Fish in a Barrel

The Ravens broke out of their three game losing streak yesterday, in a game that purged most of the negatives from the Ravens massive 31-3 loss to the Colts a week ago, beating the Miami Dolphins 27-13 to improve to 3-3.

Rookie QB Joe Flacco played his best game as a pro yesterday, going 17-23 for 232 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t turn the ball over, stood tall and confident in the pocket and didn’t force passes into coverage like he had done in Indianapolis and two weeks ago in the loss to the Tennessee Titans.

If I was doubting head coach John Harbaugh’s decision to name Flacco the starter for the season, I was proven wrong by Flacco’s performance yesterday. For the first time this season, Flacco used several targets. Derrick Mason (6 rec, 87 yds, 1 TD) was again Flacco’s #1 target, but Flacco spread the ball around nicely, finding Todd Heap 3 times for 29 yards and even the ghost of Mark Clayton once for 13 yards. The screen pass also returned in a big way yesterday, and it helped the offense maintain drives and control the time of possession (31:43 to 28:17). Willis McGahee had 47 yards receiving and Ray Rice 46.

Another pleasant surprise was McGahee’s running game. McGahee had been chided for coming into the season out of shape, and it showed during the first few weeks of the season as McGahee appeared out of breath and nicked-up on several plays. However, against the Dolphins defense, McGahee hit holes hard and showed determination, breaking tackles and fighting for the extra yard instead of going down after the first hit. He finished the day with 105 rush yards and a TD. The only blemish on McGahee, and the Ravens day, was McGahee’s fumble deep in Miami territory. The fumbled was rendered moot, and McGahee’s improved play meant less time for Le’Ron McClain, who just rushed 6 times for 17 yards.

The defense was ready to get the sour taste out of their mouths from a week ago, and they did just that. They declawed Miami’s wildcat offense, stuffing the Dolphins run game (71 total rush yards) and keeping QB Chad Pennington off balance all day. Despite his 295 passing yards, the normally accurate Pennington had to hurry several passes, which meant a lot of them were way off target. It would have been nice to see the Ravens get after Pennington a little more, and the Ravens’ pass rush is something that needs to be improved going forward. In the last 3 games, the Ravens have recorded only 3 sacks.

The Ravens host the Oakland Raiders next week, and this game represents a great opportunity for the Ravens to get above .500 as they then hit the road for three consecutive weeks. Oakland is coming off a big team win against Brett Favre and the Jets, but have played poorly on the road, especially when coming to the East Coast, where they are 0-3 lifetime against the Ravens in Baltimore.

In today’s NFL, fans are usually of the mentality that a team is as good as their latest game. If that has any truth to it, the Ravens have proven that they are better than the team that was dominated a week ago. The Dolphins may not be a powerhouse in the AFC, but they are a team on the rise, but the Ravens bumped them back down, at least for one week.

Off to the races

While most of the 1 p.m. games around the NFL ended with some last minute fireworks, the Ravens/Colts game was over about 6 minutes into the first quarter when Peyton Manning connected with Marvin Harrison for the first of his 3 passing TD's in the Colts win over the Ravens, 31-3.

For the Ravens it was the same old story when playing the Colts. In the last 4 games versus the Colts, the Ravens have been outscored 114-36.

Today it was no different. The Ravens came out on offense looking like they'd spent all of last night getting drunk at Indy's finest strip club. Joe Flacco threw 3 INT's, Le'Ron McClain fumbled and the Ravens couldn't run the ball despite the Colts defense ranking last against the run.

It wouldn't have mattered if the Ravens had gone to bed early and were 100% healthy. The Colts are just a million times better than the Ravens, always have been, and as long as Manning is the QB, always will be.

I am really glad the Colts missed the playoffs in 2000 because I am starting to wonder what Manning could have done against the Ravens Super Bowl winning defense.

Probably shredded them like he has done to pretty much every other Ravens defensive unit.

Anyway, after playing both the Steelers and the Titans tough despite losing very winnable games, the Ravens were supposed to be able to maintain drives against the Colts banged-up defense, keeping Manning and company off the field.

That simply didn't happen.

And when the Colts had the ball, Manning picked apart the Ravens defense like he's done for years, passing for 271 yards and 3 TD's. Ravens players and fans alike should start a countdown to the day Manning retires. It's got to happen any year or seven.

Even worse, the Ravens gave the Colts their first home win at their new Lucas Oil Stadium.

As for the Ravens going forward, Coach Billick better rally his troops and... wait, did I say Billick? Oh yeah, I forgot he was fired last year. Silly me! The team looks and plays totally different than they did back when Billick was the coach.

In case you haven't noticed, I am using a little literally tactic called sarcasm.

Despite the change in coaching staff, the Ravens are still their same old boring ball control and dumb-headed selves. It's a wonder why they even bother drafting QB's if they are never going to let them do anything except hand the ball off and throw the ball yards short of the first down marker on 3rd down.

Why don't the Ravens try to stretch the field by throwing deep like they haven't done for two games straight? Flacco's got the arm. Sure, we don't have the receivers to really do it, but why not at least try? It might open up the running game a bit. And who knows, maybe once every season you might actually complete a pass for more than 50 yards!

More about Joe -- I am starting to get worried for the kid. We saw what happened with Boller when he was forced into the starter's position and we're starting to see the same things happen with Flacco. His poise in the pocket is getting worse. I believe I am starting to see some happy feet. And he's still forcing throws. I know this was only his fifth NFL game, but we should at least start to see some improvement by now.

Instead, Joe is getting worse.

This past week Coach Harbaugh came out and named Flacco the starter for the rest of the year, and I have to wonder if it was the right decision. Flacco now has 1 TD to 7 INT's and is starting to cost the team games.

So it basically comes down to this: What is worse? Throwing Flacco to the wolves by forcing him to start games? Or benching him in favor of a healthy Troy Smith so Flacco can stand on the sidelines and become more of a student of the game?

There is no easy answer. But as the season starts to slip away from the Ravens, it'll be hard to bench the future franchise QB.

So, next week the Ravens fly to Miami where they became victim to the Dolphins last year for the Phins only win of the 2007 season. The Dolphins are much better than they were last year, and the Ravens are probably the same.

Yeah... I don't like our chances there either.

Titan-ic Disaster

Just a week after losing a heartbreaker to the Steelers, the Ravens dropped another winnable game to the Tennessee Titans, 13-10.

If the Ravens are going to make this a habit, I may have to call the doctor and get a prescription for some anti-depressants.

Yes, the Ravens lost another game in which they dominated for the better part of 3.5 quarters, only to commit another game-changing penalty (this time it was controversial -- more on that later) which allowed the opposition to take advantage of the costly mistake.

It doesn't end there, either.

Matt Stover missed another field goal, which would have left the game tied after the Titans scored their late touchdown. I think it's safe to say the Stover era is coming to a close in Baltimore. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Add to that some questionable coaching at the end of the first half and you have a recipe for another heart-grueling Ravens loss.

Rookie Joe Flacco turned in his worst performance to date, going 18-27 for 153 yards and 2 interceptions. Both picks were of the rookie-QB-trying-too-hard-to-make-something-out-of-nothing variety, but the second interception came one play after the Titans scored the go-ahead touchdown and ended any hopes of a last-minute comeback.

And that brings me to this. Flacco is not the superhuman savior fans were making him out to be. He's not going to travel down the same career path as Ben Roethlisberger, who in his rookie season went 14-1 as a starter and limited turnovers. Flacco has a steep learning curve, and if the Ravens have any hopes of making the playoffs, they need Flacco to settle down and start throwing the ball away when there is nothing happening downfield.

And while I may be blasted for this, I would even start thinking about whether it is time to start working Troy Smith into the mix. Now, I know Smith would be hard-pressed to do any better than Flacco, but I still do believe that having rookie QB's standing on the sideline is a good thing. Flacco has gotten his taste of NFL action, and hasn't embarrassed himself, but maybe it's time to let him learn by watching, and not by doing.

That said, benching Flacco is still another bad game or two down the road.

What really makes this loss so tough to swallow, was that despite the penalties, despite the poor play from Flacco, despite the questionable play-calling, the Ravens were in a position to beat the 4-0 Titans, and ended up beating themselves in the 4th quarter.

The refs also played a part. On the eventual game-winning drive, Terrell Suggs went after Titans QB Kerry Collins and while going for the ball, came down on Collins' helmet and shoulder, which the refs called roughing the passer, which was a stretch in and of itself.

However, there was a false start penalty called, meaning that the play was supposed to be whistled dead. The problem? The referee didn't do his part to whistle the play dead. Instead he just kinda waited for the play to keep going before he decided to step in. So how the f--- was Suggs supposed to know the play was over when he went after Collins?

The Ravens have a legit beef with the call, and it only gives the fans more salt to rub in their wounds.

But despite the botched call from the refs, and despite the million of other "what-ifs" fans are carrying on about, the bottom line is that the Ravens simply let this one get away.

The defense, which had been stopping the Titans all game, picked the wrong time to let up, and seemed deflated after the controversial penalty continued the game-winning drive. And where was the pass rush? The Ravens recorded zero sacks and I don't believe they laid a hand on Collins all day.

Hell, he probably didn't even need a shower after the game.

So there you have it. Two tough losses in a row and it still does not get any easier. The Ravens travel to Indianapolis to take on the struggling 2-2 Colts, who are still looking for their first win at their newly opened Lucas Oil Field.

Will the Ravens give it to them? I'm afraid the answer is yes. The Colts have owned the Ravens and after two tough losses, the Ravens look to come out flat against Peyton Manning and the Colts.

So I wouldn't be surprised if the Ravens are 2-3 after next week and the Ravens' once-quick start to the season slows down to a crawl.

Random Bierd

- Anyone else as depressed as I am watching the Brewers and Rays in the playoffs? That's two more teams off the list of teams to have missed the playoffs for at least 11 years. That list now consists of only the O's, Blue Jays, Royals, Nationals, Royals, Reds, and Pirates. Of that list, only the O's and Pirates have not had a non-losing season in the last 11 years. (Nationals finished 2005 at 81-81)

- According to a second opinion, Daniel Cabrera's right elbow is not damaged. Yes, he just sucks that bad. It was nice knowing you, Daniel.

- GM Andy MacPhail is "generally pleased" with the way things went this season, mentioning the team's better-than-expected record through 2/3 of the season. All we need to do now is get Major League Baseball to shorten the season by 54 games and we'll be a mediocre team instead of a horrible one.

- Severna Park native Mark Teixeira is getting his first taste of the post-season with the Angels. A free agent after the season is finished, Teixeira returning home to Baltimore, where he is sure to miss the playoffs for at least the 2009 season, just got less likely.

- San Diego Padres' SS Kahlil Greene looks to be moved in the offseason as the Padres try to lower their payroll. Greene had a down year in 2008, and would be a good "buy low" player to acquire in a trade. I would open trade talks for Greene with Daniel Cabrera, and if that doesn't get the deal done, ask the Padres how much cash it'll take to complete the trade to avoid having to throw another player into the deal. Greene is a free agent after the 2009 season.

- I have a hunch that there will be a Matt Wieters-watch next April when it gets a few weeks into the season and still there are no Wie's available. At this point I am expecting the Orioles to fumble Wieters' transition to the major leagues since he was not brought to Baltimore when the rosters expanded in September.

- A Nick Markakis extension must be completed this offseason. If you read the tea-leaves during the season, Nick didn't appear too happy that the two sides were unable to come to an agreement for an extension. If there is no extension finished by opening day, you won't need tea leaves to tell that Nick Markakis is unhappy with the Orioles.

- If the Orioles are ever going to get better, they have to improve their play against the AL East. They went 22-50 against their division rivals in 2008.

- I'd be surprised if Brian Roberts signs an extension with the Orioles, increasing the probability that he will never play for a post-season team in his career.

- Have the Orioles given up on Nolan Reimold? He repeated this past season at Bowie after having a .930 OPS and 11 HR in 186 AB's in 2007 and hasn't been mentioned in any of the team's future plans. In 2008 he had an impressive season with a .284 AVG, 25 HR, 84 RBI and a .868 OPS.

- If the O's miss out on Teixeira this offseason, Oscar Salazar might not be a bad stop-gap at the position, splitting time with Huff. He had a .878 OPS in 81 AB's in 2008.

A Tale of Two Halves

The Ravens lost 23-20 in overtime to the Pittsburgh Steelers last night.

At least it was a good game.

Going in, it was unsure whether rookie QB Joe Flacco would be able to handle the pressure of his first game on the road, during prime time, and against an always tough tough Steelers defense. Flacco performed about as good as you could expect in his third NFL game, going 16-31 for 192 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT. Despite his impressive passing stats, he constantly held onto the ball too long in the pocket, resulting in several unnessary sacks and a fumble that was returned for a momentum-changing touchdown.

However, Flacco showed the impressive poise he displayed in the first two games. He continued to side-step pressure in the pocket and completed a highlight-reel-worthy Donovan McNabb-esque pass after scampering to his left and then right for twelve seconds. The play was just another reminder that Flacco, three games into his career, is going to be something special.

But as impressive as Flacco was under pressure, the Ravens let the game slip away from them, mostly due to stupid unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

The Ravens dominated the first half of the game, going into halftime leading 13-3. At the half the Steelers only had 41 net yards, to the Ravens' 136. But when the Steelers came out after halftime, they switched to the no-huddle offense that seemed to keep the Ravens defense, which had been completely dominant in the first half, off balance.

Jarett Johnson's unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was the game-changing play, tacking 15 yards onto a 8 yard Nate Washington reversal that gave the Steelers the ball well within Ravens territory. They scored their first TD in eight quarters three plays later. Then, on the first play of the Ravens' next drive, Flacco stepped back and tried to elude the pass rush when he should have just thrown the ball away. As he was getting sacked, the ball was knocked loose and picked up by the Steelers, who ran it in for their second TD in fifteen seconds to take the lead, 17-13.

The Ravens came back to tie the game late in the 4th quarter, with Flacco leading the offense on a brilliant 9 play, 76 yard drive which resulted in a Le'Ron McClain TD. He went 3-3 for 60 yards on the drive. Things were also looking good at the start of overtime, when the Ravens won the coin toss, but they went three-and-out and punted to the Steelers, who drove the ball down the field at will and kicked a field goal for the win.

Game over.

To their credit, the Ravens showed tons of heart, especially on the 4th quarter game-tying drive. If this game is a sign of things to come, Flacco is going to be the QB the Ravens have been waiting for since Vinny Testaverde was released in 1998. He is cool, calm and collected. The Ravens' long drives on offense gave the defense time to rest, and they were swarming the field all night.

But on the flip-side, the Ravens looked very undisciplined, racking up 8 penalties for a total of 76 yards. Most of them were as stupid as they were costly. Yes, it's a heated game against a division rival under the lights, but come on. Get your tempers under control. From a mental stand-point, they looked no different than the undisciplined Ravens teams of the past.

Another disappointing aspect of the game were the wide receivers. Only Derrick Mason was a factor, racking up 137 yards on 8 receptions. But where was Todd Heap? Where was Mark Clayton? Demetrius Williams was thrown to a few times, but had only 1 catch.

At 2-1, the Ravens are only a half game back of the Steelers, who are 3-1. But the schedule doesn't get any easier for the Ravens, as they host the 4-0 Tennessee Titans this Sunday. And that makes losing to the Steelers even more painful, since the schedule from here on out is brutally hard.

But, the Ravens are worlds ahead where we thought they'd be in the preseason, and look to be in pretty much every game they play if Flacco can maintain drives and avoid turnovers. He'll continue to get better, too.

Losing to the Steelers is hard, especially when the Ravens were dominating them for an entire half of the game, but if the Ravens can focus on the positives from this game and focus on improving discipline, this is the kind of game that can rally a team.

Things I learned in the second half of 2008...

During the usual Orioles second-half collapse (26-53 in the last 3 months), I learned some telling things about the Baltimore Orioles. Here they are...

1. Andy MacPhail will always take the long road. What we thought could be true during the never-ending Erik Bedard trade was cemented in fact when he failed to call up hot prospects Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold, David Hernandez and Brad Bergeson. Instead, MacPhail rode out the season with aging veterans Ramon Hernandez and Jay Payton along with a never-was in Chris Waters. On the bright side, MacPhail seems intent not to rush his young prospects, but if ever there was a good time to get a look at these players in non-stressful situations, it was during the second half of 2008.

2. Shortstop is kind of an important position. After being spoiled with Mark Belanger, Cal Ripken, Mike Bordick and Miguel Tejada at shortstop for the better part of the last 40 years, O's fans finally got a taste of what it looks like when the SS position is a glaring weakness. Luis Hernandez, Alex Cintron, Freddie Bynum, Brandon Fahey... none of these guys played the position well enough to become even a full-time stop-gap at the position, making the 2008 season that much more painful.

3. Veteranosity is not always a bad thing. Aubrey Huff and Melvin Mora each shed their "dead-weight" image and closed out some impressive seasons. While Mora's hot finish to the '08 campaign was more of a last hurrah than a career resurrection, Aubrey Huff could be a decent Plan B if the Orioles miss out on signing Mark Teixeira during the off season. It also shows you that picking up a veteran after a down year is a smart thing. Buy low, sell high.

4. Vertanosity is not always a good thing. See: Ramon Hernandez, Kevin Millar, Jay Payton, Steve Trachsel, Jamie Walker.

5. The Daniel Cabrera Era is over. Danny-boy failed to improve upon his dismal 2007 season, baffling and angering O's fans yet again in 2008. He started the season off well, putting together two months of solid pitching before reverting back to his old walk-this-ways. His control got worse, he's still a butcher as a defender, and the MPH on his fastball has gone down. Talk of moving CaBBrera to the bullpen is liken to re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Either make Cabrera a throw-in player as part of a trade, or simply release him. Anything other than having Cabrera sporting an O's jersey in 2009.

6. Dave Trembley is not the great manager we all thought he was. He's actually more similar to Lee Mazzilli and Sam Perlozzo than Davey Johnson. But that's hardly a criticism, as those managers were playing with a short stack as well and got the wrong end of a raw deal. However, like those past managers, Trembley made a slew of questionable moves in 2008. He assigned players to restrictive roles (especially in the bullpen) and stuck with those pesky veterans longer than he should have. He deserves better players to manage, but it turns out Trembley is human after all despite his painfully honest, and sometimes uncomfortable, post-game press conferences.

7. Player development is in shambles. Failure to throw strikes and injuries are this organization's two most puzzling problems. Whether it is a philosophical problem or just bad luck, something needs to change -- and fast -- in the minor leagues. The Orioles led the AL in walks, again, and watched as their starting rotation and bullpen were decimated by injuries.

8. You can scratch Garrett Olson and Radhames Liz off the "key players of the future" list. Olson, 6.65 ERA. Liz, 6.72 ERA. Both pitchers had problems throwing strikes, which is no surprise if you read #7. Olson did manage to finish the season on somewhat of a high note, but Liz looks like nothing more than a bullpen arm, and based on his control problems, it's a stretch to say he could even be that. But the fact remains, based on what we saw in 2008, neither looks to be starting pitchers on a competitive team, which is what we hope the Orioles can become over the next few years.

It was an ugly finish. A disaster. That isn't to say there are no positives for the Orioles, but they are greatly outweighed by the negatives and question-marks surrounding this team. Andy MacPhail has his work cut out for him this off-season, but reality can't be ignored. This organization still has a long way to go, and it's something that can't be done in the span of a six-month offseason.

This offseason is very important, and the foundation for a winning team down the road can be put in place within the next few months. But it's a tall order. And with each passing week, I wonder if MacPhail is the right guy for the job.

Wake me up when September ends

That should be the theme song for the Baltimore Orioles.

Remember when it used to be "Oriole Magic"? Back in... June? The players even made a cute video to go with it.

LOL

After their "high water mark" of 60-63, the Orioles have gone on a 7-24 run. Maybe they decided that they wanted to move up in the 2009 draft. Maybe they remembered that the reporters had predicted them to lose 100 games. Maybe they wanted to make sure that the last series in Yankee stadium went out with a bang -- for the Yankees.

The Orioles were swept, by the way, in a typical doormat fashion. Maybe the Orioles should give the Washington Generals some competition and start hiring themselves out as punching bags for colleges and high schools during their homecoming games.

Hey, the Orioles finally found something they're good at!

After the All Star Break, the Orioles become irrelevant as usual. They might as well be one of Baltimore's many indoor minor-league teams. The Bandits. The Bayrunners. The Blast.

When was the last time you cared about the Orioles after August 1st?

Really... it's depressing.

The Orioles looked to be much-improved after the Bedard and Tejada trades netted them a good group of young(er) players that injected the organization with youth and talent. But here we are, again, watching the Orioles play out the rest of the season like an employee at a job he hates -- watching the minute hand on the clock approach 5 p.m.

The things that Andy MacPhail need to do this offseason are numerous. Acquire some solid starting pitching. Get a MLB-quality shortstop. Fill the hole that has existed at 1B since Rafael Palmeiro left after 1998. Extend Markakis, Jones and maybe Roberts. And do all of this while continuing to deepen the talent pool in the minor leagues.

It's a tall order. And when you see the Orioles collapse the way they always do, it only seems to get taller.