Week three of the preseason is considered the “dress rehearsal” for NFL teams. If Saturday night was the Baltimore Ravens’ dress rehearsal the show should be a good one this season.
Quarterback Joe Flacco and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron didn’t waste any time establishing the fact that the Ravens will be able to pass the ball this year. Flacco was 21-for-34 for 229 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He completed passes to multiple receivers and even was Baltimore’s leading rusher. Flacco’s two touchdowns came to Anquan Boldin and Todd Heap over the middle of the field. In the past two seasons, Flacco may not have thrown it over the middle even with single coverage on the receiver, but he looks much improved in 2010.
Marc Bulger saw limited action, but he did complete four of his five passes. Third quarterback Troy Smith saw the second most action and had his best game of the preseason.Smith threw a touchdown to Marcus Smith in the fourth quarter securing the blowout.
Baltimore’s defense looked fast and didn’t allow a touchdown until the fourth quarter. The Ravens intercepted Eli Manning once on a tipped pass by Dannell Ellerbe that Haruki Nakamura came up with as it was headed towards the ground. They also had three sacks.
The Ravens’ special teams didn’t contribute much in the return game, but their coverage teams were very good. The field goal, kickoffs and extra point tries were all good. Neither kicker again was able to separate himself, but having two solid kickers is better than what the Ravens had last year.
On the downside, Baltimore didn’t come out of this game healthy as they had in their first two games. Donte’ Stallworth has a broken foot and is expected to be out until the Week 8 bye and Mark Clayton left the game with a mild concussion. Due to the injuries, a guy like Marcus Smith or David Reed will have to step up and be productive.
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