbed the Wild Bird. Is this an offense that is here to stay, or will it be migrating south for the winter?

Read the rest of this entry »