Following two devastating losses in consecutive weeks - in two games the Ravens certainly feel like they should have won - things get no easier as the team hits the road for five of its next six games. The first of these games is against the Colts, and no reference to where they used to play or how Baltimore fans feel about the game is necessary.

Lucky for the Ravens, the Colts might be one of the weaker teams they face in this dreaded six game stretch. At 2-2, the Colts have underperformed so far this season and were only able to squeak out a win against Houston last week thanks to an astonishing 21-point surge in the final four minutes of the game. Once able to score at will against opponents, the Colts’ offense appear to be missing something this year. All the weapons are there, but the functionality is not. Similarly, a strong defense from past seasons is struggling this year to contain the run.

Heading into Sunday, here are two key match-ups to keep an eye on … 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 The Browns Board. Things seem to be imploding in the Dawg Pound as fans call for the heads of quarterback Derek Anderson, head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage. Interestingly enough, two of those people are former Ravens employees. So, what’s Art Modell have to do with it? Read on…

Read the rest of this entry »

Phew…. what a game that was!!! The atmosphere in the stadium was electric throughout… the only lag coming in the mid-second quarter, but quickly rejuvenated by a stunning start to the 3rd. Here’s what I see right off the bat…

• Joe Flacco made a few mistakes… but he never lost his confidence and he rebounded by making some pretty impressive plays. Honestly, the second interception should hardly count against his record… it was a known risk going into the gadget play of that type. The first was just a bad pass. He appeared to miss some open receivers for big games, settling for lesser gains instead, but he still had the offense moving.

• Welcome back to Willis McGahee… it was a fine effort by Willis. But the standout was again Le’Ron McClain. The Browns, like the Bengals, simply did not know how to handle the big bowling ball of a mixed-back. My only wish is that we had seen more of Ray Rice. When he came in, especially with McClain in front, you could see the Browns hurting.
• Have to take a moment to think about Dawan Landry. So far all news has been good, but still a scary sight. His injury clearly shook this defense and inspired Ray Lewis… which deserves a bullet of his own.
• Ray was a MAD MAN in the 3rd quarter. Whatever happened in that lockerroom at halftime must have been special. The hit he put on Kellen Winslow set the tone for the second half… and you could see that Anderson, Winslow, and every other receiver on the Browns was worried about what Ray and that D would do.
• We might have an ‘aging secondary,’ but they showed their quick feet tonight. Reed and Rolle had nice little picks, not to mention McAlister’s. And the unit played well overall. No disrespect meant to the injured Landry, but this defense was something to see when Jim Leonhard got in the secondary…
• Leonhard also deserves some loving for his strong game as a returner. He was hurt by a few penalties on good returns, but he sure made believers out of a number of fans today with his returns. In the preseason he looked slow, especially compared to Yamon Figurs, but he seems to have figured something out since then.
• My only concern is Harbaugh’s use of Matt Stover. We simply can’t use him in the 45-50 range, unless absolutely necessary. This team has shown it’s ability to make some great 4th down conversions (a welcome surprise, really), but let’s not stretch Matt … as much as we love him.

Finally, we’ve got to take a minute and give some credit to this coaching staff again. Offensively, Cam Cameron had the Browns on their toes… even if it wasn’t always working. The unit is coming together. The running game is solid, the use of play-action is inspiring, and the misdirection is just plain pretty. Defensively, after a slow start Rex had these guys clicking on all cylinders again and executing a great game plan that neutralized a dangerous passing game. And overall, the team did what it will need to do each week… control the ball, control the clock, and give that defense the chance to make big plays.

Baltimore Ravens 28, Cleveland Browns 10.

It was, oh, 8 months ago that we made a post here called “Fill in the Blank.” The task: who are the team’s missing links? So let’s see what we’ve got here now…

Read the rest of this entry »