Paul Brown Stadium? You mean Cleveland Browns Stadium, right? Please - I'm trying to put last week's debacle at the actual Paul Brown Stadium out of my mind!

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Pete's reply: Another mind cramp. Obviously, I can't get it out of my mind either.

We're done this season.Sorry. Houschka should be released TODAY !

In truth , I expected a blow out . We seem to be digressing . The Ravens always stink on national TV also .
Is this what "play like a Raven" means . ..... not looking forward to seeing Manning , home or not .

To me, this team looks more and more like the team from Billick's last year here. They lack fundamentals and they lack the sense of urgency. This team has no shot against Indy and they better play their best game of the year against Pitt or it will be ugly.

At least we are not Cleveland!

Though I didnlt watch last night's game as I;ve suffered enough embarassment what with my tomato crop failing to fulfill my meager expectations this summer, I wasn't surprised that The Boys won and that they managed a win with such ineptness.

Time to blow it up and turn our attention to the draft in 2010.

This team from the coaches to the bench players do not show thir enthusiasm for playing the game. They have no intnsity. They remind me of cherrios going stale.

If we are going to pass why are we not going over the middle mixing with Rice and McClain runs. Heaps and Washington can control the middle. It was open the last 3 games for us.

Me I would put Wahington outside and Clayton over the middile. Washington has been effective. Calyton is just taking a spot on the feild because we have no one else.

The Ravens are in serious trouble. Don't make any playoff plans Ravens fans. I've never been so disappointed after a game in which we shut the opposition out. They look terrible. The reason for the win is that the Browns just looked hideously atrocious !!

Could be trouble. I have been and am big Flacco fan. But, the last 2 games, he is playing like he is scared. Must have taken a hit that he can't get out of his mind. Looking at the rush instead of downfield.

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Pete's reply: I think you have to give some credit to the secondarys they have been facing, though I don't know what happened last night. This could get dicey.

Flacco kept running left out of the pocket. He should run right; his throwing arm side.

They are staring to look like they've traveled back in time 2 years to that wonderful high powered Billick offense that we all loved so much. Make a 1st down, have it called back on a bone head penalty, when the run is working lets pass! when the pass is working, lets run! Throw away a couple of time outs, fail to protect your QB wow! just like old times!
The Colts are going to eat them alive.

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Pete's reply: I hope that's not true, but I can't imagine how they're going to stop Manning.

It's not very often that a win feels like a loss, but I think the Ravens cemented their claim last night to being the third best team in the AFC North.

The reality is that the Ravens are not that good this year. It's going to be a long two weeks for Raven fans.

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Pete's reply: I think you're right that the Ravens clearly are the No. 3 team in the division, but everybody has a puncher's chance in the NFL.

Flacco kept running left out of the pocket. He should run right; his throwing arm side.

Posted by: MIke W | November 17, 2009 8:28 AM
_______________________

Would you have wrote that inane comment if you didn't hear Jaworski say it on the broadcast? Did you say anything about the problem being Flacco running left last year when he did the same and went to the AFC Championship game, and came within a stupid penalty of a possible Super Bowl game? Did you say anything about it when the team went 3-0 to start the season? So if Flacco always runs to his right as you want, you don't think the defense will pick that up? If the offensive line does their job it proves the ridiculousness of your comment. Spare me. Stop being brainwashed by tv commentators or sports writers and use your head.

Give me a break...you "know-it-alls" need to leave the guy alone on the Paul Brown Stadium line and all of the other inconsequential errors the writers make in their blogs. We all know what the guy meant, and we just think you are a jerk for calling him out on it.

As far as the Ravens, I acknowledge that they didn't look great in the win. But, I would also add that they have looked pretty good in a few of their losses. Unfortunately, those were nearly a month ago, but here's hoping they rekindle some of that early season form. Getting Ngata back will be a tremendous help.

These type of games are no wins. Playing a team like Cleveland always makes you look bad. They play an ugly brand of football and the Ravens just played down to their level. We shut out another team on their turf, so let's not get entirely negative. Our defense did exactly what it was supposed to: Get sacks, force turnovers, and keep the opposing offense off the field. The Browns never had the ball inside the Ravens 40 all game and you can't put that entirely on the Browns' ineptitude.

What did we learn on MNF?

-ESPN can't let the Browns/Ravens history go. How many more years do we need to dwell on it.

-John Gruden has a man crush on Barady Quinn

-Cleveland makes Baltiomre, as city with low self esteem, seem like Paris. I've never seen more unattractive fan shots.

-The Ravens offensive line is not 'gelling' as the season progresses.

-Todd Heap is clutch, but can't create separation from coverage.

-Two slow white guys are missed. Stover and Leonard.

Pete, a road win is a quality win, no matter who you play, no matter how ugly a game.

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Pete's reply: Usually, I agree with that. Not this time.

Question. Has there been ANY talk of switching up the receiving corp? Clayton is not a No. 2 receiver. Why isn't D. Williams getting a chance to run? Quite frankly, Cam's biggest weakness seems to be an inability to play multiple personnel. Also, it seems that the offensive scheme is take what they give you, instead of impose your will. Too much thinking and not enough playing.

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Pete's reply: I'm sure there will be some changes this week, but we'll have to wait and see what they are and whether they'll make any difference. I wish we could take some solace in the defensive performance, but that wasn't Peyton Manning or Carson Palmer out there.

Danny, your comment about Billick ignores the fact that the 2007 team was decimated by injuries. The Ravens had one starter (Ngata) inactive last night and did not come to play.

This team was in the AFC Championship last year, has had no significant injuries (Ngata and Gaither have missed 2 games apiece) and crushed a previously undefeated Broncos team 2 weeks ago. What the hell happened?

What is Harbaugh going to do about this mess? I know, feed us more crap about Mighty Men and Tough Guys and Character and Playing Like a Raven and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah....

And people in this town used to call Billick a bull-crapper? I haven't heard Harbs give anyone a straight answer in 2 years.

the ravens downright stink. they should have smacked the browns to smitherines they look like and act like things are not peachy keen in the club house

I learned how much of a closet or now out of the closet Browns fan Gruden is...sheesh...they post pictures he drew of the team when he was 8? yeah there was no bias in his telecast last night right?

How many times did he say he wanted:

Brady Quinn is from Notre Dame (drooling in his telecast)

Brady Quinn needs to throw down field..(inference, that is was the play calling NOT Quinn who is failing)

Gruden trying to be Mr. TV now..."If the Ravens went with a Retro uniform they would be the Browns..."...yuck yuck..how about the Colts...that was Baltimore's team remember?..

I learned how much of a closet or now out of the closet Browns fan Gruden is...sheesh...they post pictures he drew of the team when he was 8? yeah there was no bias in his telecast last night right?

How many times did he say he wanted:

Brady Quinn is from Notre Dame (drooling in his telecast)

Brady Quinn needs to throw down field..(inference, that is was the play calling NOT Quinn who is failing)

Gruden trying to be Mr. TV now..."If the Ravens went with a Retro uniform they would be the Browns..."...yuck yuck..how about the Colts...that was Baltimore's team remember?..

Any win is good but I think we've found out that this team is flat. Looks like Billick ball to me. Can't run, can't pass....we looked so good in Minnesota, albeit in the second half only. What is up with this? Had the D not gotten the INT's, this game may have been a 3-0 ending.

It's obvious the players do not have confidence in Harbaugh,,,,,,,,,,,the young players don't know yet they are not well prepared to win , the veterans know they are not well prepared and show it.............Harbaugh is a terrible result from a gut feeling , and why does Ozzie still get a free pass , the acqusitions this year are terrible and the players gone are sorely missed............

We learned that Sam Koch is now handling kick-offs. I suspect this is being done to throw off Matt Stover's game when he comes to town this Sunday, as he must be laughing his butt off about this.

It seemed to me the D looked pretty good. Even against a lousy team like the Browns, it's hard to pitch a shutout. My problems with the offense include: unimaginative play calling ( could we be hiding stuff from th Colts?); subpar performance by the O line( what's up with Gaither); where's Kelly Washington :and seemingly declining confidence by Flacco.

We learned that channel 13 should of shown the Big Bang Theory.

Flacco runs a great no-huddle but the gameplan is always getting in the way of that. The gameplan is never effective - hence no first half points, yet plenty of second half points in games where no-huddle comes out. Let Flacco do his thing!

The only caveat is that no-huddle if done right means an efficient offense, and D has to be on the field more. Mattison was pretty aggressive with blitzing last night. I would like to see that trend continue vs. using lineman to create pressure.

No huddle with aggressive blitz-happy D in first half means Ravens get ahead quick. Ravens have ALWAYS been good and preserving leads no matter what year you look at. Thats the formula IMO. But, i am just an average Joe. Any other average Joe's out there agree?

That win last night didn't inspire confidence for this Sunday. Sure the defense had a dominant effort but they were going against one of the worst offenses I've ever seen, that's what you'd expect. The offense looked like a mess with terrible play calling and bad O-line play. They ended up doing the bare minimum to beat a hapless Browns team. If this team doesn't start out fast against the Colts, it will get REALLY UGLY!!

If you're that unhappy with this team, feel free to return them. We'll welcome real Browns back home with open arms..

Pete, How do the Ravens stack up against Indy in Sunday's game?

Hmm, let's see. Brady, Moss, Welker, Faulk and the rest of the Patriots' potent offense put up 34 points against the Colts and still lost, on a night where much of the time Manning wasn't even at his sharpest. (Yeah, Belichick really helped by giving Peyton what was basically a tap-in, but I think Manning might have driven the field anyway, as much as he had heated up by that time.)

Meanwhile, the Ravens struggled to score 16 (only seven by the offense) against the hapless, quarterbackless Browns.

Can you say "mismatch," boys and girls? I guess if you're a "glass half full" you can spin this into a reverse lock, but the only way I see Baltimore prevailing is if Indy is already thinking playoffs and doesn't have it's head in the game.

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Pete's reply: I'd wish I could say the glass is half full, but after last night, I can't even find the glass.

We learned that the offensive line can get overpowered regularly.

We learned that the Ravens have lost any efficient ability to convert third down opportunities.

We learned that the Ravens are great a wasting timeouts.

We learned furthermore, that Foxworth is terrible and that Webb should be starting over him.

We learned that we really, really made a huge mistake in letting Stover go.

We learned that Gruden is angling for himself to takeover after Mangini is fired.

We learned that there is no sense of urgency from this team.

And finally we learned that the Ravens are not a playoff caliber team.

Geez, what short memories Ravens fans have. This was the same Browns team that almost upset the AFC North leading Cincy Bengals this year. This was a team that had 2 weeks to prepare for a national game that they didn't want to lose or look bad in. The Brown defense was up to the challenge, their offense wasn't. The Ravens biggest problem is they have never played well when they have a tough schedule from the previous years success. We do fine the year after we miss the playoffs and the way this year looks we'll be a championship team again next year with a softer schedule.
The Ravens gambled on 2 personnel decisions that haven't panned out, Stover and Leonard. I don't think this makes Newsome incorrect in what he did. We do need a younger kicker and who knew Landry would play scared. Hindsight being 20/20 he made the right call at the time.

This game did seem a bit pathetic, but let's not forget the Bengals at Browns game. They had to finish it off in OT, and they gave up 20 points. I still don't really get that.

This is much ado about nothing if you ask me. Say the Ravens come out and dominate them- like they did the first time they played. What does that prove?

All anyone would be saying is that now they have to show we can do it against the good teams- and that it proved we know how to beat up on the doormats of the league.

The Ravens KNOW they can beat up on teams' like the Browns- they already did!

They needed a win last night, plain and simple. The Browns were well rested, at home, and playing on Monday NIght Football. This game was their Superbowl and their defense played well.. in crumby conditions mind you.

I'm actually pleased we won a game ugly. Had we looked like the juggernaut we have shown we can be, the Colts would surely not overlook what we can do.

I actually started to think we were running halfback option passes and slants on 3rd and short- JUST TO THROW OFF the Colts. Maybe we want them expecting crazy stuff like that- when we really, we plan on pounding them up the middle on every 3rd down next week.

Not to mention, Haushcka's missed kick had to be somewhat draining- but they rebounded.

Either way- hasn't anyone noticed? The Ravens are a confident team. They know they are better than what they've shown and what their record says- and then didn't need to beat up a "little kid" to prove it.

They have bigger fish to fry. And this week and next- they get a chance to show they can.

Last night was the equivalent of "busy work." Get thru it, and move on. Yeah it was a must win, but you can't fake the hype and opponent. This week, none of that will be needed.

Hey, it wasn't pretty, but we broke our MNF losing streak, and on the road, no less.

We did manage to get a shut out. Yes, it was against the Browns, but maybe we can carry this accomplishment forward against the Colts and Steelers.

We had a 31:32 time of possession, which is a lot better than the 20:00 time of possession we had last week.

Joe Flacco had a 98.1 passer rating, despite the non-flashy results. Contrastly, Brady Quinn had a 23.4 passer rating.

I can recall at least three occasions where the Ravens had 3rd and 2 and they couldn't convert. 3rd and 2! That can't happen, especially against the worst defense in the league.

What I learned form MNF is that my beloved Detroit Lions might actually have a chance to beat the equally brutal Browns this weekend!
I'm guessing 3-0 Lions...

I agree with some of the other posts
This team lacks fundamentals can the offensive line count, maybe we need smarter personnel on the line.
If players like Reed how I think is great and Landry is is not cannot tackle do to neck problems someone else should play.
Again next one up.

Ok Pete hear me out before you disagree...

First off...I think the game was much more of a blowout than the score indicated. There was not one moment in the entire game where I felt like the Browns had any chance of scoring. I understand of course that it was the Browns offense, but that is certainly not the Raven's fault. The defense played very well, even if it was against a horrible offense.

Ok, second...the score really should have been 20-0 (Hauschka missed FG and XP), which has a much better ring to it than 16-0. By just glancing at 16-0, the game looks relatively close, but 20-0 may not look so close. The people who make a living off of analyzing and previewing that game set the line at eleven points, and the Ravens won by 16 anyway. The covered the spread easily, and that says something about the outcome.

Finally, as much as everyone wants to say how terrible the Ravens offense look, I think it is fair to point out that the Brown's defense actually looked good. They were coming off of a bye week--extra time to rest and gameplan--and they it showed. The had cause for extra motivation yesterday: fired GM, angry over the fan walkout, MNF national audience, general hatred for Baltimore, etc. I think all of those factors ended up causing the Brown's defense to play with a lot of energy and motivation. So as much as we want blame the playcalling, energy level, and other things, I think it is fair to point out that the Browns played pretty well. Remember, they beat the Giants on MNF last year.

I feel like the Raven's played better than everyone is giving them credit for. Flacco did what he could on offense, McGahee and Rice ran hard, and the Ravens got back to running the football and won the time of possesion. And of course, the defense played very well. You can't fault them just because the opposition was bad. They still played as well as they could.

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Pete's reply: I agree that the Browns were helpless, but that's why one touchdown against their defense is so disturbing. Hopefully, the Ravens were just keeping their powder dry and will have a more exciting offensive gameplan on Sunday.

Just in case it's not common knowledge.

Ravens released K Steven Hauschka.

quote the raven nevermore:

even with two games left
against the lions and raiders,
two very ugly nfl teams....

the ravens will win only 8 or
9 this year...

as the late jimmy the greek
would say " book it"....

You all are much better fans than the Pats. You focus on your team not just starting stuff. I hope your team plays well against the Colts and its a close game thats enjoyed by all. I can also understand how you feel about Gruden.
We have had to put up with alot of that for years in Indy.

Pete:
I'm usually the guy to rant and rave. Then I'll come here and you'll be the voice of reason. The fact that you seem depressed and can't find any good in last night's mess is creeping me out. BTW, Brady Quinn is completely over his head. I've never seen an NFL QB look so lost and confused. If there is any hope for this young man's career he needs to get out of Cleveland and spend some years as a back-up somewhere, learning how to be a QB in the NFL. His coaching staff is going to kill both him and his career.

Except for Ray Rice again I can't hang my helmet on any offensive fallout from last night's game.I was pleased to see our cbs and dbs step up and play a good game;now,can they cover,dissect the Indy downfield assault this coming Sunday?Pete,you see some writing on the wall and I'm not sugarcoating the win to any of our other Raven fans,either".Lower the bar and don't be so damn mad when things go south down the road".

So I wonder if MNF will make as big a deal about the Titans being the former Houston Oilers next week as they did about the Ravens being the former Browns? We're not the only city that attracted a team from another city, but it seems like its a big deal when we play in Cleveland on a national broadcast. ESPN even made a point of showing the anti-Modell signs in the stadium.