By Zach Wilt, on January 23rd, 2012  Despite the final score, Joe Flacco was the better quarterback in the AFC Champion on Sunday. I don’t care that Tom Brady hoisted the Lamar Hunt trophy with Patriots owner Robert Kraft in that same blue shirt and pink tie that he wears every time I see him on TV. (Seriously the guy is worth a billion dollars and he wears the same freaking thing to every Patriots game.)
As I mentioned in my Quick Hits post, statistically Joe Flacco outperformed wonderboy Tom Brady, but he came up short in the end thanks in part to a dropped pass by Lee Evans and a shank by Billy Cundiff.
Flacco begged for more love from the media during the postseason. He told them that he didn’t get the credit he deserved and when the Texans kept him quiet last week, Ed Reed publicly said that he had to perform better in New England.
After the game Flacco’s teammates addressed his performance. Bernard Pollard told Dan Kolko of MASNSports.com that Flacco “played his butt off.”
“For everyone that keeps dogging him, shut up.”
Just to be clear, does that include Ed Reed?
By Zach Wilt, on January 23rd, 2012  On Sunday morning I approached the Ravens matchup against the Patriots like a passenger in a car that was about to be struck head on by a bus. I saw it coming, I tensed up, put my feet on the dashboard and braced myself for the disappointment. But, as three o’clock loomed closer and I had shared my doubts with fellow football fans, I began to grow confident.
For some reason I thought that Joe Flacco could turn the page and go from mediocre game manager to AFC champion. I thought that John Harbaugh could out think Bill Belichick and that the Ravens secondary could contain the Pats tight ends.
In the end, Ravens fans had their hearts ripped out after Lee Evans dropped a game winning touchdown and Billy Cundiff missed a game tying touchdown. It was right there. They were so close. The Super Bowl was in Evan’s hands, on Cundiff’s toe. But instead the Ravens flew home empty handed.
Here are my thoughts on the Patriots 23-20 win over the Ravens in the AFC Championship:
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By Zach Wilt, on January 23rd, 2012  Despite what Ravens fans think of Skip Bayless for his week long battles with Terrell Suggs, he actually gave Baltimore some love after they lost 23-20 to the Patriots in the AFC Championship.
“Flacco outplayed Brady,” Bayless tweeted. ”Honestly I feel sorry for Suggs/Ray/EReed” he added.
Unfortunately, Suggs does have to wear a Skip Bayless t-shirt on ESPN first take after losing a bet on the AFC Championship.
That should be appointment television as Suggs disappeared this postseason with zero sacks against the Texans and Patriots.
By Matt Lund, on January 22nd, 2012  In a match-up of two teams with very contrasting styles of play, the AFC’s #2 seeded Baltimore Ravens traveled north to take on the #1 seed New England Patriots for the AFC Championship.
The Ravens played the role of spoiler before, handing the Patriots a 33-14 loss at Gillette Stadium in the 2009 wild card playoffs, but that particular match-up was different than this one.
The Patriots didn’t have a young duo of TE’s in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. They also didn’t have Wes Welker, who was injured during the Patriots playoff run that year.
Still that did not faze the Ravens as they confused and frustrated Patriots QB Tom Brady in the game, much like they did in 2009. The Ravens defense picked off Brady twice and sacked him once.
The Ravens had an offensive and defensive game plan that on most afternoons contributes to a Ravens victory. Despite that however, it came down to the right foot of kicker Billy Cundiff to tie the game and send it to overtime when Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal wide left giving the Patriots the 23-20 victory and an AFC Championship in front of the home crowd. READ MORE >>>
By Lindsey, on January 21st, 2012  Here’s what I’ve gathered in the past week from the national media: Baltimore is a terrible place to live, Joe Flacco completely sucks at playing quarterback in the NFL, and the Ravens have no chance to beat the Patriots. For one thing, I love living in Baltimore and, contrary to popular belief, I don’t have to duck to avoid being hit by stray bullets every five minutes. Another thing – Joe Flacco doesn’t have the stats of Drew Brees or the arm of Aaron Rodgers. But where are Drew Brees’ stats? Closed until next season. And Aaron Rodgers’ arm is resting on the armrest of his sofa while he watches the championship games on his plasma tv (sorry, Aaron). As for the Ravens having no chance of beating the Patriots… let’s just take a break from the Ravens-hate field day and look at a few facts, shall we? :
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By Dave Gilmore, on January 20th, 2012  Everyone heard about Joe Flacco and Ed Reed “fight” that took place after practice yesterday. Sadly, it seems nobody else but us was willing to provide a detailed visual depiction of the altercation. We debated making a Taiwanese news-style CGI reenactment, but unfortunately we lack that technology. So, here’s a comic book I made. I hope this puts the issue to rest. Click through to see the action unfold! READ MORE >>>
By BSR Staff, on January 19th, 2012  The guys are back for another edition of the BSR Podcast. Just like Jimmy The Greek, Patrick swept the weekend with his Divisional playoff picks and he made sure that everyone knew it.
You can get in touch with the BSR Podcast by sending your emails to podcast@baltimoresportsreport.com or leaving a voicemail at 443-379-4BSR (4377).
Here are some of topics discussed in this week’s show:
NFL Divisional Playoffs Recap
The defending champion Green Bay Packers fell flat against the hottest team in the playoffs, the New York Giants. Alex Smith was dominant as the 49ers knocked out the New Orleans Saints, Tebow time came to an end as the Patriots smacked around the Broncos and the Ravens kept it close with the Texans.
Ed Reed Critical Of Joe Flacco’s Play Against Texans
The biggest story this week came from an interview that Ed Reed gave in which he said that Joe Flacco didn’t appear to have a hold on the Ravens offense. The guys break down Reed’s poor timing and Flacco’s response.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 19th, 2012  Before defeating the Houston Texans last week, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco told the media, “ I’m sure if we win, I’ll have nothing to do with why we won, according to you guys.”
He was right. He didn’t have anything to do with it.
In fact, Flacco has had little to do with the five postseason games that he has won over his four year career. But that’s okay. In my opinion, the Ravens have a good chance of winning the AFC Championship if Flacco has little to do with Cam Cameron’s game plan.
Even after his media criticism last week and Ed Reed’s evaluation, Flacco still took another shot at the media on Wednesday.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 18th, 2012  Win or lose, the second that time expires in New England Joe Flacco’s play will be examined under a microscope by both national and local media — and whatever you consider us here at BSR.
In all fairness, Flacco sort of put the bullseye on his back when he scrutinized the media and told them that they thought he wouldn’t be a part of a win against the Texans. In the end he was right about that.
Things got worse when Ed Reed went on national radio and criticized Flacco’s performance by telling listeners that he has to get better to give the Ravens any chance in the AFC Championship.
Surprisingly enough, the guy that seems to have the most faith this week in the Ravens QB is Hines Ward. In a Q&A with NFL Total Access on the NFL Network, Ward gave Flacco a vote of confidence before his matchup against one of the games elite quarterbacks, Tom Brady.
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By Ross Gore, on January 17th, 2012 
The annotated Winning Percentage Graph for Ravens Divisional Round playoff win against the Houston Texans is shown above. The graph is taken from NFL Advanced Stats, while the annotations are ours. The graph shows each team’s chance of winning the game given historical data calculated from previous NFL games. For more details on Winning Percentage graphs please see our Reader’s Guide.
The biggest play in terms of Winning Percentage for the game came after the Ravens went 3 and out on their opening drive and punted to Jacoby Jones. Jones attempted to field the bouncing punt at his 13-yard line. As shown in the picture below provided by the Associated Press, Cary Williams launched into Jones, Jones lost the ball and it was recovered by Ravens first round pick Jimmy Smith at the Texans’ 2. Ravens and Texans fans alike appear to be baffled by Jones’ decision. Here, we’ll explore that decision and try to determine if it was reasonable, or not.
Clearly Jones’ considered the decision to field the punt to be a calculated risk: he could field the punt so that the Texans could start their drive at the 13 yard-line or let it bounce and potentially start at the 3 yard-line. So, did Jones’ make a rational decision? Is the risk of bobbling the catch worth the reward of starting at the 13 yard line? We answer this question and look into another bizarre decision by the Texans after the jump.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 17th, 2012  Joe Flacco won his fifth playoff game in four years, but he’s still looking for a clutch performance in his first.
The Ravens quarterback didn’t get any help up front as he was sacked five times in Baltimore’s 20-13 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday.
Safety Ed Reed watched on the sideline and had some interesting comments about his QB on The SiriusXM Blitz with Adam Schein and Rich Gannon on Monday.
“I think a couple of the times he needed to get rid of the ball,” Reed said. ”It just didn’t look like he had a hold on the offense.”
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By Matt Lund, on January 16th, 2012 The Baltimore Ravens returned to the friendly confines of M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon, fresh off a much-needed bye week, taking on a hungry and determined Houston Texans squad primed to make it to their first ever AFC Championship Game.
The Ravens held off a Texans rushing attack, led by RB Arian Foster who carried the ball 27 times for 132 yards and a touchdown. The name of the game however was turnovers and the Ravens had four takeaways total – two in the final eight minutes of regulation- to secure the 20-13 victory over Houston in front of a loud crowd of 71,547 at “The Bank” (the largest crowd in Ravens history) and advancing to their second trip to the AFC Championship game in four years under head coach John Harbaugh.
Winning the turnover battle and time of possession were keys to victory in the game, but important because the first two turnovers, all in the 1st quarter, led to both of the Ravens touchdowns on the day. Using the bye week to prepare, the Ravens appeared focused, not committing a single penalty in the game – a first in Baltimore Ravens history – and not turning the ball over once themselves.
The Ravens will travel to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots for the AFC Championship on Sunday, January 22nd at 3:00 pm. The last time the Ravens traveled to Gillette Stadium, they trounced the Patriots 33-14 in the 2009 AFC Wildcard Playoffs. READ MORE >>>
By Zach Wilt, on January 16th, 2012  By far the most controversial story of the Ravens bye week came in a column written by Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston. I guess in a way he’s Charm City’s Skip Bayless, only with less Tim Tebow love.
Preston penned a piece on the recent struggles of veterans Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and and suggested that the Ravens coaching staff consider cutting their playing time, especially in critical situations. The fan base flipped.
For the record, I agreed with Preston at the time. I think Ray Lewis has gotten a little slow in the middle of the field and Reed has obviously been playing hurt.
After Sunday’s 20-13 win against the Texans in which Ed Reed came up with a crucial interception and left it all out on the field, NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora tweeted that Preston was clearly wrong.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 16th, 2012 
It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win and the Ravens are headed to New England for the AFC Championship. Though road games haven’t been their area of expertise this season (see Jacksonville) and they looked sloppy against T.J. (frickin) Yates, you have to be impressed with these 53 mighty mighty men.
Sunday’s 20-13 win against the Texans was a hard fought struggle that at one point looked like it was in complete control by the Ravens. But it ended up coming down to a Hail Mary at the end of the game that allowed Baltimore to make the trek to Foxboro to face Bill Belichick and the Pats.
Suggs versus Uggs.
Here are my thoughts on the Ravens victory of the Texans in the AFC Divisional Round.
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By Ross Gore, on January 12th, 2012 
Before we delve into our playoff preview of the Houston Texans, let’s clear up one myth perpetuated by the talking heads on television: teams that won in the first round of the playoffs don’t have any advantage over their second round opponents. This is confusing because its impossible to change the television channel without catching some new gregarious haircut screaming, “The Texans won this weekend. What did the Ravens do? Nothing! While they were laying around eating Yoplaits and watching The Gilmore Girls, the Texans were out on the field.”
Since 2001, teams with a first-round bye are 25-15 (.625) in the second round of the playoffs. This doesn’t mean that the Ravens will win Sunday’s game everytime it is played, but it shows that they didn’t spend the weekend losing the capabilities that enabled them to win the AFC North. In fact, the upsets in this round that do happen, don’t look like the Ravens vs. Texans. Instead they resemble games like the Saints vs. 49ers, where a quantifiably great team happens to end up under-seeded.
With that misconception dispatched, let’s preview the Texans after the jump.
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Exclusive: The Joe Flacco-Ed Reed “Fight”