ExtremeRavens

Anyone that saw the game doesn’t need to be told that the Ravens got it handed to them today. The Giants won in convincing fashion, moving the ball often and with ease, and shutting down the Ravens offense for most of the day. That said, here are my quick thoughts on the game… and this will be very quick. Like most of us, I need to go drown my sorrows a bit. First, kudos to Joe Flacco. The line in this game is going to be that Flacco threw two interceptions, one returned for a crushing touchdown right as it appeared the Ravens were about to come to life. If Flacco doesn’t throw that pick, it’s hard to see the Ravens not scoring to make it 20-13, at the least. But Flacco was better than those two picks. His legs were clearly working, as he ran for 50 yards to lead the team. His brain was working too. Sacked just once, Flacco was masterful at avoiding the rush and moving from target to target. It was a shame, however, that his arm wasn’t as up to the task as the rest of him. Building on the kudos for the Ravens, a few pats on the back for the Ravens OL. Allowing just one sack to one of the league’s fiercest pass rushing attack is no small feat. Their issues with in providing run-blocking were unwelcome, however. Mini-note: I’m still not sure why the Ravens did not go for it on 4th and short in the 4th quarter of this game. That was a flat-out quitters punt by John Harbaugh. It’s tough to talk about the Ravens defensive effort. We can really split the game into its two halves. In the first half, the Ravens were just plain beat. The Giants were well-prepared and appeared to know every play the Ravens had in Rex Ryan’s encyclopedia-sized playbook. Manning had time, the runners had holes, and the receivers had our defensive backs just plain fooled. But in the second half, similar to a few other games this year, the Ravens defense came to life. Pressure on Manning was better, though the Ravens managed just one sack. And the running lanes were shut down. Despite a staggering 200-plus yard rushing total by the Giants as a team, the Ravens were able to hold on to their streak of games without allowing a 100-yard rusher. And if you remove Bradshaw’s 70+ yard carry and Jacobs 30+ yard carry, suddenly the Ravens rushing defense looked respectable. Unfortunately, we can’t remove those kinds of plays looking back. All-in-all, the Ravens came out weak and it cost them. There’s nothing else to say. This wasn’t the most physical game we’ve ever seen; the physicality hardly lived up to expectations. The Ravens just missed opportunity after opportunity and they paid for it. Teams like the Browns and Dolphins might let you get away with a few mistakes, but not a team like the Giants. That said, however, it would be a waste to throw this game at the wayside as we continue. The Ravens should walk away with a number of valuable lessons. Despite the score, in the second half, the Ravens looked like a football team capable of playing with the big boys. They just need to start limiting mistakes and finding ways to win, not just be competitive. View the full article

Here’s a peek at our Power Rankings for this week.Behind a surprising offense and a four game win streak (second only to the undefeated Titans), the Ravens have moved all the way to fourth in the poll this week. The Jets have found their way into the Top 10 for the first time this week. Their blowout of the Rams coupled with the Patriots victory over the Bills took the Jets into a tie for the lead of the AFC East. The Patriots, though, are lurking right behind them. Finally, the Falcons found their way back into the mix this week. At 6-3, they are tied for second in their division with the Buccaneers. Matt Ryan is finding his groove and the Falcons look nothing like the team we expected to see this year… Rank Team LW 2008 Record Ups and Downs1 Titans 1 9-0 They just keep sneaking by, sneaking by. Impressed that they were able to win on the arm of Kerry Collins, but still waiting for them to stand up to a real offensive threat.2 Giants 2 8-1 We know this much: They can win any way they want. Lots of points? Lots of defense? On their kicker’s leg? Yes, yes and yes.3 Panthers 3 7-2 Ugly wins are still wins. Jake Delhomme, however, continues to rise in our sister poll of overrated quarterbacks. 4 Ravens 7 6-3 For the first time in team history, the Ravens have scored more than 27 points in four straight games. Additionally, they are allowing just 15 points per game during their win streak. And did we mention the plus-six turnover margin in that span as well?5 Buccaneers 5 6-3 Mmmmmm… bye week. And two winnable games upcoming to really set up the rest of the playoff run.6 Redskins 6 6-3 The possibility of not having Clinton Portis against the Cowboys almost cost them a spot in these rankings. Almost.7 Jets 14 6-3 Following in the Ravens footsteps, the Jets have won three straight and reclaimed a share of their division lead. If not for that embarrassing loss to the Raiders in Week 7, we’d be talking about a seven win team on a five game streak.8 Patriots 11 6-3 They are winning again, and the 20-10 victory over the Bills all but ends Buffalo’s hope for this season. What the Pats should be concerned with now: their division rival Jets have scored 70 more points already this season.9 Falcons 13 6-3 They finally beat a division opponent in the Saints and they did so with serious conviction. Better news? They get to play the Saints again in just four weeks.10 Cardinals 10 6-3 Kurt Warner doesn’t sound like a football player in his post-game speeches. He sounds like the kind of guy that’s been nominated for eight Oscars but never won… and never will. But he plays like a Hall of Famer.Read our complete rankings from this week here. View the full article

Quarterback: A For weeks, Joe Flacco has managed the offense, and that trend continued against the Texans. The rookie protected the ball, while still taking plenty of shots down the field. All told, Flacco turned in a solid performance with a 118.9 passer rating that included 185 yards and two touchdowns. Flacco is beginning to come into his own at a very important time for the Ravens. Troy Smith also continues to contribute to the team, as he threw for a touchdown. Offensive line: B- For the most part, the offensive line protected their quarterback. Although the unit allowed three sacks, they did a great job at opening up running lanes to help sustain drives. The Texans’ star defensive back, Mario Williams, was held in check throughout the game. Penalties continue to plague the line. Wide receivers: B Last week, the offense welcomed Mark Clayton to the 2008 season. This week, it was Todd Heap’s turn to be reintroduced to the offense. Heap turned in a two touchdown performance. Yamon Figurs was serviceable in place of Derrick Mason, who suffered a dislocated shoulder early in the game. Despite the injury, Mason caught three passes for 41 yards. Running backs: B+ Willis McGahee returned to the field after watching rookie Ray Rice trample the Browns last week. McGahee racked up two touchdowns of his own; his best performance of the season. Defensive Line: A Haloti Ngata showed sheer dominance throughout the game. From snagging an interception in the red zone, forcing an interception, and nearly blocking a punt, Ngata is having a Pro-Bowl year. The unit also held the Texans’ red zone offense in check, limiting them to just three points from inside the five-yard line. Linebackers: A Middle linebacker Ray Lewis hauled in two interceptions that looked like they were intended for him anyway. Lewis finished the game with eight tackles. The unit helped ensure that the running game was taken away from Houston, while limiting the short yardage passes of Texans quarterback Sage Rosenfels. Terrell Suggs was able to pressure Rosenfels throughout the game, and managed a safety early in the game. Defensive Backs: B- The secondary did a decent job of containing Texans receiver Andre Johnson, limiting him to 66 yards and no touchdowns. Samari Rolle returned to the field and hauled in an interception of his own. The unit was exploited a couple of times in the game. One of those miscues resulted in a Houston touchdown. Against a better quarterback, the secondary might have had big problems. Special teams: B Steve Hauschka announced his arrival to the Ravens squad by sinking a field goal from 54 yards, while punter Sam Koch held the Texans in check. The kickoff coverage was much improved this week. Matt Stover missed a 50-yard field goal, but that is quite a stretch for him anyway. Coaching: B+ The Ravens clearly executed the game plan they wanted. The offense continues to field a balance attack to keep opposing defenses honest. The defense continues to dominate opposing offenses, while the Ravens offense sustains drives, eating up the clock and actually scoring. Why was Stover sent out to kick a field goal from midfield when Hauschka already proved he could kick it from further? View the full article

The Baltimore Ravens soundly thumped the Houston Texans, 41-13 on Sunday. Understandably upset, Texan fans are placing the blame at the feet of their quarterback, Sage Rosenfels, who threw four interceptions. The Houston fan base are overwhelmingly blaming the officiating as well. Here’s a snippet of some of the reactions of Texans fans over at the Texans’ official message board, HoustonTexans.com; Yahoo’s message board; and our Fan2Fan Alliance site, TexansTalk.com. This is a poorly called game today….call after call against the Texans when they have the Ravens stopped. No call on grounding by Flacco (sic)two unbelievably bad PI calls…The Texans (sic) are not doing themselves favors and the refs aren’t (sic) helping them at all. How can you go from the least penalized team to have 12 by the 4th quarter…. [ticking] me off. spurstexansastros, TexansTalk.com Wost officiating I have EVER soon, this was one of the main reasons we lost. It was PATHETIC! imatexan, TexansTalk.com Let’s trade for Troy Smith (sic). He can run. And is accurate. Heisman winner. Nah, let’s pick up a washed up FA never was. blake1776, HoustonTexans.com Did anyone notice we gave up 40+ points? TO THE RAVENS!? The GM would be an ***** to draft anything not related to defense. If Schaub wasn’t taken out by cheap shots, we would probably rank fairly high in most offensive statistics at the end of the season. We need to improve the defense badly. That HAS to be the #1 priority going into this off season. Schaub2Andre4TD, HoustonTexans.com I watched in amazement as we would either throw three and out, or throw a pick, EVERY series! @#$%in’ RUN the ball on first down, at least. Their run defense can’t possibly be THAT scary, challenge them. That was pathetic play calling. PATHETIC! moondog.1369, Yahoo! Message Board View the full article

The Ravens dominated the Texans today, 41-13, for their fourth straight win and third straight win on the road. That should be the first thought… three road wins? We haven’t seen a team in Baltimore that can win on the road since 2000. Joe Flacco made great progress as a QB today. With his favorite target going down early he was forced to find other options in the passing game, which lead to Todd Heap finally looking like his old self. Joe stretched the defense with multiple deep throws, one resulting is a TD to WR Yamon Figurs (Congrats to Yamon on his first career receiving TD). Joe has now thrown 6 TD passes in his last four games with no turnovers. Willis McGahee looked healthy and ran hard the entire game. He went over the 100 yard mark for the second time this season and added two TD runs. And I must add, his new touchdown dance is hilarious. The Ravens defense was solid through most of the game. The air defense still has some leaks, but they overcame the injuries and picked off Sage Rosenfels four times. Ray Lewis had two interceptions thanks to the great play of NT Haloti Ngata. The return of Samari Rolle was immediately apparent. When Frank Walker, a fomer starter, can be your nickel back, you’ve got some depth. Walker may not be a star, but being able to use him to help Fabian Washington and Rolle is a great advantage to this Ravens defense. Ngata is probably the Ravens best defensive player. Haloti came up big when he picked off Sage Rosenfels at the goalline which ended a good drive by Houston, he has two interceptions this season (three for his career) which is more than all-pro safety Ed Reed! Ngata has disrupted the QB more times this season than I can count, which has lead to turnovers and missed opportunities for opposing offense. We’ve heard all season about Albert Haynesworth and Shaun Rogers, but there’s no #92 I’d want more on my team right now thatn Ngata. New kick-off and long field goal specialist Steven Hauschka. If anyone remembers seeing this kid kick in college with NC State, you know the kind of leg he has. I’m going to steal a line I heard on the postgame radio show today, but bringing in Hauschka is bigger than just getting a new leg… it proves that John Harbaugh is learning and, more importantly, willing to learn. Poor special teams play (bad kick offs, bad coverage, refusing to try long field goals) already cost this team a few games (Pittsburgh, Tennessee) and almost cost them a win last week (Cleveland). Kudos to John for making a move. And let’s just make an overall comment here… The Ravens have now scored 27, 29, 37 and 41 points in their last four games. A lot of help is coming from this defense, but let’s also give credit to an offense that is able to take advantage of a short field and take the points it is given. When was the last time you remember the Ravens scoring more than 25 points in four straight games? Or averaging 33 points per game in a stretch like that? We’re going to have to go look that up, but I can’t remember anytime. Even with those scores, this team is only averaging 21 points per game on the season… which tells you just how poor this offense was for those first five games. Now that the Ravens have both pieces clicking, it’s time for the rest of the league to watch out. View the full article

Got a question for Baltimore Ravens Pro-Bowl linebacker Terrell Suggs? I’ll be interviewing him in the next few days. If there is anything you ever wanted to ask Suggs, now would be the time. Please send all questions to d.peterson@extremeravens.com. Be sure to title your email “Question for Terrell”. Please submit your questions by 8:00 pm EST tomorrow, Saturday, November 8, 2008. View the full article

Friday afternoon that means just 48 hours til game time. Here’s how the ExtremeRavens staffers see the upcoming Ravens game against the Houston Texans… Baltimore Ravens (5-3, W3) at Houston Texans (3-5, L1) Danielle: Texans 17, Ravens 12. Houston has won three straight at home, and the Ravens (even with wins at Miami and Cleveland) still struggle on the road. Is Baltimore capable of winning this game? Absolutely. The result lies with the Texans’ backup quarterback, Sage Rosenfels, ability to exploit a pass defense that has been exposed in the past. John: Ravens 23, Texans 17. Texans have won three straight at home. Rosenfels hits a big play to Andre Johnson, but also turns the ball over a few times which makes the difference in the game. The Ravens three-headed monster will carry them to fourth straight win. Andrew: Ravens 31, Texans 14. The extremely talented Andre Johnson will get his numbers, but the Ravens will shut down the Texans run-game and will harass Sage Rosenfels all day. On offense, Jared Gaither will be able to keep his ACC-rival Mario Williams incheck while the Ravens continue to progress on offense. Dan: Ravens 27, Texans 10. The Ravens are averaging more than 30 points per game over the last three games, including to games on the road. This week, against a young secondary and coming off a strong performance, Joe Flacco will really show off. What’s your take? View the full article

Lost in Baltimore’s early off-season chatter about coaches and coordinators is perhaps an even larger issue… the guys who actually play the game. Rough estimates at this time, from a variety of sources, say that the Ravens will be somewhere between 5 and 7 million dollars below the salary cap heading into the off-season - and that’s with just 42 players signed. So who stays and who goes in the days before (and after) draft day? (more…) View the full article

With John Harbaugh now in place as the Ravens’ new head coach, attention has quickly shifted to the issues Harbaugh will face in taking over the team. The biggest decision the new coach and his front office have to make is who will be at his side as offensive and defensive coordinators. The Ravens’ defensive coordinator for the last three seasons, Rex Ryan, is a fan favorite and it’s fair to say that most fans would love to have Ryan back in charge of the team’s strongest unit. The Ravens have also expressed interest in retaining Ryan, who is also a front-runner for the open head coaching position in Atlanta. But from a broader perspective, one has to wonder if Ryan is really the best option as this team’s defensive coordinator in the year(s) to come. (more…) View the full article

John Harbaugh was hired by the Ravens yesterday in a bold move that gives the longtime assistant coach his first head-coaching opportunity. The Ravens will introduce the 45-year-old Philadelphia Eagles secondary coach, who comes from a football family, during a news conference at noon today. Harbaugh,... View the full article

According the their website, the Baltimore Ravens have hired John Harbaugh as their new head coach. It will be interesting to get to hear Harbaugh speak. He was a relative unknown, at least to Baltimore fans, when the job search began. He served for nearly a decade with the Eagles as both a Special Teams Coordinator and a defensive backs coach. The Ravens’ webpage say he will bring a “youthful exuberance” to the club. Harbaugh is 45. As a fan, two questions quickly come to mind: first, what becomes of Rex Ryan? Hopefully he lands a head coaching position elsewhere in the league, but if not, I’d hope to see Harbaugh offer him a spot with the Ravens. Second, how is a defensive and special teams coach going to reshape this offense and balance a roster of vets and young players? It’s fair to say he must have been mighty impressive in that interview room. Prediction: we’re going to see a much larger roster overhaul than originally expected. View the full article

“They say you can’t please all of the people all of the time… and last night, all of those people were at my show.” -Mitch Hedberg. The Ravens are set on making the right decision and finding the right man to fill Brian Billick’s shoes. But as the search for a new coach continues, we’re finding out rather quickly that everyone in Baltimore has a different idea of what’s right for the team. (more…) View the full article

It’s been two weeks since the Ravens dismissed Brian Billick as Head Coach, an unexpected move that received rave reviews from most fans. But it is fair to say that all has not proceeded swimmingly since then, and while the off-season has hardly even begun, the pressure to settle the issue is mounting. Perhaps “settle” is a poor choice of words at this point… (more…) View the full article

Jerry Jones has managed to retain offensive coordinator Jason Garrett for at least another five years, but how will such a contract extension and steep pay raise be felt not only throughout the rest of the league, but his own team? Current Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips was hired not even a year ago, signed to a three-year deal worth a reported $12 million. In short, Garrett is signed on to make $10 million in the next two years alone. Either Phillips is out after next season (or perhaps sooner if the Cowboys don’t win the Super Bowl), or Phillips is the most understanding coach in America. View the full article

Reports from The Baltimore Sun, ESPN and other national sources have been coming in since early this afternoon saying that the Ravens have asked Jason Garrett to fill their vacant head coaching position. Garrett, presently the Dallas Cowboys’ Offensive Coordinator, has completed several rounds of interviews with the Ravens since they fired Brian Billick the day after completing their 2007 schedule. The Ravens have yet to confirm these reports, which say Garrett is considering turning down the offer in favor of staying in Dallas. Meanwhile, as the Ravens await a response from Garrett, their Defensive Coordinator and fan favorite Rex Ryan is rumored to be the front-runner for the head coaching position with the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons former coach, Bobby Petrino, left the team mid-season to return to the college ranks. View the full article