Week 12 Post-Cincinnati Bengals Thoughts

1. The development of Joe Flacco:

This was one of those games where the stats speak for themselves. 19 of 29 (65.5%) for 280 yards (14.7 yards/completion, 9.6 yards/attempt) and 2 TDs, with no interceptions. (Though there was a botched snap.)  Better yet, he returned to the form he'd shown against Cleveland and Houston, spreading the ball to all his receivers. Derrick Mason caught 6 balls, but Mark Clayton caught 5 and Todd Heap and Ray Rice both caught 4. And despite their injuries along the D-Line, the Bengals brought a respectable amount of pressure --- maybe they're still a softer defense than the Giants or the Eagles, but Flacco rarely had all day to survey the field and pick and choose his targets. The pressure is only going to increase over the next month, and if Flacco can keep finding guys in addition to Derrick Mason, the Ravens are going to have a much better chance of winning. Especially considering the running game has been less than dominant the past three games. (Against the Giants, they ran 26 times for 121 yards, but 57 of those yards came from Flacco's scrambling; against the Eagles they rushed 40 times for 110 yards, or 2.8 yards/carry; against the Bengals, they were better, but they still only managed 3.4 yards/carry against the 24th ranked run defense.)

2. The wide receivers must step up.

Mark Clayton was unbelievable today. If he doesn't win Offensive Player of the Week, I'd like to see the line of the guy who does. Could he finally, finally, be coming into his own?  I suspect it'll be a while before he gives us this kind of production again --- more likely, he was simply "in the zone" today, and that's the end of it. Still, games like today's are enough to keep me hoping ... not that he's a true number one (he simply doesn't have the size, though I'm becoming more and more impressed with his hands), but that he can develop into a second Derrick Mason. Add a true game-breaker to that combination, and all of a sudden we've got the makings of a top-ranked passing attack.

Otherwise, Todd Heap looked like his old self, and Ray Rice continues to demonstrate terrific slipperiness --- whether running the ball or catching it. Nothing from Yamon Figurs or Marcus Smith (he actually played!), but I'll take nothing from either of those guys the rest of the way as long as Clayton keeps producing.

3. The O-Line must establish itself as a strength.

I would have liked to have seen a higher yards/carry number, and the Bengals applied more pressure than I expected in the first half (though one of the 2 sacks was on Flacco --- on that rollout in the 2nd quarter, he should have thrown the ball away rather than run out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage). Yes, this remains a beat-up group, but that's not going to buy us any sympathy from the Redskins, Steelers, Cowboys, or Jaguars. Still, give Cincinnati's D credit --- they showed up and they played hard. Much of the pressure came from blitzes --- that's something the linemen and backs will have to work on, but at least it's something they can work on. This remains a big, physical, athletic group, and I have faith they'll be solid down the stretch.

4. Improve discipline.

Only three penalties, though one was one of those 15-yarders that were supposed to have disappeared --- a chop block on Ray Rice late in the game. That's not as bad as a late hit, a face mask, taunting, or some other stupid foul away from the play. Otherwise, Le'Ron McClain seemed to have trouble holding onto the ball, but considering he only had 2 fumbles coming into the game, I'm guessing it was more of an issue with the slippery ball. On the whole, a definite improvement here.

5. Coaching.

No trap games for John Harbaugh and company. Cam Cameron continues to pull out the gadget plays against lousy teams --- the thinking seems to be to force the better teams to spend time game planning for trick plays, even if you don't expect the better teams to fall for them. Still, one can't argue with the success we've had thus far ... though the "Suggs package" seems to have cooled off considerably. Harbaugh also got a challenge right in the first half, but I continue to be frustrated by the cavalier wasting of timeouts on offense --- there were two more timeouts thrown away in the first quarter. It's Week 13, fellas --- it shouldn't be that hard to get in and out of the huddle.

A few interesting story lines that hopefully don't develop into controversies. One, the benching of Frank Walker was apparently meant to send a message that special teams play is as important as playing offense and defense. (Maybe the kickoff coverage unit needs to get that message again.) Walker's a bit of a flake, but I don't expect him to cause any trouble, and kudos to Harbaugh for continuing to emphasize all aspects of team play.  Two, Willis McGahee didn't get a single carry, and seemed to spend the entire game by himself on the sideline. McGahee's been quiet so far this year --- to his credit, he hasn't vented to the media about his lack of playing time, but he has to be frustrated. This team's chemistry has been so good, and I can't see leaders like Ray Lewis letting McGahee do anything to hurt it ... at least not as long as the team's winning. Still, the running game seems to have stalled in the past three weeks ... it might be time to give McGahee another crack at carrying the load.