The Ravens pushed the Giants around last night.  Joe Flacco looked really good last night as he completed 21 of 34 passes for 229 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 16 yards (4.0 ypc) last night.  Marc Bulger was sharp in a brief appearance last night as he completed 3 of 4 passes for 42 yards.  Troy Smith finished up the game and he looked solid completing 8 of 11 passes for 71 yards with 1 TD pass.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 10 yards (1.7 ypc) last night.  TE Todd Heap (6 rec, 69 yards, TD) and Anquan Boldin (4 rec, 52 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game last night for the Ravens.  RB Marcus Smith only carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards last night but he also caught 4 passes for 29 yards (7.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Ravens finished up with 75 yards rushing (2.9 ypc) and 313 yards passing last night as they had possession of the ball for 33:49.

CB Chris Carr led the way for the Ravens’ D last night with 8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit.  Safety Ken Hamlin pitched in with 6 tackles in this game.  LB Edgar Jones was also very busy last night with 4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit.  The Giants finished up with 76 yards rushing (4.0 ypc) and 185 yards passing in this game.  The Ravens are now 3-0 on the pre-season.

Rookie TEs Ed Dickson, Dennis Pitta and WR David Reed have all looked good so far in their first tastes of the NFL.  Dickson was picked in the third round and he has caught 3 passes for 30 yards (10.0 avg).  Despite looking good so far he could still open the season as the Ravens’ #3 TE.  That’s because 4th round pick Dennis Pitta has also looked good catching 4 passes for 65 yards (16.3 avg) so far this pre-season.  David Reed was a 5th round pick last April and despite having a solid pre-season (4 rec, 38 yards, 9.5 avg) he could still have a rough time making the team as the Ravens are stacked at WR for 2010.  It should come as no surprise that these guys look so good in the pre-season as Ravens’ GM Ozzie Newsome knows what he’s doing every single April at the NFL Draft.

The Ravens dominated the Redskins on Saturday Night both offensively and defensively.  Joe Flacco was so-so as he completed 9 of 16 passes for 72 yards in this game.  Marc Bulger was sharp for the Ravens Saturday Night as he completed 13 of 16 passes for 130 yards.  Troy Smith finished the game at QB for the Ravens and he looked good too completing 6 of 8 passes for 82 yards.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 19 yards (4.8 ypc).  Jalen Parmele didn’t look too good for the Ravens once again with 18 yards rushing on 7 carries (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Willis McGahee pitched in with 12 yards rushing on 4 carries (3.0 ypc) with a TD run.  Rookie 4th round pick (TE) Dennis Pitta led the way for the Ravens in the passing game in this contest with 4 receptions for 65 yards (16.3 avg).  Donte’ Stallworth (3 rec, 47 yards) and rookie WR (5th round) David Reed (4 rec, 38 yards) both played well for the Ravens in this game.  The Ravens finished up with 143 yards rushing (4.9 ypc) and 253 passing yards in this game.

LB Prescott Burgess was all over the field for the Ravens in this game as he finished up with 6 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit.  Safeties Dawan Landry (4 tackles, 3 passes defensed) and Haruki Nakamura (4 tackles, 1 carry for 51 yards on a fake punt) also had solid games for the Ravens.  The Redskins rushed for only 25 yards (1.8 ypc) but they passed for 365 yards in this game.

The Ravens won the game last night but they didn’t look too good especially on offense.  Joe Flacco was solid completing 8 of 12 passes for 120 yards with 1 TD pass.  Marc Bulger didn’t look too good though as he completed only 5 of 12 passes for 67 yards.  Troy Smith finished up the game by completing 2 of 6 passes for 18 yards.  He also ran the ball 4 times for 12 yards (3.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  RB Curtis Steele led the way on the ground for the Ravens last night with 32 yards on 10 carries (3.2 ypc).  Le’Ron McClain pitched in with 21 yards rushing on 4 carries (5.3 ypc) last night as he was running hard.  Willis McGahee carried the ball only 1 time for 0 yards but he also caught 4 passes for 37 yards (9.3 avg) last night.  WR Mark Clayton led the way in the passing game for the Ravens in this game with 48 yards on 2 grabs (24.0 avg) including 1 TD catch.  The Ravens finished up with 61 yards rushing (2.3 ypc) and 164 yards passing last night as the offense didn’t look to sharp.

The Ravens had 7 sacks last night as they played well against the pass but no so good against the run.  Linebacker Jason Phillips led the way for the Ravens last night with 6 tackles.  Safety Haruki Nakamura was very busy for the Ravens in this game as he finished up with 5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit.  Linebacker Antwan Barnes (5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 fumble recovery) and rookie DT Terrence Cody (5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) also played well against the Panthers.  The Panthers finished up with 142 yards rushing (5.5 ypc) and 131 passing last night.

It will be interesting to see if the Ravens still use 24-year old cornerback Lardarius Webb as the kick returner seeing how he’s starting on defense this year.  Webb played in 14 games for the Ravens as a rookie last season and he returned 35 kickoffs for 918 yards (26.2 avg) with 1 TD return.  He is by far the biggest weapon the Ravens have on special teams but he’s only 5’10″, 179 pounds so it’s up in the air as to whether his body can handle returning kicks while starting on defense.

27-year old CB Chris Carr has a lot of experience returning kicks.  He played in all 16 games for the Ravens last year and he returned 13 kickoffs for 315 yards (24.2 avg).  Carr has now played in 80 games in his NFL career and he has returned 249 kickoffs for 6,140 yards (24.7 avg).  My gut is telling me that Webb will be returning the kicks in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAVENS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  A-

It appears that the Ravens are going to flip sides with their offensive tackles in 2010 using Michael Oher on the left side and Jared Gaither on the right side.  Oher played well as a rookie and his future in on the blind side where he will be Joe Flacco’s best buddy.  Oher was solid both run and pass blocking as a rookie last season and he has a bright future.  Left guard Ben Grubbs is a tough guy who excels in run blocking.  Center Matt Birk is a solid all-around technician which is what most teams want their center to be.  RG Marshal Yanda came on strong late last season to earn the starting job at RG in 2010.  Jared Gaither is a huge man at tackle (6’9″) and he’s a better run blocker than a pass blocker.  This is a very formidable unit for the Ravens as it makes the offense go.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAVENS’ O-LINE in 2010:  B+

47-year old John Harbaugh is bringing the Ravens back to relevance as he is a darn good football coach.  The Ravens were 9-7 (56.3%) last season as they won a Wild Card spot in the AFC.  They went on to thump the Patriots 33-14 at Foxboro before falling to the Colts in Indy the next week 20-3.  Harbaugh has been the head coach of the Ravens for two years now and he has compiled a 20-12 record (62.5%) during the regular season and he’s 3-2 (60%) in the playoffs.  Harbaugh will be expected to get the Ravens further in 2010 due to the upgrades the Ravens have made to the roster.

32-year old Shayne Graham will battle 30-year old Billy Cundiff during training camp and the pre-season to see who will win the kicking job for 2010.  Graham played in all 16 games for the Bengals last season and he made 23 of 28 field goals (82.1%).  He also made 28 of 29 extra points as he finished up with 97 points for the Bengals last year.  Graham has now played in 127 games in his NFL career and he has connected on 196 of 230 field goals (85.2%).  He has also made 276 of 279 extra points in his career and he has 864 points in his career.  Graham had problems in the post season with the Bengals and that’s the only reason they let him go.

Billy Cundiff played in 12 games for the Browns & Ravens last season.  He made 18 of 23 field goals (78.3%) last season and he connected on all 23 of his extra points good for 77 points.  Cundiff has now played in 70 games in his NFL career and he has made 78 of 106 field goals (73.6%).  He has also made 123 of 124 extra points in his career and he now has 357 points in his career.  Cundiff appears to be a slight underdog as training camp opens.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RAVENS KICKERS in 2010:  C+

The Ravens have traded 28-year old QB John Beck to the Redskins for 24-year old cornerback Doug Dutch.  Dutch didn’t get into any games for the Redskins last season spending most of his rookie year on the practice squad.  Beck didn’t get into any games in his time with the Ravens and he was expendable the minute they signed Marc Bulger to back up Joe Flacco.