Week 1 : Baltimore Ravens At Cincinnati Bengals

[Agent Orange]

We outplayed the bengals and gave them the game...The refs helped them out with that interference call on heap...Then we have the ball 2nd and goal at the 2 yard line, what do we do...we throw the ball twice with boller...horrible play calling at the end of the game... Also ther was a 3rd and 1 with about 8 mins to go and we had the lead...what do we do we throw a pick that is returned into the redzone and leads to a touchdown...run the damn ball and trust our D...and give the playcalling to Neuheisel... on a good note our schedule is very favorable heading in to the bye week in week 8...throw this game away and come back next week at home...

Yes you probably go 4-0 the next four weeks.

[Linebackers R Us]

This is my first post but I find that I should place some input here. One Ray Lewis had one of the guttiest performances I have ever seen if he really has torn his triceps. Two he has never had this injury before to my knowledge, he has however had a dislocated elbow that required surgery and a seperated shoulder that he played with for part of a season before getting surgery. Third I would like to clarify what defensive holding is, and grabbing the jersey of an opponent 10 yards down the feild is defensive holding therefore Heap and the Bengal defender were both guilty of a penalty so the play should have either been unpenalized or it both parties should have been flagged. Poor officiating either way. (as was the no flag when TJ pushed Ivy down after a play near the sideline). My fourth point is that four straight runs should be more than enough to get the touchdown with Willis at the end of the game, particularly against a poor tackling Bengals defense (No they did not tackle that well or hit harder than the Ravens despite what the commentators said).

Just my views on the game. Hope Ray is ok, I personally think we will see him in action next week. Go Ravens!

[ATL HO]

Hello all fellow Ravens fans, im a displaced raven fan in georgia. First of all, there is NO WAY our offense can turn the ball over liek they did today again. It was murphys law tonight, when thigns are going bad..they get worse. ha. Cincinnati got lucky to win this ball game after the way we played. But hey, ITS ONLY THE FIRST WEEK! ha. do you guys remember way back when, in the 2003 season the pats got blown out on the road 31-0 at buffalo? how they started 2-2 after losing to the fun 'n gun spurrier coached 'skins? Oh yah, they jsut went 14-2 and won the super bowl. how the steelers in '05 were 7-5 on the outsdie lookin in? oh yeah, they won too! how the colts had no run D then win the super bowl? This game was VERY winnable, that part is frustrating, but things happen. Billick opened up the playbook tonight, thrwing downfield more than ive ever seen before, and mcgahee adds so much to the offense. mcgahee, anderson, and musa. we ahve a three headed attack at running back. demetrius williams is going to be a stud this year. u know our D is solid. The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. ray ray's injury worries me way. torn triceps? if it requires surgery hes done for the year. but the fact that he played with it i dont thik its that bad. at least i hope not. We got an easy schedule coming up. nfc west, here we come! ha. Playing them early on will give mcnair time to heal, and our offense more time to gel. Our next toughest game is at pitt, but after a bye. and u know our record after bye weeks. as for the whole national stage curse, well sooner or later it has to end. Better in the playoffs then now i say. adn i dont blame billick for that 3rd and 1 call. it was great call. very poorly executed obviously, but a great call. forgot who the receiver was, but he was open. at the end of the game, well the refs cost us one adn heap dropped the other one straight up. superbowl teams are built in november and december, not in september. i wouldnt be surprised if we go out on sunday and tattoo the jets 40-0.

[MagicianCamille]

We gave up SIX turnovers and still made it a thriller of a game that was greatly affected by a call. That's what we need to take from this game.

Just fix the turnovers and we can do as well as we did last season, if not better.

[Slick]

6 turnovers, horrible playcalling, and terrible officiating...and the Ravens still took the Bengals to the wire. I'm pissed as hell but strangely optimistic.

We lost what, 4 turnovers in the first quarter alone? AND our defense STILL managed to hold them to a field goal w/ a block e.p.

then our offense manages to create a comeback scenario and almost succeeds in at the very least taking it into overtime....

and then the refs blow it.

id say thats not a completely bad start. there were mistakes that no veteran should make (at least that much sheesh) but its not halfway into the season either. we have plenty of opportunities to shrug off the monday night blues so lets get excited for our next opponent and what the Ravens are gonna do to them!

[ragnorok99]

1 bad call and it's "horrible officiating"?

"terrible" actually.

Can't wait for Nov. 11th, and until then the Ravens have a few teams they can feast on.

[Who-Dey]

"terrible" actually.

Can't wait for Nov. 11th, and until then the Ravens have a few teams they can feast on.

You guys are pathetic. Nov. 11th will be an even greater beat down. Your offense is totally inept. Your defense is good, but not good enough to carry the offense. PUT TROY SMITH IN THE GAME. You might stand a chance. This team reminds me of the 2006 Steelers.

[carltonbanks23]

Sorry but he pushed off his left shoulder - It will draw a flag every time. Hope Ray is OK

I actually MADE an account just to respond to this RIDICULOUS statement. Not an announcer in the booth nor a single expert/media personality reporting today would agree with you Elad. There is an article on sportline about how the refs stole the game. Michael Wilbon in his Post column today talks about the horrible officiating. EVERYONE on ESPN acknowledged the bad call.

Rulebook says about offensive PI:

( Initiating contact with a defender by shoving or pushing off thus creating a separation in an attempt to catch a pass.

The contact was in no way INITIATED by Heap. Then, not only does Heap not push, but they are equally seperated before and after the defender-initiated contact.

Elad, you simply don't understand what you're talking about. The defender was holding Heap's jersey, much closer to defensive pass interference. So even if you think Heap pushed off (which he clearly didn't and got NO advantage from it) both offensive and defensive pass interference would have evened out and it would have been a touchdown.

Watch the replay again. No push. Heap's jersey is clearly being held. The ref who throws the flag is behind the defender and never could have clearly seen the interference by the defender.

Either way we didn't play like division champions and the horrible call wasn't the only reason we lost. We'll rebound as long as injuries don't get the best of us. Are we looking at Kyle Boller for the next few weeks?

[ragnorok99]

You guys are pathetic. Nov. 11th will be an even greater beat down. Your offense is totally inept. Your defense is good, but not good enough to carry the offense. PUT TROY SMITH IN THE GAME. You might stand a chance. This team reminds me of the 2006 Steelers.

Last night should have been a complete blowout, so I'm really not sure why certain Bengals fans are being so arrogant. Nov. 11th will be interesting.

Trash talk aside, this should be an exciting season in the North.

[pkmonkey]

Game hurt badly... like a tease...

Officiating was poor, passed way too much particularly in the 4th quarter both while nursing a 20-19 league and obviously at the end of the game. If Billick wanted to pass so badly would've like to have seen play action in most of those situations instead of lining up Shotgun so many times. Kinda felt like the Colts game where we made mistake after mistake but we still had a chance in the end.

Chad Johnson's celebration was a little weak. Entertaining guy but built it up way too much with that speech...

If Boller can stop throwing while fading away he'll do fine. Proud of him for that 4th down throw... Anyone else think Wilbon was a little harsh on Boller?

[Elad]

I actually MADE an account just to respond to this RIDICULOUS statement. Not an announcer in the booth nor a single expert/media personality reporting today would agree with you Elad. There is an article on sportline about how the refs stole the game. Michael Wilbon in his Post column today talks about the horrible officiating. EVERYONE on ESPN acknowledged the bad call.

Rulebook says about offensive PI:

( Initiating contact with a defender by shoving or pushing off thus creating a separation in an attempt to catch a pass.

The contact was in no way INITIATED by Heap. Then, not only does Heap not push, but they are equally seperated before and after the defender-initiated contact.

Elad, you simply don't understand what you're talking about. The defender was holding Heap's jersey, much closer to defensive pass interference. So even if you think Heap pushed off (which he clearly didn't and got NO advantage from it) both offensive and defensive pass interference would have evened out and it would have been a touchdown.

Watch the replay again. No push. Heap's jersey is clearly being held. The ref who throws the flag is behind the defender and never could have clearly seen the interference by the defender.

Either way we didn't play like division champions and the horrible call wasn't the only reason we lost. We'll rebound as long as injuries don't get the best of us. Are we looking at Kyle Boller for the next few weeks?

Take your blinders off and watch it again.

[Guest skaybaltimore]

Take your blinders off and watch it again.

I did. And in the NFL, that should have been a no call. The defender has a clear hold of Heap's jersey, and Heap did push off slightly. Bottom line: No harm, no foul, no flag, TD. YOU try taking off the blinders, and then watch it again. (Not to mention that it was just reviewed on NFLN Total Access, and the head of officials said it was a bad call.)

Aside from that, it was good to finally see McGahee. C'ya don't wanna be ya Jamal. It was good to see Musa Smith run with the explosiveness we haven't seen in a while. I hope he stays healthy this season. And I can't wait to see Mike Anderson, Willis McGahee, and Musa Smith bring it. (Anderson missed the game for personal reasons.) I'm sorry to see BJ gone for the season, but at least the FO had the foresight to sign Figurs. And this also allows us to bring Ross back to the 53 man roster, and Bryant to the PS. McNair looked cooked. Boller looked good but he's still throwing off the back foot and obviously hasn't broken that bad habit yet. D-Will is a beast and a delight to have on the team. O-line, Oh Oh Oh. What can you say. Terry at LT (3 NFL games under his belt); Jason Brown, LG stud; Flynn at center (it's only a matter of time until Chester takes over); Chester RG, (thank you); Marshal Yanda RT (welcome to the NFL). Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea to not re-sign Pashos; maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea to cut Vincent; maybe it was. An awful lot is riding on that O-line, and if it comes together, we can at least be competitive. If not, it's going to be a long, ugly season. Ray was a warrior out there tonight. Major props. JJ -- you've got some huge shoes to fill. Nice sack. Keep it comin. Ed "where ya been" Reed almost gave us the spark to win that sloppy mess of a game.

And that brings us to Head Coach Brian Billick. Or is it Head Case Brian Billick? I'm sorry folks. This isn't just about one game. It's been one endless nightmare on offense ever since this man with the brain too big for his head, and the ego to match, rode into town on his high Viking horse, coming from a team with so many stars on the offense that a high school coach could have directed it to the top of the charts. The FO should have NEVER extended this man's contract after that disgraceful playoff performance against Indy. How in the world can Ozzie Newsome even watch the Ravens offense and not wanna puke? How can ANYONE who loves football sit back and enjoy the insanity that is Brian Billick as offensive designer, play caller and butcher of our offense? It is the laughing stock of the NFL. And has been for years. Listen to annoucners squirm and try to be diplomatic when the talk about the Ravens offense. "Great D. Uh...not very...uh...powerful offense". Call it like it is: IT STINKS. And the stench has only been overshadowed by the promises to fix it year after year. Guess what? The problem is BILLICK. Period. He's been the one constant throughtout every attempt to form it into an NFL offense. It doesn't matter who the designated OC is/was -- it all had to be run through Billick, and therein lies the rub.

Note to Bisciotti: Get rid of this albatross, or kiss your hopes and chances of ever getting another Lombari trophy goodbye. Note to the homer apologist Ravens fans (and to Ron Smith, while we're at it) who can't seem to be able to differentiate between being a true fan who loves his/her team, and some Moonie idol worshipper who can't see the forrest for the trees: the desire to rid this team of Brian Billick is synonomous with excising a demon or cutting out a cancer. Brian Billick has betrayed the trust of millions of Ravens fans, and it is not being disloyal to the team to demand that he be fired. HE'S the one who is disloyal to his own team and Ravens fans by continuing to bungle his way, year in and year out, refusing to give anything other than lip service to his mistakes, and espousing nothing but his rhetorical, over-intellectualized denial, and calling it macaroni. Give this Yankee Doodle Dandee his pink slip and promote Rex Ryan to Head Coach, and let's get this show on the road already! Other than that...

GO RAVENS!!!

[saved72907]

I did. And in the NFL, that should have been a no call. The defender has a clear hold of Heap's jersey, and Heap did push off slightly. Bottom line: No harm, no foul, no flag, TD. YOU try taking off the blinders, and then watch it again. (Not to mention that it was just reviewed on NFLN Total Access, and the head of officials said it was a bad call.)

Aside from that, it was good to finally see McGahee. C'ya don't wanna be ya Jamal. It was good to see Musa Smith run with the explosiveness we haven't seen in a while. I hope he stays healthy this season. And I can't wait to see Mike Anderson, Willis McGahee, and Musa Smith bring it. (Anderson missed the game for personal reasons.) I'm sorry to see BJ gone for the season, but at least the FO had the foresight to sign Figurs. And this also allows us to bring Ross back to the 53 man roster, and Bryant to the PS. McNair looked cooked. Boller looked good but he's still throwing off the back foot and obviously hasn't broken that bad habit yet. D-Will is a beast and a delight to have on the team. O-line, Oh Oh Oh. What can you say. Terry at LT (3 NFL games under his belt); Jason Brown, LG stud; Flynn at center (it's only a matter of time until Chester takes over); Chester RG, (thank you); Marshal Yanda RT (welcome to the NFL). Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea to not re-sign Pashos; maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea to cut Vincent; maybe it was. An awful lot is riding on that O-line, and if it comes together, we can at least be competitive. If not, it's going to be a long, ugly season. Ray was a warrior out there tonight. Major props. JJ -- you've got some huge shoes to fill. Nice sack. Keep it comin. Ed "where ya been" Reed almost gave us the spark to win that sloppy mess of a game.

And that brings us to Head Coach Brian Billick. Or is it Head Case Brian Billick? I'm sorry folks. This isn't just about one game. It's been one endless nightmare on offense ever since this man with the brain too big for his head, and the ego to match, rode into town on his high Viking horse, coming from a team with so many stars on the offense that a high school coach could have directed it to the top of the charts. The FO should have NEVER extended this man's contract after that disgraceful playoff performance against Indy. How in the world can Ozzie Newsome even watch the Ravens offense and not wanna puke? How can ANYONE who loves football sit back and enjoy the insanity that is Brian Billick as offensive designer, play caller and butcher of our offense? It is the laughing stock of the NFL. And has been for years. Listen to annoucners squirm and try to be diplomatic when the talk about the Ravens offense. "Great D. Uh...not very...uh...powerful offense". Call it like it is: IT STINKS. And the stench has only been overshadowed by the promises to fix it year after year. Guess what? The problem is BILLICK. Period. He's been the one constant throughtout every attempt to form it into an NFL offense. It doesn't matter who the designated OC is/was -- it all had to be run through Billick, and therein lies the rub.

Note to Bisciotti: Get rid of this albatross, or kiss your hopes and chances of ever getting another Lombari trophy goodbye. Note to the homer apologist Ravens fans (and to Ron Smith, while we're at it) who can't seem to be able to differentiate between being a true fan who loves his/her team, and some Moonie idol worshipper who can't see the forrest for the trees: the desire to rid this team of Brian Billick is synonomous with excising a demon or cutting out a cancer. Brian Billick has betrayed the trust of millions of Ravens fans, and it is not being disloyal to the team to demand that he be fired. HE'S the one who is disloyal to his own team and Ravens fans by continuing to bungle his way, year in and year out, refusing to give anything other than lip service to his mistakes, and espousing nothing but his rhetorical, over-intellectualized denial, and calling it macaroni. Give this Yankee Doodle Dandee his pink slip and promote Rex Ryan to Head Coach, and let's get this show on the road already! Other than that...

GO RAVENS!!!