The Baltimore Ravens dominated the Dolphins today in Miami to move on to play the Tennessee Titans next week.  Joe Flacco did not have a good game as he completed 9 of 23 passes for 135 yards.  Le’ Ron McClain was a workhorse against the Dolphins carrying the ball 19 times for 75 yards (3.9 ypc) with a TD run.  Willis McGahee also had a solid game with 62 yards on only 7 carries (8.9 ypc).  Derrick Mason led the Ravens’ in receiving with 4 grabs for 71 yards (17.8 avg) against the Fins.  The Ravens finished up with 151 yards rushing on 33 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 9 of 23 passes for 135 yards.

The Ravens’ defense was outstanding as usual against the Fins.  Ray Lewis led the way for the Ravens in this game with 9 tackles.  Safety Jim Leonhard also had a solid game with 7 tackles, 1/2 a sack and a interception.  But, it was Ed Reed who made the biggest impact on the defense against the Dolphins with 1 tackle and 2 interceptions (one of which he returned 64 yards for a TD).  The Dolphins finished up with 52 yards rushing on 21 carries (2.5 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 38 passes for 224 yards.

Coming into this season the QB position was the biggest question mark for the Ravens but it won’t be next year.  That’s because rookie 23-year old QB Joe Flacco took advantage of Troy Smith’s sickness and he never looked back.  Flacco played in 16 games (all starts) for the Ravens last season and he completed 257 of 428 passes (60%) for 2,971 yards with 14 TD passes and 12 interceptions (80.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 52 times for 180 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  This is just the beginning for Flacco who led the Ravens to the playoffs as a rookie.

24-year old Troy Smith played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Ravens this season and he completed 3 of 4 passes (75%) for 82 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions (156.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 9 times for 24 yards (2.7 ypc) this year.  Smith will likely be nothing more than a backup for Joe Flacco in the near future but he does have the talent to take over if Flacco is injured or ineffective.  Smith has now played in 10 games (2 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 43 of 80 passes (53.8%) for 534 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 interceptions (87.2 QB Rating).  Smith has also carried the ball 21 times for 78 yards (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.