They were who we thought they were! The Baltimore Ravens demolished and demoralized the Miami Dolphins and their rabid fans yesterday in a typical Baltimore Beatdown, 27-9. I was terribly disappointed in the final score, as had Joe Flacco not scored that final touchdown, my pre-game prediction in yesterday morning’s post of 20-9 would have been dead on! In fact, after the Dolphins scored their lone TD of the day to make it 20-9 early in the fourth quarter, I turned to my cousin, a Dolphins fan, and said, "…there goes my prediction." His response? "Just wait, they’ll miss the extra point," which they went and did, making him, and possibly me, look pretty clairvoyant! Alas, that was not to be, as Willis McGahee made another back breaking long run with Joe Flacco sneaking the final yards to put the nail in the coffin.

I was surprised at how aggressive, rude and angry most of the Dolphins fans were before, during and especially after the game. In the October game, they were pretty tame, but I guess that was due to two things, as they were not yet division champs and I was sitting in the Club Level, where it is a touch more civilized than the lower end zone area. There were a few, sane and accepting fans as we walked to our car, giving us our props and wishing us luck against the Titans. Mind you, I said a few, as most were drunk and angry, beer and testosterone-fueled idiots, making the same personal comments that many Dolphins fan bloggers have made on this and the Phinsider blog all week long. Once again, I guess it was all due to the Hawaiian shirt I wore for good luck, as it worked in October and certainly did its job yesterday as well.

But enough of the Dolphins’ fans, how about those loud, proud and purple Ravens fans who made the long trip from Baltimore to brave the enemy harassment? There were a bunch of Ravens fans in our parking lot and I distributed a bagful of "FEAR THE RAVEN" purple wristbands to lucky Ravens fans to wear to show their pride.  We all high-fived each other when we passed in the stadium as if we knew something was coming that the Dolphins and their fans had no idea of what. The Dolphins fans on this and their blog said it didn’t matter that we might have 10,000 fans in the stands as their 65,000 would drown us out. Of course they would as long as the game stayed close. However, as I said in my comments and responses to their putdowns, 10,000 Ravens fans would be heard above the noise of 65,000 Dolphins fans stumbling up the steps out of the stadium as the clock winds down to a Ravens victory. And that was exactly what happened as the chant of "Let’s go Ravens" could be heard throughout with  a couple of minutes left in a contest which was over long before that.

And now onto the game. What can we say about this team, from top to bottom? The positives are almost endless at a time like this. The defense did exactly what we kept saying all week would happen. It’s not trash talking before nor gloating afterwards when your team goes out and backs up what your opinions and statistics have said all along. Ravens fans knew that this team was too physical for the Dolphins back in October and there was zero reasons why it would not happen again, which of course it did. The Dolphins fans thought they made too many mistakes to win, but to us it was because we made the mistakes happen. Sure Pennington made some poor decisions but we still made the plays. Offensively, we pushed the smaller Dolphins front line all over the field, gave Flacco the time to find his open receivers and he showed off the gun for an arm he had on the bullet passes as well as the deep balls. The long sideline rocket he completed to Mason before the end of the first half, who caught the ball and tiptoed the sideline was a thing of beauty. Mason got open all day and Clayton found holes in the secondary for first downs all afternoon. McClain and McGahee wore down then ran over a tired Dolphins front line, just as we said they would.

 Defensively, it was almost too easy. We knew they couldn’t run the ball but they needed to find out for themselves, managing a weak total of under 60 yards. Pennington tried time and time again to make the big play, going deep with an arm that is just unable to throw the long ball, as evidenced by the floaters that were picked off four times on the day. The Dolphins and Pennington abandoned the things that got them to this point, which was the dink-and-dunk short passes across the middle, which also was the Ravens weak point. The Ravens corners were too fast and safety Jim Leonhard might have been the player of the game if not for Ed Reed. Leonhard was everywhere, making tackles, breaking up or intercepting passes and even returning punts. I’ve said all season that I liked him better than Dawan Landry and will hard pressed to be comfortable with him losing his starting job to him next season. Combined with the rookie safties, Tom Zbikowski and Haruki Nakamura, this team is set in the deep secondary, as all these guys could start for most teams in the league. What about Ed Reed? The votes for NFL Defensive Player of the Year were cast a week or so ago and even though I’d still give it to him, but there should have been no question after yesterday’s game. Heck, even league MVP should have been a possibility. However, since Harbaugh got zero votes for Coach of the Year and Flacco received zero votes for NFL Rookie of the Year, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see Reed overlooked as well. That is fine with me, as all those award winners are no longer in the playoffs and we are.

Flacco wins the first game by a rookie QB on the road in NFL history.  The Ravens win a game by 18 points  in which they were favored . Over the course of the season, our wins have been by the exact same average of 18 points. That’s exactly what good teams are supposed to do, soundly defeat the opponents they are favored over. Now on to Tennessee and a rematch with the Titans. But before we go on to Saturday’s game, let’s spend another day reveling in an overwhelming victory.

This post is sure to rile up the Dolphin fans, but I'm sure they don't need any more motivation to beat us after all the trash that's been strewn all over this and their blog in the past week. Both teams will be ready as will their fans. There are a ton of Ravens fans heading to South Florida this weekend and count this blogger among them. I just booked my flight and have score a couple of ducats to the game. The Baltimore Ravens sent emails to Club Level PSL Holders saying that they were given additional tickets and did we want them. If this game has anywhere near the number of purple jersey wearing Ravens fans that were at the October game, then this will be close to a home game for the Ravens, and we will be able to hear the cheer, "HEEEAAAPPP" every time Todd catches a pass.

Anyway, even if this is a game in enemy territory, it is ironic that Ravens rookie QB Joe Flacco has better stats on the road than he does at home. Either way, we were 6-2 at home and 5-3 on the road, so this team is not afraid to be the visitor. We all know the Ravens won the first game in week seven, but also know that was a long time ago. The Dolphins are a much better team then they were then, but so are the Ravens.Therefore, what do the Ravens need to do to come out of Miami with the victory? The answer is still pretty much the same thing as they did in October, regardless of either teams' improvement. Run the ball with authority, control the time-of-possession and take advantage of the take-a-ways if they occur. The Dolphins protect the ball as well as anyone in the league, while the Ravens take it away just as well, especially in the interception department, where they lead the NFL in that category. Interceptions are much more important than fumble recoveries, as they are usually advanced past the point of take-a-way, while fumbles are usually recovered on the spot. The Ravens also have the distinction of being able to score points on the defensive side of the ball, which takes pressure off the offense, even though they have not needed it this year. However, if they want to win this game Sunday, they will need to play mistake-free ball, or better hope for the game changing turnover similar to what happened in their first meeting.

The Dolphins prefer to manage the game and control the clock like the Ravens. They employ a duel headed RB approach with both Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams getting the most touches, with Brown the feature back. The Wildcat formation has been successful for them, but I don't expect it to be a factor just like it wasn't the first time. The running game will not be the difference in theis game, at least not for the Dolphins. Other than the New York Giants, and that was basically on just three long runs, no one has ran against the Ravens for years now, and the Dolphins just will not break that streak. However, the Ravens must be able to break down the Miami run defense, whether it starts in the first quarter or in the fourth when we are trying to protect a  lead, a la the Dallas game.

That leaves the passing games to dissect. The Dolphins were able to rack up almost 300 yards against us in week seven, although most were late in the second half when they were in a catch-up mode. However, they seemed to take the same angles as the Titans and Colts, which was to throw the short, over the middle crossing slants to their tight ends and RB's out of the backfield that our LB's couldn't keep up with. To me, that is our Achilles Heel on defense. If Pennington wants to throw downfield, over the middle deep or try to break down our secondary, it will be a long day for him. He is very accurate but his arm is just up to the standards that can put the ball between our defenders at the longer distances. If he tries that, then we will ge those turnovers I mentioned earlier. If he sticks with the shorter crossing routes, then he has a chance to be successful.

On our side of the ball, Flacco needs to continue his amazing education thus far. He needs to be protected like he has been lately and even though the Dolphins sacked him three times in the first meeting, they protected him pretty well the rest of the game which led him to his season best QB rating of around 120. If he has time this weekend, he will find the open receivers, be in the always reliable warrior, Derrick Mason, or the clutch deep threat Mark Clayton, as well as the big guy over the middle, Todd Heap. Hopefully the Ravens will have rookie Ray Rice to catch passes out of the backfield and make things happen with his deceptive quickness. This Ravens offense is not your father's Ravens offense, as it can score from anywhere on the field, evidenced by the number of big plays, including a bunch of schoolyard-type trick plays drawn up in the dirt by the creative Cam Cameron.

However, it is no secret that it all starts with the running game. The Ravens are near the top of the league in this category with their three-headed approach. Both Willis McGahee and Le'Ron McClain have had huge games this season and can break out the big gainer at any point. Teams have tried to beat us by shutting down what they know is coming but still have not been able to stop those big guns up front from opening gaping holes for our backs to run through. The Ravens stubbornly stick to their gameplan, although they know Flacco can and will air it out as needed and with great success. Sooner or later, they know the pounding will wear down the defense and the yards pile up while the clock winds down.

As long as the aforementioned continues, so will the Ravens season. If for whatever reason, the Dolphins defense steps up and combined with offensive success and the possible mistakes by the rookie QB, then they do have a chance to win this game. However, the experts see it as a Ravens victory, and the public agrees, as the line has now moved from -3 to -3.5 as more money is being bet on the Ravens. To be a road favorite is a huge advantage, as that line would swell to around -7 if the game was in Baltimore. However, it is a playoff game and we all know that anythig can happen once the post season commences. Let's hope both teams play to their capabilities and we have a great game. If they do, look for a Ravens victory and a continuation of the season and a rematch with the Titans.

That's how to beat the Dolphins. GO RAVENS!!!

Whoa guys, before you all hit the "Add Comment" button, and plan to crucify me, read on to see my meaning of this headline!

The Baltimore Ravens were supposed to be pretty much the same team in 2008 that they were in 2007, according to the so-called "experts." The 2007 version was riddled with injuries in key position, much more so than they were this year, despite the number of players that the Ravens have placed on IR in 2008. However, the key difference regarding the injuries is that this year they are much better prepared with quality reserves compared to the worthless guys they ran out there to replace the injured starters in 2007.

Even though I predicted a winning season this summer, I never expected the Ravens to make the post season and garner the accolades they've earned this season. In fact, I'm sure not too many people felt strong enough to place the bets down in Vegas or online that the Ravens would even go over the 7 or 8 games that Vegas was prediciting to be their win total for 2007. I'm sure the fans of the Cowboys, Broncos, Patriots, Jets, Browns, Jaguars, Redskins, Saints and Buccaneers certainly saw their teams as better and going further than the Ravens. I'm sure the Browns, Bengals and the rest of the teams that received beatdowns from the Ravens never expected THAT to happen this season.

THAT's the disappointment that has made the Baltimore Ravens this season's most disappointing team in the league. Yeah, you could also put the Atlanta Falcons in that category and perhaps even the Miami Dolphins. However, since the Ravens have already defeated the Dolphins this year as the underdog after being embarassed by them last year for the Dolphins only win of 2007, I'm putting us ahead of them, despite their record-breaking turnaround, for which they deserve a ton of credit. Likewise for the Falcons, whom everyone thought that franchise was in total disarray after the Michael Vick drama and the drafting of a rookie QB to lead them this season. However, the Ravens had zero intention of having the rookie Joe Flacco lead them to the promised land in 2008, as he was listed as the 3rd stringer on the QB depth chart and only made the move to starter by default. Once again, that moves the Ravens up over the Falcons as well as the league's MDT (Most Disappointing Team).

Who did we disappoint? Certainly not the Ravens fans, players or management. No, other than perhaps the fans, the others probably saw it coming all along, as they go into every season knowing they have a chance to compete (just like the Orioles, right!?). If you look at the success we had this season, it appears we are more like the 2006 team that went 13-3 than the 2007 one that finished 5-11. We lost, or more correctly, Brian Billick lost four games last season that we definitely would have won this year - at least. The opening Cincy game, the Bills and Dolphins games come quickly to mind on that thought. I'm sure we all could "regurgitate" more of we wanted to stab ourselves in the heart again and again.

But I digress, as this is about this year's Ravens. Unfortunately, we will continue to "disappoint" others, as we head into Miami for a rematch of our October 19th 27-13 victory. The Dolphins fans shout that they had injured starters and are a much better team than they were then. I totally agree, as both teams were 2-3 going into that game and each finished up winning nine of their last eleven games. So, they both must be better teams, but which is still better? To me, the stats don't lie, and when you look at both sides of the ball, you see a better Ravens team based on the numbers. However, as all Ravens fans know, you don't play the games on paper. At the same time, when was the last time a Ravens offense was better than the opponents on paper? Combined with the huge difference between the defenses and the fact that everyone knows that defense travels better than offense, Ravens fans can rely on Ed Reed, Ray Lewis and company taking care of business. Between those two and Willis McGahee, as fomer players from the "U," they will have a ton of friends and family there along with the thousands of Ravens fans who made the trip in October and will do the same this weekend. This will almost be a "home" game with all the loud, proud and purple fans we'll see and hear this Sunday.

The Ravens, to the dismay of many others, will continue to be a disappointing" team deep into 2009.

I know it's time to move on and focus on the Jacksonville Jaguars as we are at the point of "win-and-in" for the playoffs. However, the Dallas victory was as sweet a win as any in the Ravens regular season history. So take a moment, click on the links and enjoy the two most special back-to-back running plays in Ravens history!

McGahee's TD run

McClain's TD run

Whew, I woke up this morning like a little kid on a Christmas Day, hoping that last night wasn't a dream. Now I know how I would have felt if we had beaten the Steelers last week! Talk about an early Hanukah or Christmas present, eh? I wasn't able to go to bed for another hour or so after the game, as beat as I was after that nailbiter. I kept switching the channels looking for more stories on the game, from ESPN to ESPNews to the NFL Network. The more the merrier after that contest. Tell me, was that one of the most enjoyable games you've ever witnessed - EVER!?

I was emotionally drained after the game. I hugged the dogs, went outside and screamed and even woke the wife. I wanted to stay up all night drinking and blogging (like raven!). However, at my advanced age, I needed to get my five hours of sleep. Unfortunately that was it for me as the puppy woke me up at 5:30am heaving on the bed so I jumped up to put him on the floor before he hurled, then cleaned it up and took the dogs out. I went back to bed until 7:30am when the pup kept licking MY face because he was used to getting up by then and eating and he was hungry. Where was my wife? Sleeping for once and it meant I needed to be the good husband and take him down and feed him, which I did. No problem because I wanted to get on Beatdown and blog some more and read your posts, which were great.

Anyway, I totally agree that the post game interviews focused on how the Cowboys lost rather than give us our due credit for the win. You know, that's fine with me as all week it was all about Dallas and their stupid stadium. The sight of seeing those old timers just sitting there quietly towards the end of the game along with owner Jerry Jones in his skybox was worth it ten times over. Seeing Tony Romo sitting on the bench on the sidelines with that glazed "what just happened?" look on his face was priceless. Now I know what he looks like after a go-round with Jessica! That was nasty and I knew I shouldn't write that, but I did and I'm sticking with it!

Props go all around and yes, despite the late Dallas scores that kept it close, the defense still gets their share. However, this was the offense's night, especially in the last few minutes. Let's start at the top, though, by giving it up for rookie head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. Harbaugh gets credit just because he''s the coach and hired Cam. Cam must be having a lot more fun this season compared to last year in Miami, huh!? While it seemed we played it conservative, Cam really opened it up in the second half, especially with the fake FG, the appearance of the Wildcat and Flacco's naked bootleg. He lulled the Cowboys to sleep then woke them up with a filthy gameplan that moved the ball all night on their 7th ranked defense. Still have to give it up for Rex Ryan, as he bewildered Tony Romo in the first half and most of the second as well. Don't worry about the two late scores. This was a desperate Dallas team with an explosive offense and I have no problem with those scores, especially now that we won.

On the playing field, the props are all over the place and my fingers may give out before I am able to mention everyone who contributed to this great victory. Flacco looked calm and poised, certainly more so than his counterpart, Romo. He threw some bullets, including one that I thought was going to be pick-sixed but he still completed it. He grew up a ton last night and showed the nation why he deserves consideration for Rookie-of-the-Year honors (Matt who?). RB Le'Ron McClain bruised the Cowboys all night before ending their night with that 83 yard lumbering TD jaunt. Willis McGahee redeemed himself mightily with a couple of good plays prior to his backbreaking 77 yard TD romp. Derrick Mason left it all out on the field and is every bit the warrior that everyone was saying. Did you see him run his pattern with one arm dangling before he caught the TD pass from Flacco? Amazing guy, so underrated, maybe the best possession receiver in the game as every team knows it's coming his way but he still gets open and makes the critical receptions. The youngest offensive line in the league gave up five sacks to the NFL's leading sack unit but protected Flacco when he needed it and opened gaping holes for the team to garner over 250 yards rushing, including those two long runs which totalled around 160 of them.

OMG! I almost forgot to mention that beast of a punter and now runner, Sam Koch. He pinned the Cowboys back all night with his booming punts and ran great on that fake FG, knocking over the Dallas defensive back along the way. Placekicker Matt Stover was money and that must have felt great for him, growing up in the area and now putting them through the uprights.

Defensviely, the front seven blitzed and put a ton of pressure on Romo, and while they only had two sacks, they harassed and hurried him all evening,forcing him to throw early and off target, except to Ed Reed. Reed, who got two more picks in the first half last night, deserves mention as NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He is a game changer and game breaker. Ray directed the offense like an artist, seeming to know every Dallas formation and play before the ball was snapped. Ngata was his usual beastly self and Suggs chased Romo all over the field. However, Bart Scott looked slow and lost and was faked out of his shoes and missed tackles throughout the night. The secondary played very well, despite the loss of Fabian Washington for a time in the second half. Dallas didn't complete a pass to their wideouts for most of the first half and their dangerous YAC stats never materialized. Safety Jim Leonhard made several tackles and returned punts real well and has played a huge role in his role as a replacement for Dawan Landry (who?) since the second game of the season. Speaking of the return game, Yamon Figurs might have played himself off the team last night. All I keep saying is that despite his blazing speed, he seems to run right at the defending players and can't hold onto the ball. If we had lost that fumble after the Cowboys made it a two point game, I would have leapt through the TV and choked him! I'll take Leonhard's smart moves over Figurs speed any day. No need to keep mentioning Ed Reed, as he is obviously on another level than the other players on the field and shows it week after week, making us all forget that he has played most of the season with a serious neck injury.

All in all, it was an incredibly enjoyable game with a great ending for Ravens fans for once. This remarkable season will continue and I can't wait to see how loud and explosive M&T Bank Stadium will be next Sunday when we beat down the Jaguars and secure a Wild Card playoff spot and keep playing football in January, when EVERYONE thought we'd be sitting on the sofa watching other teams play.

So for now, enjoy and let me know your thoughts, as we will continue to spread the positive energy through the week leading up to next Sunday and beyond.

GO RAVENS!!!

Wow, what can you say now? Talk about getting the monkey off of our backs! We just put up 33 on the 7th ranked defense of the Dallas Cowboys and when our backs were against the wall and it looked like once again we were going to fold in the fourth quarter, we silenced the crowd, including a bunch of old time Cowboy stars in a big, big way!

Easily the biggest win of the season and maybe one of the biggest regular season road victories in the Ravens history! I am so stoked about this victory that I can't sleep if I tried. So many great things to say about this team, especially the offense. We all knew the defense would be tough and we kept them pretty much out of the end zone other than the first quarter TD off of Flacco's fumble until the fourth quarter was half over.

Tony Romo looked bewildered and like a deer frozen in headlights! TO never got untracked and if not for Witten, they might have lost even worse. All we heard was how great their defense had been playing and how challenged our offense was. Fans over at Blogging the Boys thought we might not even score against them. Here at the Beatdown, we were worried that our FG's would not be enough because we were missing the TD opportunities in the Red Zone. We still have Red Zone issues, so we decided to score from well outside the 20 yard line.

McGahee and McClain's TD runs were so incredible that not once, but twice we ran for long TD's when our backs were pushed up against the wall after Dallas tried to make a game of it late in the fourth quarter. Twice, the Ravens offensive line opened huge gashes in the supposedly unpenetratable Dallas defense and the game was over. Don't lie to me, both times we kept looking at the clock and prayed that the defense was not going into their prevent mode, rushing only three and sitting back until we lost another close one. I couldn't have handled another last minute meltdown. Thankfully, we responded in a huge way that sealed the deal.

Who do we look at for the key to victory? Cam Cameron called a masterful game. Derrick Mason proved he was a warrior and left it all out on the field. Who else stepped up? Punter Sam Koch kicked the hell out of the ball all night and ran like a fullback on that fake punt. Who else, I could go on all night but I won't. I'll have to leave that to another post, and you all can debate that here under the comments. I'm too fried to write any more and will post again in the morning.

Great, great win for a incredible season that will continue into January. Can you believe it? Do YOU believe in miracles? YES!

This Saturday's game in Dallas is a pivotol game for both teams. There is a pretty decent chance that the winner of this game goes to the post season while the loser will most likely fall out of the playoff race, or at least to the bottom of the barrel of those teams still in the hunt. Therefore, while this is a must-win for both teams, only one can do so. How then, can the Baltimore Ravens go into Texas Stadium for the final game in its histroy, and beat a Dallas Cowboy team that is as desperate for a win as they are? There is a lot of "if's" to overcome if they want to emerge as the front runner for the final Wild Card slot in the AFC and send the Cowboys to an embarassing defeat in front of their home fans.

Usually, the key to the game lies in the trenches on both sides of the ball. That is where I usually look for an advantage or disadvantage for the offense and defense. Last week, I spoke about the bouncing ball, as both the Ravens and Steelers defenses seem to capitalize on the tipped pass which leads to field position and easy points. This week we'll go to another area of contention that I believe holds the key to victory for the Ravens over the Cowboys.

It's the clock! The time clock and more notably the all important statistic, time of possession. The Ravens have owned that statistic in their victories and while they've won that battle in some of their losses, the overwhelming wins have had the same overwhelming difference in time of possession. Winning the battle for the clock means that your offense keeps the ball the longest and not only tires out the opponents' defense, but keep the opponents' offense off the field. This will be the key in the Ravens ability to beat the Cowboys. We will need to keep the Dallas offense off the field as much as possible. In all the Cowboys losses with Tony Romo at the helm, either before or after his injury (with the exception of Pittsburgh), Dallas has gotten their offensive stats, yardage and even points. The Steelers game was the only game where they were totally shut down offensively for much of the game and that was due not only because of the Pittsburgh defense, but the cold and rotten weather that the Cowboys did not react well to. The Ravens have the defensive ability to disrupt the Cowboys offense just like the Steelers, but playing in Dallas will not make the weather a factor, at least for the Cowboys.

Therefore, the Ravens offense will have to move the ball, control the clock and most importantly, as a result of the aforementioned, they must score points of those long, ball controlling drives. Scoring 13 points will not be enough to beat the Cowboys, as the Dallas offense puts points on the board at home and will do so against even a tough Ravens defense. Dallas has averaged over 27 points per game at Texas Stadium and only once, in a 13-9 victory over Tampa Bay, have they been held to less than 20. They are 6-1 at home, with their only loss to the Washington Redskins in week four, when Romo still had 300 yards passing in a 26-24 defeat. So if the Ravens plan to win the time of possession battle, they better expect to put up a bunch of points if they want to win the battle on the scoreboard.

The Ravens certainly can score this season and have proved it by averaging over 24 points per game on the road. However, they've averaged only 11 points per game in their three road losses (Pittsbrugh, Indy, Giants), which will just not get the job done this Saturday in Dallas. The Cowboys defense ranks 7th overall (7th-rush; 8th-pass; 12th-points allowed) but they can be scored upon, giving up just over 20 points per game. This is where the Ravens offense needs to take advantage of, and make the plays downfield to put points on the board. No more settling for FG's in the Red Zone by remaining conservative once we get into scoring position. This team needs to pull out all the stops on offense and make sure QB Joe Flacco has the time and gameplan to make the plays. Dallas' DeMarcus Ware has 19 sacks and is looking to break the all-time season sack record of 22.5. He needs to be kept from getting that record against Jared Gaither, Adam Terry and even Todd Heap if necessary. Overloading his side of the offensive line can help us as much as it did by neutralizing Pittsburgh's James Harrison last week. However, this means less pass receiving options if Heap stays in to help, which puts added pressure on the wide outs and increased the need for significant contributions from others, such as Yamon Figurs and Marcus Smith, both of whom are capable of making the big play if called upon. Flacco can't rely on the 8-10 yard curls to Derrick Mason all game and must go over the top, if only to keep the Cowboys secondary honest. Le'Ron McClain needs to continue what is now a Pro Bowl season by ripping off huge chunks of yardage and Willis McGahee needs to atone for the past two worthless games by playing a big role and redeeming himself, while proving to the team and fans that he has a place in this offense now and in the future, as this team desperately needs his contributions. Hopefully, Ray Rice will have recovered and can add a different perspective to the offense as well.

Defensively, the Ravens cannot play the bend-but-don't-break pass defense that doomed us last week vs. Pittsburgh. Dallas' receivers are too big, too fast and too good to expect that style to limit their damage. They are as good as anyone in the league at getting their YAC. Allowing them to slant across the middle will feed right into their gameplan as it has for the teams that have been able to move the ball against us. The health of CB Fabian Washington is a major key in the ability to limit their success. Don't expect the Ravens to shut down the prolific Dallas passing game, only to slow it down. Tony Romo is prone to making mistakes and while he throws on the run as wll as anyone, he has proven to be rattled by tough defenses and hard pass rushes. The Ravens have the ability to throw both at him at if they are able to do so, expect the turnovers that will be critical to the Ravens offensive success.

Winning the turnover battle will feed right into winning the time of possession. The combination of events that lead to the battle for control of the clock will determine the victor in this game. The Ravens absolutely have the ability to accomplish this and the Cowboys know it. Whether or not the Ravens can make it a reality remains to be seen. This is now by far the Ravens toughest and most critical test of the season. while no one expected them to be playing a meaningful game at this point of the season, they've earned the right to be doing so. Now is the time to earn the right to play in January as well. It all begins, or ends, this Saturday night in Dallas.

PS-(Added 12/18, 6pm EST): Colts all over the Jags tonight!

Wow, I am here typing away on Monday morning and am still chilled to the bone after sitting outside at M&T Bank Stadium, watching my Ravens totally dominate the Washington Redskins. By dominate, I am not implying that our offense ran and passed all over them, but I'm certainly stating that in regards to our defense. As bundled and layered as I was, my bones were still aching from the bitter cold, but it dodn't look like it affected the players on the field, although perhaps it had something to do with all the fumbles.

When the Ravens jumped out to a 14 point lead in the first quarter, I turned to the others arounnd me and said, "ballgame," and I was right. There was no way that this defense was going to give up more than 14 points to the Redskins last night. I was actually surprised that they were able to even score ten points, but give the Ravens offense credit for those gifts in the fourth quarter. At the same time, I'm sure the Redskins fans think they gave us those first 14 points as a gift as well. However, the Ravens defense caused those turnovers while our offense just made poor plays when Joe Flacco threw into triple coverage and Willis McGahee just dropped the ball.

Either way, we scored more points than they did and I'll take another win, our seventh in the last eight games. I was also disapointed that our defense finally surrendered a TD for the first time since the second quarter of the Giants game, over 13 quarters of football ago. Since the Giants game, we have outscored our opponents 94-20, and in the last eight games (including the Giants loss) we've averaged just under 30 points per game, while surrendering only 14. To me, that's the makings of a playoff team!

Last night, the Ravens did it with a suffocating defensive effort, with obvious major contributions from All-World (and Redskins killer) Ed Reed. Reed has made a career of almost singlehandedly beating the Redskins by himself, be it in last night's game or the 2004 come from behind win in Washington where he had a sack, fumble recovery and TD to lead the Ravens to a 17-10 victory. Last night, he started it off early with a diving interception, then ripped the ball out of Clinton Portis' grasp and returned it for a 22 yard TD. He also ended it with his second interception of the game late in the fourth quarter.

The Ravens totally dominated the first three quarters, doing exactly what I had predicted they would in order to win the game. They took away Washington's ability to run the ball and forced QB Jason Campbell to throw the ball more often than either he or the Redskins were comfortable doing. Campbell is just not effective when called upon to carry the team on his arm. He made some poor passes but to give him some credit, he never had a lot of time to loook around as the Ravens pass rush harassed him all night long. Props must be given to the Ravens secondary, especially Fabian Washington, who blanketed Redskins wideout Santana Moss all night, breaking up more than a few deep balls. Samari Rolle has also played well since his return from injury and most Ravens fans are not missing C-Mac too much at this point (who?).

Offensively, the Ravens moved the ball at the beginning and the end of the game, but not too well in between. However, the mark of a good team is to get the job done and they did just that. The first drive after Reed's interception put us on the board and the final drive took the wind out of the Redskins' sails just when it looked like they might make a game of it. A typical ball control, clock eating drive down the field, finished off by a deceptive pass to a wide open Derrick Mason for the final nail in the coffin. Le'Ron McClain ate up chunks of yardage, wearing down the Washington defense, while the offensive line protected Flacco all night. Flacco made the mistake of throwing into coverage when he didn't need to, but other than that, he calmly found the open receivers and even made a great pass to a wide open Todd Heap on the fourth down play that extended the drive that gave us the FG that helped us on our way to victory.

Unfortunately, I thought we were going to get a big lift from the Dallas Cowboys, but they squandered a ten point fourth quarter lead and rolled over for the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday afternoon in a wild game. Perhaps they'll do the same for us in two weeks when we close out Dallas' stadium with another prime time game on Saturday evening, December 20th. However, the focus now is on the hated Pittsburgh Steelers, who come into Baltimore next Sunday afternoon for a rematch of our earlier game, won by Pittsburgh in OT, 23-20, on Monday Night Football. The Ravens have the chance to even up our records with a victory, although the Steelers hold the tie breakers for the AFC North division title. We would need to run the table and hope that the Tennessee Titans defeat the visiting Steelers when they play in two weeks in order to take the diviion lead. Otherwise, we are in fine shape for a Wild Card berth and post season football, when neither were in anyone's mind when this crazy season began in Seprember.

It sucks having to rely on other teams to help us out, but we put ourselves in this situation and should be up to the task to take care of it. It all starts next week, as our season is on the line in this upcoming game. More to follow, as this week should be a ton of fun, with all the trash talking between us and the Steelers' faithful. Keep tuned in, and join in the fun,......starting......NOW!

I was going to title this story, "Ravens Batter & Fry Bengals" but thought as as coy as it was, it was a little too corny, even for this blog. However, the story was still the same, as the Baltimore Ravens did not overlook the Cincinnati Bengals one bit as they focused and put a classic beatdown on them, 34-3. The only thing that sticks in my craw was that the Ravens let their guard down late in the first half and allowed the Bengals to go all the way down the field for a last second FG to give them their only points of the game. I would have liked the statement it would have made to have the shutout.

I was hoping that we would not overlook this team, as it could have really looked bad and hurt our playoff chances if we let ourselves look ahead and got upset. That never happened as coach John Harbaugh said that we were not good enough to allow ourselves that luxury and that humbleness has paid off. There was so much good to come out of this game for us Ravens fans to look forward to, not just this year, but the future ones as well. Only a few questions, such as where was Willis McGahee and is there going to be an issue with this three headed running attack from him on playing time?

Joe Flacco is on ESPN right now, being interviewed over the phone by none other than Hannah Storm (yowser!). He is acting smooth and humble, not unlike his pocket presence. He's laying out all the cliches' though, and it's not the same without actually seeing the unibrow move as he speaks. He's giving credit to the other guys, especially the veterans, like a good rookie! Hannah is looking pretty hot at the SportsCenter Desk, in a blue v-neck top and perfect hair! (<---today's fashion police report!). Handled himself like a veteran in that little interview. Now back to my blog.

Mark Clayton had a career, Quadry Ismail-type of game (remember when Ismail had something like 270 receiving yards against the Steelers in Pittsburgh years ago!?). His throw was great to Mason, but his one handed catch has got to be among ESPN's Top Ten Plays. If he continues to be our big play, deep threat like he has become this year, perhaps the talk about needing a wideout might have to die down and we can just focus on the cornerback position. Hell, the way both Samari Rolle and Fabian Washington have played lately, we might just sit tight and take the best available player, regardless of position, or even trade back for more picks as we really don't have any glaring weaknesses lately. Times are tough when things are going your way. I know this was the Cincinnati Bengals but last week was a very solid Eagles team, at least defensively. However, we should match up very well with the remaining opponents the next four weeks, starting this coming Sunday where we should be able to take down the Deadskins, who lost easily to the the NY Giants, who are to me easily at the top of the NFL Power Rankings without any doubt at this point.

Thirty-five points a game the last two weeks is a pretty decent average. No one is calling us an offensively-challenged team lately, as we have scored over 30 points in four of the 12 games this season and are tied with Denver as the 10th ranked scoring team in the NFL, averaging over 24 points per game. Defensively, we are second overall, third against the rush, second against the pass and third in points allowed (15.8/game).

This is definitely a playoff team and one that no one will want to face come the post season. Right now we sit in the final Wild Card slot, behind the Colts and also one game out of the AFC North division lead, held by the Steelers by virtue of their 33-10 pounding the of hapless Patriots in New England, which surprised me. Now we host the Washington Redskins on Sunday Night Football, while the Steelers get to go home to host the high flying Dallas Cowboys. It would be a treat to watch Dallas go into Heinz Field and beat Pittsburgh and then go to the stadium and see the Ravens put a hurting on our Marion Barry-loving neighbors to the south! What a sweet day that would be, eh!?

So much love to spread around and I'll give out more props as the week progresses.Thanks especially to the guys who joined me on the Open Thread yesterday. You'll have to handle it without me next week as I'll be there in the cold carrying my big stick and screaming like a banshee (another Billick reference)!

The Baltimore Ravens defense shut out the high scoring Philadelphia Eagles offense and came away with a 36-7 Baltimore Beatdown yesterday at M&T Bank Stadium. The Eagles, who had been averaging over 26 points per game, scored their only points on a 100 yard kickoff return in the second quarter. The Ravens defense finished their impressive shutout with four interceptions and one fumble recovery, including Ed Reed's NFL Record 108 yard interception return for a TD in the fourth quarter with the Eagles sitting on the Ravens one yard line. The Eagles finished with 206 total yards, many of them on the drive that culminated in Reed's pick six.

Eagles QB Donovan McNabb finished 8-18 for 59 yards, one fumble and two interceptions and a QB rating of 13.2 (not a typo!). He was pulled for the second half in favor of Kevin Kolb, who didn't fare any better, going 10-23 for 73 yards and two interceptions. Brian Westbrook played despite his injuries, and had only 39 yards on 14 carries, good for less than 3 yards/carry. The Eagles only kept it from a total shutout by virtue of the kickoff return that my daughter's boyfriend called just before kickoff as we sat in the stands yesterday at the stadium. He won't be coming to games with us any more.

While the Ravens offense looked less than acceptable in the first half, give the Eagles defense some due credit. They are a top ten defense and stifled us for the entire first half and most of the second as well. The 53 yard TD pass from Joe Flacco to Mark Clayton was a great timing pattern and missed coverage by the Eagles. Flacco finished 12-26 for 183 yards and two TD's. More importantly was that he went another game without throwing an interception, which has been a trend in the Ravens past five victories. Le'Ron McClain ran for 88 yards but 28 of them came in the last couple of minutes of the game, when the outcome was no longer in doubt. Willis McGahee was held to eight yards on seven carries and Ray Rice had seven yards on eight carries. The scoring chances either came by way of the pick six or the great field position the defense gave to the offense by way of their five takeaways.

Don't read anything negative into this week's game, on offense or even defense. To say the Eagles have been playing poorly the past couple of weeks is an understatement. Managing a total of 20 points in visits to Cincinnati and Baltimore is certainly not indicative of a playoff contender, of which it appears the Eagles are not. However, holding them scoreless on offense is still a tough task in the NFL. The offense had its issues but never gave up and finally found their breaking point and made the big play. That is the mark of a good team. Finding a way to win is the difference between the pretenders and contenders in the NFL. The Ravens are definitely in the contenders group at this point and should have the ability to stay as one for the rest of the season.

Next up for the Ravens is a visit to Cincinnati and a rematch of the Ravens opening day 17-10 victory. Baltimore better not take this game lightly, as we all saw what can happen in this crazy league as the horrible Oakland Raiders went into Denver and blew out the AFC West leaders. Thus, if the Ravens don't show up, their playoff chances could be dealt a severe blow. However, if they do continue their winning ways and take care of business in Cincy, then they come up for a tough two game stretch that will define their season, with games against their hated neighbor, the Washington Redskins, and their hated division rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. A sweep of those two will be a great Christmas present to the fans and set us up for a great finish to what has become a wonderfully surprising and successful 2008 season.