Flacco, Rice show an offensive future in Baltimore

By Neal Coolong  |   Monday, November 03, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Baltimore Ravens
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Two plays stood out over all the others in Sunday's 37-27 win for the Baltimore Ravens over the Cleveland Browns. And for perhaps the first time ever, neither of those plays came from Baltimore's defense.

Rookie quarterback Joe Flacco sat in a perfect pocket, and lofted a beautifully thrown pass to Mark Clayton -- who hauled it in over cornerback Brandon McDonald for a 47-yard touchdown, giving the Ravens a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. With 7:30 left in a tie game, rookie running back Ray Rice took a counter off right guard 60 yards to set up what would be the game-clinching field goal.

Even considering Terrell Suggs' 42-yard interception return for a touchdown, this game was all about the offense for Baltimore.

Commentary: With the AFC North-leading Steelers at Washington on Monday, and the Ravens one-half game behind them, the performances of Flacco and Rice couldn't come at a better time. The Ravens won their third game in a row, and are poised to make the North more interesting than it has been over the past 2 1/2 seasons.

Flacco was cool in the pocket, and displayed touch to go along with his cannon-like arm strength. He hit wide receiver Derrick Mason nine times for 136 yards and a 27-yard touchdown pass. Overall, he finished 17 of 29 for 248 yards and two touchdown passes. Rice had 154 yards on 21 carries.

As usual, the Ravens' defense does deserve credit. They were down starting cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle as well as strong safety Dawan Landry. Moreover, they lost CB Fabian Washington during the second half, and they were still able to hold the Browns off; in the fourth quarter, the Ravens outscored the Browns 17-0.

Fan Pulse: Fans on the Extreme Ravens message board are asking: If RB Willis McGahee is healthy, does he still start over Rice?

Fantasy Football Impact: With quarterbacks getting hurt (like Chicago's Kyle Orton), fantasy owners are going to give Flacco a long, hard look this week.

Injury Watch: McGahee was a game-time decision, and ended up not playing.
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About Neal Coolong

Neal Coolong is a freelance sports writer with contributions to Scout.com, AOL and Steelers Live. He lives with his fiance in St. Paul, Minn., and saves every dime (that she knows about) for their wedding next June. He's already made the prediction that the Steelers 2007 draft class will be one ...
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