dc.

If you want to talk about one-sided games, the Ravens-Bengals match-up today is a perfect place to start. The Ravens came out strong and never let the question of the “trap game” enter the picture. With the exception of one, late first half drive, the Bengals never even came close to changing the feel or tempo of the game. Here are a few points to consider as we enjoy our celebration… * The Ravens defense was at its very best once again. Jim Leonhard’s 4th quarter interception, the only forced turnover in the game, was a nice surprise to round things out. But the Ravens defense was strong all game long. While they were not creating turnovers or racking up a ton of sacks, the pressure on quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was evident all game. Fitzpatrick completed just two passes through the first 25 minutes of the game, with most of the incomplete attempts being knocked down and swatted by Ravens defenders at all levels. * Le’Ron McClain was glad to take advantage of a battered Bengals defensive front. The best part about watching McClain is how happy he looks going up the middle and dishing out as many hits as he takes. In my mind, McClain looks more and more like Jerome Bettis every week he gets to carry the ball. That’s not a bad thing. The biggest McClain worry, however, has to be the sudden development of some slick fingers. Rain contributed, but Le’Ron lost the ball a number of times today and that cannot happen against better opponents. * Joe Flacco had perhaps his best game of his short career. Flacco, despite being sacked multiple times and feeling the pressure on a regular basis, was able to really show off his arm strength and his touch. Flacco had two touchdowns and nearly 300 yards passing while completing nearly 70% of his passes. Quite the day for the young gun, who mixed short and long throws together nicely. Flacco even found Todd Heap a few times, including one pass for a touchdown. * No, I did not forget about Mark Clayton. Clayton had his second huge game of the season, but this game was certainly his biggest ever. Clayton not only corralled a few big catches, but threw for a touchdown as well. It was his one-handed 70-yard reception, though, that we will be watching and talking about for weeks. Cheers all around to Mr Clayton. * Defensively, the Ravens effort was strong all game long. The unit appeared to lose focus in the winding moments of the first half, but still only allowed a field goal. There was no singular stand-out, but a few players deserve mention. Fabian Washington had Chad Johnson locked down most of the game. Bart Scott scored big in protecting the run. Jarrett Johnson and Haloti Ngata both had great games pressuring the entire Bengals line. And of course Jim Leonhard deserves a sentence all to himself for doing his best Ed Reed impersonation - it was spot on. * The only downside for the Ravens today? Their offensive line struggled to protect Flacco throughout the game. Again, against stronger opponents, such mistakes will not be tolerable. Flacco survived on his own wits, but not by much. The other down side? The Browns were unable to upset the Colts, leaving the Ravens in a tight playoff battle. Perhaps the Pats can help the Ravens, though. * Gameballs: Mark Clayton and Jim Leonhard. More to come this week as there is plenty to discuss from Frank Walker’s benching to Willis McGahee’s disappearance… and yes, we can even talk special teams and coaching… Original Link: http://blogs.extremeravens.com/ravens/2008...k-thoughts_146/

And talk about pathetic. Credit to the BC run defense... but that's about it. A fake field goal... an INT on a horrible pass... and god damn did those refs suck... but not as much as Pam Ward, the UMD alum who sounded like a freaking BC Eagle. Obi still sucks. Our running game sucked. Chris Cosh still sucks. But the refs on three straight plays... the punt that MD recovered (not that it hit BC, but I think it was first touched in the pile by a BC player, so... still our ball)... the fumble on the next play, which was completely ignored... and the roughing the passer? Ugh. And then Obi. Again. Tech's gonna rock the Eagles. Sorry. And really - this is hardly sour grapes. But MD just played like shit. BC didn't impress me half as much as it impressed Ward.

Crav, I'm not doubting your politics or saying that you're being swayed by Moore to believe his way. I believe that you already believed his way, or close to it. Which is fine. I just don't think that Moore counts as an authoritative source on these issues. He has never been in the mix of the politics, the lobbying, the business. Never. The closest was with his first and only good film - Roger and Me. He grew up in auto industry towns, so he knew that issue from the inside. He's allowed to have his views on all these other issues and he's allowed to say them. But I just don't think he's the kind of person that should be listened to. Neither am I. I don't want anyone to listen to me and say "Man, that kid knows what he is saying, he knows the issue, I believe him." I try to listen to the actual sources on these matters - the politicians, people in the healthcare industry, academics and researchers who study the topic. Not just the voices from the outside like Moore and even myself. -- As for my comment on you taking his stances too far... That was you. Moore agreed that the bin Laden's being removed from America was questionable. And that Bush's actions were questionable. But he's not questioning them because he wanted them killed or wanted immediate action, he just wanted questions answered. That's a significant difference between your view and his. That's what I was pointing to. I haven't seen the medical documentary yet, but in F911 he never proposes solutions. He just keeps saying how wrong things were. I've never been a fan of that kind of finger pointing - especially not in hindsight. I'm digressing now, but a similar issue in Roger and Me. Moore's point in that film was to expose how poorly the auto industry treated their workers and how bad things had gotten in these towns as the companies had left and laid people off. It really is a shame, but he never proposes a solution. His only solution proposed seems to be that, well, maybe the company should have never let those workers go... but what's the cost of that? That becomes a standard econ problem... keep more workers on, keep their wages high, even when the market says they shouldn't be and? Well, and car prices rise sky high, and other prices follow, and then the workers are still in bad shape because they still can't afford to buy the product they are making, and neither can anyone else, and then the whole industry goes under trying to keep people's jobs safe... Digressing still... I give in.

Well, I'm glad you turned on Obama a bit. I was going to ask a follow-up after the election, but forgot. haha As for MM... google it yourself and you'll find plenty. I really don't waste my time on him. I've watched his movies, grudgingly, and not enjoyed them. There are as many lies as there are truths... I believe it's in F911 that he splices two Rumsfeld speeches together to make it sound like Rumsfeld is saying something he isn't. It all looks the same, but Rumsfeld's tie changes color or something. Anyway... just remember that while MM is against Bush as much as you are, he didn't want to keep the bin Laden's in America to kill or torture them... he just wants to know why they got to leave... Sometimes I feel like you're taking his stance to an even further extreme.

This is the one that really makes me go ARGH. Two east coast teams... playing on the east coast... there's no reason for a late start unless it's primetime. I know, I know... they must have another big matchup at 1pm and want todo a nice double-header, but still.... ARGH. The 1-4 wait is the worst.

oooooh my.... even with a whole bunch of no names and no big man, Gary has the Terps Bball team suddenly playing BETTER than expected ... they're even beating the BAD teams. They get #9 Gonzaga today. WOOOOOO. 18 points over #5? Nice.

Chance to go 5-0 against ranked teams... mmm... I feel it.

... While true, it's major misunderstanding of what happened. Many members of the Bin Laden political family - estranged and alienated from Osama and his terrorist organization - were allowed out of the country. Meanwhile, the fact you have not read any of the criticism of F911 does not mean it does not exist. It has been plenty disputed. Plenty hated. Plenty taken apart. But again, you choose not to read it. Just like you choose not to listen to anyone here on any political issue. Too scared to be critical of your own views.

How about Tony Bosselli from the Jags a while back? He was Jon Ogden's main rival at tackle... and our d-line just seemed to eat him up every season, he even left injured a few times, until he wasn't even mentioned anymore...

Actually, plenty have disputed his 9-11 doc... they just haven't made a major movie about it. Because it really shouldn't be a major movie. And if you make a movie in support of war, you look like a war-monger.

He's as truthful as Bill O'Reilly or Keith Olbermann... As for a Broncos comment earlier... let's not pretend that the Broncos are some elite team. They are not. They are not even close. They are skating by thanks to the 2nd weakest division in football.

First, LOL at OTR. Coming back and fiesty as ever. Second, Lil' Wayne is a doofus. Third, I actually am borderline about Detroit and Tennessee... I think Detroit's offense is damn good when it wants to be and might just mess with that silly Titans defense that thought it was the bomb.

And if he wants to keep making #1 back money from this team, then yes, he needs to play like a #1 back. And if there isn't room for a #1 back, then why are we paying him like one?

I wasn't exactly tooting his horn last year, either. He's never been as good as he is supposed to be. Never. Not in Buffalo. Not here. I also don't necessarily see him as the class of the team. He's known for a poor work ethic and being lazy, especially in the off-season, which contributes to his injuries and need for subs consistently. Finally, the emergence of new players should ALWAYS make you question what you have. If Rice can do it, if McClain can do it... then either we are blessed with three amazing backs, or what McGahee was doing/is doing is not all that special. Either way, we are in a good position. Again, I am not saying dump him or his salary. I'm saying we need to look critically at the spot. We have other problems to fix first. But if we find ourselves short on cash, I'm fine with Rice and McClain splitting carries.

Yeah... but now it turns out that the leaves line is just that, a line. The city didn't pay up for standard maintenance and upgrades or something a few years back, and now they are paying. Similarly, I've heard that the city is not allowing bus drivers to get overtime pay anymore... so if someone calls in sick and there is no one available, the route can just be canceled. Hoooooray baltimore.

The Terps also got dominated by Virginia... and Virginia Tech... both times before beating ranked opponents in their following games... so who's to say what'll happen. Also, the Terps beating BC doesn't put FSU in the Orange Bowl automatically. I don't even know that it puts them in the ACC Championship automatically... but even if it does, they still are a game away from Oranges.

He's not one of the best backs in the league. And he's not worth the money we are paying him if he's going to need to split his time three ways..

Don't forget Al Del Greco for Tennessee too...

I disagree. McGahee hasn't looked good all season. His nagging injuries are part of it and his lack of work ethic (especially off-season) is part of his injuries. Fact is, the guy's never had a season to match the hype that surrounds him. We are finding each week that Rice and McClain are both more than capable of doing his job. So what's to say that another cheap option can't do it also? ... I'm just getting tired of him. I don't think he's an answer on this team. BUT ... I am not saying go get rid of him and find someone new. The trio is working fine. I just don't think he needs to be labeled our sole starter anymore. He's not. Let the trio do its job... work on our other issues first, still.

I don't see any similarities between Heap and Taylor... a few dropped passes by Heap this year does a Travis impersonator make. The return of Wilcox should help our TEs get free of the line a bit, I think.

I don't mind so much. It's better than 4pm. At least now I have all day, all afternoon to do whatever I want...

Yes. I would not call that game a *** I'm stupid for thinking this game is easy ***. Regardless of final score.

Here's my only thought on this... The Titans finally faced an offense that knew what it was doing. And their defense was pretty exposed. They still only allowed 224 yards passing and didn't give up a 100 yard rusher, but the Jets were able to move the ball on them. The only other team that comes close to knowing how to move the ball during the Titans 10 game streak was the Colts - but when they faced them a few weeks into the season, the Colts were in some serious disarray. The rematch won't be as pretty for the Titans, I have a feeling. Anyway... this isn't meant to be a shot at the Titans. 10-0 is serious stuff. But their defense was holding strong against some pretty weak offenses ... they might not last long in the playoffs if they catch Favre or Manning (or even Cutler) early.

His antics while carrying the ball kill me. But it is still too fun to watch.

PHEWWWW http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/footbal...0,6113501.story