The Ravens have released quarterback Drew Olson which means that 5th round pick Troy Smith has made the Ravens roster as their #3 QB.  Olson clearly outplayed Smith but the Ravens didn’t want to admit they made a bad pick.  Olson completed 8 of 13 passes (61.5%) for 90 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions (107.9 QB Rating) in the pre-season.  Smith has only completed 7 of 19 passes (36.8%) for 94 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 interceptions (53.4 QB Rating) and he has carried the football 2 times for 21 yards (10.5 ypc) in the pre-season to date.  Olson getting cut instead of Smith just continues to show that life isn’t fair.

The Ravens looked pretty good on offense despite only scoring 7 points in a game that was stopped with 11:38 left in the 3rd quarter due to awful weather.  Steve McNair was sharp as he completed 14 of 19 passes for 98 yards with 1 TD pass.  Kyle Boller only threw 2 passes and he didn’t complete either one of them.  Boller also threw a pickoff to rookie LB Dallas Sartz who returned it 3 yards for a TD.  Willis McGahee got his work in carrying the football 4 times for 12 yards (3.0 ypc).  Big Musa Smith was incredible as he carried the football 2 times for 27 yards (13.5 ypc).  WR Derrick Mason was again McNair’s favorite target as he caught 5 passes for 31 yards (6.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Ravens finished up with 55 yards rushing on 11 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 21 passes for 98 yards.

The Ravens defense was tough as nails again against the Redskins.  They held the Redskins to 32 yards rushing on 13 carries (2.5 ypc) and they held them to 88 yards rushing on 8 of 17 passing.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270825028

The Ravens played horrible on offense and they still almost won the football game last night which is quite amazing.  Steve McNair started the game and he didn’t look too sharp as he completed 5 of 8 passes for 29 yards with 1 interception.  Kyle Boller looked a tad better completing 6 of 9 passes for 73 yards.  Drew Olson made a brief appearance and he only completed 1 of 4 passes for 6 yards.  Rookie Troy Smith looked much better than he did in his first game.  He completed 4 of 8 passes for 60 yards and he also carried the football 1 time for 8 yards.  Willis McGahee had a really tough game as he carried the ball 6 times for 3 yards (0.5 ypc).  Mike Anderson looked really sharp as he carried the ball 3 times for 37 yards (12.3 ypc) showing off great power in finishing his runs.  Cory Ross also had a decent game running the football with 5 carries for 20 yards (4.0 ypc).  Undrafted rookie WR Matt Willis looked the best of the receivers last night for the Ravens as he caught 3 passes for 41 yards (13.7 avg).  The Ravens have some work to do on offense after watching the game last night.  They carried the football 21 times for 75 yards (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 29 passes for 136 yards.

The Ravens couldn’t get off the field on defense as the Giants were ball hogs holding onto the football for 35:51 of the football game.  The Giants carried the football 34 times for 182 yards (5.4 ypc) and they completed 15 of 25 passes for 116 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270819033

Steve McNair loves to throw to his TEs and this is a fine group of them.  Todd Heap is one of the best TEs in the NFL as he combines excellent hands and route running to find openings all over the football field.   He played in 16 games (all starts) last season for the Ravens and he caught 73 passes for 765 yards (10.5 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Look for Heap to better those numbers this season now that McNair is comfortable with him.  He has now played in 82 games (75 starts) in his career and he has caught 316 passes for 3,658 yards (11.6 avg) with 26 TDs.  He also has run the football 7 times for 59 yards (8.4 ypc).

Daniel Wilcox was more of a blocker before McNair came to town but now he gets a little more attention in the passing game and he knows what to do with it.   He played in 14 games (6 starts) last season for the Ravens and he caught 20 passes for 166 yards (8.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Look for his numbers to improve a little bit this season.   He has now played in 46 games (14 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 65 passes for 539 yards (8.3 avg) with 5 TDs.

Quinn Sypniewski was brought along slowly by the Ravens as a rookie but he will likely have a more active role in the offense this year.  He played in all 16 games (3 starts) for the Ravens last season and he caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg) and he also returned 1 kickoff for 11 yards.

Too bad this game didn’t count as the Ravens completely dominated the Eagles last night.  Steve McNair looked sharp last night as he completed 6 of 8 passes last night for 73 yards with a TD.  Kyle Boller also had a decent showing as he completed 7 of 12 last night for 40 yards and he also ran the ball once for 20 yards.  Troy Smith looked like he was still playing against the Florida Gators last night as he completed 3 of 11 passes for 34 yards and he also carried the ball 1 time for 13 yards.  Drew Olson looked sharp when he entered the game completing 7 of 9 passes for 84 yards with a TD pass to rookie fullback Le’Ron McClain covering 4 yards.  Willis McGahee looked sharp in his appearance last night with 4 carries for 20 yards (5.0 ypc).  Cory Ross was a special teams player last season for the Ravens but he looked sharp running the ball last night as he had 11 carried for 65 yards (5.9 ypc).  Undrafted rookie RB Greg Pruitt Jr. from North Carolina Central also had a nice game with 8 carries for 34 yards.  The Ravens didn’t have any receivers that really stood out as 16 different players caught at least one pass.  The Ravens pushed the Eagles defense around as they ran the ball 31 times for 157 yards (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 40 passes for 228 yards.

The Ravens defense was so intense last night that it appeared as though they thought this game counted.  The Eagles only rushed for 23 yards on 18 carries (1.3 ypc) and they completed 23 of 36 passes for 130 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270813033