Although still learning, Joe Flacco was very impressive for two reasons, his arm strength and his poise under pressure. As a long time Colt fan, he reminds me of the unflappable Johnny Unitas, both with his demeanor on the field, and off the field, in dealing with the press. Nothing seems to excite or bother him. After watching Kyle Boller repeatedly get dancing feet while in the pocket during his tenure as a starter, this is a refreshing change and a key to Flacco's future success. Now we only have to wait while he gains more experience, the offensive line begins to grow and jell, and the Ravens find him a game breaking wide receiver.

Peter,

I agree totally. I still think this team is a 7-9 team. But I can tell you that after the last pre season game most fans posting here were pretty much slashing wrists and crying and whining about 2 wins maybe 3 this year total.

Optimistic Points.

1. We have found a QB and he is JUST going to get better each week.

2. The offensive game plan is still only 1/2 of what it can be. Why ?? Because its been dumbed down for the Rookie QB and new offensive line. This will change as the year progresses and the line gells (Maybe game 7 to 8)

3. The defense is still Elite. This means we are IN all games. Injurys could come up and bite us yet though and change this.

So we have a LOT to look forward to this year. All the games this year I think will be of the caliber of last nights game. Meaning we should be able to win about 1/2 the ones left. That would mean playoffs folks.

I know the Steelers ARE NOT LOOKING forward to coming here to play us. And most teams now in the league are not crossing us off as a easy win unlike last year.

Go RAVENS!!!!!!!

The biggest difference between the Billick years and Harbaugh? The Ravens are playing like a complete football team.

Billick-Ville had the look of a rugby scrum--a lot of pushing and shoving followed by a field goal--or an occassional running touchdown.
This formula only worked in two seasons: 2000 and 2006. The inbetween years may have had some bright spots, but overall it was boring and slow to watch, with little apparent strategy.

So far, this team has not disappointed. With the exception of a stupid penalty by Johnson, and the fumble by Flacco, the Ravens played a hard-hitting, smashmouth game last night. The Steelers may have won, but I think you will see a Steelers team playing much more tentatively, at least in the next Ravens/Steelers tilt. The Ravens may have lost, but the confidence shown by Flacco, McClean (see my comments below) and others has gained so much, this may carry over for the next 3 to 4 weeks.

As for Billick--he could never see LaRon McClean as anything but a blocking fullback, but McClean has shown flashes of Earl Campbell and John Riggins--and at times he seems unstoppable. McGahee has been a warrior--but McClean has stepped up and may be capable of taking over the position. Under Billick, McClean would have had maybe 10 carries for the entire season. Under Cam and John Harbaugh, he is an intricate part of the offense. As for Heap? He needs to keep blocking and hope for his opportunity to catch some passes.

The only concern is that Mason is becoming such an obvious target, he may start to attract double coverage. Other receivers have not shown they can make clutch grabs--Williams and Clayton need to do this, or it will be a pure ground game.

I just heard Brandon Lang's comments on the Anita Marks Show regarding the questionable play-calling by Cam Cameron in the 3rd quarter. I have to say he is right, when you have a good defense that has been playing their butts off since the opener, you gotta give the defense some rest on the sideline when you have a 10 point lead. I'm not attacking Harbaugh and Cameron whatsover, but the offense needs to start running the ball more often when you're in position to win the game. I don't know if Cameron wanted to put more points on the board to finish them off, or just have Flacco keep learning how to throw. The kid can throw, we know that. Just give the ball to McClain and he'll pound over those steelers. Hopefullly they can do better with the time management in the 3rd quarter.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: The fumble TD was on the first play after the first Steelers TD. Don't know how anybody makes that into a bunch of poor play calls.

Dead solid perfect Ray Lewis is sic good.

I'm not much of a Ray Lewis fan--but his performance on Monday night was one of the best games by a linebacker I have ever seen--and I've watched NFL football since about 1971--and that includes Butkus, Bill Bergey, Seau, and Erlacher.

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I totally agree. He made some tremendous plays, almost willing the Steelers out of the end zone.

Pete, did you watch the mini-playoff game tonight? It was actually a treat to watch a well pitched baseball game for a change.Excellent game between 2 teams who are the polar opposite of the Orioles.Not one bit of slop. I think that was a rookie going for the Twins.
And a rookie who came on in relief. Didn't resemble anyone on the O's staff. Trembley must have marvelled that so many strikes and effortless outs could happen in one game.

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I watched most of it and listened to the end on the radio on my way home from the WBAL show. Don't see 1-0 games very often, so it was a treat.

you know everyone keeps saying that jarrett 15 yard penality cause them to sccore a touchdown i dont beleve that if u watch the penalty ward did hit jarett after the play so jarett gave him a shove and also if washington would of hit the reciever hard and played him instead of the ball holmes would not of scored the touchdown i blame the secondary for that and all the miss tackles. flacco was impressive to he took some hard hits and kept his poise way to go joe.

People are going to blame the QB, The Coach and who ever they can blame, but we must understand that the Ravens are a different team and they are going to win some games and going to lose some games. Atleast they still plays hard and never gives up. Ray lewis is one of the premere LB in the league and have been for the last past 13yrs. he will be in the Hall one day so you have to give dredit where credit is due

After watching the game yesterday on the North American Sports Network, I must congratulate the Ravens. They clearly were the superior team, and I think that their chances of winning the division look superior to the Steelers. Flacco proved himself, which should be of greater encouragement than a single loss. Pittsburgh has the harder schedule and the lesser team, so I doubt that one game will be hard for you to make up.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I think you're right, and the Steelers really are beat up now.

Ssangyong- the company who’s trying to come up with a lot of
new modelsin the next few years to get a bigger slice of the market share, partnered with Shanghai
Automotive Industries Group and showcased their newest compact SUV, dubbed C200, at the Paris
Motor Show a few days ago. The design was done by Giugiaro because his ItalDesign styling house is in charge with the looks of the new models to be built.

[url=http://directos.5x.to/oregon-cdf/map.html]Insuring classic[/url] and [url=http://directosa.strefa.pl/used-car83/map.html]specialty cars[/url] can be confusing for the [url=http://directys.prv.pl/screechi53/map.html]first time buyer[/url], because how you cover [url=http://directys.prv.pl/californ85/map.html]the car[/url] depends on how you're going to use it.[url=http://directosa.strefa.pl/florida-f0/map.html]Purchasing[/url] the [url=http://directosa.strefa.pl/car-loanea/map.html]right insurance plan[/url] will protect you and [url=http://directosa.strefa.pl/bose-car21/map.html]your investment[/url].

pcgkxmtnl iwpdf wylax lnbquxt eaovd ehmitcxf zxjlouct