Dorota

I think it's exactly his propensity for injuries that keeps him off the field for a lot of the time. Otherwise it's hard to explain, because when he lines up inside the white lines he looks like a highlight reel. He's smart, making good decisions, he has good hands and he's tough to bring down. What is the status on him now that he walked off field late in the game?

THAT was a good game to watch! Both our rookie TEs looked very good, making catches in traffic when we needed them to. Campanaro also looks terrific and seems to make good decisions so I want to see more of him. He didn't get seriously injured, did he? Just bashed up I hope. Jimmy Smith was clutch, both in passing and in run plays and Webb looked good too, despite the touchdown. He looked like Spider Man there Seems being called Buck goes a long way - especially in the first half I saw Daryl Smith all over the place at the right time and with key tackles and Buck Allen giving a piggy back ride for a couple of yards was really neat! Key standout for me though was Za'Darius Smith with his two sacks and fantastic speed, where he can keep up with Vick and at one point managed to get Le'Veon Bell down where I thought he was already in the open and likely to score - after all, he is a speedster. But ZSmith was there. Damn, I am happy today!

THIS FO doesn't accept mediocrity and look to rebuild next year. That is why Ravens are a constant playoff contender. Until off season, nothing matters but the closest game. That is why I have such respect. We are still in the run for playoffs.

What'll be interesting especially is whether Flacco can show how clutch he's been in the past to win games in Q4 and keeping solid cool.

I love Maxx Williams' college highlights and what he has to say when he speaks to the media - how humble and down to Earth and focused he seems. I really hope that goes to show in today's game and that he goes in a rookie and comes out the other end a star. I'm really excited about this game like nothing else this year! 2:25 a.m. alarm clock ready, so that I can watch the game.

Please please please do NOT act like you're going in for an easy win with Roethlisberger out! Underestimating competition is exactly the thing to break a back. Expect that it's the toughest game you will ever play. Work yourselves up. Get the adrenaline running! As to Crabtree, Perriman and others - it's so easy to judge and "I would have done it differently!" in hindsight. Fact is, we never know what happens and every single one of us is wining it, hoping for the best. Some people are better prepared, like Ozzie for example, improving the odds of getting lucky, but when it comes down to it, some things you just cannot predict.

You're right about that. In order for Steve Smith to be consistend all through to January (hopefully) it's Marlon who has to step up most. Or as far as I remember, he plays the same side and that's who he shares snaps with. If Marlon can't do his bit, Steve has to be there all those snaps in order to give Flacco options and that doesn't really help anyone. MB has a good rookie year, with 7 TDs and that really really clutch catch at the back of the endzone playing Minessota in the snow, so he has quite something to come back to.

You can't place all of this on Flacco. He did have drives to help recover at the end of the game, but you could pay him a truck of money and if he has no one to pass to and the run game is plugged, he won't be able to do magic. Apart from that, I feel Q4 is generally Flacco's best and he can do unbelievable stuff there. It's the receivers who really really have to step up. Run their routes well, get separation, catch the ball. Like SSS said, too many guys are just happy to be on the team. That is not enough! You have to be happy to leave your heart, soul and sweat on the field for your team!

I like Williams and am looking forward to see what he can do. Hope to see his first career touchdown Thursday night. And second maybe. Dropping balls is an issue, not just for Marlon Brown. He needs to get his .. together, because he IS 6"4 or something and can be an asset, but can't drop any more balls. However, some of the plays I've seen, once he catches the ball, he fights for yardage, so that's a positive. It's an uphill climb from here - needs to redevelop a trusty relationship with Joe. Gilmore is definitely out?

Glad to hear Marlon Brown is open and asking for the ball. As long as he does that consistently, that will help a lot. Will the play with Yanda lining outside keep working? Teams will get ready for it if they see it often.

That's the only thing I'm worried about - hope he's good to go Thursday and not inactive due to injury. I have faith in Maxx Williams turning into everything that's been advertised, but at this point in time, Gilmore is the best suited for what we expect to see playing Steelers. He's a punisher and I like that! Since Ravens don't really have anyone to go deep right now, we have to be able to get yards by ramming through a bunch of people and Gilmore has what it takes.

Maxx Williams will pan out nicely eventually, he's on the right path. Gilmore already has and hopefully, we'll see him play against the Steelers, he has the right kind of attitude for the match-up. Though he hasn't shined this season, Marlon Brown ain't a lost cause, give him more snaps, let us see whether he can capitalize on that.

That's true, except, doing so right at the start leaves Ravens very little margin for error down the line. If we won every single game from now on, which is highly unlikely the way things are going, we would be 13-3, which is pretty safe. However, we still play Steelers twice, Cinci away, Browns twice (they can suck against anyone else, but they always bring their best game to games against Baltimore) and some other teams too, not all of whom are easy prey. Ravens need to do a 180 right now, and I'm not sure how much can change on a short week. Go hard or go home.

Out of all the rants on here, this is the one that I can best identify with. No point pointing fingers at Perriman, you can't predict an injury and he can't make it magically better, even though I'm sure he'd want to. Oh, how I do miss Jacoby Jones! Even for the special teams.

Looks bad, but if Ravens can figure things out, there's still a way out of this mess. I just hope what Steve Smith does on the field is infectious. But Kraft talking about karma... that just makes me mad. I wish that football karma smites him like a ton of bricks. Seriously, is he saying Ravens starting badly is karma for telling on his team that they're cheating? Unreal!

Bengals might not be a must-win mathematically, but on a psychology level, they are. If Ravens lose three consecutive regular season games after they have lost three pre-season games, it doesn't bode well to how this sort of thing messes with players' psyche. I never lose faith, I know Ravens can fight for it, but it really is a must win.

Ifs and almosts don't count. What's more, it's painful and useless to dwell on them. I appreciate pointing out the finer points of the game, maybe something to look out for in the future, but the ifs and almosts don't help. Moving on. Bengals next! As long as the almosts turn into successes, we'll be fine.

One of the important qualities in a football player is to be able to forget the last play, last quarter, last game... If you messed up, don't dwell, there's the next snap ahead. Nothing but that one play. Don't think too far ahead... If you're in defense, you still want the mentality of not only 4-and-out, but that it's your ball! You want it. Go get it. Catch an interception. Force a fumble. Recover the ball. And on offense, remember who you are! You are Ravens. It doesn't matter that you're offense, you want to punish. Is there no gap? Whatever, just bruise the D and ram the player ahead... like what Crockett Gilmore showed with his TD, taking himself, the ball and whole of Raiders defense hanging off him into the end zone.

It does suck to be a Raiders fan, no one takes them very seriously, although, no one can accuse them of being bandwaggoners However (and I did say so), Raiders played to earn the win. Derek Carr was on fire, he releases the ball real quick, adding to why he wasn't sacked and he has a pair of solid receivers that were clutch. Despite the fact that Ravens expected them to play without their starting safeties, it was rather difficult to connect with our receivers, because Raiders had good coverage. I don't think Ravens are falling apart. There were aspects of the game that were positive for us. Raiders simply outplayed us. They have drafted well the last two years and whoever's in charge has been making a change to the better. I see no reason why we shouldn't beat Cinci. And Pittsburgh. Let's go Ravens!

What use would a gameplan be if it was published even before the game? That would completely defy the purpose of making a gameplan in the first place.

There'll be Babin. If he can keep up to his pass-rushing reputation, then they'll have to account for him too and it will free up the other pass rusher. So either him or Doom will be getting through. No one to replace Suggs in how versatile and play-smart he is, but Babin is help.

Oh and don't go all tragic on Sizzle. He never said he wanted to leave, in fact we know he wants to retire a Raven. All he is saying is that he is determined to play, no matter what and that he isn't retiring just yet. As long as Ravens want him, he'll be here. After all, he restructured his contract, taking less money, only to help Ravens set a winning roster. Who does that? Only people loyal to a team.

I don't know what team Cincinnati played a week ago, I didn't see the highlights, but the reason that we didn't get any sacks on Carr wasn't necessarily a major defense issue as much as the guy gets rid of the ball faster than most QBs. His line held solid and the catches by Cooper and Crabtree especially were clutch. Honestly, Ravens lost last night to a team that played solid, not to a loser team like everyone expected. I wouldn't be so doom and gloom about things anyway. We acquired Babin, who didn't dress up last night, but will be there for pass rush for other games. I really liked what I saw from Lardarius Webb, those tackles looked like they hurt! And his locker room reaction to media shows he's got the fight in him. Towards the end of the game, in the final seconds, I missed a former WR - Jacoby Jones for a miracle return and then Perriman to be able to get separation for the Hail Mary that ultimately didn't work. Offense needs to step up some, but there were positive things to look at. Like the yardage on Steve Smith Sr and Aiken's ability to redeem himself after the fumble with some clutch catches, and Crockett Gilmore, who I had on the trading block start of yesterday and deleted the request before even the second touchdown, because what he did there was impressive. Oh, and one more thing. Ravens are perfectly able to lose to a team with a losing record and the next week beat out a Super Bowl contender, so as long as they keep their heads up, I wouldn't be too worried. Win all of the home games, win some away games and we have a good chance.

In those last couple of seconds, there were two receivers I really missed. One we have on the roster and one we no longer do. First was Jacoby Jones, the miracle return man. Second was Breshad Perriman, because that's where ultimate speed was needed. Tough loss, though, must say, Raiders earned it. They played really well. On a positive note, I really liked Webb's tackling. He gave me a scare going off for a check after one of them, but boy, did he look scary with the tackles I remember! I'm off to bed upset by a second consecutive loss, but also optimistic that we can win. We didn't look stunning, but we didn't look bad at all.