Quarterback – D

Things definitely could have been worse but Joe Flacco was not good by any stretch of the imagination last night and the inconsistency is worrisome. I understand that the Titans and Jets have two of the league’s top defenses this year (pass defense in the Jets case) but he can’t only be good against bad defenses, he has to step it up against a top-end defense before he can even join the class below elite. Last night Flacco had only a 37.4 passer rating with 163 yards, an interception, and no score. After completing eight passes in the first quarter he completed only two the rest of the game. While Ed Dickson did have a bunch of drops that didn’t help his case, he kept throwing to him and consistently overthrew Torrey Smith.

Running Back – C

When the offense decided to just run the ball things were going well, especially with Ricky Williams, who averaged 4.1 yards per carry. While Ray Rice did total 130 yards (66 rushing, 64 receiving) and get the lone offensive touchdown in the game, his 2.6 yards per carry average was very underwhelming, especially considering the Jets were destroyed by the run last week.

Receivers – C

Torrey Smith only had one catch for one yard but was absolutely fantastic and on more than a few occasions just completely ran past the Jets defensive backs, including Darrelle Revis who was up against him most of the night. The rest of them, though, were disappointing. Ed Dickson had a game-best four receptions but had a lot of bad dropps in the game. Meanwhile, Anquan Boldin, Dennis Pitta, and LaQuan Williams all only had one catch each. Flacco didn’t exactly help but nobody, other than Smith, who was just overthrown, got open much either.

Offensive Line – D-

The Jets sacked Joe Flacco two times and pressured him every single time he dropped back to pass. Flacco barely had any time to run and the running game’s lack of explosiveness was in large part due to an underwhelming o-line. Andre Gurode did do a fair job in his second start at guard in place of Ben Grubbs but they are definitely missing their former first round draft pick out of Auburn.

Defensive Line – A

As bad as the Ravens offense was the Jets were worse and totaled only 150 offensive yards. The d-line was on top of Flacco the instant he got the ball and the Jets had virtually no running game with only 38 yards, averaging only two yards per attempt.

Line Backers – A+

Ray Lewis and Jarret Johnson were all over the field against the Jets, preventing anything from happening for the Jets offensively. Johnson did a particularly good job in coverage against Dustin Keller while Terrell Suggs and Jameel McClain came up with somwqe big plays. Suggs absolutely destroyed D’Brickashaw Ferguson, one of the premier left tackles in the NFL, nearly ever single time he rushed the passer.

Secondary – A+

From Ed Reed’s sack fumble to Lardarius Webb’s pick-6, the patch-work secondary was absolutely incredibly against a dynamic Jets receiving corp. Without Domonique Foxworth, Jimmy Smith, Chris Carr, and Haruki Nakamura the secondary seemed like it would be a big worry spot but they completely shut down the pass. Cary Williams was spectacular and Danny Gorrer proved his worth.

Special Teams – F

Sure Billy Cundiff was perfect kicking and sure Sam Koch averaged 44.3 yards per punt but the Jets destroyed the Ravens in the return game, getting that big return from Joe McKnight in the first quarter, and the Ravens have to pick out a punt returner since putting Ed Reed back there is not a smart option. Brendan Ayanbadejo was being doubled the entire game and couldn’t get off locks to make plays in the return game.

Coaching – C

Eventually they figured things out but when the passing game was struggling so much there was no reason to keep passing and while the defense was great, the decision to not put Haloti Ngata head-up on the Jets backup center was a questionable one.

Quarterbaback – A-

Throwing for 389 yards and three touchdowns for a 103.6 passer rating was just an incredibly performance by Joe Flacco. Certainly Flacco has the ability to develop into an elite QB but he can’t get a solid “A” or “A+” because he did fumble the ball once and missed a few easy throws, in particular when he over threw Torrey Smith for what would have been both of their fourth touchdowns in the game.

Running Backs – A

While he only had eight carries Ray Rice rushed for 79 yards, an average of 9.9 yards per rush. Rice was also, as usual, a major threat in the passing game, catching five passed for 83 yards. Ricky Williams was well in the mix too in the running game and also broke lose in the St. Louis defense, averaging 8.4 yards on five rushed for 42 yards.

Wide Receivers – A+

Who was going to step up for Lee Evans, opposite of a reliable Anquan Boldin? That was the question the Ravens were faced with all week and it was answered right away. What a coming out party for second-round draft pick Torrey Smith who took his first three career receptions to the house, a first in the NFL. Smith finished the game with five receptions for 152 yards and three touchdowns as he abused Justin King on the outside. Boldin was reliable as well, averaging 10.6 yards per catch, bringing in seven receptions for 74 yards. Ed Dickson was also a big threat over the middle, finishing the game with five catches for 51 yards.

Offensive Line – B

Andre Gurode got his first on the field action with the Ravens and played well in an unnatural left guard spot while Ben Grubbs and Mark LeVoir were out with injuries. The o-line did allow two sacks but for the most part Flacco had time to stand in the pocket so he could pick apart the Rams’ weak secondary.

Defensive Line – A+

The Rams got absolutely nothing going on the ground thanks to another great effort by the defensive line plugging up running lanes. For a third-straight game Haloti Ngata was the best player on the field as he was again an unblockable force that disrupted the quarterback all day. Ngata, Terrence Cody, Cory Redding, Arthur Jones, and Pernell McPhee all has great moments in the game, none better than Ngata scooping up a fumble and running it in for his first career touchdown.

Linebackers – B

Ray Lewis, Jameel McClain, and Terrell Suggs each sacked Sam Bradford in the game, helping produce a dominant pass rush. All game long the linebackers forced Bradford to make plays on the run. The only issue was that when the Rams o-line got to the second level the linebackers struggled to shed blocks.

Secondary – A-

The Rams didn’t exactly have a big-time wide receiver to use but nobody turned up a big game. Bradford passed for only 166 yards in the game, only three in the first half. His INT to Lardarius Webb was also a highlight of the unit.

Special Teams – C

Billy Cundiff had a rare bad day kicking field goals. While he kicked three he missed two. Sam Koch didn’t have to punt very often but when he did he booted them 44.5 yards average with inside the 20. LaQuan Williams was impressive as a kick returner, taking his two returns back for 60 yards while Lardarius Webb average 11.0 yards per punt return for 55 yards.

Coaches – A-

The coaches did a great job getting the Ravens back on track after a huge let down in Tennessee and they also did a great job exploiting a depleted secondary. The only problem, though, was the team had to settle for two many field goals and seemed to put the game in cruise control after taking a big first quarter lead.

Despite having another losing season, the Baltimore Orioles can view the progression of their young catcher as a very good sign. The solid year that Matt Wieters has put together is a positive step in the right direction for the organization. 

In 2010 Wieters hit .249 with 11 HR and 55 RBI. After playing nearly 100 games after being called up in 2009 and putting together excellent numbers in a short period of time, his 2010 campaign was viewed as a step backwards. Wieters regressed and dropped his batting average by 39 points, disappointing everyone who thought he would break out. You wouldn’t exactly label his 2011 season a breakout either, mainly because Wieters’ numbers aren’t where they were expected to be. While his statistics for this season are much better than those in 2010, they are still not where they should be. 

This season, Wieters is hitting .261 with 20 HR and 63 RBI. While his power numbers are solid for a catcher in a mediocre lineup, his batting average should be higher. In two seasons in the minor leagues, Wieters was a .343 hitter, and while you certainly can not expect this average to translate to the major leagues, you would still like to see him hit somewhere in the neighborhood of .300. A year after clocking an on-base percentage of .319, Wieters has a .324 on base percentage, far lower than average. The Orioles as a team rank 22nd in the league in terms of on-base percentage, with a .314 percentage as a collective unit. 

Baseball America ranked Wieters the #12 prospect in baseball prior to the 2008 season and the #1 prospect prior to the 2009 season. After being voted the best prospect in all of baseball, do you think that Wieters’ pro statistics have backed up that ranking? Certainly someone as highly touted as Wieters is should be excelling at the pro level, not just batting to a mediocre average and reaching base at a poor percentage. At this point in time, Wieters has almost double the amount of strikeouts to walks, just as he did last season. In 2010, Wieters struck out 94 times and walked only 47, and he currently has 81 punch-outs compared to just 42 walks. 

Although he hasn’t exactly put together a monster season, Wieters is looking to finish his campaign strongly. He has hit 12 HR since the all-star break, second most for catchers in that time span behind Mike Napoli. In the last month, Wieters has had some pop in his bat, launching 9 home runs, most by a catcher in that time period. His batting average during that time has been .292, much closer to where it should be. 

If Wieters can finish his 2011 season with a bang, then there will be much to be excited about if you are a fan of the Orioles or a member of the organization. Finally their best prospect is showing signs of performing big time on the big stage, which is very promising for Baltimore.    

Follow on Twitter – @Ferrara34

Quarterback – D

A good as Joe Flacco was last week that’s how bad he was against the Titans. Flacco threw two interceptions, completed less than half of his passes, and consistently over-threw his targets.

Running Back – C-

The offensive line didn’t exactly help him but Ray Rice, who made big play after big play last week averaged only 3.3 yards per carry against the Titans, a team that allowed 163 yards last week. Ricky Williams barely touched the ball but had only two yards on four carries, one of which he fumbled away. Rice did, though, score the only touchdown and lead all receivers in receptions with five.

Offensive Line – D

Last week they kept Flacco on his feet and gave him a lot of time to find open receivers and opened up gaping holes for Rice and Williams to run through. Not this week, though. The Titans got in the backfield for three sacks and limited the Ravens to only 2.6 yards per carry. The absence of Ben Grubbs really showed as Mark LeVoir was pushed into the backfield all game long.

Receivers – C-

Wide Receiver is the most dependent position in the NFL so because the offensive line didn’t give Flacco, who didn’t play well on his own, any time to find open receivers and the running game struggled, the receivers didn’t get too many chances to do much but they weren’t getting open too often anyway and were never able to get behind the defense for a big play.

Defensive Line – C+

The Titans were limited to only 2.6 yards per carry and they really helped limit the incredibly fast Chris Johnson to only 53 yards and a 2.2 average but they didn’t pressure Matt Hasselbeck, who in-turn picked apart the secondary. Haloti Ngata did, however, get a hand up to tip a pass, which lead to an interception.

Linebackers – C

Like the defensive line the linebackers did a great job limiting the effectiveness of the Titan’s running game but they weren’t able to pressure Hasselbeck nearly enough. But they also had more responsibility in pass coverage and got beat a few times on underneath passes.

Secondary – F

Injuries to Jimmy Smith and Chris Carr really hurt the unit but they allowed Hasselbeck to pick them apart for 358 yards, 234 of those yards went to two players: Kenny Britt and Nate Washington. Hasselbeck was targeting them all game long but they couldn’t even slow them down.

Special Teams – A+

On the bright side David Reed average 41.7 yards on kickoff returns after missing last week serving a one-game suspension and the coverage unit allowed only 17 yards on punt returns. Billy Cundiff was perfect on all of his attempts and Sam Koch booted the ball, averaging 45 yards per punt, one of which landed inside the 20.

Coaching – F

When a team comes out that flat after a dominating win the week before it’s a reflection on the coach’s ability to keep them focused. What made it worse, though, was that the game plan that worked so well last week was abandoned. Last week Flacco had a lot of success in the shot gun, which gave him more time, but be was under center for all but a few snaps.

Joe Flacco didn't have much time to throw but when he did things didn't go well.

What happened? Last week the Ravens looked like the best team in the league when they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-7 and then today they get doubled-up on by the Tennessee Titans in a 26-13 loss.

Joe Flacco was nearly perfect last week but was picked off twice by the Titans and the offensive line was superb against the Steelers but allowed three sacks and failed to give Ray Rice much of work with. Rice had over 170 yards last week and two touchdowns but while he managed 96 yards and a TD, he only averaged 3.3 yards per carry on the ground and finished well below the 107 he had last week with only 43.

This was the classic case of a team being overconfident going into a game. It seemed like the Ravens were so juiced up last week and after dominating the Steelers they walked in to Tennessee expecting a win and came out flat.

The Ravens defense played incredibly well in the first half, allowing only 10 points, seven of which came in the last minute, and they went into the break tied but Baltimore got punched in the mouth in the second quarter, allowing 13-straight points and being outscored 16-3.

Not having left guard Ben Grubbs did appear to be a big problem as Mark LeVoir was getting pushed back off the line big time, and the secondary that was without Jimmy Smith, Chris Carr, and Chykie Brown, was exposed and tore apart by Kenny Britt and Matt Hasselbeck, but the team took a big step back against the Titans and they have to figure out how to get back on track sooner rather than later.

There has been a lot of talk of conference realignment lately and the ACC has been looked at as one of the BCS conference that is going to turn into a 16-team Super Conference.

A few weeks ago Clemson and Florida State were both rumored to be interested in leaving the ACC to join the SEC but this could not only be a move that would strengthen the conference overall, but it might be something that could keep those two teams around.

While this is a football move, as were the team’s additions of Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College in 2004 and 2005, which caused major conference realignment then, the additions of Syracuse and Pittsburgh could make the ACC a true basketball powerhouse, adding them to Duke, Maryland, and North Carolina.

For the schools to move to the Big East they must pay $5 million each, give 27 months notice, and get approval from all the current ACC school presidents.

The additions of Pittsburgh and Syracuse would give the ACC a market in both Pennsylvania and New York. Connecticut has been linked to joining the ACC but has not applied to join.

Will the Bengals turn things around and get back into contension for last place in the AFC North?

Week 1 was full of surprises in the annual AFC North Race For Last Place!  Pittsburgh shocked the world with their stunning performance in Baltimore, dampening the hopes for the Ravens to reach their first AFC North Race For Last Place Title since 2007.  The Steelers on the other hand look to capitalize on their week 1 performance by dropping the ball against the Seahawks in week 2, potentially catapulting them into AFC North Race For Last Place Title contention for the first time since the AFC North was created in 2002!
 
Frontrunners Cincinnati and Cleveland duked it out in a game for the ages!  The two teams from Ohio who regularly win the AFC North Race For Last Place Title duked it out in an all out bloodfest that featured the division’s two worst teams!  In the end, only one could lose and this time it was the Browns who successfully left the field with their heads held low!  What a game!  Something tells me though that the Bengals are still in contention for the AFC North Race For Last Place Title.
 
Week 2′s matchups include:

Cleveland @ Indianapolis – Can the Browns still manage to lose with the absence of Peyton Manning?
 
Seattle @ Pittsburgh – Do the Steelers have what it takes to have their first multi-game losing streak since 2009?
 
Baltimore @ Tennessee – Will the Ravens shock the world and get their first loss of the season?

Cincinnati @ Denver - Will Tim Tebow help the Bengals get back on track or will Denver decide to stick with Kyle Orton?
 
Stay tuned because only time will tell!

All-American forward Casey Townsend had a hat trick against the Retrievers.

Just over three minutes into a second overtime John Stertzer headed in a free kick taken by Taylor Kemp to lift the No. 1 Maryland Terrapins soccer team past UMBC in a 4-3 thriller.

Both Maryland (6-0-0) and UMBC (now 2-1-2) were undefeated going into the game held in front of a Retriever Soccer Park record crowd of 2,513, coming off seasons that ended in the NCAA tournament.

“I think it was a very exciting college soccer game,” Maryland head coach Sasho Cirvoski said. “I wanted to bring our team into a hornet’s nest…to have the largest crowd in their program’s history and a good team pushing us.”

The first half was a defensive battle, ending with the scores tied at zero but 23 seconds into the second half Terps All-American forward Casey Townsend knocked in a cross to give Maryland a 1-0 lead, opening a barrage of goals to come.

Six minutes later the Retrievers knotted up the score when sophomore striker Pete Caringi III made a diving header off a well-placed pass by senior Sean Rothe.

But Townsend struck again less than five minutes later with a goal off a corner kick taken by Kaori Forbess. Maryland clearly had the aerial advantage in the game. In the 81st minute Townsend completed his hat trick after knocking in another corner kick, the team’s third of four goals off crosses.

With less than ten minutes remaining and a 3-1 advantage the Terps looked as if they had put the Retrievers away but Rothe ripped in a brilliant shot from 27 yards out from the right side, placing it just under the cross bar in the upper right corner.

That was a big momentum changer for the Retrievers and 71 ticks of the clock later Rothe struck again for his second goal of the game when he put the ball inside the far left post from 13 yards out, making the score 3-3.

“[Coming back to tie the game] shows a lot of character,” said UMBC Head Coach Pete Caringi Jr., who is in his 21st season with the team. “That’s something we talk about all the time, about not quitting and playing until the very end. At that point they were controlling the game but we don’t quit.”

For the rest of regulation UMBC controlled the game and one the few occasions the Terps got the ball down their side of the field the Retriever defense, which was without star center back Daniel Welsh, who was serving a red card suspension, was quick to get the ball back to their forwards but both of UMBC’s attempts sailed wide.

Both teams had numerous chances to put the game away in overtime. With 30 seconds left in the first overtime period Maryland was awarded a penalty kick but Retriever goalkeeper Dan Louisignau made one of his nine stops in the game to extend the game.

Then, in the second overtime period Michael DiCesare took an early shot but the Terps defense blocked it but Kinglsey Onwuka collected the ball right in front of the goal but his attempt was stopped by Terp keeper Will Swaim.

Stertzer made up for his saved penalty kick, though, with the game winner two minutes later.

“I give our guys credit,” Cirocski said. “We calmed down. We showed great resilience and great grit. The reason I have John Stertzer take penalty kicks is because he has the courage and strength to come back from that. And he certainly came back with a great goal.”

While the Terps remained undefeated, even in a loss the Retrievers soccer program made a name for itself. UMBC was unranked going into the game but took the No. 1 team in the nation to double overtime after trailing by two goals in the second half.

“It’s not a moral victory,” Caringi Jr. said. “We thought we could win the game, we went in thinking we could win the game, we played until the very end thinking we could win the game so we don’t take away any moral victories because they’re the No. 1 team in the country but at the end of the day I’m really proud of our kids and how they played.”

Quarterback – A

Joe Flacco has a tremendous game, threw some great passes, picked apart the tough defense, and put 35 points, finally beating a Ben Roethlisberger led Steelers. There wasn’t too much more Flacco could do better; while he did have a few bad throws he didn’t get picked off and never let it rattle him. The only thing keeping him from an A+ is that his defense shut the Steelers down and alleviated a lot of pressure from him as the game went on.

Running Backs – A+

Any time a team can run for 170 yards on the Steelers it’s an incredibly successful game. Ray Rice, who does historically do well against the Steelers, had 36 yards on the first play and it broke open from their. Rice finished the game with 107 yards and a 5.6 yards per carry average while Ricky Williams had 63 yards and a 5.3 yards per carry average. Vonte Leach missed a few passes but bulldozed his way to the second level to spark the running game.

Receivers – B-

If there is one thing after dominating the Steelers that we can look at that needs work it’s the receiving crop. Tight Ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta brought a new, speedy, vertical dimension to the middle of the field and Anquan Boldin had his way with Ike Taylor but Lee Evans was held without a catch and there were a few drops. Only three non-running backs left the game with a catch.

Offensive Line – A+

For not having much time at all in the preseason to gel the offensive line completely dominated the Steelers. While they did allow one sack they gave Joe Flacco plenty of time to do his thing and opened up huge lanes for the running backs. Matt Birk, with no preseason snaps, did a great job on Casey Hampton, Bryant McKinnie completely schooled James Harrison and made him a non-factor, and Michael Oher barely allowed LaMarr Woodley’s named to be called.

Defensive Line – A+

Haloti Ngata may have been the best player on the field yesterday, pressuring Roethlisberger every single time he went back for a pass and recovering two fumbles. Cory Redding also stepped up in a big way in run defense, helping limit Pittsburgh to only 66 rushing yards. Baltimore’s domination all started with the defensive line and their ability to be disruptive in the backfield.

Linebackers – A

Ray Lewis has lost a slight step, shown when Hines Ward ran right past him, but his knowledge of the game and instincts have more than made up for it. Lewis has six tackles in the game with a forced fumble and an interception. Terrell Suggs did what he always does getting to Roethlisberger for three sacks while Jarret Johnson made the hit of the game on Hines Ward coming over the middle.

Secondary – B

With an injury to Jimmy Smith on the opening kickoff and to Chris Carr later in the game Lardarius Webb was thrown in having to cover speedsters Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown and for the most part he did very well, especially considering may people were writing him off before the season. Cary Williams had a very strong performance as a starter and Ed Reed was hit old self with two interceptions, at least one of which prevented a sure touchdown. The secondary didn’t allow any big plays but they did let Pittsburgh move the ball on them.

Special Teams – B

Billy Cundiff has a perfect game on extra points and field goals and Sam Koch averaged 47.2 yards per boot but a 34.3 yard average on three kickoff returns is something the Ravens are going to have to cut down. Their returning was not incredibly effective either as Webb didn’t move the ball at all on punt returns.

Coaches – A

The coaches got the Ravens ready to play in a big time game and didn’t let any history affect them. They moved the ball well, attacked the Steelers on defense and even without an offensive line coach that unit was incredible.

Those were all questions the Ravens were facing before their season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the answer to all of them was “Yes.”

Ray Rice rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown against one of the league's top run defenses from last season.

Behind a tremendous effort by the offensive line and a defense that caused turnover after turnover Joe Flacco and Ray Rice bowled over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 35-7.

On the first drive of the game Baltimore went 66 yards in three plays in just over one minute for a score, setting the tone for their biggest defeat of their rival in team history.

Flacco, who never beat the Steelers with Roethlisberger under center before, finished the game with 224 yards and three touchdowns while Ray Rice continued his tend of success against the Steelers with 149 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.

But it was the Ravens’ defense that picked the Steelers apart. Baltimore’s pass rush got to Roethlisberger for four sacks and picked him off three times while forcing four fumbles, giving the Ravens a plus-seven in turnover differential, a statistic that it is nearly impossible to lose with.

Entering the 2011 season the healthiest he has been in a while Ed Reed picked Roethlisberger off twice while Ray Lewis came up with a pick and Haloti Ngata was a disruptive force in the backfield recovering two fumbles while Terrell Suggs had three sacks.

This one was personal for the Ravens. After having two of their last three seasons end in the playoffs with losses to Pittsburgh their frustration level was building up for the past eight months and they embarrassed their most hated rival on opening day.