NFL Season Preview: Baltimore Ravens

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Last season the Baltimore Ravens were finally able to compliment their dominant defense with a potent offense led by starting quarterback Joe Flacco and Pro Bowl rookie running back Ray Rice, but even though they were finally able to get over the hump and light up the scoreboard, they fell just short in the playoffs against the reigning AFC Conference champion Indianapolis Colts.

The Ravens may have fallen short against Peyton Manning and company in the playoffs, but they have a promising future ahead of them as Joe Flacco and Ray Rice continue to get better and the defense remains amongst the best in the league.

Obviously, the defense will not be as dominant as it is now in the near future as perennial Pro Bowlers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are arguably on the downside of their Hall of Fame career, but they still have one or two seasons left in them to play at a high level.

The one thing that will motivate both Reed and Lewis heading into this NFL regular season will be the possibility of winning another Super Bowl title before they call it a career. Back when they won a Super Bowl back in 2000, the Ravens were able to win a ring solely because of their defense as they were worthless on offense.

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This time around things have changed as the Baltimore Ravens offense may have finally surpassed their defense in terms of dominance and that might be the reason that Joe Flacco and company could be Super Bowl bound this season.

As always, the competition in the AFC Conference will be tough, but even though the Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots and the New York Jets will have their sights set on competing for a Super Bowl title, the Baltimore Ravens might be the most complete team in the conference as they have both a dominant defense and a potent offense.

Obviously, in seasons past a dominant offense has been enough to lead teams like the Patriots, Colts and defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints to a title, but the combination of a potent offense and a lockdown defense can drive opposing teams crazy as they will feel helpless against the likes of the Baltimore Ravens.

Along with having an up and coming running back in Ray Rice and one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Joe Flacco, the Baltimore Ravens made a key addition this summer by giving their quarterback a downfield threat in perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

Even though Anquan Boldin was pursued by many teams this offseason, once it was made known that he was being made available by the Arizona Cardinals, the Baltimore Ravens were not accepting no for an answer as they knew that Boldin would be the missing piece of the puzzle for their offense.

After the trade between the Cardinals and the Ravens went down, the consensus around the league was that Baltimore was officially a Super Bowl title contender and one of the teams to beat in the AFC Conference this season.

NFL Season Preview: Atlanta Falcons

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Back in 2007, the Atlanta Falcons went through a drastic change as they had to find a new starting quarterback after three-time Pro Bowler Michael Vick was sent to prison for 18 months due his role in a dog fighting ring.

After Vick was sent away, the Falcons went from a perennial playoff team to arguably one of the worst teams in the NFL virtually overnight. No matter what the Falcons tried to do in that season after they lost Vick, Atlanta just couldn’t get back on track, but fortunately the loss of the face of the franchise was a blessing in disguise as it paved the way for the team to select quarterback Matt Ryan with the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Even though no one expected much out of the former Boston College quarterback, Matt Ryan just blew up in his first season under center in Atlanta as he led the Falcons to playoffs while throwing for 3,440 yards, 16 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions in his rookie campaign.

Unfortunately, the surprisingly successful rookie season had to end for Ryan at some point in time and that it did against Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals in the first round, but the Atlanta Falcons put up a fight and showed the rest of the league that they are now a force to be reckoned with in the NFC Conference.

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Heading into last season, there were high hopes of another playoff run for Matt Ryan and company as they were favored to at least clinch a playoff spot, but despite battling through some injuries to their best players they weren’t able to make back into the postseason as the finished with a 9-7 record.

Despite missing the playoffs last year, the consensus around the league has been that the Atlanta Falcons are still one of the best teams in the league and will be back to form this season as they will have running back Michael Turner, wide receiver Roddy White and quarterback Matt Ryan back healthy and ready to compete in the NFC once again.

Obviously, sharing the NFC South division with the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints makes life a bit harder for the Atlanta Falcons as winning the division is a stretch to say the least, but they have a great chance of clinching a playoff spot through the NFC Wildcard.

As long as the Atlanta Falcons can keep their best players healthy and on the field every single week, they have a legitimate shot of making the playoffs, but if they struggle to stay healthy, they could be in for another long season in which they might fail to live up to expectations.

Personally, I believe the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints will be the team to beat in the NFC South division this season, but if Drew Brees and company can’t have a repeat performance of last year, the Atlanta Falcons might be able to fight their way to the top of the division and contend with the best of the best in the NFC Conference.

Week 3 Preseason: Overview

St. Louis at New England

The Patriots defense is not what it used to be. Could this be the effect of not being able to spy on other teams?

The Rams hung 36 points on the Patriots. Now that’s a lot of points considering Sam Bradford is a rookie. It doesn’t matter how talented of a guy he is, he’s not supposed to pick apart a Belichick defense.

The good news is Tom Brady completed 18 of 22 passes for 273 yards. He connected with rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski for two touchdowns.

The Rams have a very bright future with Sam Bradford. They just need to surround him with a formidable O-line.

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Indianapolis at Green Bay

Are there any more doubts to how good Aaron Rodgers is? He threw three touchdowns before the first half. The guy looks more than ready to help Green Bay forget about that Brett Favre guy. Rodgers led an impressive two minute drill before halftime.

The Packers running game made no significant improvement from last season.

Peyton Manning played, well, like Peyton Manning. The Colts defense is going to be a problem this season. The good news for the Colts is that the re-positioning of the referees has not affected their quick huddle play calling.

Washington at NY Jets

Mark Sanchez has been underperforming all preseason long and has not displayed the accuracy he had last season. Offseason acquisition LaDainian Tomlinson did have a good game with 86 yards on 11 carries.

Albert Haynesworth and Mike Shanahan are starting to show improvement with their communication with each other. Let’s hope it continues throughout the season because these two guys are one of the best in the league in what they do.

Atlanta at Miami

Chad Henne and Brandon Marshall still need to work on their timing. Their poor performance against the Falcons should be quickly forgotten because once the season starts you’re going to hear “Henne to Marshall” a lot.

Matt Ryan has struggled during the preseason and only threw his first touchdown against the Dolphins. Lucky for him that Atlanta’s defense played great.

Michael Turner had 16 carries in the first half alone. Could this be a signal of things to come in the season?

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San Diego at New Orleans

The Saints are not favored to repeat as Super Bowl champs this year but they also weren’t to win last season.

The biggest surprise for the Saints is Chris Ivory. He rushed for 45 yards on 11 carries and made defenders look silly by either running them over or making them miss.

Drew Brees and Philip Rivers performed as expected. Can Ryan Mathews fill the void left by LT?

Philadelphia at Kansas City

Kevin Kolb struggled against an average Kansas City defense. He completed only 11 of his 25 passes for 103 yards and was sacked four times. Kolb did not look like a starter against the Chiefs.

The Chiefs offense didn’t fare well either. In five possessions, they produced a single first down. Matt Cassel completed 61 percent of his passes, threw one touchdown and one interception.

Still, Michael Vick is not expected to replace Kolb any time soon.

Cleveland at Detroit

Both bottom feeding teams, the Lions and Browns have something to look forward to.

Matt Stafford continued to display his improvement by completing 13 of his 17 passes for 141 yards. Jake Delhomme also played great throwing for 152 yards and a touchdown.

While both offenses were great, their defenses were bad.

Cincinnati at Buffalo

QB Carson Palmer is distributing the ball around which should keep his receivers happy for the time being. He threw his first touchdown of the preseason against the Bills.

The Bills have found a starter in Trent Edwards. He completed 13 of 17 passes for 153 yards. Buffalo is in rebuilding mode but don’t be surprised if they creep into a wild card spot. RB CJ Spiller had another great game by scoring twice.

Jacksonville at Tampa Bay

Bucs Josh Freeman was sidelined with a broken thumb but Josh Johnson filled in nicely. He completed 9 of 14 passes for 122 yards and one score.

Jags’ QB David Garrard failed to lead his team to the red zone. He played fairly well and his job as a starter is secure, that is until the Jaguars start losing.

NY Giants at Baltimore

Baltimore has always been known for its physical defense. That notion should stop now. The Ravens were explosive on offense against the Giants. Joe Flacco threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns.

Eli Manning struggled completing only 9 of his 18 passes. It was his first game since needing stitches to his forehead. It didn’t help that the Giants running game also struggled.

Dallas at Houston

The Cowboys had trouble with their offense. Tony Romo threw for 146 yards with no touchdowns. The main problem is their unreliable O-line.

Arian Foster rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown for Houston. The Texans may finally have a running game to go with their formidable passing game.

Tennessee at Carolina

The Panthers don’t seem to miss Julius Peppers as they sacked Vince Young four times. TItans RB star Chris Johnson ran for just 10 yards on eight carries.

Carolina’s defense is going to be a force to be reckoned with this season.

The Titans passing game is in trouble if Young does not get his timing down.

Seattle at Minnesota

Finally Brett Favre was playing football instead of concocting another drama episode. Favre was knocked down a couple of times and was intercepted twice. Adrian Peterson’s rest during the offseason has brought some spring to his legs. He ran for 37 yards on 11 carries.

But it was the Vikings’ defense that was the big story. It repeatedly pummeled Matt Hasselbeck to the ground.

Arizona at Chicago

Matt Leinart was expected to replace Kurt Warner as the starter for the Cardinals but with Derek Anderson’s solid performance in the preseason Leinart’s spot isn’t guaranteed.

Anderson started the game and he completed 7 of 12 passes for 94 yards. Leinart checked in and went 9 of 10 for 84 yards. Now, it’s up to Coach Ken Whisenhunt to flip a coin and choose between the two inconsistent QBs.

Jay Cutler struggled against the Cardinals. He was sacked four times, was intercepted twice and completed just 10 of 20 passes for 129 yards. Cutler will continue his bad play if the Bears don’t improve his protection.

Larry Fitzgerald’s injury has bothered him from the start of the preseason. He sprained his right knee in the first preseason game. It seems the Madden Curse is a year late.

San Francisco at Oakland

Jason Campbell was knocked out after taking a hit in the second quarter. Bruce Gradkowski, who should be Oakland’s starter, stepped in and threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns.

Newly acquired QB David Carr played great for the Niners. RB Frank Gore, who recently recovered from injury, ran for 58 yards on two carries.

“After a month of training camp, finally getting to play in a game, I was like a little kid out there,” Gore said. “When my number got called, I took advantage.”

Pittsburgh at Denver

Ben Roethlosberger better hurry back because if Dennis Dixon’s performance against the Broncos is any indication then Pittsburgh is a lock to lose all their games without Big Ben.

Dixon threw two interceptions and the guy he is backing up, Byron leftwich, did not complete any of his four attempts.

Roethlisberger is set to meet with NFL commish Roger Goodell to talk about shortening his suspension.

Tim Tebow threw a touchdown pass to Eric Decker.

Two Great Games in one night

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Rockies Rally

The Rockies found themselves down by 9 runs in the third inning but rallied to beat the Braves 12-10.

Troy Tulowitzki scored on an RBI single in the eighth to give Colorado the lead. Carlos Gonzalez tied the ball game with a two-run single then Tulowitzki and Todd Helton brought in two runs in their at bats.

“This was a heck of a game,” Helton said. “It would have been easy to fold it up, but we didn’t. We went out there and had an unbelievable wi

Colorado trailed 10-8 in the eighth before the four-run rally that sealed the game.

The Braves did not score in the last six innings.

Colorado manager Jim Tracy was proud of his team. “What an effort,” Tracy said. “The thing I’ve fallen in love with these players is they don’t quit. We were short-handed pitching and then offensively, here we go, and we started chipping away. This is the icing on the cake.”

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Reds Close Door on Giants

The Cincinnati Reds were up as much as 9 runs against the San Francisco Giants but needed 12 innings to win the game.

Joey Votto blasted two homers, had four hits and four RBIs for the Reds.

“For us to play as well as we did and to still be able to come back and win sure means a lot to all of us,” Votto said. “Zito is difficult to face because he knows exactly what he wants to do. I’m just trying to put the ball in play and I end up finding a hole.”

Ryan Hanigan and Drew Stubbs also had one homer each.

Cincinnati burst out of the gates in the first inning, hitting three homers to take an early 4-0 lead.

San Francisco was trying for a sweep of the Reds. Barry Zito was disappointed with the rally that wasn’t. “It just feels terrible to let the team down in a situation where we come back from 10-1,” Zito said. “It could have been a huge sweep for us. It’s frustrating as ever but they hit the pitches I was making.”

How will Kevin Kolb perform as a starter?

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Kevin Kolb was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2007 draft. Since Philadelphia still had Donovan McNabb, Kolb was relegated to being the number two QB.

With McNabb traded to the Redskins in the offseason, Kolb has become the Eagles starter three years after he was drafted. The Eagles are expecting to make the playoffs this season but that will depend on how quick Kolb has adjusted to being the leader of the team. Judged by his determination, Kolb is ready.

“Obviously my goal is to be the starter and to start for 16 games and to lead this team as far as we can go. Personally, I don’t have a lot of personal goals right now, they’re more team-oriented, besides me getting on the field and proving I can take over this thing.”

In his first preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kolb was on target. He was 6 of 11 for 95 yards. He was very impressive and looked more than capable to lead the Eagles in the post-McNabb era. Aside from being accurate, Kolb was also able to buy time with unexpected scrambling skills. Michael Vick was also impressive against Jacksonville but it’s still not enough to bump Kolb from his starting spot.

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“We know we’re talented,” Kolb said after the Eagles first preseason game. “We know there’s talent on the field all over the place. We just have to execute. We’re doing our own thing. We don’t need to force anything. We’re a young bunch. We’re excited about the way we started things today and we just need to keep moving forward next week.”

In the Eagles second preseason game, Kolb, again, displayed his accuracy by completing 11 of his 17 attempts for 126 yards.

In both preseason games, there is one flaw in Kolb’s game. He can’t seem to convert successful drives into touchdown scores. Kolb was successful in marching the Eagles down the field to set up scoring opportunities but the drives have only resulted in field goal kicks. Coach Andy Reid needs to figure out how to set up easier scoring opportunities for Kolb and his receivers. If Philadelphia can’t score in the end zone, Kolb will face the same criticism his predecessor experienced.

Once the honeymoon period is over and the Eagles start losing back-to-backs, Kolb will be faulted. It’s unfair but that’s how it is.

Of course, when the Eagles start winning Kolb will be praised for his leadership and ability to win.

Kolb has a golden opportunity here to prove he is a starter and by the looks of it he is determined to stay at that position.

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