Plenty of local sites summarize for us what’s being said about the Ravens throughout the sports media world… and even if they didn’t, most of us die-hards would find plenty of time to check Power Rankings and other articles on the team at our leisure.

But for a quick twist, let’s take a look at what’s being said about the Texans  heading into this week … and a few added game thoughts …

Read the rest of this entry »

The Ravens have one of those “good problems” about to pop up this week into next… and his name is Willis McGahee.

Last week, between Le’Ron McClain and Ray Rice (and a few nice scampers by a QB and WR here or there), the Ravens ran over the Bengals for 200+ yards on the ground. It’s the kind of base running game that every team loves to build around.

And yet, by most accounts, that running game was not at full strength without Willis McGahee because neither Rice nor McClain fit the prototype of the modern NFL back.

McGahee will likely continue to be limited this weekend in Houston, but even giving him a few carries helps the Ravens’ cause enormously. Between Rice, McGahee and McClain, the Ravens have three very different, but very capable runners from which to base their ground attack. McGahee is the all-around, load-carrier; Rice is the elusive, outside runner; and McClain is the up-the-gut, bowling ball. With McClain’s added ability to play fullback (his original position), he gives the Ravens plenty of options for mixing their playbook.

The running game is going to be huge part of the Ravens offense this year, which is no surprise. But the more successful they can be on the ground, the less pressure is put on rookie Joe Flacco and the more successful they can be at controlling the clock for their defense.

Last week, the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger needed only 18 pass attempts in their effort at dismantling the Texans (Big Ben himself only took 14).  On the ground, though, the Steelers’ two primary backs carried the ball 35 times for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

The Texans front seven are pass rushing specialists. They are weakest against the run. Between the addition of McGahee and the quality mixed-attack of Rice and McClain, the Ravens should be in good shape come Sunday. Because of the split carries, we still may not see a single back reach 100 yards. But the key to the game, will be getting the entire unit close to the 200 mark again, thereby keeping Joe Flacco and the pass attack out of the spotlight.

It can be a difficult task deciding what kind of grade to give each position. Especially when the scoreboard seems to imply a rather close game. Yesterday’s game wasn’t that close however. While Sports Illustrated’s Michael Lombardi gives Flacco a ‘C’ and Harbaugh ‘B’, I gave them both higher grades.

Quarterback: B
Joe Flacco managed the game well, and played within himself. For a rookie starting in his first game, Flacco was cool, calm and collected through the game. All traits that have been missing from the Ravens offense for quite some time. He made a few rookie mistakes, and threw some balls just short. While his passer rating was in the low-60’s, he ran for a touchdown and was betrayed often by his receivers.

Running Backs: B+
The combination of Le’Ron McClain and Ray Rice made the abscene of veteran starter Willis McGahee a distant memory. Both backs ran hard and found holes. The contribution of Lorenzo Neal was also exciting to watch. This was an ‘A’ performance, but Rice coughed up the ball that resulted in a Bengals touchdown, and also dropped a pass.

Receivers: C
The receivers raked up a lot of rushing yards, but the constent drops were a major disappointment. Todd Heap dropped a few catchable passes, as the rookie QB took only a few shots down the field.

Offensive Line: A
Where did this line come from? The offensive line protected their quarterback, and gave him ample opportunity to make his reads and throw. They completly shut down any defensive attack the Bengals had and opened up running lanes for their running backs.

Defense: A
The Ravens shut down the high-powered offense of Cincinnati by playing smash mouth football. The defensive line dominated the Bengals’ running game, while linebackers reinforced the attack. The secondary held up so well, that Chad Johnson Ocho Cinco and TJ Houshmandzadeh were complete non-factors, sans one drive.

Special Teams: C
Yamon Figurs’ ran for a touchdown, but it was called by because of a penalty. A wasted effort that could have demoralized the Bengals for good. Matt Stover badly missed a 47-yard field goal. It wasn’t even close, but it was very ugly. The Bengals had better-than-normal field position throughout the game, and espesically in the first half. Better teams will make the Ravens pay for that kind of position.

Coaching: A
Reversing the reversing, and an even-handed attack of running the ball and throwing the ball, John Harbaugh, Cam Cameron and Rex Ryan managed a heck of a game.

How would you rank the Ravens?

Alright folks, I’m as happy as any of you that the Ravens won this first game and did so in fairly strong fashion - the defense was superb and the offense did its job.

But I think we need to have a serious talk (everyone: “Okay, Dad”) about some of what we saw yesterday. Specifically: this offense was nothing to write home about for the majority of the game. Let’s take a step back… “real offense” is not really what we saw during that game. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know that Cam Cameron’s real first name is Malcolm?

Did you know that I have an unhealthy love for really horrible plays-on-words?

Sources close to the Ravens are reporting that Cam Cameron, former Head Coach of the Miami Dolphins and offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers, will be joining John Harbaugh’s staff as the team’s offensive coordinator. The move is promising, especially for fans looking for that “total overhaul” of the Ravens’ broken system.

Read the rest of this entry »