What a struggle that was for the Ravens (5-2). Baltimore fell behind 24-3 in the second quarter before outscoring Arizona (1-6) 27-3 the rest of the way.
Joe Flacco started slowly, but once he was put in the shotgun during the third quarter, he got hot. Flacco threw to receiver Anquan Boldin several times and moved the ball down the field.
Read More→
The Ravens (4-2) had all the advantages that you could think about coming in to their Monday night game against the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5), losing 12-7.
Did Joe Flacco play well in the loss? Absolutely not. Was it all his fault? Nope, I don’t think so at all.
Baltimore’s patchwork offensive line didn’t do a good job of protecting Flacco, forcing the fourth-year quarterback to scramble and misfire on multiple occasions.
Read More→
The Ravens (4-1) beat up the Houston Texans (3-3) in the first and fourth quarters en route to a 29-14 victory to keep them in first place in the AFC North.
Quarterback Joe Flacco passed for 305 yards, completing 20 of his 33 passes with an interception and a rushing touchdown. Flacco stood in the face of a fierce rush and played a solid game.
Read More→
The Ravens (1-0) beat the Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1) in every facet of the game en route to a 35-7 victory. Baltimore’s defense forced seven turnovers, including three interceptions of Ben Roethlisberger. All the credit shouldn’t go to the defense, though.
Joe Flacco and the offense raced out to a 7-0 lead on three plays on the first drive of the game. Ray Rice started things off with a 36-yard run through the Steelers’ defense. Two plays later, Flacco hit Anquan Boldin with a 27-yard pass for a touchdown.
Read More→
In the second round of the 2011 NFL draft, the Baltimore Ravens selected Torrey Smith from the University of Maryland. I’m especially familiar with this kid. Smith had a great career at Maryland, graduated and decided to leave school with a year of eligibility remaining.
Smith is the big, fast presence the Ravens have badly needed for years from an outside receiver. Donte’ Stallworth was expected to be used in that role last season, but broke his foot in the preseason and never got himself going with the offense.
The new wide receiver will be to the Ravens what Mike Wallace is to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a downfield threat.
I’m looking forward to watching Smith play opposite Anquan Boldin. Derrick Mason could be the slot receiver for Baltimore in 2011.
After a promising start, the Ravens (13-5) had a meltdown leading to a 31-24 loss to the arch rival Pittsburgh Steelers (13-4). Baltimore built a 21-7 halftime lead off of two Pittsburgh turnovers and an offense that did just enough.
Sure the Pittsburgh defense is a standout defense, but they should be able to move the ball better than they did in the second half. Part of the issue on offense for Baltimore was their turnovers. The Ravens turned the ball over in the third quarter three times. One of those turnovers was running back Ray Rice’s first fumble of the season.
Rice’s fumble shifted momentum for the entire game. Pittsburgh capitalized on the fumble for a touchdown making the score 21-14.
Read More→
The Ravens will be playing their second game in six days on Saturday when they take on the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only are the Steelers their division rival, they’re Baltimore’s arch-rival. Pittsburgh has knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs two times in Baltimore’s history, including the AFC Championship game two seasons ago. I decided, especially since the games have been so close this season, each team has scored 27 points, to look at which team has the advantage on a positional basis.
Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger v. Joe Flacco
This is Pittsburgh’s biggest advantage. Roethlisberger is a two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback while Flacco has been able to lead the Ravens to the playoffs in his first three seasons, but never able to get Baltimore over the hump. Flacco has made very good strides this season, but he’s still not at Roethlisberger’s level.
Running Backs: Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain v. Rashard Mendenhall, Mewelde Moore and Isaac Redman
Advantage Ravens. Rice isn’t as physical a back as Mendenhall, but his all-around game is better than the Steeler rusher. McGahee is a physical back that is a good change-of-pace from Rice. Moore serves the same purpose so this matchup is a wash. McClain is the superior fullback to Redman. Although Redman got in the end zone to beat the Ravens in December, McClain is a two-time Pro Bowler that makes the Ravens’ run game tick.
Wide Receiver: Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason and extras v. Hines Ward, Mike Wallace and extras
Just about even. Boldin and Mason are outstanding possession receivers, as is Ward. The difference maker here is Wallace. Wallace is extremely fast and can get up the field in a hurry if the defense doesn’t keep an eye on him. However, each team uses multiple receiver sets and that’s where Baltimore has the advantage. T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Donte’ Stallworth, when he’s used, are superior to Emmanuel Sanders and Antwaan Randle-El because they are they each have the ability to beat nickel and dime defensive backs while Randle-El has lost some of his quickness and Sanders is a rookie. This is the key matchup to watch if the Ravens, or Steelers, are going to win Saturday.
Tight End: Todd Heap v. Heath Miller
Heap has developed into a weapon for Baltimore this season. Aside from his hamstring pull that he suffered, coincidentally, in the last Pittsburgh game, Heap has been mostly healthy. In Sunday’s playoff game, the tight end caught 10 passes for 108 yards. Miller is a solid player, but he isn’t on the same level as Heap, at least right now. Slight advantage for the Ravens.
Offensive line:
Here’s the biggest question for both teams. Neither offensive line has played particularly well this season so this is the area to watch. Both units will step up their game against their biggest rival so it will be interesting to watch. No advantage here.
Defensive line:
The defensive lines, especially in a 3-4 base defense, are the heart of the defense. Brett Keisel is better than Cory Redding. Casey Hampton is better than Kelly Gregg. The large, no pun intended, on the lines is Haloti Ngata against Ziggy Hood. Ngata has been playing at an All-Pro level this season while Hood is a second-year veteran. Look for both defensive lines to dominate this game.
Outside Linebacker: Terrell Suggs and Jarret Johnson v. James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley
Suggs and Harrison are even. There’s no need to write about them except to say that they’re both excellent linebackers which great pass rush skills. The difference here is Woodley’s ability to rush the passer against Johnson’s ability to be a well-rounded linebacker. Woodley has the ability to bull rush tackles and force quick throws out of the quarterback, while Johnson can cover tight ends and running backs in addition to getting a pass rush when he needs to. Due to Woodley’s ability, the Steelers get the slight nod here.
Inside Linebacker: Ray Lewis and Jameel McClain v. James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons
Lewis is better than Farrior by virtue of him being a Hall of Fame player. Lewis has lost a step in pass coverage, however. Timmons is better than McClain, Dannell Ellerbe or Tavares Gooden. Advantage Steelers.
Safety: Dawan Landry and Ed Reed v. Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark
The great debate is Reed against Polamalu, but that’s an incomparable debate because they play different positions. To compare these units let’s match Landry with Polamalu. I think everyone would agree, although Landry is a solid player, Polamalu is the superior strong safety. Same thing at free safety. Clark is a good, hard-hitting player, but he’s not Reed and doesn’t have his playmaking ability. No advantage.
Cornerbacks: Josh Wilson and Chris Carr v. Ike Taylor and Bryant McFadden
Neither team is particularly strong in this area. Wilson has shored up the Baltimore secondary and Carr has played well most of the year, but they aren’t what would be deemed cover corners. Taylor and McFadden have both shown flashes of being top corners, but haven’t been good enough to give the Steelers a decisive advantage. In this area, both teams are even.
Special Teams: Billy Cundiff and Sam Koch v. Shaun Suisham and Jeremy Kapinos
Cundiff is having a Pro Bowl season kicking for the Ravens. Koch is nothing short of a weapon flipping the field on almost every occasion. Suisham came to Pittsburgh in the middle of the season and has been good, but he hasn’t been Cundiff. Kapinos came to Pittsburgh late in the year after Daniel Sepulveda tore a knee ligament in the second Ravens game. Advantage Ravens.
Tell me what you think. Which team has an advantage at each position?
After a slow, but dominant start, the Ravens asserted themselves against the Kansas City Chiefs en route to a 30-7 victory Sunday afternoon.
On the opening drive of the game, the Ravens marched most of the field before settling for a Billy Cundiff field goal. Baltimore’s next drive ended when quarterback Joe Flacco fumbled and Kansas City recovered.
Kansas City’s fifth play from scrimmage provided the Chiefs with their only score. Running back Jamaal Charles, who averaged 6.38 yards per carry during the regular season, broke off a 41-yard run to put the Chiefs up 7-3.
Read More→
The Ravens open the playoffs for the third consecutive in someone else’s home stadium. This time, it will be at Arrowhead Stadium against the upstart Kansas City Chiefs.
Baltimore is a seasoned team that’s played their last five playoff games on the road, going 3-2. Quarterback Joe Flacco and the offense haven’t looked good in recent weeks, but a strong ground game against the Chiefs could get them rolling Sunday afternoon. Flacco will also look to hit tight end Todd Heap and receiver Anquan Boldin over the middle against a young Kansas City secondary.
The Baltimore defense’s key to the game will be to slow down the Chiefs running game. Kansas City has a two-headed monster at running back with Jamaal Charles, who averaged nearly 6.4 yards per carry, and veteran Thomas Jones. If the run game is slowed down, Matt Cassel could struggle against safety Ed Reed and the Baltimore defense.
In the end, the experience the Ravens have in the playoffs will be too much for Kansas City to handle. The Ravens win this one 21-17.
It’s that time of year when we talk about complex playoff scenarios and which players aren’t too banged up to play in their team’s games. The former is what the Ravens are circling.
For Baltimore it’s a very simple scenario, win and they’re in the playoffs. If they lose, it will further cloud the playoff picture and put a shot at the AFC North title and a bye out of reach.
Sunday afternoon’s game against the Browns, in Cleveland, will have a lot of meaning for the Ravens. On the positive side, Baltimore played their best game of the season last Sunday against the Saints. The defense was aggressive and kept pressure on the quarterback. If they are able to do that against the Browns, it could be a very long day for the Cleveland offense.
Read More→