Quarterback: A
For weeks, Joe Flacco has managed the offense, and that trend continued against the Texans. The rookie protected the ball, while still taking plenty of shots down the field. All told, Flacco turned in a solid performance with a 118.9 passer rating that included 185 yards and two touchdowns. Flacco is beginning to come into his own at a very important time for the Ravens. Troy Smith also continues to contribute to the team, as he threw for a touchdown.

Offensive line: B-
For the most part, the offensive line protected their quarterback. Although the unit allowed three sacks, they did a great job at opening up running lanes to help sustain drives. The Texans’ star defensive back, Mario Williams, was held in check throughout the game. Penalties continue to plague the line.

Wide receivers: B
Last week, the offense welcomed Mark Clayton to the 2008 season. This week, it was Todd Heap’s turn to be reintroduced to the offense. Heap turned in a two touchdown performance. Yamon Figurs was serviceable in place of Derrick Mason, who suffered a dislocated shoulder early in the game. Despite the injury, Mason caught three passes for 41 yards.

Running backs: B+
Willis McGahee returned to the field after watching rookie Ray Rice trample the Browns last week. McGahee racked up two touchdowns of his own; his best performance of the season.

Defensive Line: A
Haloti Ngata showed sheer dominance throughout the game. From snagging an interception in the red zone, forcing an interception, and nearly blocking a punt, Ngata is having a Pro-Bowl year. The unit also held the Texans’ red zone offense in check, limiting them to just three points from inside the five-yard line.

Linebackers: A
Middle linebacker Ray Lewis hauled in two interceptions that looked like they were intended for him anyway. Lewis finished the game with eight tackles. The unit helped ensure that the running game was taken away from Houston, while limiting the short yardage passes of Texans quarterback Sage Rosenfels. Terrell Suggs was able to pressure Rosenfels throughout the game, and managed a safety early in the game.

Defensive Backs: B-
The secondary did a decent job of containing Texans receiver Andre Johnson, limiting him to 66 yards and no touchdowns. Samari Rolle returned to the field and hauled in an interception of his own. The unit was exploited a couple of times in the game. One of those miscues resulted in a Houston touchdown. Against a better quarterback, the secondary might have had big problems.

Special teams: B
Steve Hauschka announced his arrival to the Ravens squad by sinking a field goal from 54 yards, while punter Sam Koch held the Texans in check. The kickoff coverage was much improved this week. Matt Stover missed a 50-yard field goal, but that is quite a stretch for him anyway.

Coaching: B+
The Ravens clearly executed the game plan they wanted. The offense continues to field a balance attack to keep opposing defenses honest. The defense continues to dominate opposing offenses, while the Ravens offense sustains drives, eating up the clock and actually scoring. Why was Stover sent out to kick a field goal from midfield when  Hauschka already proved he could kick it from further?

The Ravens dominated the Texans today, 41-13, for their fourth straight win and third straight win on the road. That should be the first thought… three road wins? We haven’t seen a team in Baltimore that can win on the road since 2000.

Joe Flacco made great progress as a QB today. With his favorite target going down early he was forced to find other options in the passing game, which lead to Todd Heap finally looking like his old self. Joe stretched the defense with multiple deep throws, one resulting is a TD to WR Yamon Figurs (Congrats to Yamon on his first career receiving TD). Joe has now thrown 6 TD passes in his last four games with no turnovers.

Willis McGahee looked healthy and ran hard the entire game. He went over the 100 yard mark for the second time this season and added two TD runs. And I must add, his new touchdown dance is hilarious.

The Ravens defense was solid through most of the game. The air defense still has some leaks, but they overcame the injuries and picked off Sage Rosenfels four times. Ray Lewis had two interceptions thanks to the great play of NT Haloti Ngata. The return of Samari Rolle was immediately apparent. When Frank Walker, a fomer starter, can be your nickel back, you’ve got some depth. Walker may not be a star, but being able to use him to help Fabian Washington and Rolle is a great advantage to this Ravens defense.

Ngata is probably the Ravens best defensive player. Haloti came up big when he picked off Sage Rosenfels at the goalline which ended a good drive by Houston, he has two interceptions this season (three for his career) which is more than all-pro safety Ed Reed! Ngata has disrupted the QB more times this season than I can count, which has lead to turnovers and missed opportunities for opposing offense. We’ve heard all season about Albert Haynesworth and Shaun Rogers, but there’s no #92 I’d want more on my team right now thatn Ngata.

New kick-off and long field goal specialist Steven Hauschka. If anyone remembers seeing this kid kick in college with NC State, you know the kind of leg he has. I’m going to steal a line I heard on the postgame radio show today, but bringing in Hauschka is bigger than just getting a new leg… it proves that John Harbaugh is learning and, more importantly, willing to learn. Poor special teams play (bad kick offs, bad coverage, refusing to try long field goals) already cost this team a few games (Pittsburgh, Tennessee) and almost cost them a win last week (Cleveland). Kudos to John for making a move.

And let’s just make an overall comment here… The Ravens have now scored 27, 29, 37 and 41 points in their last four games. A lot of help is coming from this defense, but let’s also give credit to an offense that is able to take advantage of a short field and take the points it is given. When was the last time you remember the Ravens scoring more than 25 points in four straight games? Or averaging 33 points per game in a stretch like that? We’re going to have to go look that up, but I can’t remember anytime. Even with those scores, this team is only averaging 21 points per game on the season… which tells you just how poor this offense was for those first five games. Now that the Ravens have both pieces clicking, it’s time for the rest of the league to watch out.

The Ravens lost another close game to another good opponent. Having lost 2 in a row and now sitting at 2-0, their season is on the brink…

Quarterback: D+
Flacco seemed disconnected from the rest of the offense. While he never got flustered, and never got sacked, he was unable to help the offense in any meaningful way on most drives. His turnovers were costly. The question is whether he was being held back or is still having trouble seeing the field. Read the rest of this entry »

What a doozy of a game for the Ravens and Steelers tonight. I’m still wound up and still emotional about it all… it’s been just minutes since the final kick crossed over… So here’s what I see… Read the rest of this entry »

Heading into Sunday, let’s breakdown the fantasy-side of the Ravens-Steelers match-up.

Quarterbacks:

Joe Flacco: Still has yet to throw a touchdown pass and, last week, finally made some mistakes with the football. I know no one owns him, and it should stay that way for now.

Ben Roethlisberger: Big Ben got sacked 9 times last week by Philadelphia. Many believe that number could be reached again Monday against the Ravens. If you league counts sacks, you need to be worried. But worry anyway… without proven runner behind him and given two straight questionable starts by Big Ben, it’s time to sit the guy if you can afford it.

Runningbacks:

Willis McGahee: The latest reports are that he will play. If he plays, you play him. The numbers may not be grand, but he is the most likely way the Ravens will find the endzone and he’ll receive most of the carries for the team.

Le’Ron McClain: McClain will be a part of this offensive package all season. He is a great option as a 3rd back, or even a starting back if you have runners on their bye week. He scored his first two rushing touchdowns last week and against a strong Steelers defense, expect him to continue to get goalline carries. The man is a bowling ball, and dare I say again, Jerome Bettis-esque.

Rashard Mendenhall: Perhaps worthy of a spot start in the absence of Parker, but only as a 3rd back. Against a stout Ravens D, he’s hardly worth picking up unless no other option presents itself.

Wide Outs / Tight Ends:

Hines Ward: Has been productive so far this season but has suffered in recent weeks as Big Ben and Parker have struggled. Still worth a start. Always worth a start.

Derrick Mason: Similar to Ward, always worth the start if you have him. He will see the ball and catch the ball and, maybe, will find the endzone. Start him.

Todd Hap: Still struggling, but still a better option than most other tight ends. Heap is going to be a key player in this game and will get frequent looks from Flacco. Start him.

Heath  Miller: He’s yet to be a threat this season, but is still worth the start over many other options. He’s been a poison, much like Ward, to this Ravens defense.

Defenses:

Ravens: They have quickly proven themselves to be the class of the NFL again. The run-stopping power is there and is helping to control the passing game. The pass rush has been brutal, ringing up sacks and helping the secondary get to the ball. Against a weak offensive line and a defeated run game, they deserve the start.

Steelers: At home, they are always tough. The run defense is stout, but is missing one of its biggest contributors in Casey Hampton. Still, the points will come from their ability to control Joe Flacco. At home, with a healthy Troy Polamalu, they might create some fireworks. If you have them, they are probably a good bet to start. It’s not like this will be a high scoring affair…

In addition to our weekly Fantasy Reports, which can be read at www.extremeravens.com or via the message boards, OneWinningDrive is going to be giving a little fantasy breakdown for the Ravens’ game each week. Between predictions and fantasy analysis, it’s all good…

Read the rest of this entry »

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?

Lost in Baltimore’s early off-season chatter about coaches and coordinators is perhaps an even larger issue… the guys who actually play the game. Rough estimates at this time, from a variety of sources, say that the Ravens will be somewhere between 5 and 7 million dollars below the salary cap heading into the off-season - and that’s with just 42 players signed.

So who stays and who goes in the days before (and after) draft day? Read the rest of this entry »