36-year old middle linebacker Ray Lewis still has a fire in his belly.  He has played in 3 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has 25 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Teams are only averaging 84.0 yards rushing and 3.5 yards per carry so far this year and Lewis has had a lot to do with that.  Lewis has now played in 16 seasons for the Ravens appearing in 213 games in which he has 1,923 tackles, 47 tackles for a loss, 39.5 sacks, 18 forced fumbles, 18 fumble recoveries, 113 passes defensed and 31 interceptions (3 returned for TDs).  He’s going directly to Canton, Ohio and into Pro Football’s Hall of Fame five years after he hangs up the cleats, but no reason to rush that as he is still playing at a Pro Bowl level for the Ravens.

When the Ravens drafted Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta in April of 2010, it raised some eyebrows.  It all makes sense now though, as the Ravens were anticipating letting Todd Heap go in 2011.  Last year, Dickson played in 15 games in which he caught 11 passes for 152 yards (13.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Yesterday, Dickson caught 5 passes for 59 yards (11.8 avg) with 1 TD grab as he looked really good against the Steelers’ D.  Dennis Pitta played in 11 games for the Ravens last year and he only caught 1 pass for 1 yard.  But yesterday, Pitta caught 2 passes for 45 yards (22.5 avg).  QB Joe Flacco completed all 7 of his pass attempts to Dickson & Pitta yesterday.  Look for the TE slot to be much more involved in the offense than anyone predicted it would be for the Ravens in 2011.

25-year old QB Joe Flacco played his best football for the Ravens this year.  He played in 16 games for the Ravens this year and he completed 306 of 489 passes (62.6%) for 3,622 yards with 25 TD passes and 10 INTs (93.6 QB Rating).  It was his third straight year that he improved his QB Rating.  Flacco also carried the ball 43 times for 84 yards (2.0 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Flacco has now played in 48 games in his first three years with the Ravens and he has completed 878 of 1,416 (62.0%) for 10,206 yards passing with 60 TD passes and 34 INTs (87.9 QB Rating).  Flacco has also carried the ball 130 times for 320 yards (2.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Flacco is a QB on the rise and their is no reason to think he won’t improve next year.  But for now, his task is getting the Ravens back to the Super Bowl.

33-year old Marc Bulger was Flacco’s backup this year and he didn’t get into any games.  Bulger has played in 96 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,969 of 3,171 passes (62.1%) for 22,814 yards with 122 TD passes and 93 INTs (84.4 QB Rating).  Bulger also has carried the ball 118 times for 300 yards (2.5 ypc) with 8 TD runs in his career.  Bulger is too good of a QB to come back to the Ravens next year and hold a clipboard again.

VERDICT:  Flacco is going to be the Ravens’ starting QB for a long, long time.  Marc Bulger is likely going to leave to try to get on a team where he can compete for a starting job like the Vikings or Cardinals, just to name a couple.  The Ravens will likely be in the market for a veteran QB to back Flacco up next year.

28-year old OLB Terrell Suggs is turning in another great year for the Ravens.  He has played in 15 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has 65 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 11 sacks, 2 passes defensed and 2 forced fumbles.  Suggs is turning into one of the leaders of the D along with the ancient Ray Lewis who is still playing at a high level.  I also like Suggs’ confidence as he has no problem duking it out with Tom Brady both on and off the field.  The Ravens are going to need to bring their A-game defensively if they are going to advance past the first round of the playoffs this year because the offense has been up and down, and Suggs will likely be a big part of that.

25-year old QB Joe Flacco is having a solid season for the Ravens.  He has played in 12 games for the Ravens so far this season and he has completed 248 of 398 passes (62.3%) for 2,988 yards with 19 TD passes and 8 INTs (92.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 36 times for 65 yards (1.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The only thing with Flacco, and this might be nitpicking, is that he needs to step up in big games.

The Ravens used 4th round picks on 23-year old TEs Dennis Pitta & Ed Dickson with the idea that they would be replacing 30-year old Todd Heap sooner rather than later.  But, Todd Heap has stepped up this season holding off the rookies.  Heap has played in 11 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has caught 37 passes for 546 yards (14.8 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He is getting open quite a lot this year and his hands are still awesome.  Ed Dickson has gotten into 10 games for the Ravens so far this year and he has 5 catches for 91 yards (18.2 avg).  At least he has done more than Dennis Pitta so far this year.  Pitta has played in 7 games this year for the Ravens and he has caught 1 pass for 3 yards.  I don’t see Heap willing to give his job any time soon so Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta are going to have to wait for their time to shine.

28-year old OLB Terrell Suggs has been playing really solid football so far this year for the Ravens.  He has played in 11 games for the Ravens and he has 50 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.  Suggs has been the best pass rusher on the Ravens this season and he’s going to have fun Sunday Night chasing Ben Roethlisberger around all night with his horrible pass blocking line.

The Ravens have been evolving under 48-year old head coach John Harbaugh.  When he got to Baltimore the Ravens were known for their defense.  But, under Harbaugh they have rebuilt the offense which is averaging 21.8 points per game and 344.8 yards per contest.  The defense is still decent but teams don’t fear them anymore.  Harbaugh has the Ravens in a good spot as they are tied with the Steelers atop of the AFC North with a 6-3 record.  The Ravens are 26-15 (63.4%) in three years under Harbaugh who’s starting to look like he’s going to keep his job for a long time in Baltimore.

30-year old kicker Billy Cundiff is really doing a great job for the Ravens this year.  He has played in all 9 games this year and he has connected on 14 of 17 field goals (82.4%) and 22 of 22 extra points good for 64 points this year.  The Ravens aren’t leaving points on the field this year and that’s good.  Cundiff is also kicking the daylights out of the ball on kickoffs which is also good for the Ravens who are very happy with him.

25-year old QB Joe Flacco was having a rough night for three quarters before coming on like a hurricane.  It wasn’t his fault that the Ravens lost last night.  Flacco has now played in 9 games for the Ravens this year and he has completed 182 of 297 passes (61.3%) for 2,132 yards with 15 TD passes and 7 INTs (90.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 29 times for 52 yards (1.8 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  Flacco is already the Ravens’ all-time leader in passing yards with 8,501 and he has 47 TD passes which is second all time on the Ravens’ list, 4 behind Vinny Testaverde.