Despite the close score the Ravens pushed the Panthers around in this game.  Joe Flacco was razor sharp in this game completing 23 of 28 passes for 247 yards with 1 TD pass.  Troy Smith followed him in the game and he completed 7 of 10 passes for 57 yards with a interception.  John Beck finished up this game completing his only pass attempt for 3 yards.  Jalen Parmele led the way on the ground for the Ravens in this game with 68 yards rushing on 4 carries (17.0 ypc).  Ray Rice was also busy carrying the ball 10 times for 32 yards (3.2 ypc) and catching 8 passes for 67 yards (8.4 avg).  Derrick Mason led the way in the passing game for the Ravens with 71 yards on six catches (11.8 avg).  The Ravens finished up with 421 total yards on offense (118 rushing, 303 passing) while holding onto the football for 35:09.

CB Lardarius Webb led the way for the Ravens on defense with 8 tackles in this game.  The Panthers finished up with 281 yards on offense (78 rushing, 203 passing) in this game.

The Ravens were just good enough on offense to back up the sterling defense in this game.  Joe Flacco started at QB for the Ravens in this game and he completed 8 of 18 passes for 120 yards.  Troy Smith finished up this game by completing 4 of 9 passes for 84 yards with a pickoff.  Ray Rice led the Ravens in rushing yards with 29 on 8 carries (3.6 ypc) with a TD.  Willis McGahee pitched in with 23 yards rushing on 8 carries (2.9 ypc).  Derrick Mason led the way in the passing game for the Ravens with 68 yards on 3 catches (22.7 avg).  The Ravens finished up this game with only 248 total yards on offense (73 rushing, 175 passing).

DT Haloti Ngata only had 1 tackle in this game for the Ravens but he set the tone as he intercepted a Mark Sanchez pass and returned it 25 yards for a TD to open the scoring.  Linebacker Jameel McClain was all over the place in this game finishing with 10 tackles.  He also returned a interception for a TD in this game (16 yarder off Kellen Clemens).  The Jets finished up with 295 total yards of offense in this game (141 rushing, 154 passing).

The Ravens have signed 30-year old QB Cleo Lemon to a 1-year deal.  Lemon played in 2 games for the Jaguars last season and he didn’t complete a pass in two attempts.  Lemon has now played in 15 games in his NFL career and he has completed 211 of 379 passes (55.7%) for 2,185 yards with 8 TD passes and 7 interceptions (71.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 36 times for 106 yards (2.9 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  This was a smart move for the Ravens with #3 QB John Beck hurting right now. 

UPDATE:  The Ravens have released Lemon now that John Beck is back at practice.

The Ravens looked awesome in their pre-season opener against the Redskins.  Joe Flacco started the game at QB and he was sharp completing 9 of 15 passes for 103 yards.  Troy Smith also played well completing 14 of 30 passes for 200 yards with 1 TD pass.  John Beck finished up the game completing 5 of 9 passes for 105 yards but he was injured during this game.  Matt Lawrence led the way in the running game for the Ravens with 36 yards rushing on 9 carries (4.0 ypc).  WRs Jayson Foster (3 rec, 78 yards) and Justin Harper (4 rec, 57 yards, TD) were both exceptional in this game for the Ravens.  The Ravens rolled up 500 yards of total offense (399 passing) while they held onto the football for an amazing 35:44!

The defense was equally dominant in this game for the Ravens.  LB Jameel McClain (6 tackles), LB Tavares Gooden (5 tackles) and safety Tom Zbikowski (4 tackles, sack) led the way on D for the Ravens in this game.  The Redskins only had 196 yards of total offense in this game and they only averaged 2.9 yards per carry in the running game.

The only disappointment in this game was that the Ravens didn’t win by more points!

27-year old WR Mark Clayton will miss the next 4-6 weeks with a torn hamstring.  It’s up in the air as to whether he will return in time for the season opener.  Clayton played in all 16 games for the Ravens last season and he caught 41 passes for 695 yards (17.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 62 games in his 4-year NFL career and he has caught 200 passes for 2,636 yards (13.2 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  The Ravens need to not only get him healthy but also to spur him to step up.  At least Derrick Mason reconsidered his retirement or this injury whould have been much worse for the Ravens.

The Ravens have placed OT Adam Terry on the Injured Reserve List due to a couple of knee surgeries.  Terry played in 12 games (7 starts) for the Ravens last season.  He has played in 48 games (18 starts) in his four years with the Ravens.  They will definately miss his size as Terry stands at 6’8″, 335 pounds.