Flacco impressed...rookie QB, big stage, againt the best D he'll face all year, in a hostile stadium...not bad rookie, not bad. Joe will continue to grow and he will be a pleasure to watch for years to come.

Think about the many years without
an offense,this guy brings what has
been missing for so long. How did
most people(including the Steeler faithful) think Baltimore was going to pan out, we weren't even respected,
anyone who has seen this game will
respect us now.
JB

Okay, so he got flustered for a little while. Brett Favre was humiliated last week and came back to throw 6 touchdowns in the next game. He's not perfect, but we've finally got a quarterback who will only get better.

but we can all agree that we've seen stuff out of flacco that Boller has never done.

And smith will never do.

I was, as most Ravens and football fans, very impressed with Flacco last night. I take issue with the description that he "lost his composure". He didn't lose his composure in the third quarter, he got SACKED because of horrendous back side protection. It seemed like every other play, Harrison was running unblocked right into Flacco. With such terrible protection, it was only a matter of time until he fumbled. If you look at the tape, you can see that Flacco in the process of getting rid of the ball as he was sacked from behind. If you want to point to an instance of losing composure, look no further than Johnson's penalty.

And by the way - not that I am defending Flacco as the next Tom Brady, but that first missed TD by Flacco was a in fact a touchdown. On replay you could clearly see the receiver drag both feet while maintaining position. The question no one is bringing up is "Why didn't Harbaugh challenge that?". It would have been an easy call as the evidence was very conclusive on replay. What I liked about that play was the smooth, effortless motion Flacco had on release. He looked very comfortable when he given adequate protection.

Combine the coaches missing and legitimate challenge for a TD, Johnson's bone-headed personal foul, and a complete lack of back-side protection for Flacco - if those non-Flacco-related issues could be taken out of last night's game, the Ravens may have won 28-10, or even worse.

I think he did better than alot of our experienced (writting only) writters thought. For a third pro game he did very well against a tough defense. As for his composure, I wonder what our reports would do against this defense. Just think what he will be by the end of the year. Finally a QB we can call our own.

Assuming one of the "two touchdown passes" was the first of two Derrick Mason passes that was ruled incomplete (the second one was overturned). it should've been challenged/reviewed as well because upon review of the replay it was CLEARLY a reception for touchdown in the 1st qtr.
Harbaugh & company are without a question a much more affective staff than the previous administration, but that play should've been reviewed for an additional 4 pts. If so, the score at the end of regulation time would have been 24-20 Ravens...with no overtime!

I thought he was great. Not perfect but put in the context of the situation he was great. There were dropped balls, the stupid Jarred Jackson penalty and what if McGahee was actually in shape. It could have been a different game. I am unhappy at the outcome but we lost 38-7 last year there. I think things are looking up big time.

Flacco did look like a rookie in the third qtr. that's for sure. That being said, he provides the Ravens with more of a future than the 12 that came before him. I am disappointed in the loss because that game was under control. I am also smart enough to realize what could have happened in Pittsburgh on a Monday night. Flacco and the entire team did the Ravens fans proud. It only gets better from here.

FLACCO played well - and if he continues to 'mature' as an NFL quarterback - the RAVENS may have a shot at the playoffs. Home-field won it for the STEELERS last night as well as some RAVENS 'mistakes'/penalties.

I think Flacco played exceptionally well under the circumstances. He put us in a position to win despite his one major lapse (fumble). Lets remember this was his 3rd pro game against a top tier defense, in a hostile environment on Monday Night Football. If that is Flacco's worse game, the future is very bright. While I am not happy we gave the game away, we played very well overall. I think the focus should not be on Flacco, but more on the continued personal foul penalties. Fix those and stay healthy and we will be right there in the end. We have to get right back up and get ready for another physical game against the Titans. Lets see how Harbaugh and crew gets the team re-energized for this weekend and more importantly, fixes those penalties that are unnecessary and costly.

Can we stop saying Flacco looked like a rookie in the thrid period? he wagetting hit left and right, he had no blind side protection to speak of and he had the ball stripped. It wasn't a "rookie move" it happens to good QBs every single week. You have to judge the QB by his body of work, and judging by the 4th quarter poise, composure, and comeback score - this QB is far from a "rookie". Let's see how he improves for a tough test next week.

This game reminded me of the Billick era. Players being out of control with Personal fouls all thoughout the game. I believe the Ravens were beat not by the Steelers, but by the ghost of Brian Billick. This is the area that Harbaug need to address and now. If other teams were watching this game it is easy to figure out how to beat the Ravens. Rattle thier cage and they will lose control. OK, so you had a personal foul penalty. Now move on and don't let it affect the next play. That is the area, unless put under immediate control, will always haunt the Ravens, because Billick did nothing to try to corral. Lets hope Harbaug starts to fine players for taking the team out of their game. Remember Bart Scott(New England). Remember (Detroit Lions). Discipline guys.

The kid needs to learn when to eat the ball but overall, you have to be encouraged if you are a Ravens fan. There were some shots down the field, there were a couple of balls that he completed because of his arm strength. My guess is when he looks at the film, he's gonna see several plays where there were open receivers that he missed. One in particular where Heap was wide right and ran a fly. There will be growing pains but his team is only going to get better.

I've noticed something different these last few weeks. Not just with the Ravens offense, but with me as well. You see, when the offense takes possession of the ball, instead of cringing and flinching like I have for oh so many years, I now find myself inching towards the edge of the seat, eager to see what will happen next. And folks, it is a very welcome change.

Rex may need to cut back on the blitz when the secondary is depleted. They went with a 3 man rush and 8 DB's against the Bengals, but that package wasn't used last night (injuries?)

Never saw Flacco rattled at all. In fact, he made several big throws and was extremely accurate. And that throw to Mason on a 10-12 second play, showed great instincts and mobility. He appears to have a monster upside if the Ravens can keep him protected. Where was Willie Anderson after Adam Terry gotten beaten like a rented mule?

Flacco played very well. Remember Boller's first game against the Steelers? He was awful. Joe wasn't the problem last night. While we have improved intellectually under harbaugh, there were a handful of Billick era mental blunders that cost us the game. JJ's penalty - just plain stupid and undisciplined. How can you play into Heinz Ward's hands like that? Special teams in overtime: The holding call pins you back on your own ten yard line - you don't give your team a chance. Stupid penalties, inexcusable. And going back to the first half, the catch ruled out of bounds should have been reviewed. Put that on the guys upstairs. What were you thinking. We all know how hard it is to get in the end zone against Pittsburgh, and you let one get away... All in all, we choked on the big stage again but there is plenty of blame to go around.

The Ravens need to cough up a draft pick or two to get this guy a deep threat. Mason is a great rout runner but they need a burner on the outside. maybe they can offer the lions a pick for one of those wideouts they have no use for.

Well said, Danno. When Boller was in 3rd and long, I had no faith. Now I think, what will Cam pull out of his bag? It helps that the expectations for this year were low. It is fun to be exceeding them for once. I am having fun watching Flacco and the young offense develop. If the Ravens develop some consistency on offense, that will be bad news for the rest of the AFC.

Obviously everyone wants the win, especially when (because of circumstances) your first road game is against a division opponent on primetime, but I may be in the minority here when I say that lost might have done more for the Ravens than a win. I think there is a good chance here that they learned more from this game,( a 15 yard personal foul penalty that led to a touchdown and Flacco's fumble that led to a touchdown and then rallying to tie the game in the 4th quarter), than they would have had the Ravens continued to dominate the way they were through 3 and a half quarters.

If Harbaugh and his team are smart they will walk away from this having learned several key lessons:

a) Special Teams is a problem area that clearly needs to be addressed.

b) our defense is still stellar, but the secondary has some work to do

c) Joe Flacco could end up becoming a marquee Quarterback, lets face it if it had been Boller in the situation Joe was in in the 4th quarter, we probably would never have gone to overtime. But Joe and Cam and the offense stayed poised and made this game more competitive in the end than it would've been had this been the same Ravens team from last year.

All in all, ya a defeat sucks, but if the Ravens are smart then I think they will have learned more from this defeat than if they had dominated the Steelers.

The tragedy here is that by the time Flacco and the Ravens have a legitimate NFL offense, Lewis, Reed and other key components of that defense will be long in the tooth, a step slower and a year older....sad really.

I was impressed again with Flacco. Please protect him - he's growing in leaps and bounds, give him the time don't let him get hurt.

Coaching staff has to take one on the chin for not challenging the first quarter touch down. (bad, bad, bad)

Also penalties, do the ref's call more penalties on the Ravens - then on other teams. I think they do. Why because the Ravens have behaved so badly in the past. It may take a long while for that to change. Geeze guys don't help them.

You can argue, the lost touchdown, the fumble, the penalties or understand that it's a game and the Stealers made their luck and then got lucky.

The D did well as always and even though we lost wasn't it great to have something that resembles an offense. yahoo..

Mike,

Tell the whole story. Sure he looked like he lost it after the fumble. But he certainly got it back in the fourth quarter. Even David Steele mentioned that fact. Where were you in the fourth quarter?

Be fair Mike, tell the whole story!

a rookie played his first road game against one of the most hostile crowds, in a hostile stadium, against a powerful defense that made the playoffs last year. the steelers adjusted and attacked to start the 2nd half. flacco wasn't ratled, he didn't have the same line support in the 3rd quarter. the entire team needed to readjust, which it did marvelously... flacco included. they made plays and made stops. at the end of the game the ravens came up short. the burst of miscues and errors were too much to overcome and they lost.
this was a winnable game.
missed field goals by stover.
non-challenged touchdown.
but all that happens in football. let's not even begin to talk about the blatant hold on bannan [or njata, not sure] on the 1st touchdown pass from rothlisberger- by two different guys on the same play. that is what should have made sportscenter. sad to say the ravens know and were reminded to not let a game get close or be decided by someone else's hands, meaning the other team or the official. that hold was oh so reminiscent of the serious hold on jarrett johnson during the most recent playoff game against the colts. he beat his man through speed and strength and was on his way to crushing payton manning in a hit that would have made the bart scott/ben rothlisberger hit look soft. once again no call.
the referees ALWAYs have made strategically bad calls against the ravens. why do you think the leagues best defense for the last 10 years explodes in frustration half the time. they simply don't like to be cheated. not to defend j johnson, but in a game of intensity and hitting and strength you can't crucify a guy and say he made a 'boneheaded play' and blast him in the paper the next day. every previous article spoke about how heated this rivalry was, 'the biggest in the nfl', the talk and anger involved, then being critical of one guy who responded to a cheap shot and who knows what else?
ridiculous. reporters aren't on the field. neither am i, but i know that unless a camera is trained on a guy for the entire game, you don't have a clue what he goes through. every raven is guilty of a play like that in their careers. get over it.
harbaugh was a man's coach in supporting johnson's heat of the battle call. he also should be supported even though he did not challenge the touchdown call. he does not sit in his living room or in the bar and get to see the same play in hi-definition only 10 feet from his face replayed 10 times in 20 seconds. he has seconds to make what he feels to be the best decision for his team. that decision has long and short term consequences.
give flacco his due credit. he played hard. he moved and passed well. this is the 1st raven's game that i watched the majority of, but in very short order, even without all the gushing of tony kornheiser in the announcer booth, flacco showed poise, motion, accuracy, and a very powerful arm that i did not know he had. i was impressed. 3rd ame in the nfl?? great job rookie. he did make a few overthrows, but having a 320 pound nose tackle running at him full speed just 1 foot away and missing on a throw does not mean he is inaccurate. there is always room for improvement, but is someone paying you start another controversy? sheesh!

Congrads Flacco, you did a good with 7-8 man protections.
Funny there is no mention how Harrison was beating the LT like a drum.
Or how Woodley was being held time after time to protect Flacco.
Or how Todd Heap was kept out of the recieving department to stay in to protect.

Or how the screen pass was not a option because the RBs stayed in to block.

Or how the run game was non existant

Yeah great job Flacco