Earlier this summer, the big debate in Baltimore was who was going to win the starting QB Derby, veteran Kyle Boller or 2nd year pro Troy Smith. Rookie first round draft pick Joe Flacco (Delaware) was not part of the equation and although was thought to be the QB of the future but certainly not the QB of the present. Fast forward to week one and Boller is on IR and Smith is recovering and just starting football related activities after a rare tonsil infection caused him to lose 20 pounds as well as his starting gig.

Now after two wins against poor teams, the Ravens once again turn to their QB of the future, uh,..present, to lead them to victory for a third straight game to start his young career. While both the Browns and Bengals were supposed to be much better than they played, a win is a win in the NFL and most experts certainly never expected the Ravens to win either, much less both of those games. Winning against poor teams at home is one thing, but winning on the road against a tough team, much less on a prime time stage like Monday Night Football is another.

However, Flacco shouldn't be asked to lead this team to victory alone Monday night. Once again, if he can manage the game and limit his mistakes, the Ravens defense will keep them in the game with the offense ready to take over and put enough points on the board for the team to edge out the tough Steelers. While Flacco had two interceptions last week versus the Browns, one was on a trick play and resulted in an end zone interception off of a long pass, which to me is not unlike a punt, for which I give Flacco a pass on that one. The Steelers pass rush will be stronger and more diverse than the Browns or Bengals, which will be a good test for the young Ravens offensive line, which has been a pleasant surprise to this point. Protecting the young QB will help him take his time to find his open receivers for the critical yards to move the chains. While Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams and Todd Heap are not an All Pro set of receivers, they are all solid pass catchers and can beat anyone one-on-one if the o-line gives Flacco time.

The running game has been solid yet unspectacular, and has led the league in carries, with 90 over two games, while the Steelers have 89 carries, albeit over three games. The three headed rushing attack, led by Willis McGahee, Le'Ron McClain and rookie Ray Rice has banged their way to victory and a huge time of possession advantage that the Ravens are planning on repeating, for which the Steelers are well aware of. It also helps them to have 260 pound fullback Lorenzo Neal leading the way, as he did for so many years in front of the Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson. By the time the fourth quarter rolls around, if the Ravens have the lead, trying to stop the 260 pound Neal bursting holes open for the 255 pound McClain will be a tall task for the Casey Hampton-less Steelers front line.

However, the game will be decided in the trenches, as it almost always is. If the Ravens young o-line can't slow down the Steelers pass rush and especially keep LB James Harrison out of the Ravens backfield like he was in last year's debacle in Pittsburgh, then the Ravens will have a great chance of upsetting the Steelers on national TV and show the enitre league and country that we are not the flukes that most still believe we are.

Let's continue to hope that ESPN's Chris "Swami" Berman continues to pick against the Ravens, like he has so far this year and we should be okay!

The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Cleveland Browns 28-10 and slid into first place in the AFC North, setting up a battle for the division lead next week in Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football.

The game went almost exactly as I had predicted it, although the Browns didn't score as many points as I thought they might. The Ravens defense dominated the game just as I had thought and the offense ran the ball down the defense's throats, especially at the end of the game as I had said they would in Sunday morning's posting just below this one.

Ravens rookie QB Joe Flacco made his first mistakes of the young season, throwing two first half interceptions. The first was an overthrown ball but the second was on a flea-flicker trick play and the pass was intercepted in the end zone, for which I give him a pass on that one. However, he managed the offense with the same calm manner that he did in week one, leading me to believe we can expect the same from him in the future. At the same time, next week's game will not only be his first taste of a hostile enemy crowd, but on national TV as well. That performance will go a long way in determining his as well as the entire team's future success in 2008. An upset victory over the Steelers, who lost yesterday in Philadelphia to fall to 2-1, would put the Ravens firmly in first place, which would be a huge surprise based on last season's debacle.

But back to the game. It was great to see how RB Willis McGahee came back without seeming to even miss a beat, as he ran for 64 yards on 15 carries with one TD, and didn't look like a guy who missed all of the preseason and the first game of the regular season. Shows what a true professional and star can do when he knows his position is up for grabs, eh? Le'Ron McClain continued his upward path of success, adding 66 yards on 17 carrries, including two touchdowns. Rookie Ray Rice, who played great in McGahee's absence in game one, only had five carries for 21 yards but thaat was enough to keep McGahee fresh. Having the 260 pound fullback Lorenzo Neal blasting open huge holes with the young, yet effective offensive line had to help as well. Imagine taking on the Ravens' o-line, Neal and then having to try to tackle the 260 pound McClain!? I can understand why this could wear down a defense by the fourth quarter, which is what happened, as the Ravens wound down the clock behind a running attack that might not have been great for individual stats, but certainly was effective when it mattered.

Flacco did his job, hitting some short and sharply thrown passes, exhibiting the arm strength that intrigued the Ravens and luckily did not scare them away from the lesser college competition star out of the University of Delaware. He was 13 of 19 for 129 yards and the two aforementioned interceptions. The offensive line gave up only one sack and it appeared to be more of a coverage sack than a breakdown in protection. I'm extremely impressed with the o-line's effectiveness and maturity, considering the old man of the starting group (center Jason Brown) is only 25 years old (not including veran backup Willie Anderson). Flacco spread his 13 completions around the receiving corps, with the always reliable Derrick Masson leading the group with four receptions. Even Todd Heap caught a couple passes and incredibly, didn't fumble even once! Sorry, Todd. It was also nice to see Demetrius Williams (three catches) and Mark Clayton (two catches) contribute to the offensive output, after being either hurt or invisible last season. Spreading the ball around and having an overpowering running game will certainly only add to the success of the passing game, specifically Joe Flacco, and I'm sure this has been the philosophy of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron since Flacco was selected by the Ravens with the 18th pick of the 2008 NFL draft. For some reason, I wonder what effect Cameron would have had if Kyle Boller had that type of education and mentorship way back when.

Defensively, where can we start and who should we single out for playing defense the way the Ravens did in 2000 on their way to victory in SB35? Did you see the vicious lick the "aging" Ray Lewis put on Kellen Winslow that popped the ball into the air for Chris McAlister to grab and return to put the Ravens into position for what was then the game tying touchdown? I hope that shut up a lot of experts and Cleveland fans who constantly rag me about the old Ray Lewis and aging defense! Something tells me any team in the league would love to have this rag-tag group of veterans, right!? A couple of weeks ago, the Ravens and their fans were worried that All Pro safety Ed Reed would miss part or even all of the season with a nerve impingement in his neck. Well, he certainly struck a nerve in Derek Anderson and the Browns when he read the Cleveland QB's eyes and never broke stride when he intercepted him and took it to the house to put the Ravens firmly in front and deflate the Browns fans' hope in the third quarter. The pass rush did exactly as I hoped and predicted when they harrassed Anderson all day long and sacked him five times to go along with their three interceptions, all the while holding Cleveland to 125 passing yards on 14 completions in 37 attempts. So now after two games, albeit against winless teams, the Ravens have held two All Pro QB's to a grand total of 224 passing yards.

The only bright spot (there was one?) for the Browns was the 19 TD yard pass from Anderson to reserve RB Jerome Harrison early in the second quarter. Interestingly, the Browns fans said en mass that the team should utilize Harrison more in the passing game and get him to the outside with some screen or swing passes. The team does it once with great success and never repeats it again?

Now the Ravens sit at the top of the division, with the primetime showdown next Monday night. Ravens fans remember the embarrassment of last year's demoralizing defeat in Pittsburgh on MNF, but that was with an aging and inefficient QB and a depleted and lost secondary, as that game was over by the end of the ifrst quarter. Next week is shaping up to be a completely different contest and after getting battered and beaten by the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday, I'm pretty confident that Ben Roethlisberger is not looking forward to the physical play of the Ravens with any excitement.

However, all Ravens fans, including this writer, certainly can't wait!

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 Baltimore Ravens defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 17-10 in a game that wasn't anywhere near as close as the score indicated. If not for a poor call that led to a fumble on an unnecessary play, the Ravens could have and should have blown out the Bengals. Cincinnati's offense did not score a TD all day, and it was only the third time in his career that Bengals QB Carson Palmer threw for under 100 yards. Ravens rookie Joe Flacco enjoyed a great opening to his career and threw in an incredible 38 yard TD run on what appeared to be a busted play. However, Ravens fans must remember it was against a pretty inept Cincinnati team that was just what the doctor ordered (see yesterday's prediction) and we should not expect the Houston Texans to roll over like that in their home opener next week when the Ravens visit them.

Flacco reminded me a lot like Ben Roethlisberger looked when he had that great rookie season for the Steelers a few years ago. His stats line would have looked a lot better if not for a bunch of dropped balls from usually sure-handed receivers, specifically Todd Heap, who also contributed a fumble on the Ravens second play from scrimmage and was virtually invisible all day Sunday (can you say "over-rated?").

Ray Rice ran real well in Willis McGahee's absence, although his fumble caused us fans a little more indigestion late in the game. However, Cam Cameron ran a flawless gameplan and the Bengals never touched the ball again after that miscue as the Ravens ran out the last 7+ minutes of the game with a long drive based on a brutal ground game. The fumble was off a short toss, a play that I thought and yelled that it was too risky and unnecessary to call at that point in the game. Luckily, no harm, no foul in the end, although we were on our way to another score that would have put the game out of reach as the Ravens would have been up by at least three scores with less than eight minutes left in the game.

The offensive line made the Bengals front seven a non-issue all game, as Flacco had loads of time to look for an open receiver and he consistently found his secondary option and dump offs like a veteran. His foot speed will never confuse him with Kyle Boller or Troy Smith, but when was the last time they ran for a 38 yard touchdown!? Smith probably would have ran out of bounds and Boller would have thrown the ball away before crossing the line of scrimmage! The need for Willie Anderson was negated by the fine play of the o-line all day long.

The defense played a lot like they did in 2006, when they were the dominant force in the league. I understand that the Bengals helped us out a bunch, but hey, I'll take it every game if they give it to us. Palmer had little time to make decisions and we barely heard the words, "Ocho Cinco" all day! As I said in my previous post, the game's outcome would be decided by one big thing and that was the pass rush. Well, they made me look good, as the Ravens hounded and put a "Baltimore Beatdown" on Carson Palmer all day. This made the Ravens cornerbacks look like All Pros, although I'm sure it helped to have Ed Reed, Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle healthy and on the field together for the first time in 2008. McAlister had a great game, with an interception and fumble recovery, although it was good to see him not screw it up with a stupid lateral along the way. Don't forget that we also get cornerback Fabian Washington back from his one game suspension next week as well.

All in all, it was a great day all around. The weather was incredible, the fans were loud and proud, and the team started off the season on a winning note. Next week on the road in Houston will not be an easy game, as the Texans were blasted by the Steelers in Pittsburgh and will be angry and glad to be in front of their home crowd. However, this victory makes it a fun week, looking ahead and gives us hope for at least one more week.

Congrats to head coach John Harbaugh on his first NFL victory and kudos to his assistants for having a great gameplan!