By Matt Lund, on December 12th, 2011 
When the National Football League released its 2011-12 schedule in early April, the 13th game of the season was marked on the calendar for both the Ravens and the fans in a number of ways.
The game gave Ravens fans another opportunity to voice their disapproval of that team from Indianapolis who left Baltimore for good on a snowy night in March of 1984. Another reason being the potential magnitude of the game itself and also the star power each team boasts. The Ravens heart and soul at LB Ray Lewis and Colts QB Peyton Manning on the opposite side. A late season, cold-weather, road-test in a noisy M&T Bank Stadium had both teams dreaming of playoff implications.
But going into this game, those things did not come to fruition. Both Lewis and Manning sat out the game because of their respective injuries. It was safe to say network TV execs weren’t exactly salivating about a Jameel McClain vs. Dan Orlovsky match-up. READ MORE >>>
By Edgar Walker, on December 6th, 2011 I posted earlier about Pernell McPhee and his stellar rookie campaign thus far, and I briefly touched on the Ravens’ “youth movement” on defense that seems to be coming to fruition this season. While it was just a passing thought at the time, the notion has really grown on me that the team has brought in several young pieces to lessen the inevitable eventual departures of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.
McPhee has been but one of the young guns for the defense this season. READ MORE >>>
By Matt Lund, on December 5th, 2011 
The Baltimore Ravens have had their share of head-scratching defeats on the road this season, but leading up to the match-up in Cleveland, all week the theme was not letting those prior losses creep into the collective psyche of the team. The thought of another trap game weighed heavily on the minds of fans as well, but the Ravens were determined to distance themselves from those ugly losses and prove their worth as one of the top teams in the AFC.
On a rainy and cold afternoon in Cleveland, the Ravens needed to take care of business against a team they had defeated six straight times, including three straight on the road. They did exactly that with a tough, ground and pound style that Cleveland had absolutely no answer for. The 24-10 victory for Baltimore is their third straight victory and also their third road victory of the season, critical wins to have at this point of the season.
Grading the Ravens 24-10 victory over Cleveland
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By Zach Wilt, on December 5th, 2011 
The Ravens are a team on a mission and on Sunday they proved that anyone standing in their way will be eliminated, embarrassingly. Baltimore steam rolled through Cleveland with an impressive 24-10 win against the Browns in a game that they dominated on both sides of the ball. With Ray Lewis on the sideline, Baltimore got the monkey off their back and beat a lowly opponent coming off a big win in the Harbowl on Thanksgiving.
Here are my thoughts on the game:
- Run Ray Run - I think we’re going on three straight weeks without a complaint about Cam Cameron’s play calling. On a dreary day in Cleveland (I think they’re all like that) the Ravens stuck with the ground game and it paid off. Ray Rice rushed for a career high 204 yards in a game in which the Ravens called more running plays, 52, than ever before in their history. The Ravens totaled 293 yards on the ground, the third most in a single game in their team history. Seeing Rice slash through the Browns defense was liking watching the Jamal Lewis days of old.
- O-line stays strong - Part of the success that Rice and Ricky Williams had on the ground can be credited to another fantastic game by the big guys up front. I sung their praises a week ago and I stand by it. The offensive line has gelled during the second half of the season, the left side looked particularly strong against the Browns and Vonta Leach paved the way for Rice to do his thing and out run the linebackers and safeties. It’s a blast to watch.
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By Zach Wilt, on November 25th, 2011 You couldn’t have asked for more out of the the Harbowl than what we saw tonight. I predicted a sloppy, high scoring game and got the complete opposite. Neither team’s offense showed up until the second half, but a defensive grudge match proved to be just as entertaining.
Here are my thoughts on the Ravens 16-6 win over the 49ers in the Harbowl.
Webb steps up – This just in, Lardarius Webb is the Ravens best corner. As the clock ran out at the end of the first half, Webb intercepted an Alex Smith pass in the end zone. The play not only helped keep the Ravens three point lead, but gave Webb his team leading fourth interception of the season.
Red Zone fail – The Ravens were forced to kick a field goal after going three and out on a first and goal on the one yard line. Baltimore settled for for a field goal after losing yards on a Ray Rice run up the middle and a quarterback draw. The fans laid into the Ravens and rightfully so.
Pressure on Alex Smith – Give credit to Chuck Pagano, he knew that the Ravens were struggling to cover San Francisco’s wide receivers and made up for up with pressure on Alex Smith. The Ravens threw Smith to the turf a season high nine times and pressured him relentlessly.
Flacco hit his stride – It took three quarters, but the Ravens offense finally hit its stride during a nice lengthy drive at the end of the third quarter. Joe Flacco went 4 for 4 on third down with a touchdown on third down during Baltimore’s 16 play drive.
Regardless of what the scoreboard said, the Ravens dominated the second half of this game. It was a big win against one of the NFC’s best teams.
By Zach Wilt, on November 17th, 2011  Everyone seems to agree that the Ravens offensive game plan against the Seahawks sucked. Throw 52 times, run five. Lose 22-17 to one of the worst teams in the league. That seemed to be the plan.
So far this week tight end Ed Dickson, cornerback Lardarius Webb and future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis all said that Ray Rice needs to get the ball more. It’s as simple as that. On Wednesday, Ray Rice finally spoke up and agreed with his teammates. ”I’m never going to be a guy who talks about touches, but obviously, we know going into a game that five carries is not going to cut it,” Rice said according to Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times.
Unfortunately, the Ravens leader on offense, Joe Flacco, doesn’t agree. Flacco told reporters that Baltimore’s passing attack against Seattle gave them the best chance of winning. ”If you have a three-and-out, at least you didn’t eat up eight minutes of the clock and not get any points,” Flacco said according to CBSSports.com.
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By Zach Wilt, on November 16th, 2011 There’s more and more chirping from the Ravens locker room about Cam Cameron’s play calling. On Tuesday it was Ed Dickson that said that Cam Cameron didn’t fully trust Joe Flacco, now players on the other side of the ball have begun to chime in.
“Ray Rice needs to touch the ball more,” Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb said on 105.7 The Fan. ”That was a problem.” As repeated here on BSR, Rice touched the ball just five times in the Ravens 22-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Webb wasn’t the only defensive player to voice his concerns, according to a tweet from The Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec, veteran linebacker Ray Lewis said on Wednesday that Rice needs to get 25 to 30 touches per game.
Having the face of your franchise question your offensive coordinator is never a good thing. I certainly hope Cam is listening.
By BSR Staff, on September 30th, 2011  Guest Post by Patrick Guthrie
Considering Maryland took a week off last week, I think I’ll take a week off from writing about them. See if they can slay the giant that is Towson and then I’ll try and piece the Maryland bandwagon back together.
First and foremost I’m a New York Jets fan, and they’ll be playing about two blocks from my house on Sunday. So let’s get to breaking down a game between two of the top contenders in the AFC behind the standard of excellence, the Buffalo Bills.
Why the Ravens should win this game:
In their two wins, the Ravens have been dominant, outscoring Pittsburgh and St. Louis by a combined 72-14. Obviously, the Steelers win is going to continue to look better as Pittsburgh continues to round into form, while the Rams win could depreciate for the opposite reason.
They’ve looked like a better team in the first three weeks than the Jets. Even their lone loss doesn’t look as bad, with the Titans playing like a legitimate contender until Kenny Britt’s leg exploded last week. If I had to break it down position by position, the only spots that I could definitively give to the Jets would be defensive backs, and offensive line if Nick Mangold is healthy this week.
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By Zach Wilt, on September 19th, 2011  It’s official. After two weeks of the NFL season, we don’t know anything about the Baltimore Ravens. Coming off an emotional win against their rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in week one, the Ravens laid an egg and got smoked by a young team with an average veteran quarterback and rookie head coach. The final score, 26-13, doesn’t quite do the Titans embarrassment of the Ravens justice. If Tennessee’s kicker makes a 30-something yard field goal and the Ravens actually go for it on 4th and goal down 13 points with under five minutes in the fourth quarter, the score could swing another six points.
It’s tough to stomach, even this earlier. Here are my quick thoughts on the game.
- Hasselbeck>CJ2k - If you told me that the Titans beat the Ravens without me watching a second of the game I would have to assume that Chris Johnson put up record numbers against Baltimore’s defense. That wasn’t the case. Baltimore wasn’t ready for what Matt Hasselbeck and the Titans receivers had to offer to them and were trying to stop the pass all day long. The veteran threw for 358 yards and spread the ball to nine different receivers.
- Failure to adjust – Tip your cap to the Titans, who exploited the Ravens secondary and shut down Ray Rice and the Baltimore running game. Tennessee knew that Baltimore would stop Chris Johnson (he was held to 57 yards on the ground) and instead went to a quick passing offense led by veteran Matt Hasselbeck. It didn’t matter which of the Ravens bad cornerbacks were covering the Titans receivers, they all got torched. Take your pick Domonique Foxworth on Jared Cook, Cary Williams on Kenny Britt or Lardarius Webb on Nate Washington, they all were outmatched. Tennessee’s game plan was clear, but Baltimore never adjusted to it and they let a subpar team beat them handily.
- O-Line Woes – That awesome offensive line from week one didn’t show up to the Music City. Suddenly an the “in shape” Bryant McKinnie looked slow and fat, Michael Oher couldn’t remember any snap count and the healthy Matt Birk couldn’t stop the pass rush. I know Ben Grubbs was out, but after week one we were led to believe that these guys could stop anyone. Not the case today. I think Joe Flacco’s poor performance had more to do with the beating that his offensive line let him take than bad play. But who knows.
- Ray Lewis and the aging Ravens defense – Remember how after Baltimore wooped Pittsburgh we all questioned whether time had passed by the Steelers defense? Now after a veteran Matt Hasselbeck exposed the Ravens, you’ve got to analyze the Ravens in the same way. The team leader in tackles was Lardarius Webb, I guess he made his nine tackles after allowing Kenny Britt to make a long catch down the sideline. Ray Lewis was credited with six, but he failed to keep up with the quick patterns by the Titans receivers. I’m not sure why, but Brendon Ayanbadejo played a lot on defense. That’s never good.
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By Zach Wilt, on September 11th, 2011  Haloti Ngata's fumble recovery in the third quarter...before this game was completely out of hand. I don’t know if the Ravens caught the Steelers with their pants down or were just so tired of Pittsburgh’s dominance over them in recent years that they decided that enough was enough, but this Ravens team completely destroyed the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens had never scored 35 points against Pittsburgh and the Steelers hadn’t lost a season opener since 2002, until today. Baltimore controlled the game from the first play, a 36 yard run by Ray Rice. Two plays later, the Ravens went up 7-0 in a game that was the biggest embarrassment of the week. Here are my quick thoughts on Baltimore’s 35-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- What offensive line problems? – I don’t want to undersell the difficultly of playing on the offensive line, but when I heard the experts say that the Ravens would lose this game due to a lack of chemistry up front on offense, I couldn’t help but laugh. How much chemistry does it take to push back defenders and ensure enough time for a quarterback? Michael Oher moved back to right tackle, where he belongs, Matt Birk looked was healthy enough to protect Joe Flacco and a slender Bryant McKinnie, now down to 372 pounds, ate up the space of several defensive lineman. Pardon the stupid joke. How much chemistry does it take to do that?
- I told you Joe Flacco improved – Excuse me for a second while I do the “I told you so” dance. Joe Flacco’s pocket presence, on field awareness and attitude is going to lead this Ravens team this year and I called it weeks ago. This is his offense, finally. The best throw Flacco made all day was called back on a questionable holding penalty by Bryant McKinnie. It was a 34 yard completion on a crossing pattern by tight end Ed Dickson that Flacco threaded through several defenders. Flacco hit six different receivers, three in the end zone. Unfortunately, new comer Lee Evans was catch-less on the day, but his presence allowed Anquan Boldin to get some separation and make four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Joe has taken steps forward this year, I saw it in the preseason and I look for it to continue in the weeks to come.
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By Zach Wilt, on September 5th, 2011 A year ago, Cary Williams was a part of a secondary problem in Baltimore as he was suspended for two games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Today, after being humbled by that experience, Williams has fought his way back and earned a starting job with the Ravens.
“It taught me humility and that things could be taken away from me,” Williams told The Sun’s Ken Murray in 2010 after hearing about the suspension. “I would want to play, but I still have to earn my position back on the team. I just want to go out and put my best foot forward.” After grabbing the attention of the Ravens coaching staff through a dominant preseason, Williams has earned a spot alongside Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs in one of the best defenses in football.
Williams first started showing his capabilities in Baltimore’s first preseason game against the Chiefs. While rookie corner Jimmy Smith was getting scorched by Dwayne Bowe, Williams shut down his opponents and led the team in passes defended. He was aggressive, but aware of his surroundings.
For Williams, the road to a starting job has been a difficult one. He was signed by Baltimore in 2009 off the Titans practice squad and he contributed on special teams for the team last season with several tackles and even a catch on a fake punt. During the offseason he trained with corner Renaldo Hill who he credits for his skills. Williams has separated himself from Domonique Foxworth, Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb and has earned a well deserved starting job on an elite defense.
By BSR Staff, on December 27th, 2010 The Baltimore Ravens secured their third straight playoff berth with their 20-10 win in Cleveland against the Browns. Chances are that the Ravens will face a familiar opponent, the Colts in Indianapolis.
After the game, several players expressed their excitement for the accomplishment. On twitter, Lardarius Webb summed it up with one word “playoffs!” Donte Stallworth was also excited to return to the playoffs. “Sitting on this plane thinking… Last time I was in the playoffs, my team went to the Super Bowl #JustSayin… need a “W” this time though.”
Ed Reed also acknowledged the accomplishment, “We got one more game and we’re at home,” he told Aaron Wilson. “We got to finish the season strong.”
Head coach John Harbaugh has led the Ravens to their three straight playoff appearances. “I’m proud of our guys, that’s a great accomplishment,” Harbaugh told Wilson. “This organization is pretty special.”
Harbaugh’s leader on offense, Joe Flacco, isn’t happy to just settle for playoff berths. “We don’t just want to be in the playoffs every year,” Flacco said. “We want to be a threat to win the Super Bowl.
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By Zach Wilt, on September 4th, 2010 Position: Cornerback
Height/Weight: 5′ 10″/182 lbs
Age: 24/Experience: 2
College: Nicholls State
Analysis: Last season, Lardarius Webb exceeded expectations as the Ravens third round pick (88th overall) proving to be a valuable asset in the special team’s return game and in the secondary. Coming from a I-AA school, Webb soared as the All-Southland Conference defensive back and returner as a senior, was Nicholls State’s 2008-09 Outanding Male Student Athlete of the Year and was a two time College Sporting News Fabulous Fifty selection. READ MORE >>>
By Jeff Pilson, on August 25th, 2010 Position:Cornerback
Height/Weight: 5’10″/194 lbs.
Age: 30/Experience: 9 years
College: Central Florida
Analysis: The Ravens signed Travis Fisher as a free agent in the off-season to provide depth and experience in the defensive secondary. Entering his 9th season, Fisher has plenty of experience having played for the Rams, Lions and Seahawks. Fisher has been a starting defensive back as recently as 2008, but he has battled injuries regularly during his career. Those injuries seemed to have taken their toll on the former 2nd round pick, as his best days are behind him. Fisher has a good combo of size and speed and also brings the experience of playing in many different schemes and coverage types. READ MORE >>>
By Zach Wilt, on August 25th, 2010 Fans are breathing easier today as Lardarius Webb is in his second full practice with the Ravens this season after being removed from the physically unable to perform list yesterday. The second year defensive back proved to be a spark for the Ravens weak secondary last season and will need to make an impact this season for this team to succeed.
Head Coach John Harbaugh told the media yesterday that Webb would be likely be limited to playing defense the entire season and would not see action as a kick returner. Webb was injured on a special teams play last season after proving to be a reliable cornerback early on, this year it looks as though Jalen Parmele is making a run for the kick returning job. READ MORE >>>
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