The Baltimore Ravens selected OT Michael Oher (1st round, #23 overall) out of Mississippi.  He had a great rookie season for the Ravens starting all 16 games for them.  He did catch 1 pass for -8 yards last season.  Oher’s life story was portrayed in the movie the Blind Side which was very good and I recommend it to everyone.  DE Paul Kruger (2nd round, #57 overall) out of Utah didn’t show much as a rookie but he did have one huge play intercepting a Dennis Dixon pass in O.T. against the Steelers setting up a nice win over the Ravens’ rivals.  He played in 9 games in which he made 11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, he defensed 3 passes and he picked off 1 pass.  CB/KR Ladarius Webb (3rd round, #88 overall) out of Nicholls State wound up being a great pick for the Ravens.  He played in 14 games for the Ravens last season and he made 35 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, had 1 sack and he defensed 6 passes.  Webb also returned 35 kickoffs for 918 yards (26.2 avg) with a TD return (95-yarder).  Linebacker Jason Phillips (5th round, #137 overall) out of TCU spent his rookie year on the Injured Reserve List.  TE Davon Drew (5th round, #149 overall) out of East Carolina didn’t get into any games as a rookie for the Ravens last season.  RB Cedric Peerman (6th round, #185 overall) out of Virginia got cut by the Ravens and he is on the Lions.  He didn’t play in any games as a rookie last season.

GRADE FOR 2009:  B-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B+

The Ravens really looked flat at the start of this game as they were down 17-3 at the half and they never made it a game.  Joe Flacco continued to struggle yesterday completing 20 of 35 passes for 189 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 pick-offs.  Ray Rice was busy in this game carrying the ball 13 times for 67 yards (5.2 ypc) and he also caught 9 passes for 60 yards (6.7 avg).  It’s too bad the Ravens fell too far behind to keep running the ball because Rice was looking good.  Derrick Mason led the way in the passing game for the Ravens yesterday with 64 yards on 4 catches (16.0 avg).  The Ravens finished up with 270 total yards in this game on offense (87 rushing, 183 passing).

It’s too bad that the offense was awful because the defense didn’t play too bad.  Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe had a great game to lead the way for the Ravens in this game with 10 tackles including 1 tackle for a loss.  Ray Lewis was also busy as usual with 8 tackles and 1 pass defense.  Ed Reed pitched in with 2 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 INT (he returned in 38 yards before losing a fumble to Dallas Clark).  The Colts finished up with 275 total yards on offense (42 rushing, 233 passing) in this game.  This game hurts a little extra as Indianapolis is the city that stole the Colts from Baltimore.

The Ravens play the perfect style of football to beat the Colts.  They have a good, physical defense and they can run the ball against anyone.  The Ravens have a huge edge against the front seven of the Colts and they will push them around tomorrow night.  The key will be keeping the ball away from Peyton Manning and his cohorts on the Colts’ offense and that job will fall to Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain.  They had no problem beating up on the Patriots last weekend and frankly I see the same thing happening in this game.  The Ravens have to have success running the ball because Joe Flacco’s play is starting to go downhill fast.  He is getting little help from the rest of the skill players on offense.  The Ravens must pass the ball some, especially on first down, to keep the Colts’ defense honest.

Defensively the Ravens must get after Peyton Manning because the CBs and safeties can’t hold coverage long enough against the Colts’ WRs and TEs if he has time to throw the ball.  The Ravens’ safeties will have their hands full dealing with TE Dallas Clark likely leaving the CBs to themselves in dealing with Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie.  That means the Ravens must decided whether to drop say 8 players back in pass protection or send the linebackers after Manning on the blitz.  I would think they will mix those two scenarios up the whole game in a attempt to stay out of patterns.  The Ravens aren’t too worried about Joseph Addai or Donald Brown so they will likely defend the run on the way to the QB.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 23, RAVENS 20

The Ravens destroyed the Patriots yesterday with defense and a punishing running game on offense.  The Ravens jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the first quarter before choking out the Patriots the last three quarters.  Joe Flacco didn’t do much yesterday as he completed only 4 of 10 passes for 34 yards with 1 INT.  Ray Rice was on fire running the ball for the Ravens carrying the rock 22 times for 159 yards (7.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Willis McGahee pitched in with 62 yards rushing on 20 carries (3.1 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 13 yards.  Le’Ron McClain also got in on the action with 4 carries for 8 yards (2.0 ypc) with a TD run.  The Ravens finished up with 268 total yards on offense (234 rushing, 34 passing) as they possessed the ball for 32:21.

The defense was outstanding for the Ravens yesterday as Ray Lewis led the way for them with 13 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 2 QB hits.  CB Domonique Foxworth (10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and safety Dawan Landry (10 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 INT (67-yard return)) really played well for the Ravens against the Patriots yesterday.  Ed Reed (INT), Chris Carr (INT) and OLB Terrell Suggs (fumble recovery) all made huge plays to help the Ravens dominate this game.  The Patriots finished up with only 196 total yards on offense (64 rushing, 132 passing) yesterday.  The Ravens will now play the Colts in Indianapolis this Saturday Night.

The Ravens have a tough task ahead of them tomorrow in Foxboro.  The Patriots were 8-0 at home during the regular season while the Ravens were only 3-5 on the road.  The Ravens will likely try to control the clock with the running game and they should have some success.  The front seven of the Patriots don’t exactly strike fear into the hearts of Ray Rice and Willis McGahee.  After all, the Patriots have allowed 110.5 yards rushing and 4.4 yards per carry this season.  If the Ravens can control the game running the ball it will open up some play action passes down the field to Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton.  The Patriots will likely double Mason on almost every play forcing the action passing wise to Mark Clayton and TE Todd Heap.  Heap will cause problems for the Patriots’ safeties as he is tough as nails and he rarely drops a pass.  The Ravens also have a mis-match with Ray Rice and Willis McGahee going for passes out of the backfield.

Defensively the Ravens will have their hands full.  The Patriots will likely be more balanced than usual tomorrow with the play calling.  That is because Tom Brady is banged up physically and the Patriots will be without Wes Welker.  The Patriots will likely try to spread the ball around in the passing game as the Ravens will likely double cover Randy Moss from the second he steps on the field.  My gut feeling though tells me that Benjamin Watson, Julian Edelman and Kevin Faulk will have huge roles in the passing game. 

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 21, RAVENS 20