SB Nation - Kelley Washington

Packers-Ravens Retroactive Live-Blog

Mitchell_M — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:13:49 -0000

It's been two months since I've really been active on the site. For some of you, that is a terrible tragedy. For many, many more, it is a source of endless joy. But today I decided to cater to the minority and make my presence known by throwing a mini-fiesta with my DVR, a bowl of Reese's Puffs, and a strong pot of coffee.

Before we get going with the retroactive live-blog, let me just share some of the knowledge I've gained over the course of working for 80 out of a possible 168 hours in a week:

There are few things more traumatic than the transition from college-life to real-life. I imagine it's somewhat like being born, except you're slightly more conscious and slightly less sticky.

Unlike most co-eds, I worked my way through and avoided drinking my way out of school, but nothing can truly prepare you for the real world. There's chores? You have to do them, otherwise you're living in filth. There's bills? You have to pay them, otherwise a large Italian gentleman will break your ribs. There's family gatherings you'd rather not attend? You have to go to them, because you don't have the homework excuse anymore.

Real life blows, I'm going to grad school.
Trying to keep in shape? Don't work overnights. You will have no energy whatsoever during the daytime hours. I play basketball to keep myself in shape and satisfy my over-competitiveness, and I love it. But I haven't played in two months, and I've gotten noticably soft. Amazing, considering I've lost weight.
Dry spells. Guys, when women say that they're too tired, it's generally a toss-up between them actually being tired and not wanting to deal with you. When a guy says it? Definitely tired.
Caffeine has an odd effect after consuming too much for it. The most noticeable symptom is when you're lying down after finally getting home and you get the ringing in the ears. It keeps me up for at least half an hour, and my mom (who worked 3rd shift for over a decade) says it doesn't go away. Awesome.
Watching sports is a major hassle. Not only do I miss the majority of my Sunday NFL-watching, but working nights has ruined any chance I have of watching any NBA games during the week. DVR has been my best friend, but it somehow isn't enough.

On to the live-blog! I DVR'd this last night and watched it immediately as I got home. I did not check the score at any time on Monday night, and I have no knowledge whatsoever of the outcome. Enjoy!

Pre-game observations:

I forgot how cool of an environment Lambeau is on national TV at night. Other cities have their stadiums surrounded by other big buildings with big, bright lights, but Lambeau sort of stands alone in the still-tiny Green Bay. It's kind of cool, even though it's quaint.
Another thing I forgot? Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski are still in the MNF booth. Let's put it this way: it took roughly two minutes for Gruden to make the first (of what I predict will be many) "Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood" jokes. Ugh.
Ed Reed is announced as inactive for the game. Good timing to get the Ravens without their ball-hawk extraordinaire, not to mention good time by ESPN's cameras, who immediately cut to Reed spitting an enormous loogie. Between that and the beard, he looks like a homeless guy (who makes roughly 100,000x my salary).
Ray Lewis may have lost a step or four, but he's still quite the motivational speaker. It's like if Lil' Jon was coherent and dread-less.
The Nike Kobe and LeBron puppets are back. Frowny-face.
And here comes the Ray Rice love. Am I pleasantly surprised by my alma mater's best football product? Yes. Am I ecstatic to have drafted him (against my then-better judgement) in the ninth round of my keeper league? Yes and yes.

Alright, enough of that. Let's play some ball, gentlemen.

First Quarter!

15:00 - Green Bay receives, and Jordy Nelson avoids both tacklers and fumble-itis all the way to the 43-yard line. Decent start.

14:34 - A play-action draw pass? Sounds terrible, but it gained 7.

13:59 - So that's why we still have Brandon Jackson. Excellent scramble by Rodgers to find Jackson in the flat for the first down.

12:44 - Ravens call a timeout (symptom of missing Ed Reed #1), and the next thing we see is Jimmy Football. If someone were to kick him in the groin, I would not object. Extra points for wearing a Billy Mays mask and demanding royalties from Budweiser.

12:32 - ESPN shows a graphic illustrating Aaron Rodgers' awesomeness on 3rd down, and he promptly finds James Jones for a first down. Outstanding blitz pickup by both Chad Clifton (the blocker) and Scott Wells (the center).

11:22 - Korey Hall and Josh Sitton pancake Ray Lewis, opening a hole for Grant to gain a first down. In other news, Did you know that Ryan Grant is 8th in the league in rushing yards? When did that happen?

10:08 - ESPN continues the Rodgers love-fest by displaying his red-zone stats. Apparently, he has 30 TDs and 0 INTs over the past two seasons when inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Yikes.

9:17 - Mark Tauscher comes up with a tipped pass and gets tackled for a loss. I'd criticize his decision to catch it versus batting it down, but whenever linemen get the ball, they seem so damn happy. I can't ruin it for him.

8:41 - Mason Crosby nearly shanks a 28-yarder. The Green Bay offense stalls in the red zone again, settling for the "easy" 3. Sadly, neither are surprises this season.

8:30 - Le'Ron McClain's smile is hilarious. Mark Clayton looks like 50 Cent. I can't wait to see the offensive linemen.

8:30 - And for good reason. Not only is Marshal Yanda's name funny, but he looks like an uncomfortable 7th grader who hasn't gotten used to his new body yet.

7:40 - Good containment on Ray Rice in the flat, but not good enough. First down, Baltimore.

7:01 - Flacco tightropes for a just-barely first down after being flushed out of the pocket. He may have looked like an idiot doing it, but it was probably better than getting pasted by Cullen Jenkins. I'll make fun of him either way.

5:05 - Bad decision by Nick Collins to go for the pick instead of batting down the ball. Another first down for Baltimore.

4:18 - Well, a fumble recovery certainly absolves Collins of any wrongdoing on the previous play. Clay Matthews is closing in on the "if a huge defensive play happens he must've had something to do with it" status currently held by Charles Woodson.

4:08 - Ryan Grant tries to return the favor, but his right knee looked like it could be down. Maybe. Possibly. Could go either way. This time, it goes the Packers' way.

3:48 - A great play by Dominique Foxworth that was (un)fortunately flagged as interference. The replay shows a grab or two, but probably

3:39 - No matter, Rodgers throws it directly to Tom ~~I-can't-spell-his-last-name-unless-I-check-the-recap-which-will-ruin-the-ending~~ Zbikowski.

2:06 - Now that's how you commit pass interference! Thanks ~~Atari Bigby~~ Tramon Williams! /facepalm

1:52 - Nick Collins makes everyone forget about Williams' transgression by picking off an ill-advised flea-flicker pass into quadruple coverage. Yeah, Flacco shouldn't have done that.

0:00 - An underwhelming first quarter filled with above-average defense and one boneheaded interception for both sides. 3-0, Green Bay.

Second Quarter!

14:52 - B.J. Raji sheds a block and drops Ray Rice for a big loss. Lucky he didn't get called for face masking, but a good play nonetheless.

14:12 - Derrick Mason just barely misses a catchable ball to force 4th down. I thought veteran receivers were supposed to make that play? I guess having Donald Driver on your team gives you a skewed expectation for aging wideouts.

13:14 - Great adjustment by James Jones to come back and grab the ball for a first down. He's definitely taken control of the 3rd WR spot on this team lately.

11:59 - By my count, that's three catches in this game that Jennings should have had but failed to come up with. This troubles me.

11:55 - Punting inside the 50-yard line? Greg Easterbrook would be appalled, then proceed to write a 10,000 word article about it. Shoot, if I included random interstellar factoids, referred to certain teams by ridiculous self-coined nicknames, and added superfluous cheerleader facts that allowed me to post their photos, I'd be Greg Easterbrook.

11:13 - Trey Wingo informs us that Jimmy Clausen will be entering the 2010 NFL Draft. Brady Quinn advises him to stay in school.

11:06 - Charles Woodson gets busted for mauling Derrick Mason. The groping wasn't necessary, Chuck.

11:01 - Clay Matthews asserts himself all over Joe Flacco. Jared Gaither doesn't know what just happened.

10:21 - Offsides on Clay Matthews? Jared Gaither claims to know what happened on the previous play.

9:48 - I know Jordy Nelson was dynamite at Kansas State, but I haven't seen enough promise out of him to merit keeping him on punt returns. Then again, it's more important to keep Woodson and Williams fresh, and Will Blackmon made his yearly trip to I.R. early this season.

8:30 - Haloti Ngata owns Daryn Colledge to drop Ryan Grant at the line. I wonder how long until Colledge loses his spot?

7:51 - It's plays like this that got Frank Walker traded. Thanks for the yardage!

7:42 - Ahman Green exhibits remarkable blitz pickup to spring Jermichael Finley on a big gain. Mike Tirico noted this, and Gruden promptly refers to him as Brandon Jackson (twice!) before correcting himself.

5:08 - Jermichael Finley makes another big play, thanks to another great third down throw from Rodgers. First and goal, Packers.

4:35 - I'm no psychic, but as soon as I saw Finley split out wide, I saw the quick fade coming. Fantastic throw, outstanding catch, b-e-a-utiful play. 10-0, Packers.

4:35 - I just remembered my fantasy football situation. Going into this week, three teams in my division were 7-5, with me among them. I play one of them this week and the other next week, and the other already has his victory wrapped up. I'm up 130-24 in a game I need to win to move into a tie for first place and help secure a playoff spot next week (the final week of the season). My opponent has Aaron Rodgers, Jermichael Finley, and the Packers defense playing. I have Ray Rice. Man, am I glad that his other players (Adrian Peterson, Reggie Wayne, Ricky Williams) all laid eggs.

2:00 - The two-minute warning comes up, and Mike Tirico just got done "highlighting" the Packers' 38-28 loss to Tampa Bay. In the team meeting the described, he said that the offensive line stood up and said something to the effect of "hey, you have to help us out too". I hope I misheard him.

1:50 - Rodgers gets the first on a sneak, and a fight nearly breaks out because Brandon Jackson is protecting Rodgers from what he thought was a late hit. Whether he was right or wrong, it is nice to see that kind of fight in your team.

1:24 - Donald Driver goes flying, earning Baltimore its 11th pass interference penalty on the year, leading the league.

1:18 - Green Bay ruins the momentum by giving up their first sack of the game. /facepalm

1:09 - And Rodgers gets it right back with a 20-yard scramble right up the middle. I take back my /facepalm.

0:38 - Rodgers delivers a Jon-Gruden-Quarterback-Fraternity-Approved LASER to Greg Jennings' back shoulder. Nice, except for Gruden's rambling.

0:32 - Rodgers connects with Donald Driver for a score, punctuated by two acrobatic leaps by Driver (one into the end zone, one into the stands). The Packer fan in me is ecstatic: the fantasy football owner is frantic.

0:00 - A solid defensive stand by Green Bay keeps the shutout alive. 17-0 Green Bay, at the half.

Halftime observations:

None. I have to be at work again in 8 hours (as of 1 PM), and I haven't slept yet. But the score doesn't lie. This game is totally worth staying up for.

Third Quarter!

14:07 - I don't know how they practiced for the past week and a half, but Green Bay is absolutely starving Ray Rice. He's trying his damndest, but he can't make anything happen. Why'd I start him against the #1 defense again?

12:31 - Brad Jones notches a sack from the strong side. Rookie 7th round pick? No matter. Boring name? Who cares? Buried on the depth chart? Not for long, I hope.

12:05 - Ryan Grant doesn't gain a ton of yards on this play, but it looks as if he's churning his legs and fighting for extra yardage more than I'm used to seeing from him. Did anyone else notice this?

9:57 - Rodgers gets time in the pocket, makes even more time, dances around, and finally gets sacked. Somehow, the play is negated by an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty. It seems like one of those games for Green Bay tonight.

9:30 - Then Scott Wells gets called for holding. Yep, it's definitely one of those games for Green Bay tonight, even if the score doesn't reflect it.

9:04 - Wow, I'm going to stop complaining about stupid penalties. I almost feel bad for Ravens fans. P.I. number twelve on the year for Baltimore.

8:27 - Jermichael Finley re-injures his knee. Not at all happy to see that.

8:23 - Nice connection to Driver that results in a fumble that quite possibly could be ruled an incompletion, if it was reviewed. Blah, a 17-0 lead in the third quarter shouldn't be this frustrating.

8:01 - Jon Gruden: "Somebody has to rescue the Ravens' offense right now." Yeah, that's Ray Rice's job, and he didn't come in today.

7:50 - As if on cue, Ray Rice rips off a big run. Jon Gruden gets to feel smart, and I lose a little bit of my soul.

6:07 - Jon Gruden praises Charles Woodson's ball-raking ability. The adolescent-me giggles uncontrollably.

5:18 - "Nobody strips a ball like Charles Woodson!" Adolescent-me is now crying with laughter.

5:13 - Todd Heap drops a sure-fire 1st and goal, then Tramon Williams forces Mark Clayton to drop one in the end zone with a slightly-more sneaky arm bar. Illegal? Yes. Effective? Absolutely, that's why it's illegal.

3:35 - I don't know what the refs were talking about before this drive, but they are letting the defense play. You don't see many drives last this long against a defense that's getting away with everything.

3:28 - A free play and a Kelley Washington touchdown deflates the stadium. The play gets challenged, but I'm skeptical.

3:28 - Modern Warfare 2 commercial, set to Eminem's "Til I Collapse". Best 30 seconds of non-football I've seen today. Get that game, if you can handle it.

3:28 - Turns out that I was right; the score stands. Green Bay is out of challenges for the game, unless of course they used the item cheat and got one for free. 17-7, Packers.

3:22 - Evan Dietrich-Smith comes up with the kickoff. My immediate thought: "This cannot end well." Of course he fumbled, but Green Bay was lucky enough to regain possession.

3:14 - Jared Johnson gets an interception off of Driver's shin. I'm not liking this third quarter. Too much bad mojo.

3:07 - More bad mojo with Tramon Williams' P.I. in the end zone. Actually, this one is relatively tame compared to other plays the refs have allowed tonight (today?).

2:58 - Willis McGahee pushes his fantasy-irrelevant self in from the 1. Makes my Ray Rice decision feel even better. 17-14, Packers. /double facepalm

2:43 - Jennings manages a nice gain on a 3rd and 10 slant. I was just about to start considering wondering whether or not Green Bay was possibly maybe starting to lose it.

1:52- Ray Lewis nearly decapitates Greg Jennings, and the flag takes forever to come in. But it does, which is all that matters.

0:42 - A Mark Tauscher hold takes Green Bay out of the red zone the same way they got in: on the yellow cloth road.

0:00 - I knew this game seemed too sloppy to be a blowout. 17-14, Packers, but our guys are in scoring position.

Fourth Quarter!

14:50 - Mason Crosby shanks a field goal, leaving the drive with nothing to show for it. Same score, same story. I sure hope the defense can regain its first-half composure.

13:53 - Flacco unleashes the dragon deep, Derrick Mason gets past Charles Woodson and makes the catch over him, but somehow got called for offensive pass interference. At this point, I don't know which team is trying to give the other team more breaks, honestly. And an unsportsmanlike penalty on Mason is tacked on at the end of it. A huge gain turns into a huge loss in a heartbeat. 3rd and 32 (!).

13:05 - So of course Baltimore decides to run the ball and Ray Rice nearly fumbles. Green Bay gets the ball back with decent field position.

12:30 - And here comes the replay of the Mason interference/unsportsmanlike penalties. There was definitely a hook-and-push around Woodson's waist, and Mason follows up that number with a plea for leniency to the referee. Pretty standard, right? Nah, just kidding, he pretty much shouted in the ref's face, "What the f--- was that, man?" Yeah, that's a flaggin'.

10:31 - Jermichael Finley gets another touchdown after a couple of nice short passes to get within 20 yards. Aaron Rodgers' red-zone stats improve, Jermichael gets the "Mr. Monday Night" nickname, my fantasy team starts to quiver in terror, and the score jumps to 24-14, Packers.

10:21 - Ah, Green Bay special teams, you never cease to disgust me. A massive kick return puts the Ravens deep into Green Bay territory. Then again, how hard is it to juke out Mason Crosby? The goalposts do it to him on a weekly basis.

9:46 - Tramon Williams earns yet another pass interference flag in the end zone. I thought there was a cap to how many times a player could get flagged for the same thing over and over?

/conveniently forgetting the Ahmad Carroll era

9:30 - How? How? How does a cornerback make that play? Tell me how Charles Woodson just stopped McGahee when he had a massive opening to go through? Between that and flustering the Ravens to the point of calling a timeout, I'm pretty sure Charles Woodson should gain an edge for the DPOY award after tonight.

8:47 - Joe Flacco rolls nearly 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage, avoids a sack, and tosses it nicely into Tramon Williams hands. Mike Tirico exclaimed "That is terrible!" as the ball was still in the air! I cannot believe Flacco made that throw. Downright Bad Favre-esque. Kudos to Williams for not retreating into the fetal position after all the penalties tonight.

8:38 - Still trying to figure out the last three plays of that Baltimore drive. Tackle for loss, timeout, interception, all from within the 5-yard line. When's the last time Green Bay came up with that kind of stop?

7:12 - Baltimore's defense forces a 3-and-out as the King of Third Down and James Jones miscommunicate on a fly-stop route.

6:48 - Yeah, Joe Flacco's having a bad day. This time he throws it right into the hands of A.J. Hawk, who was quietly having another solid game (which is EXACTLY WHY WE DRAFTED HIM! FOR QUIET, SOLID GAMES!) before this play. Back-to-back interceptions for the Unibrow, and I'm almost sad to see it. Remember, my fantasy team is up 130-24, but I'm playing Rodgers, Finley, and the Packer defense while starting Ray Rice. The offense I can deal with, but this stifling defense is killing me!

6:00 - Ahman Green smashes his way to gain a short first down, and the running out of the clock commences. How much time can they milk from the clock?

2:56 - Turns out they can burn a whole lot of time. Interesting graphic on Green Bay receivers, going from Sharpe to Brooks to Freeman to Driver to Jennings.

2:15 - "Hey Coach Gruden, I found a pair of your old practice shorts." If there's a better setup for a pasty white guy wearing green-and-gold short-shorts in below-freezing weather, I've never seen it.

1:56 - Crosby avoids the shank-osaurus and makes it 27-14, Packers. Solid lead.

1:52 - Gruden brings up the possibility of a Vikings-Packers rematch in the playoffs. I say, don't get ahead of yourself, but the prospect of facing what might be a slowly-fading Favre, a possibly nicked-up Peterson, and a banged-up defense in Minnesota isn't nearly as terrifying as it seems.

0:29 - Fittingly, Clay Matthews chases Flacco down for his second sack of the day. Ted Thompson deserves all the slack in the world for having the stones to trade up for this guy. He could draft Jimmy Clausen next season and I'd still like him.

0:00 - The sack is the last play of the game, and the Packers earn the win, 27-14.

Post-game thoughts:

Not many, again due to my exhaustion. But I will say this: the offense played relatively well, Aaron Rodgers carried the team with his passing. The defense was stifling for much of the game, and Charles Woodson should be the front-runner for DPOY, and even in the conversation for defensive-players-who-deserve-the-MVP-but-won't-get-it-because-they're-not-a-quarterback-or-running-back (if he wasn't already). The playcalling was really well thought out on both sides of the ball, and the execution of many of the plays was awfully impressive.

But two things stand out as glaring negatives. First was the penalties. So many penalties. If Baltimore didn't flag it up more than we did, it would stand out more. Tramon Williams has a lot of talent, but he cannot ~~get caught using~~ use that armbar anymore. It simply costs too much yardage. And Chad Clifton needs to get his business together, because he's smarter than he's playing.

The second thing was the final score. 27-14 seems like a solid win, but with all of the opportunities that the Ravens gave up, it should have been a much wider margin. Playoff teams win games like this soundly, which the Packers did. They should, they're a playoff team. But championship teams beat their opponent senseless when they come up with as many takeaways as they did (4).

All that said, this is Green Bay's fourth straight win after falling to 4-4. You can't ask for a better setup for the final quarter of the season.

And my fantasy team? They hung on for a 137-80 victory, largely because I had actually started Rashard Mendenhall instead of Ray Rice. See what working third shift does to you?

Saturday Injury Report: Ravens at Packers

Brandon — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:03:13 -0000

The Green Bay Packers have 11 players on the injury report including a few starters. It's even worse for the Ravens: several starters are among the 15 players listed.

The report includes CB Charles Woodson, QB Aaron Rodgers, and RB Ryan Grant, but all three players fully participated in practice on Saturday and should start on Monday. The most important player listed this week is LT Chad Clifton, who was limited in Saturday's practice, though Mike McCarthy said he did some team reps. I expect Clifton will play, but if he can't then his backup, OL T.J. Lang, is unlikely to play due to a concussion suffered in practice on Thursday. If neither Clifton or Lang were available, I thought LG Daryn Colledge would slide over to tackle, but McCarthy would rather leave Colledge at LG and start either OL Allen Barbre or OL Breno Giacomini at LT. The idea of Barbre at LT, after his disastrous stint at RT, is scary. LB Aaron Kampman is still listed, but there is no chance he'll play after tearing his ACL against the 49ers. LB Jeremy Thompson won't play after he spent Friday night in the hospital due to a neck injury suffered in practice on Friday, but McCarthy expects he'll be fine.

The Ravens have listed four key defensive players: S Ed Reed, LB Terrell Suggs, LB Ray Lewis, and DT Haloti Ngata. Reed wasn't able to practice until Saturday, but he expects to play. Suggs was expected to miss a month, but he said there is a chance he can play on Monday. Lewis might be slowed by his foot injury, but I haven't read anything to suggest he'll miss the Packer game. Ngata will play, but ankle injuries and defensive lineman are bad combinations, so he won't be 100%. The only other players who could miss the game are former practice squad S K.J. Gerard, and former Titans' practice squad player CB Cary Williams. TE L.J. Smith will miss the game too, but I think the Ravens can find a way to replace the 2 catches he's recorded so far this season.

The complete injury list is after the jump.

Player	Pos.	Injury	Saturday Participation	Saturday Status
Allen Barbre	T/G	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Brandon Chillar	LB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Chad Clifton	T	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Probable
Ryan Grant	RB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Ahman Green	RB	Groin	Full Participation	Probable
Aaron Kampman	LB	Knee	Out	Out
John Kuhn	FB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
T.J. Lang	G/T	Concussion	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Aaron Rodgers	QB	Ribs	Full Participation	Probable
Jeremy Thompson	LB	Neck	Out	Out
Charles Woodson	CB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Saturday Participation	Saturday Status
Matt Birk	C	Ankle & Elbow	Full Participation	Probable
Prescott Burgess	LB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Joe Flacco	QB	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
Jared Gaither	T	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
K.J. Gerard	S	Shoulder	Limited Particpation	Questionable
Jarret Johnson	LB	Not Inj. Related	Full Participation	Probable
Ray Lewis	LB	Quadricep	Full Participation	Probable
Le'Ron McClain	RB	Not Inj. Related	Full Participation	Probable
Haloti Ngata	DT	Knee	Limited Particpation	Probable
Ed Reed	S	Back	Limited Particpation	Questionable
L.J. Smith	TE	Shoulder	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Terrell Suggs	LB	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Kelley Washington	WR	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Cary Williams	CB	Knee	Limited Particpation	Questionable
Demetrius Williams	WR	Knee	Full Participation	Probable

Ravens' Win Follows Last Year's Gameplan

Bruce Raffel — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:51:12 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

about 1 month ago: Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton, left, lies on the field after being sacked in the fourth quarter by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Chris Carr (partially obscured) and defensive tackle Dwan Edwards, top, during an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Baltimore. Baltimore won the game 30-7. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Browse more photos »

Watching the Baltimore Ravens complete domination of the Denver Broncos in yesterday's 30-7 victory had the team looking just like the one that went 8-2 in their last ten games to make the AFC Championship Game than the one that had blown the previous three by a total of 11 points.

Everything that most fans have complained about here on The Beatdown, on the airwaves and across the internet, seemed to disappear on a day that started off rainy and ugly but finished bright and beautiful. Whatever happened during their Bye week must have sunk in because the guys who showed up certainly improved in so many areas that were blatantly obvious issues prior to the game.

(Click on the 'Jump' to read more on "Ravens' Win Follows Last Year's Gameplan")

Going into the Bye week and up until gametime, the fear that most fans had was that we were not able to put pressure on the passer and even Kyle Orton would be able to pick us apart and use the huge Brandon Marshall to embarrass our secondary. After allowing two straight 100+ yard rushers, our defense faced the brunt of the fan's criticism and combined with he lack of the pass rush, needed to come up with the big plays to change those jeers into cheers.

Well, they all responded in a huge way. Denver's Kyle Orton was only 23-37 for 152 yards and while he did not throw an interception, he didn't complete a pass over 23 yards for a QB rating of 71. Speaking of Brandon Marshall embarrassing our DB's? Marshall had only four catches for 24 meaningless yards, including a long of nine measly yards. His best play was the ridiculous long pass interference penalty called on the Ravens after the referee right at the play called it incomplete only have another ref from the complete other side of the field run over and throw the yellow flag. Two more penalties kept the drive alive as the Broncos scored their only points of the day. Take away that pass interference penalty and the penalty at the other end of the field after we had a first and goal negated by a sissy personal foul call on Michael Oher that took away a possible TD for a FG and the score could have been as bad as 34-0.

The Ravens defense held the Broncos to 200 yards of total offense and totally shut down the Broncos running game, limiting them to 66 yards, holding starter Knowshon Moreno to just 39. The pass rush may have only had two sacks for the day, but seemed to have constant pressure on Orton all day. LB Jarret Johnson got it started on the Broncos first possession by rushing in untouched off the edge and slamming Orton to the turf a la Bart Scott's hit on Ben Roethlisberger three years ago. Amazing how much better the DB's looked with a decent pass rush, eh? Remember how many times I kept writing that for the past month or so? The Ravens pass rushers were in Orton's face all game and that showed by the hurries that caused incompletions and totally domination in the trenches against what was considered one of the top offensive lines in the entire league.

Offensively, the Ravens weren't rolling all over the Broncos top rated defense, but we were efficient and effective. Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron stuck to his game plan and kept pounding the ball into the Broncos athletic yet undersized defensive front seven, finally breaking through as the game progressed. Denver's vaunted pass rush did little to faze Joe Flacco and their top pass rusher, Elvis Dumervil was held sack-less.

Speaking of efficiency, I heard that Flacco complete his final 14 passes in a row to finish 20-25 for 175 yards, the one beautiful 20 yard TD pass to Derrick Mason and a stellar QB rating of 109.2. WR Kelley Washington made the most of his four receptions, each resulting in a key first down. Denver's Champ Bailey pretty much shut down Derrick Mason for most of the game, necessitating key plays from Washington and a couple of acrobatic ones by Mark Clayton to pick up the slack.

Lardarius Webb proved why he continues to deserve to get the ball in his hands on kickoffs and may be closer to doing the same on punt returns as well. Camera shots of Head Coach John Harbaugh on the sidelines imploring the fans to get out of their seats and cheer on the defense got huge reactions throughout the stadium as it was as loud as it have ever been, proving why this stadium is among the toughest places to come to for visiting teams.

Make no bones about it, the Denver Broncos are a good team and for real. You know all Ravens fans will be rooting for them as they host the Pittsburgh Steelers next week in the Mile High city on Monday Night Football. However, the Ravens proved they were a much better team than their 3-3 record indicated and yesterday were a much better team than the Denver Broncos. The Ravens have scored over 30 points in five of the seven games in 2009 and if their defense continues to play at the level they did yesterday, which was a lot like last year's one, this team could very well reel off a string of victories to get us firmly back in the hunt for the AFC North lead, starting next week with a revenge game at the Cincinnati Bengals.

Ravens v. Broncos: Prediction & 'Open Thread'

Bruce Raffel — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:07:46 -0000

Stay with Baltimore Beatdown all day and post your comments and thoughts as you watch us shock the world and certainly the Rocky Mountain area and yank the Denver Broncos from the ranks of the NFL unbeatens! I'll join in the aftermath of the carnage when I return home from the game, where I'll be drinking Dom Perignon and eating baked brie off of silver platters served by french maids with long black gloves and high boots in the Club Level. It's the Ravens' annual Halloween game and the cheerleaders will be dresses in all sorts of provocative outfits to bother and distract me. However, they won't be able to distract the Ravens from returning to their early season form as the Bye week that both teams enjoyed last week ends up helping the home team more than the visiting one.

(See more on "Ravens v. Broncos: Prediction & Open Thread" after the 'Jump')

If the Denver Broncos can fly 2500 miles and beat an angry, tough, hard hitting Baltimore team in their own stadium in front of 70,000 screaming fans who are just as angry and frustrated by the results of the last three games, well, then I'm right on their bandwagon with them. Until then, I see the Ravens offense putting points on the stingiest team in the NFL, even in the second half, when the Broncos have shut down everyone up until now. I also see the defense getting back on track, with enough pressure to harass and fluster Kyle Orton into throwing more than just a useless last second Hail Mary interception. For the first time in three games, the Ravens run defense returns to its past of keeping the opposition's rusher under 100 yards and forces the opposition to throw much more and sooner than they want, leading to the game changing plays that we know this defense is all about.

Joe Flacco continues to show why he is the best young QB in the game today, as he withstands the pressure and his offensive line gives him the time to find his open receivers. I expect Todd Heap, Mark Clayton and Kelley Washington to make big contributions and even won't be surprised to see a significant appearance from seldom seen Demetrius Williams and perhaps even L.J. Smith. Derrick Mason will be blanketed by Denver's Champ Bailey, which should have Flacco looking elsewhere for the big plays on offense. Speaking of big plays, right now there is no one in the league putting together a better all around season than Baltimore's Ray Rice. Whether it be running the ball or catching it out of the backfield, expect him to get the touches necessary that he's sure to make at least, if not a handful of big plays that turn the tide of the game in Baltimore's favor and keeps it there for all sixty minutes. Between Rice, Willis McGahee and LeRon McClain, the running attack will wear down the Broncos athletic, but small defensive front seven and take its toll as the latter stages of the game roll around. This time, the last couple of minutes won't be needed to either pull one out for either team as the Ravens finally prove that they could have came into this game at 6-0 just like the Broncos. The differences are that we are 3-3 and pretty damn angry about it and the Broncos and their fans will see what this team is made of as Denver falls for the first time all season.

Ravens 27-16

Ravens @ Vikings: Prediction & "Open Thread"

Bruce Raffel — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:24:07 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

2 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco's helmet pops free after being hit by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Fabian Washington, left, and linebacker Ray Lewis during the fourth quarter of the NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Baltimore. Cincinnati won 17 - 14.(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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Keep it here all day to post your thoughts and comments before and during today's game between the Baltimore Ravens at the Minnesota Vikings. It's going to be a real tough one, considering the Ravens are in the midst of a two game losing streak at 3-2, while the Vikings sit among the top few teams in the NFL at 5-0.

But that doesn't matter at all once the teams take the field. The Ravens will be by far the toughest test for this undefeated Minnesota team. While the Vikings have won every game this season, they haven't faced the hard hitting Ravens, who up until last week, were as balanced a team as there was in the league. The home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week soured a lot of people on this team, but they have proven they can play with the tough teams based on their win at San Diego and last second losses to the New England Patriots as well as the Bengals.

(More on Ravens @ Vikings: Prediction & "Open Thread" after the 'Jump')

The Vikings also present what should be the Ravens toughest test of the season. Adrian Peterson is the best RB in the league, Brett Favre is playing more like a 20 year old than a 40 year old, the offensive line is big and nasty, and that's just their offense! Defensively, Minnesota may have the best front seven in the league, stopping the run as well as the pass. Their cornerbacks are solid, shut down their opponents' top receivers and make the big plays, leading the league in interceptions.

Since I'm such a home town fan, I see that the Ravens seem to play to their opponents' expected level of competition. This means that we play as good or as poorly as the opponent appears to be playing. Part of the reason the Ravens lost last week to he Bengals is that we fully expected the game to be an easy win but sadly found out that Cincinnati was for real. In both games at the Patriots and Chargers, we either hung tough or took the game to them, not feeling the pressure and folding when we got behind early in the game. I see the same thing happening today, as the team knows they're in for a brutal battle and have their backs against the wall.

Facing an angry Ravens team is not something most teams want to do, but knowing the Vikings, they'll be up to the task. Peterson should get his yards, but as long as the Ravens stop the long run, they should still be in the game. Forcing Favre to throw more than the game plan wants to is in the Ravens favor. While Favre has enjoyed a great season thus far, the Ravens have faced him with success in the past. If Favre has to air it out for the Vikings to win, the Ravens can pin their ears back, pressure him to return to his gunslinger mode and make the interceptions to change the game.

Offensively, I fully expect the Ravens to pound the rock more this game than they did last week, which should open up the passing game. Willis McGahee needs to be involved on a regular basis to spell Ray Rice, plus pounding LeRon McClain into the front wall of the Vikings defense should soften them up for the big play. The Vikings have been susceptible to the passing game, usually to the slot receiver and the tight ends. Expect to see a lot of throws to both Kelley Washington and Todd Heap and perhaps even a L.J. Smith and David Tyree sighting.

With that gameplan, I can see the Ravens upsetting the Vikings and getting back on the winning track. Baltimore likes to be the underdog and gets little respect from the experts. Surprisingly, four of seven writers from The Baltimore Sunpapers actually are picking the Ravens to win this game. Even more surprisingly, I agree with those that do, as I see us getting the pressure on the QB that wasn't there last week and while we've lost our last two games and left points on the field, we could have easily won those games with one more good play on offense or defense. Today we make those "one more plays," both on offense and defense, and drop Minnesota from the ranks of the unbeatens in front of their home fans to go into a well deserved Bye week at 4-2.

Ravens: 21-20

Poll

Who wins today's Ravens-Vikings tilt?

Ravens

60 votes

Vikings

162 votes

222 votes | Poll has closed

Dissecting The Ravens Loss: What Went Wrong?

Bruce Raffel — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:51:37 -0000

More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

2 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andre Caldwell tosses the football away as he celebrates his fourth-quarter touchdown during the NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Baltimore. The Cincinnati Bengals won 17-14. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

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Where do we start? Perhaps this story might be a lot shorter if we just talk about what went right. The Baltimore Ravens Lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 17-14 yesterday and there were so many things that went wrong that my fingers might give out before we list everything.

So let's just summarize and break it down by offense and defense. Offensively, the Ravens could only muster 257 total yards, easily their lowest output of the 2009 season. Joe Flacco threw for 186 of those yards but it was another Red Zone interception on a poorly thrown ball off of a bad decision that cost the Ravens points for the second straight week. Without the amazing run after the short catch by Ray Rice, the offense would have been shut out by the Bengals surprising defense. After throwing what seemed too much last week in the loss to the New England Patriots, the Ravens made so many questionable choices to run at inopportune times in key situations, most notably a three and out in the third quarter when they ran the ball three straight times including a third and four. The subsequent series gave the Bengals their first score on a long Cedric Benson run. The playcalling was boring, the execution inefficient, and the field was reduced to sideline passes and dump offs, resulting in lost opportunities.

Where was Derrick Mason all day? Until the last drive, where was the over the middle throw to Kelley Washington? Was Willis McGahee playing at all? What about L.J. Smith? So many key contributors from our three wins were absent either physically or spiritually from yesterday's gameplan. How many times did it seem like both Brian Billick and Matt Cavanaugh were calling the plays? I heard a unnamed newspaper columnist say after the Patriots loss that our offense has to take what the defense gives it. I totally disagree with this as good offenses force the defense to compensate, not the other way around. Perhaps this team has such a long history of a weak offense that even they believe that they can't determine what the defense is doing and it must stay the other way around, which is never what you hear from the better offenses in the league. I guess we're still just not up there with them despite our early success this season.

Defensively, you can say that we held them to ten points for the first 59+ minutes of the game and even I predicted they would only score ten points yesterday. Of course, all Ravens fans would have walked away real happy if that was all the Bengals scored. However, when the opposition can roll 80 yards for the game winning score with seconds left in the game on what is supposed to be an opportunistic defense, as it was for one play in the first half, then nothiong else needs to be said.

Blame the refs, the poor penalties, the offensive shortcomings, this team had the lead and where they wanted the Bengals with two minutes left in the game. Our cornerbacks couldn't cover a sleeping homeless guy with a blanket. At the same time, the lack of a pass rush makes it so difficult to cover a guy for that long. Notice that a lot of Carson Palmer's completions came after he had a long time to sit back and wait for his guys to get open for the catch. Until this team (and it's fans) stops whining about the refs and stop causing so many inopportune penalties, the league will continue to sit and wait for us to screw up so they can throw the flag. That is not targeting us in a league conspiracy, it's just knowing that this team is prone to committing penalties and are among the league leaders year after year.

Our cornerbacks remain a huge issue this year as we cannot match up much less cover the opponents receivers. The key mismatches are seeming to come on the nickel and dime packages as the opponents' #3 receivers are burning us over and over. We saw this yesterday when third option Andre' Caldwell caught the game winner with, who else, Chris Carr lying on the ground watching his cross the goal line. Carr has not played anywhere near the guy we thought he would be when we signed him as a free agent in the off season, as a DB or in the return game.

Face it, the days of the Ravens dominating defense appear over. While we still have some great players, this team is not going to win games by themselves and other than the occasional amazing play, do not expect us to shut down the better teams and win the close games unless the offense picks up the slack. That certainly did not happen yesterday and you have to give partial credit to the Cincinnati Bengals who proved you can win all your games in the last seconds as long as you win,which is why they sit at 4-1 and atop the AFC Norht, while we are in what Tom Petty sings in his hit "Free Fallin'" and are now headed for Minnesota and a real tough game against an undefeated Vikings team next Sunday.

Poll

What side of the ball played worse in the Baltimore Ravens loss to the Cincinnati Bengals yesterday?

The Ravens offense

329 votes

The Ravens defense

219 votes

548 votes | Poll has closed

Houshmandzadeh's departure might have been the best off-season move; Carson Palmer for comeback player of the year; Bengals overrated?

Kirkendall — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:43:45 -0000

Reader WhoDeyDerek brought up the point in the comments of Jake's Links and Notes, saying that with T.J. Houshmandzadeh's departure, "a negative presence is gone" (that's right Derek, I'll make you famous). I think there's truth to that. A lot of it. When Houshmandzadeh was in Cincinnati, a lockerroom distraction was always sensed. How would I know? Well, I really don't. Just that after he left, we suddenly now have this mature group on our hands that looks much more positive. There's also this December post in 2007 which says, "A league source tells us that there is growing animosity in the Bengals locker room toward receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Per the source, both are yelling 'all the time' at quarterback Carson Palmer" and even concluded that the "two receivers are trying to 'run the team.'" Houshmandzadeh then goes on to talk trash with the Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo. That personality isn't in the lockerroom so you have to believe that the growth this team has showed was the result of a subtraction of one it's most negative players.

I'm not here to rip on Houshmandzadeh, who feels more at home in Seattle not having poor-ass people in Cincinnati beg for autographs. Good for him. I'm happy for him and his 1-3 Seattle Seahawks. However, I think there's far more truth in that Houshmandzadeh's departure opened up this belief that the team lost a negative influence that constantly chipped away whatever positive frame of mind they had. You can almost see that in the squad already. There's a team-like attitude that's so strong it's making us take a double-take, making sure that this is our Cincinnati Bengals.

Moving on, swan.

The one thing I haven't understood about ESPN's blogs, is that they're still so disassociated with the core of bloggers out there, that they put their crucifix on their doors before going to bed at nights. Not that its advisable that you should take ESPN's blogs as a template of how to write. When you become strictly an informative blog, you're kind of not a blog. You're more like a self-imposed Wiki; or a team page with shorted posts. Blogs tend to be more opinionated -- they are, for the most part, a diary. And if you really believe in the era of blogging, then you have to not just acknowledge blogs for their related tabled discussions, but, you know, support them. ESPN's blogs aren't the only ones that fail to achieve some full-fledged heart and soul to gain passage into the blogging universe. A lot of people do. And it ticks me off. In this case, I don't blame James Walker. I think this is an ESPN thing. Why point out to the universe that we, or another credible and hard working blog exists, when you can monopolize the entire genre. Sorry. When I started this sentence, it actually started with the the next paragraph. That's the world of a Kirkentangent.

Fox Sports' Alex Marvez names Carson Palmer the comeback player of the year through the first quarter of the season.

Comeback player: Cincinnati QB Carson Palmer.

Yes, Brady grabs the headlines and is a worthy choice coming off a serious knee injury. But Palmer has also been impressive after missing 12 games last season with a damaged elbow. Palmer led game-winning scoring drives the past two weeks against Pittsburgh and Cleveland for a team that would be 4-0 if not for a fluke opening loss to Denver. Palmer's play is going a long way in breaking the culture of losing that has enveloped the Bengals since the early 1990s.

Marvez also names Chad Ochocinco as one of five players we shouldn't have doubted. We never doubted him, did we, Tim?

Tank Johnson has plantar fasciitis in his foot. That's the same injury Rashad Jeanty dealt with last year and the one that Eli Manning is dealing with too.

The News Record's Peter Marx thinks that the Bengals are overrated and not very good; claims that the Broncos aren't very good either and that's why they're 4-0.

Paul Daugherty, on Sports Illustrated, talks about Chad's newest book. You get the feeling that Daugherty and Chad's relationship hasn't really been on good terms for a while now.

I like to think I watch the games and understand what's going on. But WDR sees things that I'm not, which is good -- an extra set of eyes always makes us more informed. However, I didn't get Tom Nelson being bulleted as the third "good thing". Nelson has been inactive in the first three games and played against the Browns thanks to Roy Williams' forearm injury. Nelson did record a special teams tackle when he ran Jerome Harrison out of bounds with under two minutes left in the game.

Make sure you vote for Chad Ochocinco's (kinda) one-handed touchdown reception against the Cleveland Browns for this weeks Sprint's Can't-Miss Plays.

The Cleveland Browns trading away Braylon Edwards hurts the Bengals. Now they're going to have a receiver that can actually catch the football.

With the Bengals playing the Baltimore Ravens this weekend, that means we'll see former Bengals wide receiver Kelley Washington. And that means we fire up the old Squirrel Dance!

A reader sent this photo of the Baltimore Ravens. Terrell Suggs is such a beautiful swan, isn't he?

Ravens 53 Man Roster: My Picks

Bruce Raffel — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:00:24 -0000

Here are my picks for what the Ravens will end up doing later today when they announce the 53 man roster that they will be trimming down to when they release 22 guys to get down to the NFL max.

Offense

QB: Joe Flacco, Troy Smith, John Beck

WR: Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams, Kelley Washington, Justin Harper

RB: Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, LeRon McClain, Jalen Parmele

TE: Todd Heap, L.J. Smith, Davon Drew, Edgar Jones

OL: Matt Birk, Ben Grubbs, Jared Gaither, Chris Chester, Marshal Yanda, Michael Oher, David Hale, Oniel Cousins

Defense

DB: Ed Reed, Dawan Landry, Fabian Washington, Domonique Foxworth, Haruki Nakamura, Tom Zbikowski, Chris Carr, Lardarius Webb, Frank Walker, Derrick Martin

LB: Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Jarret Johnson, Tavares Gooden, Jameel McClain, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Paul Kruger, Prescott Burgess, Antwan Barnes

DL: Haloti Ngata, Trevor Pryce, Justin Bannan, Kelly Gregg, Dwan Edwards, Brandon McKinney

Specialists

P: Sam Koch

PK: Steven Hauschka

LS: Matt Katula

That’s only 52 guys and my final spot is a tough one to decide upon. I am looking at one of the following guys:

Yamon Figurs, Jason Cook, Jason Phillips, Joe Reitz, Kelly Talavou

Figurs still has the speed and with Webb looking a bit shaky on returns, Yamon gives us another option behind Chris Carr. Jason Cook gives us another fullback along with LeRon McClain. Jason Phillips was a 4^th round draft pick in 2009 and Ozzie doesn’t like to release draft picks. Perhaps Phillips will be IR’d to keep our hands on him (I expect the Ravens to IR undrafted rookie LB Dannell Ellerbe as well). Joe Reitz gives us more depth on the offensive line as well as Kelly Tavalou does the same for the defensive line.

I don’t want to take the easy way out by only selecting 52 players, so I will have to go out on a limb and make my selection and therefore the 53^rd spot on the Baltimore Ravens roster goes to Yamon Figurs.

The other players I was undecided about go onto our Practice Squad, where we can have up to eight players. Of course, I would expect the team to peruse other teams’ cuts to add a player or two to either our roster or Practice Squad, and vice versa for the rest of the league. However, in advance of that info, my Practice Squad would look like this:

Cook, Reitz, Talavou, Foster, Riley, Peerman, Smolko, Stallings

Additionally, as I stated earlier, the team would place both Dannell Ellerbe and Jason Phillips on Injured Reserve (IR), which would end their 2009 seasons, but ensure the team retains their rights while giving the players their full 2009 salaries, which do count against the team’s salary cap. However, being rookies, that should not be much of an issue.

Your thoughts and comments on those last few slots?

Pregame Zone Blitz: Steelers at Panthers

ncoolong — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:44:30 -0000

More photos » by Don Wright - AP

Pittsburgh Steelers' linebacker Keyaron Fox, left, pressures Buffalo Bill quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick as he releases the ball in the second half of the NFL preseason football game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. The play was ruled an incomplete pass. The Steelers won 17-0. (AP Photo/Don Wright)

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The third preseason game was as crisp as fall air. We even got to hear a little bit of smack talk from James Farrior. While the Panthers have yet another quality running back in the works, the final game of the preseason - tonight at Carolina - is all about the final roster cuts. Here's what our opponents are up to.

Opponent Web Sites/Forums

Panthers CB Chris Gamble got a huge contract this off-season. He responded by giving up multiple plays to Ravens receivers Kelley Washington and Derrick Mason in their 17-13 preseason week 3 loss to Baltimore.

The Charlotte Observer's Scott Fowler says the Panthers need to play their starters against Pittsburgh, because, "it's a chance to practice with their defense against the defending Super Bowl champs."

This isn't normally something that would make the link list, perhaps it's because I was hungry when I wrote this, but fans posting on the Carolina Huddle Message Board are describing one helluva tailgate spread before tonight's game.

The resignations of Stadium President Jon Richardson and Team President Mark Richardson from the Panthers organization were announced this week. Their father, Jerry Richardson, is the Panthers owner and founder. Will that make Christmas Dinner weird?

Opponent Spotlight: RB Mike Goodson

It could be too early to call Panthers rookie RB Mike Goodson the next Maurice Jones-Drew. His versatility, though, shows flashes of the Jaguars supposed undersized multi-purpose threat. What's even better for the fourth-round pick out of Texas A&M, at 6-foot-0, 212 pounds, he's a lot bigger than MJD - just not as talented yet.

Goodson had an impressive 78 total yards from scrimmage on 11 carries and three receptions against Baltimore in preseason week 3. With injuries to regulars DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart this preseason, Goodson made enough of his chance to earn a roster spot behind the two former first-round picks.

He made such an impression after the draft, All-Pro WR Steve Smith even mentioned being impressed with him after checking out his college highlights on YouTube.

In a game that typically only has the allure of watching the 51-55 ranked players on teams fight for special teams spots, it'll be interesting to see how Goodson can handle facing the starting units of two of the best defenses in the game. He's been impressive so far, let's see if he can continue it.

Steelers Spotlight: KR Stefan Logan

"I think this is the right spot for me, and I feel like I definitely can do the right thing for them." - KR Stefan Logan on playing for the Steelers

Guys like Stefan Logan make coaches love their jobs. They make it so incredibly hard to cut him, coaches get the chance to make the difficult decisions they love to make.

His lack of ability to make the squad solely as an offensive player aside, he's turned enough heads as the first explosive return man the Steelers have had since Antwaan Randle-El. Len Pasquarelli of ESPN writes that the Steelers have had 16 kick returners and 10 punt returners since Randle-El.

Logan, the diminutive pinball from small Division II University of South Dakota, has done enough with returns alone to merit a roster spot.

Numbers may work against him, as they usually do for players competing to make the team as special teams contributors, but as John Harris pointed out Wednesday, Steelers 2008 Rookie of the Year Patrick Bailey cemented his roster spot in the last preseason game.

Logan's not a rookie in terms of age. At age 28, it's his first year in the NFL, but he looks plenty comfortable filling a role the Steelers have been without since 2005. Rookie CB Joe Burnett has fumbled twice in his punt return opportunities, and Logan's 14 yard average shows consistency and the ability to break the big play. He also had a 60 yard return against Washington and his nearly 40-yard average gives him a clear advantage over rookie Mike Wallace going into Week 1 vs. Tennessee.

Last Game

"Maybe they need to huddle up a little more." - Steelers LB and Captain James Farrior, on Buffalo's newly installed no-huddle offense, which was yielded zero touchdowns so far this preseason.

Preseason aside, Pittsburgh's 17-0 blanking of offense-less Buffalo at least appeared to be what head coach Mike Tomlin asked for before the game - 60 minutes of Steelers football.

Despite the fact the Bills were without WR Terrell Owens, they were able to manage just 135 total yards (86 through the air), and the Steelers got a blocked field goal from rookie CB Joe Burnett with less than three minutes to go to conserve the shut-out.

It was that kind of a game for the Steelers defense. Completely overpowering.

LB James Farrior scored on an interception return, and the Steelers stopped the Bills starters to just 50 yards of offense in the half the two starting units faced each other.

I See You

I see you, Brett Keisel. You're the latest example of the recent Steelers trend of bucking age when it comes to signing the "right" veterans to extensions after they reach 30, joining James Farrior, Hines Ward and James Harrison.

Keisel got his contract not just because he's a great, versatile athlete; it's simply because he's one of those players who doesn't need coaching, shows up each practice ready to work and goes about his business the right way. On the field, the intensity in which he plays mirrors the seventh round pick he was back in 2002, when he was just trying to make the team.

There are few who typify Steelers Football more than Brett Keisel. It's great to have him around for another five years.

We're Canoe-Paddling right along with you, Brett.

Key Stats

Stefan Logan is averaging 13.9 yards per punt return, and 39.3 yards per kick return. The Steelers averaged 6.2 yards per punt return and 20.3 yards per kick return in 2008.

The Steelers starting defense has yet to allow a touchdown in three preseason games.

Pittsburgh has completed 55 passes this preseason, 31 of them have gone for first downs (56 percent). New Orleans leads the preseason at 60 percent.

QB Ben Roethlisberger had more passing yards (168) in the one half he played than Buffalo had total yards all game (135) in Pittsburgh's 17-0 preseason week 3 win.

Quick Hitters

Bronco Legursky: With Darnell Stapleton placed on ice for this season, veteran C Doug Legursky has likely locked down a roster spot. Rookie A.Q. Shipley will likely end up on the practice squad (has anyone mentioned he's from Pittsburgh?).

Mr. Fox: Keyaron Fox got to join the highlight reel of Steelers linebackers making audibly violent hits against Buffalo, when he crushed return man Leodis McKelvin. He continued to thump his way toward recognition, and with the ankle injury to Lawrence Timmons, he'll start at the mack linebacker spot against Carolina. It's up in the air whether Timmons will be able to play in the season-opener.

Baltimore Ravens' Starters Dominate Carolina Panthers, 17-13

Bruce Raffel — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:10:12 -0000

"That's what's most exciting, the way we are clicking both offensively and defensively," Lewis said. "The bottom line is everyone is lining up and playing fast. We're all playing well right now."

The quote above from the Baltimore Ravens' Ray Lewis epitomizes the consensus of opinions on the team's dominating victory over the Carolina Panthers in week 3 of the pre-season last night. While it still was an exhibition game, the starters played into the third quarter and left with a 17-3 lead. The Panthers excuse could easily have been that they were without both of their two starting running backs, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. However, their backups were irrelevant and despite a couple of nice long passes to All Pro WR Steve Smith from QB Jake Delhomme, Carolina could only muster ten of their 13 points against the Ravens second-stringers in the fourth quarter.

Ravens QB Joe Flacco looked like he had the teams' offense running on all cylinders and might even be a decent fantasy pickup afterr going 23 for 28 and 247 yards, with a nine yard TD pass to TE Todd Heap in the second quarter. Flacco engineered touchdown drives of 80 and 90 yards against what has consistently been a very solid defense, much less on the road on the Panthers home field in front of a very disappointed crowd.

See the highlights from NFL.com by clicking here.

While Derrick Mason was his usual solid self with six receptions for 71 yards , Kelley Washington stepped it up big time and more than likely nailed down his spot as one of the Ravens top receiving threats in the absence of Mark Clayton, who is still recovering from his hamstring tear, although he is supposed to be ready for the season opener in two weeks. Washington had only three catches but totalled 66 yards with the long one of 42 yards. Demetrius Williams also had four catches but was not the long threat that Washington was.

Ray Rice was the main target on offense, as he touched the ball 18 times last night, inlcuding ten rushing attempts and eight receptions for just under 100 total yards. However, the star of the offense was without a doubt the second year QB out of the little school in Delaware, from the College Football Subdivision (formally Division 1-AA). Flacco looked calm and poised like a veteran, scrambling out of the pocket and finding his receivers downfield time after time.

Defensively, the Ravens overwhelmed the Panthers whether they tried to run or pass the ball. Even though the great Steve Smith made his two big catches, the rest of the team were stymied by the Ravens suffocating defense which pressure Delhomme all evening and while he did not throw an interception, he was sacked twice and harassed all night long.

The kicking game continues to be a concern, as second year PK Steven Hauschka missed what should have been a 27 yard chip shot, but did hit a 38 yarder and both his PAT's. While he still looks to be the leader between himself and rookie Graham Gano, who did not attempt a kick last night, some people are saying that the team should be dialing free agent and former Raven kicker Matt Stover right about now. However, Stover is definitely not the answer to our kicking concerns, as he cannot hit the long one and carrying two kickers on the roster is just out of the question, as it takes up another roster spot which is ridiculous. Besides, if you can't hit a 50 yard field goal nowadays, you are just not NFL material.

All in all, we can continue to dissect this game in the comments you all post below and throughout the week. However, the Ravens play again on Thursday night in Atlanta against the Falcons in their final tuneup prior to the regular season kicking off on September 13th when they host the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium in downtown Baltimore. The final pre-season game should only feature our starters for a series or two, and then the reserves will battle it out for the last few open roster spots, including the kicking competition, which still figures to go down until the wire.

The NFL Network will replay the Ravens-Panthers game on Tuesday at 4pm.