Mike Preston's report card

Quarterback: C+ For a rookie, Joe Flacco held up well. He lost his composure briefly in the third quarter, but regained it in the fourth.

[Pete I]

Mike,

Sometimes I wonder what you are smoking. You give all the offensive units C grades and all the defensive units A or Bs? The defense was the unit that had to play beat up Ben, a weak offensive line and 3rd string running backs and they still couldn't stop Big Ben when it counted. Add to that the bonehead penalty that JJ had that changed the momentum of the game in the second half. Special teams graded a B? They were mediocre at best. Also, are you ever going to give your man Joe more than a C grade? I think he at least deserved a B considering the situation.

[ravens]

Pete I wrote:

Mike,
Sometimes I wonder what you are smoking. You give all the offensive units C grades and all the defensive units A or Bs? The defense was the unit that had to play beat up Ben, a weak offensive line and 3rd string running backs and they still couldn't stop Big Ben when it counted. Add to that the bonehead penalty that JJ had that changed the momentum of the game in the second half. Special teams graded a B? They were mediocre at best. Also, are you ever going to give your man Joe more than a C grade? I think he at least deserved a B considering the situation.

i think the d did well only giving up only 1 touchdown and 3 field goals. yes there was some miss tackles but jj lose that game for them. himes wards baited him and he bit. for a team that was said to finish last in the afcn they are doing pretty good

[Mike]

We would have won that game last night, had it not have been for that STUPID move by JJ. I did LOVE when Harbaugh got in his face afterwards!!!!!

Hines Ward is a jacka*s, and Id love to knee cap him personally, but DAMN IT Jarret!!!!

[Ryan]

I think flacco deserves a little more credit as do the receivers (well maybe just derek mason)...Special Teams was atrocious (return game) Figurs couldnt' seem to get going plus we had a penalty almost all the time. I would have liked to seen more running to start the second half, they came out firing again, i just didn't think it was necessary

[Ryan]

Mike wrote:

We would have won that game last night, had it not have been for that STUPID move by JJ. I did LOVE when Harbaugh got in his face afterwards!!!!!
Hines Ward is a jacka*s, and Id love to knee cap him personally, but DAMN IT Jarret!!!!

Hines Ward is and SD...sooner or later someone is going to rock him good...I thought it was gonna be Ed Reed last night

[Ravens1-Steeler Hater]

Hines Ketchup Ward is a punk. When he can't get into a play he lurches around looking for cheap shots. All that just to get on TV.

[George from Pasadana]

Good game. Of coure it was better for me because I am a Steelers Fan. I think the Ravens offensive line is the real hero here. They gave a young rookie quarterback lots and lots of time. I know he fumbled and looked a little rattled at times, but I think the Ravens have something going with this kid and I think the offensive line does too cause they played their hearts out to protect him. As for Ward, you folks just have to calm down. It's only a game and you are supposed to play hard and hit hard. That's why it's called entertainment and those guys on the field get a lot of money to entertain us. You see we Steeler Fans call your defensive heros THUGS, and some of them have the record (criminal) to prove it. Good luck Joe and your new energized offensive line. As long as you are not playing against my team I'm gonna root for you. HOW ABOUT THEM STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!

[kevin]

flacco a c,are you crazy.giving him more props than that.

[Ryan]

George from Pasadana wrote:

Good game. Of coure it was better for me because I am a Steelers Fan. I think the Ravens offensive line is the real hero here. They gave a young rookie quarterback lots and lots of time. I know he fumbled and looked a little rattled at times, but I think the Ravens have something going with this kid and I think the offensive line does too cause they played their hearts out to protect him. As for Ward, you folks just have to calm down. It's only a game and you are supposed to play hard and hit hard. That's why it's called entertainment and those guys on the field get a lot of money to entertain us. You see we Steeler Fans call your defensive heros THUGS, and some of them have the record (criminal) to prove it. Good luck Joe and your new energized offensive line. As long as you are not playing against my team I'm gonna root for you. HOW ABOUT THEM STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!

actually george....none of them have a recorde

[Nick]

I think you are grossly undervaluing what Joe did last night and has done all season. I'm assuming the only way you'd grade him with a B or higher is if he threw for 6 touchdowns. The rookie managed the game well and made some passes we haven't seen in quite a while. The D was able to stay loose and rest because some of those long drives. JMO.

[Fed up in Towson]

OL a C???? Flacco was sacked five times!

He actually did better than I expected, though. It will be interesting to see him play some of the NFC East teams this season.

[Dumb Idea Detector]

A fair and accurate assessment.

[Fells Point Craig]

Actually all things considered, the Ravens did pretty damn good. The Squealers aren't going to run away with this, and Flacco and the O will only get better. We'll be there when the dust settles.

[Adam]

The Ravens are still stupid and undisciplined. They are still getting way too many 15 yard penalities and one cost them the game. Plus Flacco has serious problems with ball security and cost them the game. No matter who's in charge the ravens will always be undisiplined thugs.

[RavensFaninNY]

Once again I think Flacco has been undervalued in this "grading". Flacco stayed poise for the most part and had his first TD pass of the season. I think he still has room for improvement but I loved his composure and his ability to complete passes when the Ravens needed it to keep drives alive.

He needs to learn how to protect the ball a little better, but I can't really blame him 100% for the fumble that led to the Steelers TD because the defender was coming from behind and if you watched the replay it clearly showed that he was getting ready to pass and had no idea he was about to get hit.

What killed the Ravens is stupid penalties. Come on!

[jon dey]

This team is only going to get better. BUT, they have to stop these stupid penalties. Nobody is going to run away and win the AFC North. It's exciting to watch the Raven's again!!

[Motorhead Fan]

Of course Flacco gets a "C". All white quarterbacks who play for the Ravens are capped at a B- with Preston - no matter what.

Look, we were not really expected to be competitive in this game and we took them to OT. On top of that, Flacco, on one play managed to scramble for 12 seconds before making a long pass to Mason. This is a rookie QB making his first start on national television on a Monday Night against the Pittsburgh Steelers who have not lost in their last 14 MNF appearances.

All I asked for was progress this year. I'm still pleased.

Go Harbaugh - getting in JJ's face right away gets the point accross. He looked like a dog who just got caught peeing on a carpet.

[Motorhead Fan]

By the way, Tony Kornhiser and the rest of that MNF crew still blow.

Is it possible that they could have kissed the buttocks of the Steelers any harder?

[Peej]

Adam wrote:

The Ravens are still stupid and undisciplined. They are still getting way too many 15 yard penalities and one cost them the game. Plus Flacco has serious problems with ball security and cost them the game. No matter who's in charge the ravens will always be undisiplined thugs.

Gee Whiz Adam....The Squealers had the advantage of the home field and barely beat this Ravens team.

As to undisciplined...JJ unwisely reacted to a cheap shot by Ward (after the whistle had blown). However, you might have missed seeing the coach was in JJ's earhole telling him it was a bonehead move. Then Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Joe Flacco came over and got in his face as well.

And exactly how do you define a thug? For all we know, you are one yourself.

What we other responders do know is that you are prone to making unsupported generalizations. That makes you a fool!

[Peej]

RavensFaninNY wrote:

Once again I think Flacco has been undervalued in this "grading". Flacco stayed poise for the most part and had his first TD pass of the season. I think he still has room for improvement but I loved his composure and his ability to complete passes when the Ravens needed it to keep drives alive.
He needs to learn how to protect the ball a little better, but I can't really blame him 100% for the fumble that led to the Steelers TD because the defender was coming from behind and if you watched the replay it clearly showed that he was getting ready to pass and had no idea he was about to get hit.
What killed the Ravens is stupid penalties. Come on!

I agree with you except for "what killed the Ravens..."

On the Squealers' offensive TD, I saw at least two missed tackles. If the D could have tackled Holmes, they would have been in the Red zone, but our D might have held them to three.

But, alas, twas not to be.