Ravens Best Texans 41-13

What they're saying around the web:

Associated Press: The Baltimore Ravens have won four straight, rookie Joe Flacco is showing the poise of a veteran and Ray Lewis looks as good as ever.

Sporting Life: The Ravens' stifling defence intercepted Sage Rosenfels four times. Two of those picks led to second-half touchdowns, as Baltimore erupted for 29 points after intermission, a second-half season high.

Baltimore Sun: The Ravens' fourth straight win - their longest streak since December2006 - improved them to 6-3 and moved them into a first-place tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers (who have the tiebreaker edge because they beat the Ravens this season).

FanHouse: The Ravens offense was able to move the ball at will, with both the run and the pass, and really were only stopped when they made mistakes or penalties. TE Todd Heap and RB Willis McGahee had huge games with two touchdowns for each. Rookie quarterback, Joe Flacco played for the most part, a very poised game.


One Winning Drive: Haloti Ngata showed sheer dominance throughout the game. From snagging an interception in the red zone, forcing an interception, and nearly blocking a punt, Ngata is having a Pro-Bowl year.

East Coast Bias: The team sorely missed Trevor Pryce last year, and it's showing now with him present. Pryce and Haloti Ngata are eating up four linemen by themselves, much as Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams did for the Ravens' 2000 championship run. This defense is not as strong as that one - just look at the corners - but this offense is better than that one too. The similarities are eerie, really.

Knee-Jerk Reaction: Ravens/Texas

The Ravens put together another impressive win today against the Houston Texans. The team is firing on all cylinders and has proven they are a contender.

The veterans are meshing well with the young guys.

It feels great to see Todd Heap's name on the scoreboard again.

Ravens are #4 in power rankings

Bill Simmons, ESPN's Sports Guy, put out his most recent NFL power rankings. He placed the Ravens at #4 in a group with the Steelers and Panthers. Simmons' only knock on the Ravens was a rookie QB at the helm. What he fails to realize is that rookie QB is playing better than a lot of veterans around the NFL.

John Harbaugh gives his team a break

The Baltimore Sun recently wrote a piece about the fact that the Raven's haven't had a Monday off since the season started. As they say in the story, most teams are given Mondays off if they win their game that weekend. It takes guts for a rookie head coach like John Harbaugh to tell his team that they have to change tradition and work through their usual weekly break. It is those kind of guts that have gotten the Ravens to the position they're in today. The team needed to work through its hiccups, growing pains, and infamiliararity with each other.

That said, it is time to start going easier on the players. The 2008 season is now more than half over and there are plenty of bruises/injuries in the Ravens locker room. Harbaugh gave the team their first Monday off this week and he should continue to do so. He now has to walk the line of keeping his team fired up, prepared and rested all at once.

Chris Johnson heads list of offensive rookies

My ranking of the NFL's top 10 most impactful offensive rookies mid-way through the 2008 season:

1. Chris Johnson: 715 rushing yards, 5 TDs: Johnson is the most physically talented rookie of this class. From his now famous 4.24 time in the 40-yard dash to his breakaway game speed, he has impressed everybody who has seen him play. At this point in the season, he is the rookie of the year. Johnson and LenDale White are a scary and dynamic one-two punch.

2. Matt Ryan: 1661 passing yards, 9 TDs, 85.4 passer rating: Ryan is playing like a veteran. He is leading an Atlanta Falcons team that had no expectations coming into the season. He seems to have all the skills to become a quality QB for an extended period of time in the NFL. He has already led a John Elway style comeback.

3. Matt Forte: 641 rushing yards, 4 TDs: Forte has single-handedly made Kyle Orton's job easier. He has made the Chicago offense two-dimensional. We'll see if he can do the same thing for Rex Grossman.

4. Joe Flacco: 1464 passing yards, 5 TDs, 75.6 passer rating: Young Mr. Flacco, from a small Deleware football program has lived up the hype. He is learning on the job, and learning at record rates. He is now used to the speed of the NFL game and is actually throwning/catching/running long-bombs almost every week. Its early, so I don't want to say he is the quarterback of the future, but he is certainly the quarterback of the present.

5. Steve Slaton: 538 rushing yards, 5 TDs: The Mountaineer is fast and quick all at the same time.

6. Eddie Royal: 461 receiving yards, 3 TDs: He came onto the scene with a huge first game. Since then he has peeter out a little but, but his presence coupled with Brandon Marshall still makes the Broncos offense one of the most dangerous in the league.

7. Tim Hightower: 242 rushing yards, 7 TDs: Hightower should actually be known as "garbage goal." He has become the master of short TD runs, much in the same way Brandon Jacobs was for the NY Giants a couple years ago. Last week Hightower ran for over 100 yards and a TD. Has he replaced Edge James as the #1 back in Arizona?

8. DeSean Jackson: 525 receiving yards, 1 TD: Jackson may have some butter fingers at times, but he adds life to an Eagles offense that has lacked a downfield threat since TO went to Dallas.

9. John Carlson: 244 receiving yards, 2 TDs: The one bright spot on the Seahawks offense. He is by far the best rookie tight end. Dustin Keller is the only one that can compare, but even he is well behind Carlson in production.

10. Jonathan Stewart: 352 rushing yards, 5 TDs: Stewart has filled a necessary role in Carolina. Watch out for the Panthers further into the season because Stewart gives them great depth in the backfield.

Return to blogging and football prominence

It has been a long time since I have written a post. I had some major surgery, but have fully recovered. I missed writing, but had to focus on the healing process more than the blog.

Now on to football...

I am proud of the team the 2008 Ravens have become. I have been watching closely throughout the season. They started the year hot, hit a serious bump in the road, and rebounded with a team effort. The team is now sitting at 5-3, in playoff contention and coming off a season sweep of the rival Cleveland Browns.

My observations thus far:

1. John Harbaugh is steady under pressure. Lets not for forget that he is one of the youngest coaches in the league, skipped the period in the normal progression of being either an offensive or defensive coordinator before being a head coach and came from the NFC to the AFC. He has butted heads with star players when needed, added humor to interviews, made positive in game adjustments, and most importantly served as an example to other young members of the team.

2. Joe Flacco's most impressive trait is his character. Sure, Flacco has the physical tools to succeed as a quarterback in the NFL. He is tall, moderately mobile and has a laser rocket arm. It is his composure, desire to learn, and sheer intelligence that will make him a successful QB for a long time. Even when he makes a mistake he comes of the field and immediately talks to coaches about what he just saw.
3. Haloti Ngata is a monster. He is the anchor of a defensive line that has continued their record-breaking streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher against them. He has assumed the lead role, which was previously held by Kelly Gregg. Ngata is an intimidater, a bruiser, and a all-out beast. That is not to say that Trevor Pryce, Terrell Suggs, and others haven't played amazing football, but Ngata has stood out.

4. Ozzie Newsome did a great job this off-season. This year's draft class (Flacco, Rice and the rest) and other pick-ups such as Fabian Washington have made all the difference this season. Without Washington to help in a secondary that seems to be the weak point of the team there would be even more long-yardage touchdowns against the Ravens. Needless to say Chris McAllister is the biggest disappointment of this year.

Its good to be back. There will be much more to come.