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Baltimore Ravens NFL News – Ravens Football Blog

This season the Ravens are going to be very rough on the opposition, but it's not tough at all to follow your favorite team on RavensLocker.com. This is the place where you'll catch up on all the news related to the future Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. We've got the latest on roster moves, injuries and fantasy updates. Come back daily for constant info!

Brian Billick looking like a genius

Blogged under Bloglockers,Extra, Extra, Ravens News Here,Front Page by Bird of a Feather on Thursday 30 November 2006 at 2:30 pm

Many thought that when Coach Billick fired his buddy Jim Fassel that it was a panic move orchestrated by a coach that was feeling some heat.  There might be some truth is that thinking, but Billick just got back to the basics and his football team has responded.  The Ravens are 5-0 since he took over the play-calling and the Ravens have averaged 27.8 points in those games.

The Ravens defense also deserves some of the credit for the Ravens sudden rise as they’ve given up only 15.6 points per game since Billick started calling the offensive plays. 

The Ravens are also +15 in turnover margin, which is pretty impressive at this point in the season.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page,This Week's Matchup Report by Bird of a Feather on Thursday 30 November 2006 at 2:17 pm

The Bengals have played really well the last two weeks and need a win badly to make up ground in the division against the Ravens.  The Bengals have outscored their opponents 61-16 the last two weeks.  The Ravens have won 5 in a row, including an absolute thrashing of the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.  The Ravens can seal the AFC North Championship with a victory tonight.

The Bengals will probably attempt to run Rudi Johnson (890 yards rushing) at the Ravens rough run defense that allows only 76.5 yards rushing per game and 3.2 yards per carry.  The Bengals have to run the ball some to slow the Ravens pass rush that had 9 sacks last week against the Steelers.  If Carson Palmer has time, he should be effective at moving the ball around among his great receiving corps. 

When the Ravens have the football, look for them to attack the Bengals soft run defense that has allowed 116.6 yards rushing and 4.2 yards per carry.  Since Brian Billick took over the play-calling, the Ravens are 5-0 and have averaged 27.8 points per game.  Jamal Lewis (735 yards rushing) should have little problem getting his yards this week.  Steve McNair has played really well of late, but he must be careful with the football as the Bengals have been picking off alot of passes lately.

I like the Bengals to rise up in the Jungle and turn the tables on the Ravens who beat them 26-20 earlier in the season.

Ravens dominate the Steelers 27-0

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by Bird of a Feather on Monday 27 November 2006 at 12:12 am

The Ravens might have dealt the defending Champs the knock-out punch on Sunday.  The Ravens completely dominated the Steelers in all facets of the football game.

Steve McNair looked sharp as he completed 18 of 24 passes for 140 yards and a TD.  Jamal Lewis had a solid game with 17 carries for 66 yards (3.9 ypc) and a TD.  Todd Heap had a solid game with 7 receptions for 58 yards and a TD.  Derrick Mason pitched in with 5 receptions for 43 yards.

The defense was downright awesome for the Ravens.  The Ravens sacked Roethlisberger 9 times, picked him off twice and made him lose a fumble!   Ray Lewis led the way with 5 tackles and a sack.  Terrell Suggs added 4 tackles and 2 sacks.  DE Trevor Pryce had 2 sacks.  LB Bart Scott was all over the place as he had 2 tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception.  Adalius Thomas added 3 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery that he returned 57 yards for a TD!  The Ravens held the vaunted Steelers running game to 21 yards on 11 carries (1.9 ypc).  The Steelers completed 22 of 42 passes for 151 net yards passing.

The Ravens improved to 9-2 on the season.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by Bird of a Feather on Friday 24 November 2006 at 12:37 pm
The Steelers are trying to save their season as they’ve won 2 games in a row to improve to 4-6 on the season.  The Ravens are flying high as they’ve taken control of the AFC North with a 4 game winning streak that has them at 8-2 on the season.

The Steelers would probably prefer to run the football against the Ravens.  Willie Parker has had a solid season (893 yards rushing), but the Ravens defense is only allowing 82.1 yards rushing and 3.2 yards per carry….so it won’t be easy.  The Steelers must protect Roethlisberger to have any chance of success throwing the ball.  The Steelers have allowed 30 sacks this season, which is exactly how many times the aggressive Ravens defense has sacked the QB.  The Ravens are a ball-hawking secondary that already had 18 interceptions, so Roethlisberger must be careful throwing the ball.

The Ravens are 4-0 and are averaging 28.0 points per game since Brian Billick has assumed control of the offense.  The Ravens will probably come out running the ball with Jamal Lewis (669 yards rushing) who has been running better of the late.  The Steelers are still tough to run against as they allow 98.4 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry.  If McNair has time to throw he should have success throwing the ball against a Steelers secondary that is very over-rated.  Mark Clayton, Todd Heap and Derrick Mason will give the Steelers all they can handle.

This should be a good football game as long as the Steelers protect the ball on offense.  The Ravens look to be the better team this season and they’re at home, so I’ll take them in this game.

 

Ravens clip Falcons wings 24-10

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by Bird of a Feather on Monday 20 November 2006 at 2:30 pm

The Ravens dominated this football game in the second half , out-scoring the Falcons 24-3 after halftime.  Steve McNair had a solid game as he completed 24 of 34 passes for 236 yards passing.  Jamal Lewis had a good game as he carried the ball 22 times for 91 yards (4.1 ypc) and 3 TDs. Todd Heap had a solid game with 6 receptions for 62 yards and Mark Clayton had a good game with 5 receptions for 89 yards.

The defense had a solid game led by DE Trevor Pryce who had 4 tackles and 2 sacks.  The Falcons ran the ball 25 times for 104 yards (4.2 ypc).  The Falcons only completed 11 of 21 passes for 82 net yards passing.

The Ravens improved to 9-2 after their demolition of the Falcons.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Atlanta Falcons

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page,This Week's Matchup Report by Bird of a Feather on Thursday 16 November 2006 at 3:33 pm
The Falcons are a fading team right now that has lost consecutive games to the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns.  Their team has looked awful the last two weeks.  The Ravens are flying high at 7-2, even though they have been more lucky than good.

The Falcons would love to get their running game going against the Ravens, but that will be easier said then done.  The Ravens only allow 79.7 yards rushing per game and 3.1 yards per carry, so the Falcons may have to throw the ball first to open up the running game, that seemed to work against the Steelers.  The problem with that is the Ravens pass rush is very good and their outside linebackers are good on outside containment, so chances are the Falcons will have to use short passes to Alge Crumpler to get things going.  The Falcons also need to get rookie running back Jerious Norwood back and involved, because Warrick Dunn (761 yards rushing) won’t be able to carry a full load against a hard-hitting defense like the Ravens.  Vick must also run the ball well himself and protect the football, because the Ravens will be coming after it.

The Ravens and Steve McNair are probably licking their chops when looking at all the injuries on the Falcons defense.  Look for the Ravens to throw alot early in the game to build a lead, and then let Jamal Lewis (578 yards rushing) try to grind out the game on the ground.  The Ravens should have success throwing the ball because the Falcons won’t have anybody that can get to McNair with all the injuries along the front line of the Falcons defense.  Also, the Falcons secondary is very beat up.  Look for the passing to begin with short ones to Mason and Heap…..and then bombs away to Mark Clayton. 

Look for the Ravens to build a lead in this game through the air and take the Falcons out of their running game.  After that happens, Michael Vick will make some huge errors and the Ravens will cruise to an easy victory.

 

Ravens surge in second half for 27-26 victory over the Titans

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by Bird of a Feather on Sunday 12 November 2006 at 6:24 pm

The Ravens were down 26-17 at the half, but they came out of the locker room beathing fire.  It still took a blocked field goal on the last play of the game to preserve a win.  Good teams make their own breaks and that’s exactly what the Ravens did today.

Steve McNair had a fantastic game in his return to Tennessee.  McNair completed 29 of 47 passes for 373 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs.  Jamal Lewis had a rough game, carrying the ball 16 times for 45 yards (2.8 ypc).  Mark Clayton had an outstanding game catching 7 passes for 125 yards and a TD.  Rookie Demetrius Williams had a good game with 4 receptions for 75 yards.  Derrick Mason enjoyed his return to Nashville with 8 catches for 64 yards and a TD.  Todd Heap caught 4 passes for 49 yards.  Little used FB Ovie Mughelli had a good game with 3 receptions for 44 yards and a TD.

The defense had a horrible first half allowing 26 points, but then they pitched a shutout in the second half to help lead the team to victory.  Rookie safety Dawan Landry led the way with 11 tackles and a sack.  Reserve linebacker Dennis Haley had a good game with 10 tackles.  Bart Scott (9 tackles), Kelly Gregg (9 tackles) and Adalius Thomas (7 tackles, sack) each pitched in on defense.  For the game the Ravens allowed 162 yards rushing on 38 carries (4.3 ypc).  The Titans completed 13 of 25 passes for 205 net yards passing.

With this win, the Ravens move to 7-2 and open up a three-game lead on the AFC North!

Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by Bird of a Feather on Thursday 9 November 2006 at 3:22 pm

The Baltimore Ravens have won their last two games and sit on top of the AFC North with a two game lead on the division at 6-2.  They can’t afford to overlook the Titans this week.  The Titans have won 2 of their last three games, but they got thrashed 37-7 last week by the Jaguars.

Look for the Ravens to run the ball early and often against the putrid run defense of the Titans that is allowing 163.5 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry.  Jamal Lewis (533 yards rushing) has looked better after Brian Billick assumed the play calling duties and he should have a huge game.  Don’t think that Billick will be content to just run the ball though, because Steve McNair probably really wants to stick it to the Titans after how he was treated there before he was traded to the Ravens!  McNair has been solid the last two weeks and he likes to spread the ball around to his receivers.  Look for Todd Heap (34 rec, 366 yards), Mark Clayton (34 rec, 377 yards) and Derrick Mason (31 rec, 397 yards) to all get their yards.  Also, look for McNair to try his best to hook up with Mason on a TD, just to twist the knife on the Titans.

I feel bad for Vince Young already.  The Titans love to run the ball and will try their best to establish the running game this week.  Travis Henry (479 yards rushing) has played well this season, but the Ravens are only allowing 69.3 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry, so every yard Henry gets will be a tough one.  The Ravens already have 23 sacks and 17 interceptions this season so it looks like Vince Young will have a long day on Sunday.

If the Ravens are focused, this game will be over by halftime.  I just don’t see Vince Young making any big plays against this defense.

Baltimore Ravens QBs

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by Bird of a Feather on Wednesday 8 November 2006 at 4:17 pm

Steve McNair has really played alot better after Brian Billick assumed the play-calling job.  McNair has completed 59.6% of his passes for 1,319 yards passing with 7 TDs and 7 INTs.  McNair only has a 73.8 QB rating which is a little below average, but he’s played better of late.  McNair can still run the ball a little bit, carrying the ball 24 times for 63 yards (2.6 ypc) and a TD.

Kyle Boller got to play in a game when McNair was injured and he looked great.  Boller has completed 17 of 31 passes for 226 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT.  The Ravens would be ok if McNair got injured and Boller had to play, because he looks like a new QB this season.

Ravens get huge win 26-20 over Bengals

Blogged under Bloglockers,Front Page by Bird of a Feather on Sunday 5 November 2006 at 9:40 pm

The Ravens made the Bengals pay for every mistake they made in this football game.  Steve McNair had a very efficient game throwing the ball, completing 21 of 31 passes for 245 yards.  Jamal Lewis carried the ball 24 times for 72 yards (3.0 ypc) and a TD.  Musa Smith had 3 carries for 46 yards (15.3 ypc).  Todd Heap had a good game catching 4 passes for 84 yards.  Mark Clayton was very busy, catching 8 passes for 73 yards. 

The defense played very well in this game.  Ed Reed led the way with 3 tackles and returned an interception 49 yards for a TD to set the tone of the game in the 1st Quarter.  Chris McAllister also picked off a pass.  The Bengals carried the ball 2 times for 92 yards (4.2 ypc).  The Ravens allowed the Bengals to complete 12 of 26 passes for 183 net yards passing.

This was a huge win for the Ravens, who are now 2 games up in the AFC North.