Offense continues rise against rock-bottom Bengals

This is the time of year when you want to see certain things, such as a dominant running game and an improved passing game, and you saw some of that yesterday.

[mikezpen]

The Ravens still haven't beaten a really good team.As late as last weekend, Philadelphia shut the Ravens down pretty well offensively; their defense set up most of their scoring.

Right now they should make the playoffs but will likely be a first-round goner unless they can do it against good clubs.

[Chip Dover DE]

The Ravens are coming together both on offense and defense in time for the December stretch. They'll need everything because their about to play heavyweight competition. That said the Redskins are beatable and E. Manning exposed their secondary. With time there is no reason Flacco can't do the same.

[RavensfaninNY]

Ahhhhhh...its so nice to see the Ravens dominating an opponent. I know all the nay-sayers out there will say "it was just the Bengals" but in a season where no team can take anything for granted and upsets are right around the corner, lesser teams must be dominated. I'm happy to finally see an offense that can put some TD's on the board.

Clayton took some big leaps yesterday and finally realized that a great reciever has to make plays on the ball. I was happy to see that Flacco was able to throw deep and have a reciever at the other end that was willing to go and get the ball and not just expect it to land softly in his hands. GO RAVENS!

[Mr Football]

mikezpen wrote:

The Ravens still haven't beaten a really good team.As late as last weekend, Philadelphia shut the Ravens down pretty well offensively; their defense set up most of their scoring.
Right now they should make the playoffs but will likely be a first-round goner unless they can do it against good clubs.

Funny but that same Eagles team did pretty good against the Cards and the Cards were annointed as one of the better teams in the NFL just a couple of weeks ago.

[Axl is finally back]

The Bengals are 1-10-1 but they play most teams very close (tie Philly, lose in OT to Giants, played Jets close) so crushing them like this should not be considered ho-hum. Preston says they are the worst team he has seen in 21 years. Have you seen the Lions this year, Mike? At least, Cincy shows up most weeks.

It is all about the QB in this league now. If you do not have an elite QB, it is very, very difficult to win and the Ravens do not have an elite QB yet, but he is coming. That is the most important thing. Just ask the Ravens strong defense this decade what they have missed. They just need to keep Joe Flacco healthy. God help them if he goes down and they have to bring Smith in. He can't hit the side of a barn with his passes. He would just scramble around and try running gimmicky plays. In the offseason, they need to get a proven veteran backup to Flacco.

But overall, good win and now the real stretch begins.

[LoneCrow]

I thought it was a good idea to keep Flacco in the game to the very end of the blow-out. This isn't Payton Manning or Tom Brady we're talking about here. Flacco is a rookie and he needs all the playing time he can get. And, besides, it was nice have him stay in there and preserve the blow-out. I didn't want us to get experimental have Smith try to do something crazy to prove himself. We have some very tough games coming-up. If we get in any situation where we're being blown-out at the end of the game (maybe the Steelers or Cowboys), I'm betting that Smith will get a bunch of reps.

I'm predicting 10-6. We'll beat the Jags and the Skins but the Cowboys and Steelers will smack us around a bit.

[ryan]

worst team...obviously you didnt watch the Lions on T-giving day

[brwterp]

After watching the Thanksgiving Day games, I have to take issue with your description of the Bengals as the worst team. Detroit is the worst team and the Lions are even worse than last years Dolphins.

[Dave]

I agree Smith should have been given a few snaps with the game firmly in hand. If Flacco goes down, those game reps will come in handy. It was good to see that Flacco is finally trusting the speed and talent of his receivers to make plays. Instead of under throwing on long routes, he was leading his receivers and they were making plays. Now if only he could be quicker in his receiver check-downs instead of focusing on one target. Dumping a five yard pass off to the back when there's nothing open down field isn't a bad thing. I still don't see the infatuation with Figurs returning punts and kickoffs. He still runs scared, and he runs more east and west then he does north and south. It sure would be nice if the Ravens had a kicker that could get the ball into the end zone on kickoffs.

[brandon]

preston is a hack. if by horrible circumstances, flacco throws an interception last week, preston will write that flacco has regressed.

[steveg]

The Ravens looked good and do seem to be improving, which is what you want to see at this time of year. Truly, the Bungles didn't put up much of a struggle, but the Ravens didn't let up on them.

My observation on the playoffs is that a team can go just exactly as far as their offensive line will take them. I think ours gives reason to be hopeful, but improvement is still needed if we're going to find success against good teams.

[James]

Axl is finally back wrote:

The Bengals are 1-10-1 but they play most teams very close (tie Philly, lose in OT to Giants, played Jets close) so crushing them like this should not be considered ho-hum. Preston says they are the worst team he has seen in 21 years. Have you seen the Lions this year, Mike? At least, Cincy shows up most weeks.
It is all about the QB in this league now. If you do not have an elite QB, it is very, very difficult to win and the Ravens do not have an elite QB yet, but he is coming. That is the most important thing. Just ask the Ravens strong defense this decade what they have missed. They just need to keep Joe Flacco healthy. God help them if he goes down and they have to bring Smith in. He can't hit the side of a barn with his passes. He would just scramble around and try running gimmicky plays. In the offseason, they need to get a proven veteran backup to Flacco.
But overall, good win and now the real stretch begins.

You don't need an elite QB to win. Collins not elite titans 11-1, Eli not elite Giants won SB last year, Delhomme not elite, Ryan not elite, Garcia not elite, Cassel not elite, Pennington not elite, all are teams that could go to SB. You need a manager at QB to win these days, not an elite QB. There are very few elite QB's in this league right now, but there are very good managers and leaders of offenses. Drew Brees is killing teams but the Saints aren't going to make the playoffs.

[Sun Columnist]

Fire Trembley wrote:

Another win against a garbage opponent. Good work Ravens. Let me know how 8-8 tastes in a few weeks.

Hey FT, you keep predicting how bad the Ravens WERE and ARE suppose to be. sooner or later you'll get one right. NEXT YEAR MAYBE!!!!
Matter of fact.... 8-8 is probably better than you original prediction.

[jeffro]

The Eagles were tired when they played the Ravens you could see it. Two games in 4 days will do that. Tough game against the skins coming. The Ravens are no Super Bowl team, but they had a great season and exceeded everyone's expectations. Joe Flacco was a great pick, the O line did a great job, Ray Rice..wow. Fabian Washington is coming around. They should be in contention again next year, pick up a real deep threat and you will have a (gasp) explosive offense.(Calm down I know that is a big word in Baltimore) If Harbaugh doesn't punish everyone in camp next year and the team stays healthy they could be S Bowl contenders next year. It would be nice to win one more for Ray Lewis before he retires, for all the service and loyalty he has done for that team.

[jeffro]

Baltimore is a great franchise, how many division crowns have you won ? How many playoffs have the Ravens been in since 2000.

[kevin]

The Ravens may not have beaten a really good team yet but they have looked great against teams they should beat. Even the 13-3 season in '06 the Ravens didn't win games as convincingly as they have been winning them this season.

Most importantly: Joe Flacco looked great playing in inclement weather. When was the last time we could say that about a Ravens QB?

[Ex Steelers Fan]

Fire Trembley wrote:

Another win against a garbage opponent. Good work Ravens. Let me know how 8-8 tastes in a few weeks.

No team in this league should be scoffed at. OK, maybe the Lions, but everybody else shows up, plays hard, and pulls upsets. Predictions like 10-6 and 8-8 are useless in the face of the "Any Given Sunday" rule.

Also, a game against the Raven's at home should never be scoffed at either. They have one of the biggest 12th men in the NFL, and with their successes of late, it will be even bigger against the Skins and Steelers. And don't forget the seemingly endless well of emotion the Ravens play with, also heightened at home.

Also, Defenses win playoffs. Ours is good. Maybe equal to Pitt's.

I'm not saying they'll win all 3 home games, just like I'll never make a prediction about any NFL game, but they'll sure be fun to watch.

[Raven in Rhode Island]

LoneCrow wrote:

I thought it was a good idea to keep Flacco in the game to the very end of the blow-out. This isn't Payton Manning or Tom Brady we're talking about here. Flacco is a rookie and he needs all the playing time he can get. And, besides, it was nice have him stay in there and preserve the blow-out. I didn't want us to get experimental have Smith try to do something crazy to prove himself. We have some very tough games coming-up. If we get in any situation where we're being blown-out at the end of the game (maybe the Steelers or Cowboys), I'm betting that Smith will get a bunch of reps.
I'm predicting 10-6. We'll beat the Jags and the Skins but the Cowboys and Steelers will smack us around a bit.

I am not going to sit here and predict victories over teams such as the 'Boys or the Squeelers, but don't think for one minute that they are a shoe in to "smack" the Ravens around. Pittsburg only won because of a lousy penalty call late in the game that should not of b3een called. And, at that time, Joe was only starting his 4th professional game. And, the game was at Pittsburg. As for the Cowboys, they are not a great Defensive team. Even with Romo, you keep a game tight, and you can win. No easy games left, but they are all winnable.

[Mark]

Fire Trembley wrote:

Another win against a garbage opponent. Good work Ravens. Let me know how 8-8 tastes in a few weeks.

What you are failing to realize is that the Giants and Tennessee have been beating "garbage" opponents too. Look at the opponents win percentage.

[Raven in Rhode Island]

Fire Trembley wrote:

Another win against a garbage opponent. Good work Ravens. Let me know how 8-8 tastes in a few weeks.

Wow, really surprized to see you show up with another idiotic post this week. Well, I'll say this for you, at least it seems you are coming around. First it was 4-12. Then you claimed it would be 6-10. Now you are up to 8-8. I guess it takes the retarded a little longer to comprehend what is actually happening here. I am sure next week you will want to know how 9-7 feels, right?