kbman

I should have known better than to wade into the cesspool of comments here. Lot's of <removed>with opinions.

Yes, we were SO much better with Kyle Boller, Elvis Grbac, Stoney Case, Scott Mitchell, Troy Smith, Anthony Wright, Jeff Blake, Chris Redman, etc. Joe played a good game today. You want he should go out and catch the ball after he passes it?

The playoffs begin tomorrow. Can the Ravens go 6-0 to end the season? This late in the season, if they can't beat the Steelers tomorrow then they likely wouldn't have gone far in the playoffs anyway. If they can, well, the sky's the limit.

The Ravens live or die on the strength of their line play on both sides of the ball. That was the most surprising aspect of the game against the Patriots, they were beating us on the line both ways.

"... but put up 27 points against the Philadelphia Eagles, 23 versus the New England Patriots and 28 against the Dolphins in the past three weeks." It was 38 against the Dolphins.

Yes, though I must say, watching Jerraud Powers tackle Big Ben is probably more entertaining :-)

Sure!!! I'll take the opinion of some anonymous guy on the internet over PFF's grading ANY day!

Two horrible calls made a big difference in the game, both extending Eagles' drives. Both were instances of Zach Ertz running downfield and engaging our linebacker as though blocking them, with them being subsequently called for illegal contact. The scoring drive at the end would have possibly played out significantly different without this bogus call against Mosley by the stripes.

Yes, I noticed that too. Wallace should have caught that ball instead of letting it flush through his arms to the defender. Very frustrating game to watch.

I posted this last night at NFL.com under the Ravens-Patriots game discussion ... On December 16, 2012 at around 3:00PM EST, Joe Flacco lay on the ground in Baltimore. There was blood trickling onto the Ravens goal line from a cut on Flacco's face. One of the cleats from the Bronco's Chris Harris had caught him as he dove, trying to prevent Harris from scoring on a 98 yard pick 6. Despite being partially blocked near the 50 yard line, Flacco had continued to chase Harris, and almost caught him. His chase was likely as much in frustration as in desperation. The Ravens had entered December 9-2 and on a four game winning streak which included tough road wins in Pittsburgh and San Diego. They appeared to have their home game with the Steelers in hand when arch-nemesis James Harrison hit Flacco from the blind side and stripped the ball, leading to the deciding TD. This was followed by a close loss to the Redskins in Washington, and now a blowout loss in progress to the playoff-bound Broncos. The Ravens once-promising season appeared to be going down the tubes in a hurry. And then a miracle happened. OK, the miracle was a few weeks later, after the Ravens had rebounded against the defending world champion Giants to get into the playoffs, then defeated the wild card Colts at home. They were again playing the Broncos, this time in Denver, and it appeared that the Broncos had the game in hand. They were up 35-28 with under a minute left and the Ravens were facing 3rd and 3 at their own 30 yard line. That's when Flacco unleashed a pass that traveled 60 yards in the air to hit Jacoby Jones with the game tying TD. The Ravens went on to win the Super Bowl, and in the process Joe Flacco tied Joe Montana for the most post-season TD's without an interception. Two years later in the divisional championship game, Flacco matched Brady TD for TD, twice taking 14 point leads in Foxboro. But the Ravens eventually fell victim to the Pats as their defensive secondary wasn't up to the task of covering the Patriots receivers. This year is shaping up similarly to 2012. The Ravens started 3-0, but then went 0-for-October, losing four games in a row to the Raiders, Redskins, Giants, and (ugh) Jets. They were all close games, and there were serious injury problems throughout that time, but regardless of that, the Ravens entered November 3-4, lucky that the rest of the AFC North was faring just as badly or worse. Since then they have gone 4-1 with that one loss being to the Cowboys in Dallas. They have also gotten healthy. And if they can remain without significant injuries, their chances at taking it all again are far better than their 7-5 record might suggest. After that loss to the Pats in the 2014 playoffs, the Ravens were predicted by many to win the SB in 2015. That was before a raft of injuries hit the team, eventually leaving half the opening day starters on IR, with other key injuries as well, including first round draft pick Brashad Perriman who never played a snap in 2015. Their season of frustration was made all the worse when, in the same game, Justin Forsett broke his arm and Joe Flacco went down with torn ACL and MCL in his left knee. They finished 5-11, their first losing season under John Harbaugh. The one bright spot was that they DID get some nifty draft picks - picks which have paid off well. Perhaps the most important have been first round pick Ronnie Stanley at left guard, and fourth round pick Tavon Young at CB. Stanley has lived up to his hype as a quality offensive lineman, and the Ravens four game losing streak just happened to correspond to the four games Stanley missed due to injury. Meanwhile Young has played his way into the starting cornerback spot, winning the job from opening day starter Shareece Wright. The Ravens defensive backfield also has PFF's top rated strong safety, Eric Weddle, and converted CB Ladarius Webb who is rapidly developing into a quality free safety. They are a far stronger unit than the one that Brady picked apart in the 2014 playoffs. Meanwhile, Flacco has better offensive weapons than he has ever enjoyed. Whereas his only deep threat in 2014 was Torrey Smith, he now has Mike Wallace, Brashad Perriman, and Chris Moore who can all burn down the field. He also has big-bodied tight end Darren Waller who has the speed of a wide receiver and the height to be able to go up high in the back of the endzone. The Ravens also have two quality running backs in Terrence West and Kenneth Dixon. Dixon, another fourth round pick, has recovered from the knee injury that kept him from playing the first several games of the season, and is showing the kind of elusiveness that made him the Ravens top running back this preseason. Now that the offensive line has gotten healthy and learned to play as a unit, both the running game and the passing game have improved. If the Pats want to win on Monday they had better be significantly better than they were in 2014, because the Ravens are.

He was back in a series or two after. It was his shoulder that appeared to be injured. Hopefully nothing serious. I agree, he is growing into an exceptional cornerback.

Nevermind, I just saw that he was referring to the Ravens also beating Philly at home ...

"that would push their win total to eight" ??? The Ravens are 6-5, the Dolphins are 7-4 ... I don't like the implications of this typo.

Too late. You already used the "C" word.

And two years ago he was a few trick plays and deflated footballs away from the AFC championship game.

A reminder for those complaining about Joe, his contract, etc. ... 2007 Kyle Boller (8) / Steve McNair (6) / Troy Smith (2) 2006 Steve McNair (16) 2005 Kyle Boller (9) / Anthony Wright (7) 2004 Kyle Boller (16) 2003 Kyle Boller (9) / Anthony Wright (7) 2002 Jeff Blake (10) / Chris Redman (6) 2001 Elvis Grbac (14) / Randall Cunningham (2) 2000 Tony Banks (8) / Trent Dilfer (8) 1999 Tony Banks (10) / Stoney Case (4) / Scott Mitchell (2) 1998 Jim Harbaugh (12) / Eric Zeier (4) 1997 Vinny Testaverde (13) / Eric Zeier (3) 1996 Vinny Testaverde (16) Just two years ago he battled The Great Deflator and his cheating head coach for a chance to go to the AFC championship. Last year is hardly a fair year for comparison purposes considering both his injury, and the triage ward that was the Ravens locker room. Yes, this year has been tough. But much of that can be laid at the feet of the offensive line. They have simply not played at a level that is sufficient for success in the NFL. SIX RUSHING YARDS ... A 49 yard rush called back for holding - and it was a valid flag on Lewis. Zuttah was being blown backwards off the line and twice tripped Flacco because of it. I'm not convinced they can't turn this around. As mentioned elsewhere, they are only a game back in the division. Also, every single game this year was withing their capacity to win. They have decent talent on the squad. But they need to get some key people healthy, and start having some breaks go their way. If either blatant pass interference gets flagged - the one in the endzone at the end of the first half where they grabbed Mike Wallace's arm well before the ball arrived , or the frontal assault on Chris Moore at the end of the game - It's a different ball game. If Jernigan downs the ball for a touchback it's a very different game.

I remember seeing Joe throw the ball at the ground in front of his receiver a few times Sunday. In the process he, A.) avoided a sack; B.) avoided an interception; C.) avoided a reception for a certain loss. This bothers you? After the circus catch he made in game 1, we know that Perriman is capable of catching the ball. Yes, he needs to work on his hands, and also on his field awareness. It is way too early to write him off though.

A reminder for those complaining about Joe, his contract, etc. ... 2007 Kyle Boller (8) / Steve McNair (6) / Troy Smith (2) 2006 Steve McNair (16) 2005 Kyle Boller (9) / Anthony Wright (7) 2004 Kyle Boller (16) 2003 Kyle Boller (9) / Anthony Wright (7) 2002 Jeff Blake (10) / Chris Redman (6) 2001 Elvis Grbac (14) / Randall Cunningham (2) 2000 Tony Banks (8) / Trent Dilfer (8) 1999 Tony Banks (10) / Stoney Case (4) / Scott Mitchell (2) 1998 Jim Harbaugh (12) / Eric Zeier (4) 1997 Vinny Testaverde (13) / Eric Zeier (3) 1996 Vinny Testaverde (16)

That's extremely optimistic opinion. Lets ponder that prediction after they have played at least 8 games. Last year's team had enough talent to have various analysts predict they would go to the SB. After the spate of injuries and one-score losses, they drafted high in the draft and used their picks well. Both Stanley and Lewis look to be the real deal. And if Dixon can return to the kind of production he had prior to his injury, that will represent an upgrade as well. Meanwhile the defense is healthier and faster than last year by far. Last year they had no deep threat. This year they have Wallace, Perriman, and Moore. Last year the back end of the defense was woeful. This year they have Weddell calling the shots and Webb bringing his CB experience to safety. Optimistic? Perhaps. But if last year's opening day team was good enough to have Super Bowl mentions, then I feel that optimism is warranted.

Having watched the Ravens since their first season, I believe that this is the strongest, most balanced team they have ever fielded. If they can avoid significant injuries I see them competing for a first round bye.

I believe that this approach has a lot to do with coach Harbaugh's success over the long term: No comparing discipline for Buck Allen, Timmy Jernigan. "Treat everybody differently, but fairly." This is a lesson all supervisors should learn. It is not appropriate to treat everyone the same because we are all unique individuals, and as such each of responds differently to various forms of correction, punishment, communications, etc. By fitting the course of correction to the individual needing that correction, the coach is able to get the most that his players have to offer. If I screw up and am as a result treated in a way that is fair and that takes into account my personality, talents, strengths and weaknesses, then I will respond in a very positive manner. If, OTOH, I feel that I was treated in an arbitrary or pre-programmed manner, then my attitude may not be as positive.

There is a very successful high school football coach in Arkansas who almost never punts, and almost always attempts an onsides kick after scoring. His name is Kevin Kelly, and his team at Pulaski Academy is 77 - 17 with two state championships. There are some good points of each strategy to consider. More possessions mean more opportunities to score. Not giving up possession when retaining it has a decent chance of success makes sense from that perspective. And regarding the onsides kicks, you're otherwise giving up possession anyway, plus what you trade off in lost field position when it is not successful is the lack of risk of an even longer return.

Yeah, he perfectly timed his offsides you mean. I'm glad they got the play, teams get away with stuff against us all the time. But Asa was quite clearly offsides on that play.