The Baltimore Ravens looked bad on both sides of the football against the Vikings on Saturday Night.  Troy Smith got the start against the Vikings and he didn’t play well.  He completed 3 of 5 passes for 25 yards with 1 interception.  He also carried the football 3 times for 35 yards (11.7 ypc) in this game.  Kyle Boller also was pretty bad in this football game as he completed 8 of 12 passes for 40 yards with a interception.  Rookie Joe Flacco was the most impressive QB of the night for the Ravens as he completed 10 of 15 passes for 74 yards.  Rookie RB Ray Rice was the best football player on the Ravens in this football game.  He carried the ball 8 times for 77 yards (9.6 ypc) with a 6-yard TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 17 yards in this game.  WR Ernest Wheelwright led the Ravens in this game with 37 yards receiving on 5 catches (7.4 avg).  TE Adam Bergen pitched in with 6 catches for 35 yards (5.8 avg) on Saturday Night.  The Ravens finished up with 126 yards rushing on 16 carries (7.9 ypc) against the Vikings.  They also completed 21 of 32 passes for only 111 yards.  The Ravens only had possession of the football for 25:25 on Saturday Night and they won’t win any games that way.

Safety Dawan Landry and DT Amon Gordon led the way for the Ravens’ defense with 6 tackles apiece.  CB Derrick Martin pitched in with 3 tackles and he intercepted a pass from John David Booty that he returned 22-yards for a TD.  The Vikings finished up with 133 yards rushing on 38 carries (3.5 ypc) on Saturday Night.  They also completed 19 of 38 passes for 206 yards.  The Ravens have a lot to work on before September rolls around.

The Ravens won last night in Foxboro but it wasn’t that impressive as the Patriots didn’t play many of their regulars.  Kyle Boller started the game and he was the only QB that was remotely effective for the Ravens.  Boller completed 11 of 15 passes for 102 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception.  Troy Smith was not good last night as he completed 5 of 12 passes for 74 yards.  Joe Flacco made a brief appearance and it was a rough one.  He went 0 for 3 passing and he was sacked two times.  Rookie RB Ray Rice was busy as he carried the football 6 times for 12 yards (2.0 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 17 yards (4.3 avg).  Derrick Mason was the leading receiver on the Ravens with 3 grabs for 54 yards (18.0 avg) last night.  The Ravens could only muster 35 yards rushing against the Patriots on 21 carries (1.7 ypc).  The Ravens also completed 16 of 30 passes for 169 yards last night. 

Linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo led the way for the Ravens defense last night with 9 tackles and a sack.  Fellow linebacker Nick Greisen pitched in with 5 tackles and a sack.  CB Fabian Washington was really effective in coverage as he finished with 2 tackles and 2 interceptions.   The Patriots did rush for 133 yards on 34 carries (3.9 ypc) last night which explained why they held the ball for 34:39.  The Patriots completed 17 of 33 passes for 103 yards but that’s not hard to do when Tom Brady wasn’t playing.  It’s nice to win the opener of the preseason but it was not that impressive due to the fact that the Patriots sat a lot of their good players.

The Ravens offense was pretty bad against the Falcons last Friday Night.  Kyle Boller was solid while he was in the game as he completed 9 of 15 passes for 144 yards with 1 TD pass.  Rookie QB Troy Smith finished up the game completing 11 of 18 passes for 86 yards.  RBs Musa Smith (3 car, 16 yards) and Willis McGahee (4 car, 12 yards) led the way in the running game for the Ravens.  WR Demetrius Williams led the receivers for the Ravens with 78 yards on 2 catches (39.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Ravens finished with 45 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.4 ypc) and they completed 20 of 33 passes for 194 yards.

The Ravens stuffed the Falcons running game as they held them to 110 yards on 40 carries (2.8 ypc)!  The Falcons also completed 17 of 30 passes for 176 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270831001

The Ravens have released quarterback Drew Olson which means that 5th round pick Troy Smith has made the Ravens roster as their #3 QB.  Olson clearly outplayed Smith but the Ravens didn’t want to admit they made a bad pick.  Olson completed 8 of 13 passes (61.5%) for 90 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions (107.9 QB Rating) in the pre-season.  Smith has only completed 7 of 19 passes (36.8%) for 94 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 interceptions (53.4 QB Rating) and he has carried the football 2 times for 21 yards (10.5 ypc) in the pre-season to date.  Olson getting cut instead of Smith just continues to show that life isn’t fair.

The Ravens looked pretty good on offense despite only scoring 7 points in a game that was stopped with 11:38 left in the 3rd quarter due to awful weather.  Steve McNair was sharp as he completed 14 of 19 passes for 98 yards with 1 TD pass.  Kyle Boller only threw 2 passes and he didn’t complete either one of them.  Boller also threw a pickoff to rookie LB Dallas Sartz who returned it 3 yards for a TD.  Willis McGahee got his work in carrying the football 4 times for 12 yards (3.0 ypc).  Big Musa Smith was incredible as he carried the football 2 times for 27 yards (13.5 ypc).  WR Derrick Mason was again McNair’s favorite target as he caught 5 passes for 31 yards (6.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Ravens finished up with 55 yards rushing on 11 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 21 passes for 98 yards.

The Ravens defense was tough as nails again against the Redskins.  They held the Redskins to 32 yards rushing on 13 carries (2.5 ypc) and they held them to 88 yards rushing on 8 of 17 passing.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270825028

The Ravens played horrible on offense and they still almost won the football game last night which is quite amazing.  Steve McNair started the game and he didn’t look too sharp as he completed 5 of 8 passes for 29 yards with 1 interception.  Kyle Boller looked a tad better completing 6 of 9 passes for 73 yards.  Drew Olson made a brief appearance and he only completed 1 of 4 passes for 6 yards.  Rookie Troy Smith looked much better than he did in his first game.  He completed 4 of 8 passes for 60 yards and he also carried the football 1 time for 8 yards.  Willis McGahee had a really tough game as he carried the ball 6 times for 3 yards (0.5 ypc).  Mike Anderson looked really sharp as he carried the ball 3 times for 37 yards (12.3 ypc) showing off great power in finishing his runs.  Cory Ross also had a decent game running the football with 5 carries for 20 yards (4.0 ypc).  Undrafted rookie WR Matt Willis looked the best of the receivers last night for the Ravens as he caught 3 passes for 41 yards (13.7 avg).  The Ravens have some work to do on offense after watching the game last night.  They carried the football 21 times for 75 yards (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 29 passes for 136 yards.

The Ravens couldn’t get off the field on defense as the Giants were ball hogs holding onto the football for 35:51 of the football game.  The Giants carried the football 34 times for 182 yards (5.4 ypc) and they completed 15 of 25 passes for 116 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270819033

Too bad this game didn’t count as the Ravens completely dominated the Eagles last night.  Steve McNair looked sharp last night as he completed 6 of 8 passes last night for 73 yards with a TD.  Kyle Boller also had a decent showing as he completed 7 of 12 last night for 40 yards and he also ran the ball once for 20 yards.  Troy Smith looked like he was still playing against the Florida Gators last night as he completed 3 of 11 passes for 34 yards and he also carried the ball 1 time for 13 yards.  Drew Olson looked sharp when he entered the game completing 7 of 9 passes for 84 yards with a TD pass to rookie fullback Le’Ron McClain covering 4 yards.  Willis McGahee looked sharp in his appearance last night with 4 carries for 20 yards (5.0 ypc).  Cory Ross was a special teams player last season for the Ravens but he looked sharp running the ball last night as he had 11 carried for 65 yards (5.9 ypc).  Undrafted rookie RB Greg Pruitt Jr. from North Carolina Central also had a nice game with 8 carries for 34 yards.  The Ravens didn’t have any receivers that really stood out as 16 different players caught at least one pass.  The Ravens pushed the Eagles defense around as they ran the ball 31 times for 157 yards (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 40 passes for 228 yards.

The Ravens defense was so intense last night that it appeared as though they thought this game counted.  The Eagles only rushed for 23 yards on 18 carries (1.3 ypc) and they completed 23 of 36 passes for 130 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270813033