As I sit in warm, sunny South Florida in anticipation of another Ravens victory over the Miami Dolphins tomorrow., I still need to put my quick thoughts here on the Beatdown regarding the other three playoff games starting with tonight's game. So, in the interest of time and trying to enjoy being away from the frigid Baltimore weather, let's get right to it.

Arizona over Atlanta: Believe it or not, I actually like the Cardinals to rebound in a big way. Kurt Warner is playoff battle tested and knows how to handle the pressure. He also has geat receivers to throw to and the Cards usually play a lot tougher at home than they do on the road, especially when they have to go to the east coast. Meanwhile, the Falcons have been a wonderful surprise and have some great players, including Rookie-of-the-Year, Matt Ryan, and RB Michael Turner, who finished tied for second in voting for the league's MVP. However, Ryan is not nearly the QB on the road as he is at home and I expect the Cards to be able to outscore the Falcons in this one.

Indianapolis over San Diego: This is going to be the closest game of the weekend, as both teams can easily take charge and win tonight. Both QB's have the guns to put up points in a hurry and as well as the Colts have done in winning the last nine in arow, the Chargers have come back from the dead to steal the AFC West title on the arm of Philip Rivers. However, Peyton Manning is the master of his domain and should be able to pick apart the San Diego secondary all night. At the same time, the Colts defense has shown signs of life, with the pass rush of Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis and of course, All Pro safety, Bob Sanders stuffing the run as well as playing a great center field.

Minnesota over Philadelphia: Most people have jumped on the Eagles bandwagon, but not me. I know they destroyed the Cowboys when they needed to, but that was at home where they've played well all season. However, they lost a lot of luster in my eyes with their loss in Washington where they couldn't even score a TD all game. Now they have to go into a deafening dome as a visitor and deal with a very good defense and that Peterson guy at running back . As good as Donovan McNabb can be, he can also throw down a clunker like he did in Washington, as well as he did in Baltimore. I'm looking for the Vikings to let Peterson loose all night and McNabb to make the mistakes that give the game to the Vikings.

NOTE: I'll pick & pan the Ravens-Dolphins game in Sunday's posting, before I leave to go to the game tomorrow morning. GO RAVENS!!!

This is part of the mantra that the New England Patriots used in their run of Super Bowls from the beginning of this century. Sure, they never experienced the monumental loss of their All-World QB Tom Brady prior to this year, but that is understandable. He meant everything to this team and they might actually be undefeated once again if he was still there and healthy. However, the rest of the Patriots team has experienced the injury bug over the years and according to coach Bill Belichick, it was always, "next man up."

The Ravens need to bite the bullet and confidently follow the same philosophy. I'm sure in public it looks that way, as John Harbaugh may be a rookie coach and continue to make rookie (poor) mistakes, but he has that positive, loyal, BS response to every injury question. At the same time, behind closed doors, their moves don't look like a team that is ready to respond to these challenges. Moving a LB (Edgar Jones) to a TE seems like a move of desperation to me. Moving Chris Chester to TE a couple of weeks ago and then back to OL must thrill him to no end to know he is so versatile that he can be moved from one postion to another with the greatest of ease with the supreme hope he won't be needed or used at either! Adam Terry's injury opened the door for Willie Anderson and he seemed to just stand around and open that door for Indy's Robert Mathis to record three sacks against him last week. Yanda was a solid part of our interior line, but now we will be forced to replace him for the rest of the season. Either one of our rookies or gasp, Chris Chester will fill that gap against the Dolphins as the auditions for that position will continue for at least a couple of weeks before a decision is finalized.

No one needs the consistency of the offensive line more than Joe Flacco. He has earned himself a seat on the bench as he has looked exactly like the CFS QB he was thought to be when he was drafted to be the QB of the FUTURE! Now that the future is now, I'm not convinced he should stay the starter, nor sit for someone else since that someone is not ready to take over. I say continue to let him learn on the field and if Troy Smith is fully recovered, give Troy the ball later in the game to get his feet under him and if he is more successful than Flacco, give him the chance as the season progresses (or regresses). If Flacco is able to lead us to wins at Miami and back home versus Oakland, then he deserves to stay behind center- for now.

Let's understand and keep a positive attitude, as other posters have urged. This team was never expected to be a contender before the season, anymore than Flacco was supposed to be the starter. But, now it's "next man up" and the guys who are next in line need to step up and keep the gameplan moving as originally planned. That includes not only the o-line, but the QB position as well. Grow up, kids, it's time to go out and play with the big boys.

Next man up!