The Ravens have claimed 23-year old CB Emanuel Cook off waivers from the New York Jets.  Cook played in 8 games for the Ravens this year and he had 3 tackles.  He has now played in 12 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 8 tackles and 1 forced fumble.  The Ravens waived 22-year old LB Josh Bynes to make room on the roster for Cook.  Bynes played in 1 game for the Ravens this year without making any tackles.  He won’t miss missed.

24-year old Ed Dickson and 26-year old Dennis Pitta are really stepping up for the Ravens this year.  The Ravens felt these guys were ready to take off and that’s why they let Todd Heap walk in free agency.  Dickson played in 15 games last year for the Ravens and he caught 11 passes for 152 yards (13.8 avg) with 1 TD grab and Dennis Pitta played in 11 games in which he caught 1 pass for 1 yard.  So the improvement this year has been amazing to watch.  Ed Dickson has played in 11 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has caught 43 passes for 392 yards (9.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Dennis Pitta has played in 11 games for the Ravens this year and he has caught 27 passes for 263 yards (9.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  So these guys have already combined to catch 70 passes for 655 yards (9.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  It looks like GM Ozzie Newsome’s draft magic has hit again as Dickson and Pitta are very solid football players.

The defense was awesome last night for the Ravens as they sacked Niners’ QB Alex Smith an amazing 9 times!  Safety Bernard Pollard and LB Jameel McClain led the way for the defense tackle wise with 8 apiece last night.  DT Cory Redding (5 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and 4 QB hits), DT Haloti Ngata (4 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits) and OLB Terrell Suggs (3 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 3 QB hits) were all big time forces for the Ravens on D last night.  CB Lardarius Webb also had a solid game with 4 tackles, 1/2 a sack, 2 passes defensed, 1 QB hit and 1 interception).  The 49ers finished up with 74 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 24 passes (62.5%) for 96 yards in the game last night.

Offensively, the Ravens had a rough time moving the ball on the Niners’ D.  Joe Flacco completed 15 of 23 passes for 161 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Ray Rice led the way on the ground for the Ravens with 59 yards rushing on 21 carries (2.8 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 24 yards (8.0 avg) in this game.  WR Anquan Boldin (4 rec, 63 yards) and TE Dennis Pitta (2 rec, 19 yards, TD) led the way for the Ravens in the passing game.  The Ravens finished up with 92 yards rushing on 35 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 23 passes (65.3%) for 161 yards as they had possession of the ball for 31:08.  The Ravens are now 8-3 on the year.

The Baltimore Ravens are 5-0 at home and the 49ers are 4-0 on the road this year, so something has to give tonight in the Harbaugh Bowl.  These two teams mirror each other in style, so look for this game to be a slobberknocker.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens need to get back to getting the ball into Ray Rice’s hands.  He’s going to have to fight for every yard he gets tonight though as the Niners are only giving up 73.9 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry so far this year.  That means that Joe Flacco might be throwing more than usual, but he’s going to have to be careful as the Niners already have 15 interceptions so far this year.  The Niners are likely going to lock up WR Anquan Boldin with CB Carlos Rogers (5 interceptions), so look for Torrey Smith to make some big plays down the field if Flacco has time to throw the ball.

When the 49ers have the ball:  The Niners love to run the ball, so look for Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter to test a Ravens’ D that is only giving up 93.2 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry.  The Niners might try to throw the ball more often than usual.  That means the Ravens will try to get after Alex Smith and force him into making mistakes.  That will be easier said than done as he only has thrown 4 interceptions so far this year.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 17, 49ERS 13

The Ravens have waived 27-year old C/G Bryan Mattison.  Mattison played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Ravens this year.  He played in 10 games (0 starts) in his two years with the Ravens.  He will likely be on speed dial for the Ravens in case they have any injuries along the offensive line the rest of the year.

UPDATE:  (11/25/2011) – Bryan Mattison made it through waivers and the Ravens put him on the practice squad.  But, that was short lived as the Rams signed him off the Ravens’ practice squad.

The Ravens need more consistency out of 26-year old QB Joe Flacco.  Flacco is 3-0 against the Bengals and Steelers this year, so he steps up when the games get big.  The Ravens are 4-0 when Flacco has a QB rating of at least 85.4 in a game.  But, he has been very inconsistent this year.  Flacco has played in 10 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has completed 215 of 388 passes (55.4%) for 2,576 yards with 12 TD passes and 8 INTs (77.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 23 times for 44 yards (1.9 ypc) so far this year.  The Ravens have a really good defense, so they are going to likely win whenever Flacco plays well….so they need him to start being more consistent from week to week.

The Ravens’ offense won this game for them as the defense was way below par.  Joe Flacco was solid as he completed 17 of 27 passes for 270 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Ray Rice was also really busy as he led the way for the Ravens with 104 yards rushing on 20 carries (5.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 5 passes for 43 yards (8.6 avg) in this game.  Rookie WR Torrey Smith led the way in the passing game for the Ravens yesterday with 6 grabs for 165 yards (27.5 avg) with a TD grab.  Anquan Boldin pitched in with 1 catch for 35 yards, but it did go for a TD.  The Ravens finished up with 105 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 27 passes (63%) for 268 yards in this game as they had possession of the ball for 27:07.

The defense was without Ray Lewis and it showed yesterday.  LB Jameel McClain (9 tackles) and safety Bernard Pollard (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Ravens’ D in this game.  CB Cary Williams (6 tackles and 4 passes defensed) and safety Ed Reed (5 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) also had solid games for the Ravens.  CBs Lardarius Webb and Jimmy Smith each had 1 interception apiece in this game and LB Brendon Ayanbadejo recovered a fumble yesterday.  The Bengals finished up with 119 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 46 passes (52.2%) for 364 yards.  The Ravens are now 7-3 on the year.

The Ravens were flat last weekend against the Seahawks, as they lost for the second time of the year in the week following a win over the Steelers.  The Ravens know the importance of this game and they have played well at home this year.  The Ravens are now 4-0 at home this year, where they have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 128-65!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens need to make a concerted effort to get the ball in their best player’s hands this weekend.  That means they are going to have to hand the ball off to Ray Rice and keep him active in the passing game too.  Rice will have to fight for every yard he gets as the Bengals are only giving up 86.8 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry.  The Bengals already have 25 sacks so far this year, so the O-Line is going to get challenged this weekend.  If Flacco has time to throw the ball, he’s likely going to go after whichever CB is replacing Leon Hall in the starting lineup.  That will likely be Torrey Smith, who is a gamebreaker with his speed.  Flacco will also throw a lot of short stuff to WR Anquan Boldin, TE Ed Dickson, TE Dennis Pitta and RB Ray Rice out of the backfield.

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are a pretty balanced offensive football team.  They will look to try to establish a running game behind Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott with LB Ray Lewis out of the game due to injury.  It won’t be easy though as the Ravens are only giving up 86.8 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry.  The Bengals will have to get after rookie QB Andy Dalton in an effort to force him into making some mistakes with the ball.  His top WR (A.J. Green) is likely going to miss this game, so he will likely keep the passing game shorter than usual.  WR Jerome Simpson, Andre Caldwell and TE Jermaine Gresham will have to step up this weekend for the Bengals, and none of those guys scare the Ravens’ D much.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, BENGALS 20

27-year old NT Halota Ngata is a mountain of a man at 6’4″, 330 pounds and he sits right in the middle of the Ravens’ D.  Ngata has been a force this year for the Ravens as he has been a big time playmaker.  Ngata has played in 9 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has 41 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 2 passes defensed.  He has now played in 87 games in his first six years with the Ravens and he has 288 tackles, 15 sacks, 21 tackles for a loss, 4 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 3 interceptions and 16 passes defensed.  Most NTs don’t make the impact plays that Ngata makes and that doesn’t even consider how he plays against the run, demanding double teams and keeping the LBs clean to make plays.

The Ravens came out flat for the second time after beating the Steelers and the result was another loss.  Joe Flacco completed 29 of 52 passes for 255 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Ray Rice threw a 1-yard TD pass on his only attempt yesterday.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 27 yards (5.4 avg) and he caught 8 passes for 54 yards.  Ricky Williams pitched in with 8 yards rushing on 3 carries (2.7 ypc) and 3 grabs for 24 yards (8.0 avg) in this game.  TEs Ed Dickson (10 rec, 79 yards, 2 TD grabs) and Dennis Pitta (4 rec, 49 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Ravens yesterday.  The Ravens finished up with 75 yards rushing on 12 carries (6.3 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 53 passes (56.6%) for 248 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 24:59.

The defense played pretty well for the Ravens yesterday, but they were on the field way too long.  DT Haloti Ngata (11 tackles, 1 QB hit) and LB Jameel McClain (9 tackles) led the way for the D in this game.  LB Ray Lewis (8 tackles) and safety Bernard Pollard (8 tackles) also pitched in on D for the Ravens.  The Seahawks finished up with 119 yards rushing on 42 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 27 passes (63%) for 208 yards.  The Ravens are now 6-3 on the year.