Wow, what a firestorm the Baltimore Ravens created up in Philly with the Donovan McNabb benching. I also thought Reid pulled him too early, as they were only down by three despite his wretched passing stats (13.2 QB rating). I would have waited until the game was pretty much out of reach, although that wasn't until mid-fourth quarter. Then he could have pulled him and inserted Kevin Kolb without any lingering controversy this week. Kolb had no time the prior week to practice with the first team and to throw him to the wolves right off the bat at the start of the second half was a recipe for disaster that the Ravens totally took advantage of. I can certainly think of a bunch of other teams that would make a much better shot for a QB to come in cold against than the multi-scheming Ravens. He had no shot and Reid looked like an idiot for the move. McNabb is a class guy and looked real calm on the sideline and in all those subsequent interviews on television. Tomorrow, he starts at home against the Arizona Cardinals and don't be surprised if he bounces back with a huge game. He's a professional and if the Philly brass and fans want to run him out of town, I'm sure he'd love to put on the pads and colors of his hometown Chicago Bears, who would welcome him home as their next Messiah!

Waaa, I have a broken pinky finger and can't play the rest of the year. Yes, that's the next great thing out in Clevelnad, Mr. Brady Quinn. So much for the introduction of the replacement for the ineffective Derek Anderson. Now Brown's coach Romeo Crennel doesn't need to flip a coin to see who's playing each week (or even each half) and can just stick with DA the rest of the season. Maybe they should even sign Anderson to another contract extension and give him more signing bonus dollars just to be sure Brady's little fingers gets better so he can do some more commercials and maybe even play some football. As a Ravens fans, the more pain the Browns fans suffer, the more happiness I gleam from their ineptitude in the front office, on the sidelines and on the playing field.

It looks like the Pittsburgh Steelers' DT Brad Keisel has not recovered from his previous injury, as he is now reportedly out for Sunday's game in New England and may be out a few more weeks beyond that. This only helps the Ravens and will hamper the Steelers run to the playoffs. Both of their cornerbacks are injured and may not play as well. Does that sound familiar? The Ravens tanked last year without both of their starting corners, although there's probably no way the Steelers' reserves are as bad as the Ravens were last year. They always find a way to stay in contention, so don't count them out just yet. However, I can't wait to see the Patriots' Matt Cassel go for 400 yards against them this week! Yes, he's on my fantasy team, not that it will matter for the last place Wonder Dogs, who are out of playoff contention due to my wonderfully poor draft. Dammit all to hell Matt Hasselbeck and Jamal Lewis!

In between the week that the Steelers face the Patriots this Sunday and the Ravens in two weeks, they host the high flying Dallas Cowboys. Even though that game is at Heinz Field, the Cowboys are desperately fighting for a playoff spot and will not be a pushover, even at home. That will be a real tough three game stretch for Pittsburgh and will absolutely define their season. Winning two of three will be considered success, but I'm looking at one of three at best, with the definite possibility that they go o-fer, and perhaps even drop out of contention for a playoff spot, as they still will have to go to Tennessee the week after playing us, which could be the fourth game in a row against top playoff teams. While they should be able to beat the Cleveland Browns in the season's final game, they could conceivably finish the last five games as bad as 1-4, which would give them a 9-7 record and a seat on the couch watching the playoffs on TV in January. Yes, that would be so sweet for us Ravens fans!

The Cincinnati Bengals hve turned from the soap opera team of the summer into the forgotten ugly sister in the AFC North. Yeah, there's still all the talk about letting head coach Marvin Lewis go after the season, as well as the normal get rid of Chad Johnson and even TJ Houshmandzadeh. However, based on their stellar 1-9-1 record, there isn't much to talk about. It would be different if they were tied with the winless Detroit Lions and winless themselves, but a win and a tie put them well above the hapless Lions, who have a great chance of running the table and joining the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the only winless teams in NFL history. At least the Bungels have an excuse and that's the loss of QB Carson Palmer to an arm injury that for some unknown reason, he's still trying to come back from and play this season. However, something tells me that their record might not be much different even if he was still lining up under center. Current Bengals QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is running for his life behind an awful offensive line and might just get his head knocked off this week against the Ravens. Hopefully, we'll take this game as seriously as the ones coming up and not overlook Cincinnati as the Bengals destroyed us in their crib last season and even though we beat them opening day this year, we still owe them big time for sweeping us last year.

Let's take them one at a time and take care of business this Sunday at Cincy and then come home to prepare to show the entire league why this team is one to be reckoned with as we've gotten literally zero respect from the so-called "experts" who rank us the lowest of any team with a 7-4 record in their Power Rankings. We will get that chance when we play on national TV next Sunday night at home against our hated neighbors to the south, the Washington Redskins. First the Redskins need to get their second beating of this season from the New York Giants. Then they can come here for us to start their bruising all over again on December 7th.

Bring it on!

Wow, I'm finding out that not only do the Browns fans think I'm a homer, but now also an Orioles' fan (there are any?) thinks so as well. He says on the Browns site that all Ravens fans aren't like me, as I use my blog to predict the Ravens will beat everybody and try to start fights. I thanked him for throwing me under the bus and said he probably thinks the O's are only one good player away from competing, just like the Rays, huh?

Anyway, this is a blog on the Baltimore Ravens and certainly not on the Orioles. For that , feel free to check out Camden Chat, which has great thoughts and comments and a heck of a strong, loyal following as well. If you visit Baltimore Beatdown, be advised that I am absolutely a homer and hope that the Ravens win every game. The ones I think we'll win are the ones I will predict we will, and vice versa. Go back to this summer's predictions of our entire schedule. I predicted a 9-7 season, which is not looking too outlandish at this point. Of course, today will mark the halfway point and with the entire NFC East coming up in the second half, it sure would help to finish the first half with a victory and a 5-3 record.

And that's exactly what you're going to see in the paragraphs below. Earlier this summer, I predicted a split in the season series with the Browns, with the Ravens taking their home game and losing the road one, 27-17 in Cleveland. The Baltimore Sunpapers' Jamison Hensley predicts a 27-13 Browns victory, but I can't condone that. So far, I've predicted Ravens losses in all three of their road games (homer, huh?), but got burned as the Ravens ran over and around an overmatched Dolphins team that has beaten the likes of New England, San Diego and Buffalo. They have had it tough on the road, losing in Pittsburgh on MNF and in Indy against a team that we have rarely matched up well against. While I still don't view us a Road Warriors,  I see us being able to compete with most teams, be it at home or on the road. For many reasons, I just don't see today's opponent, Cleveland, in the same way that I see the tougher teams that have beaten us so far. The Browns have indeed won three of four and should have a ton of confidence with revenge on their minds as we enter today's contest. But their season, while improving, has still been viewed as disappointing, while the Ravens have been seen as making huge strides from last year's embarassing 5-11 season. A win today and the Ravens will have won as many games in the first half of 2008 as they did the entire 2007 season.

It all starts up front, in the trenches, on both sides of the ball. I've heard a ton a comments about the play of our secondary, how Derek Anderson needs to hit his targets, how important Special Teams are, etc. Those are all important issues, but none more so than what happens along the line of scrimmage. Just like the first game, I said if we pressure DA, then our CB's will manage just fine, as DA will have to release the ball early or look for shorter, less risky patterns. If that happens, sooner than later we will jump a pattern and it's off to the house. That's exactly what happened in that first game. Conversely, if his very good offensive line performs like they did last year or have at times in their three victories this season, then he might just pick us apart as easily as Peyton Manning did a few weeks ago. Braylon Edwards is a top ten receiver in the league, as is Kellen Winslow in ranking tight ends (the best TE? no.). Dante Stallworth has never regained his reputation since he was paired with Joe Horn in New Orleans, although he is a solid possession receiver. They have options out of the backfield, but you might have noticed that up to now I have not mentioned Jamal Lewis. It's not for any resentment reasons, as he was a pleasure to watch up until the last year or so in a Baltimore uniform. It's just that the Ravens haven't allowed a 100 yard rusher in now something like 26 games, and is not going to end today. Therefore, there is no reason to continue to discuss the opponents running attack, as there will not be one- again. A final word on our defensive game plan. The rush needs to be there as I said, and the coverage from the safeties, namely Ed Reed, needs to be quicker to help out our depleted secondary, now manned by our 3rd and 4th stringers, much less our nickel and dime backs literally coming off of our Practice Squad.

Offensively, I am much more confident in this offense's ability to move the football than I have in a long time. While I realize that the teams we've beaten all have losing records, they have beaten some good teams and that should count for something. However, while this is certainly not going to be the same Browns team we crushed in week three, this is also not the same boring Ravens offense they saw back then as well. QB Joe Flacko has gone "wacko" the past couple of weeks. While he's not exactly rolling up the stats, he's not turning the ball over either, a Ravens QB rarity. Combined with a brutal rushing game, the passing attack has been efficient and solid, even if vanilla compared to the Browns. The "Suggs" package (I hate that name), has opened up doors with the possibilities it offers Troy Smith as a triple threat, and creates havoc for defenses to figure out. The entire team has had seven games to mesh their chemistry and the leader of the offense is unquestionably the rookie from Delaware taking snaps under center. The NFL's most recent Rookie-of-the-Week has shown that he is poised and confident, while not cocky, and ready to start in the NFL. If he continues to play smart and not turn the ball over, then he will put us in the position to win the game with our ball control offense.

Combined with our stifling defense, I am reversing the prediction of a Ravens loss back in the summer and going with a small upset on the road, as the Browns are a 1.5 point favorite when I last checked the lines. I don't see the complete reversal to my earlier prediction of a Browns 27-17 victory, because not only do I not see us scoring 27 points, I don't see the Browns scoring 17 either.

Ravens:  16-13 (Call me a homer!)

NOTE:  Post your comments here throughout the game. However, to reiterate what the Game Thread post on the Browns' site says, same goes for Cleveland fans.

NOTE: Any Ravens fans who come over with the sole intention of slamming the Browns, its fans, or the city will be banned from the site. Even if you're a Baltimore fan who "thinks" you need to retaliate to something a Browns' fan says, this is our day to discuss the game. Likewise, any pure bragging topics following the game will result in the same consequences.

After winning their past two games in a row by an average margin of over 16 points, the Baltimore Ravens set their sights on Cleveland and a Browns team fresh off a rare road upset victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Ravens are in second place in the AFC North with a 4-3 record, one game behind the division leading Steelers, who sit there at 5-2. The Browns, are one game behind the Ravens at 3-4 and a win at home will put them at .500 for the first time all season. However, the Ravens have already defeated the Browns 28-10 in game three earlier this season and are out to prove that was not a fluke. At the same time, despite their impressive 10-6 2007 season, the Browns are facing the same thoughts that last year was a fluke for them and a winning streak would go a long way to showing that they are fighting back to prove the pundits wrong.

The Browns last two games have been on the road, where they lost a close one to the Redskins 14-11, and won another close one in Jacksonville 23-17. Keeping both games close by playing tough defense should give them a boost of confidence as they now head home to the cozy (?) confines of their home field and their loyal, yet misguided fans, the Dawg Pound. The Browns' fans are trash talking, foul mouthed blind loyalists, who never miss an opportunity to not only trash their opponents, but their fans as well.

Hopefuly, for the Browns fans' sake, the players can back up their fans with a victory over the Ravens. If not, the Ravens fans wil have every right to make sure the Browns' fans call them, "Daddy," as that would be a series sweep this season. A split in the season series would only extend the arguments another year. It would be great to punk them in their crib and send them further down in the standings towards their Ohio brethren in the basement of the AFC North.

Not that it will come easy for the Ravens. Their 28-10 victory came as a surprise to the NFL, as the Browns were actually favored to win this game by the so-called experts. However, Browns QB Derek anderson looked nothing like the Pro Bowl caliber player of last year, and while the Browns have rallied for three victories, including impressive wins over the defending Super Bowl Champions NY Giants on MNF, he has still not regained his form from last year. The Ravens will again attempt to exploit this as they plan to continue their defensive dominance in stopping the run as they have done all season while not allowing a 100 yard rusher since the 2006 season, a span of well over 20 games. If they can put pressure on Anderson when he drops back to pass, hit and harass him throughout the game, they will be able to force the turnovers that this defense has feasted upon. If Cleveland's well respected offensive line is able to protect him, then he will have the time to pick apart the Ravens once again depleted secondary. Losing Samari Rolle to injury hurt the team, but the recent absence of Chris McAlister has been devastating, as it brings the nickel and dime backs into starting roles. While the loss of safety Dawan Landry has not hurt due to the impressive play of safety Jim Leonhard, who has performed very good on defense as well as Special Teams. However, it has seemed that the deep coverage has not been able to rotate to the weak side when needed to stop the big plays. This will need to improve to stop the connection between Anderson, Braylon Edwards and the other Cleveland threats.

As the week progresses, we will see more of a gameplan taking shape, based on the health of both teams as they prepare for what will be another battle in this great rivalry, in which the players as well as the fans seem to really despise each other.

Keep in touch here.

The Baltimore Ravens will host the Cleveland Browns in what may end up being a defining game for both teams very early in the 2008 season. The Ravens have only played one game so far, thanks for Hurricane Ike cancelling the game in Houston originally scheduled for week 2, and stand 1-0 due to their 17-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on opening weekend. The Browns limp into M&T Bank Stadium with an 0-2 record, albeit both losses to two of the top teams in the entire NFL.

However, scoring only one touchdown and not looking like the playoff contender that they were expected to be heading into the 2008 season, has many Cleveland fans worried and wondering how long before changes in key positions begin. Head coach Romeo Crennel and QB Derek Anderson are both on the hot seat and rumored to be holding onto their jobs by a thread, especially Crennel, who has long been under fire, even before last year's successful 10-6 season. The Browns just missed making the postseason and two losses to arch-rival Pittsburgh dulled the season, much less another loss at home to the hated Steelers last weekend. While Derek Anderson isn't quite hanging onto his job as gingerly as Crennel, he is coming under fire for not looking like the million dollar bonus payday he earned after last season's surprising success. Another poor showing, however, and the rabid Dawg Pound will begin the annual chant for Brady Quinn. Quinn has been patiently awaiting his opportunity on the sidelines, biding his time learning the game and making more commercials and showing off his buff body than most other teams' starters. At some point, the Browns will not want to delay the inevitable any longer.

A loss today in Baltimore to start the season 0-3 will go a long way towards the beginning of the Brady Quinn era. The Ravens plan to do whatever they can to help Brady get an early start to his future. They plan to harass Anderson through a variety of stunts and blitzes and now have a healthy defense to send the extra pass rusher that they were unable to afford last season, when their secondary was chock full of reserves. Injuries to Samari Rolle, Chris McAlister and Ed Reed, along with the offseason loss of Adalius Thomas to the Patriots via free agency and injury to Trevor Pryce made the Ravens pass rush in 2007 almost non-existent. Now, with all those guys back and not even listed on the injury report, the Ravens will be basically at full strength (other than DT Kelly Gregg) for the second game this season. Week one they shut down Cincinnati's Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh and now plan to repeat the effort this week to Anderson and his favorite targets, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow. Edwards led the league in dropped balls last year and seems to be on pace to do so again in 2008. To top it off, he is injured and his status will be a game time decision, although expect him to play as he has enjoyed good success against the Ravens in the past. Winslow looks to be a major force in today's game and could very well end up Anderson's favorite target. The Browns would love to get their running game unleashed behind former Raven Jamal Lewis, who had a 92 yard rushing game last season against the Ravens in one of the Browns two victories over Baltimore. The Ravens have not allowed a 100 yard rusher in 20 straight games, the NFL's longest such streak, and it doesn't expect to stop today, especially if the Browns fall behind early. Perhaps the Browns biggest threat to the Ravens comes from special teams return man, Joshua Cribbs, who is one of the best in the league in his role. Cribbs has been a force and has had success against the Ravens as well as the rest of the league and will be a marked man today. If the Ravens can limit his damage, it will only help to pin the Browns back deep in their own territory. This could lead to turnovers and a short field to help the Ravens offense put points on the board without having to rely on long drives.

However, long, time consuming drives have worked out just fine for the Ravens in their lone game this season. The Ravens will continue their plan of running the ball and now have the benefit of Willis McGahee in the backfield for the first time this season. McGahee gained over 1,200 yards last season but missed the entire preseason and first game of the season, but is now not even listed on the Ravens injury report. How many carries he gets is another story, but I expect it to be at least a dozen and could be more depending on the tone of the game. Rookie Ray Rice had a great debut, other than his fumble which led to Cincinnati's lone touchdown last game. The biggest surprise has been the success of fullback Le'Ron McClain, who had over 80 yards in week one, and had primarily been utilized as a blocking back previous to that. However, the absence of McGahee made his carrying the ball more necessary and is now thought to be making a repeat performance this week against the Browns. The combination of McGahee, Rice and McClain will keep the Ravens backfield fresh and don't forget that they also have the luxury of having bruising fullback and former San Diego Charger Lorenzo Neal leading the charge. Imagine the pounding the defense will absorb by having the 260 pound Neal leading the way for the 250 pound McClain, paving the way for McGahee and Rice to dart in and around the holes opened by the young, healthy and rapidly improving offensive line.

The success of the running game will make the transition smoother for rookie QB Joe Flacco from third string in the preseason to starter in the regular season. Flacco looked surprisingly calm and collected and while he didn't put great stats on the board, he did manage the offense without any mistakes and even contributed a 38 yard lumbering touchdown run on a busted play. While we shouldn't expect him to repeat his rushing efforts, he should feel more comfortable with the extra week off to continue to learn the team's offense and take control of the huddle. If he continues his progress and keeps his mistakes to a minimum, the Ravens will have found their quarterback of the future a lot earlier than originally planned.

If today's game goes as planned, the Ravens will stuff Cleveland's Jamal Lewis, forcing Derek Anderson to rely on the passing game too much. By this, I mean if the pass is so obvious, the Ravens pass rushers can pin their ears back and put a target on Anderson's chest, causing him to hurry his passes and throw the interceptions that the Ravens can turn into quick points and put the Ravens into position to win this game. Offensively, they will pound the ball with their three pronged rushing attack, with the requisite number of passes to keep the defense honest. Wide receiver Derrick Mason and tight end Todd Heap, along with short tosses to the backfield will move the ball outside the hashmarks while the RB's pound it inside. Expect the Browns to stack the box with eight or nine defenders, daring the Ravens to beat them through the air. However, the Browns secondary has not been very good and the loss of their best defender, safety Sean Jones, will make it difficult to stop the passing attack, even of the Ravens. Big defensive tackle Shaun Rogers will clog the middle and rush the passer, but expect him to get a lot of attention from the middle of the Ravens offensive line.

Overall, if both teams play to my expectations, the Ravens will go into a week four showdown on Monday Night in Pittsburgh in first place with a 2-0 record, while the Browns will join their Ohio brothers from Cincinnati in the AFC North basement. The Steelers have a tough battle of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, where I am predicting they lose, so there is my reasoning on the first place Ravens.

I expect the teams to put more points on the board than either has done up to this point in the season, although the game will not be as close as the final score. I expect the Browns to get a late, meaningless score to keep the Ravens defense honest until the end, but the Ravens defense leads the way to victory and Flacco continues his orientation with another solid, mistake-free outing as the Ravens win.

Ravens:  26-20

The Cleveland Browns put a hurting on my Ravens last year, and to only make it worse, did so with a QB that the Ravens deemed uninterested enough in so as to let the Browns snatch him away off of their practice squad without nary a complaint. Derek Anderson went on to have a Pro Bowl season and was richly rewarded with a $27 million contract extension. Meanwhile the Ravens are still at a loss to determine who will be their QB when the 2008 season kicks off in September.

However, it really doesn't matter to me when determining the winner in each of these games. While the QB position may be the single most important individual position on the field, this is a team game and it's rare that one specific player is the reason a team either wins or loses, unless of course, your name is Steve McNair (or former coach Brian Billick). In my opinion, the key to an offense's success starts and stops with the offensive line. The retirement of All-World left tackle Jon Ogden is a great loss to the team, but it allows the team to finally set guys into place where they could easily remain for years, and consistency in those positions will ultimately equal success.

Therefore, by game three, I believe we will be seeing an improved pass protection as they get comfortable with whomever the QB ends up being (I still want to see Troy Smith in there). The run blocking should be very good, with both Willis McGahee and rookie Ray Rice blasting through holes. At the same time, regardless of who the QB is, I expect opposing defenses to stack the box with eight or even nine guys, just daring the Ravens to beat them through the air. With the multi-facet abilities of Troy Smith at the helm, he should be able to confuse and tire out defenses with his rolling out and scrambling abilities. This should tire out the Browns defenders, as they've totally revamped their defensive front with big plodding tackles who take up space but don't move too well. The Ravens will trap the Browns interior defense and Smith will roll out and move around until his receivers get open against what is still a very poor Browns secondary and their weak link.

On the defensive side of the ball, I am not yet convinced that Derek Anderson will replicate his 2007 season. That is probably why second string QB Brady Quinn is biting his tongue and being patient, as he also knows his time is coming and it could end up being sooner rather than later. The Ravens defense should be healthy and ready to make opposing teams pay for what happened last year. Browns running back and former Raven Jamal Lewis will be bottled up at the line of scrimmage, as he stutter steps to his huge three yards per carry average. The pass rush against a relatively immobile Anderson will pressure him and cause him to lose his cool and that won't bode well in enemy territory, where the Ravens' fans will make a lot of noise in support of Ray Lewis and friends.

If the Ravens players all remain healthy, they have a much better chance of looking like 2006's 13-3 team as opposed to 2007's 5-11 trainwreck. Game 3 should be similar to game 1 and the Ravens win a close game at home.

Ravens: 26  Browns: 20

Season Record:  2-1