Cheers! The losing streak in Baltimore is finally over and the Ravens looked better than ever as they picked apart one of the few

undefeated teams left in the NFL. The victory was a complete opposite showing by the defense that gave up 33 points to Minnesota in week six. There was dominance, pressure, pass coverage, run defense, and overall cohesion between the players. The unit looked like fans expected it to look when the season started, and the result was a masterpiece showing. Even a relatively mistake-free Kyle Orton couldn’t help the Broncos’ offense figure out how to extort Baltimore for more than 7 points. Have we seen the season turn around for the Ravens? Let’s hope so.

1. With support, Joe Flacco can throw for little yardage and the team can still win big.

175 passing yards doesn’t necessarily look good on paper. In fact, if I were to have looked specifically at the passing yardage, I would have assumed that the Ravens had lost to Denver, and that a team that had looked so dominant in the first three weeks was now sitting below .500. But Flacco didn’t fail at much else; He was 20 for 25 in pass attempts, avoided turning the ball over, and made the plays that really counted. The old saying “less is more” sums up Flacco’s performance, and proved that the young QB is maturing with every game he plays.

The defense, running game, and special teams also contributed to helping Flacco out. We saw a jaw jarring hit by Ed Reed that led to a turnover, a kickoff returned for a touchdown, and a pressuring defense that Kyle Orton has not really experienced so far this season. The complete package took the weight off of the offense and led to a confidence building win for the Ravens.

2. Ray Rice is the starting running back. Willis McGahee is the 3rd down back.

McGahee was named as the backup to Ray Rice in the beginning of the season. Throughout the year, he has played the role of a 3rd down back, entering the game on short yardage downs and red zone plays. He leads the team with seven touchdowns, mainly because his opportunities are being set up by Ray Rice’s ability to drive the ball down the field. Look back a couple of years ago when the Giants had Brandon Jacobs as their third down back. He relieved Tiki Barber in the red zone and trucked his way into the end zone for touchdowns. McGahee’s role with the Ravens this year is similar, mainly because he’s a bigger and stronger back, but doesn’t have as much agility as Rice.

Ray Rice has claimed the majority of the backfield work for Baltimore.

Lately, McGahee hasn’t been seeing much time. While there could be countless reasons for his lack of playing time, it may be as simple as the success that Ray Rice is having. Rice is quickly becoming a dominant running back in the NFL. He got his feet wet last season while splitting time with Le’Ron McClain and McGahee (when he was healthy) in preparation for his bigger role this year. McGahee’s involvement in the game could also be directly correlated with his relationship with John Harbaugh. We’ve already seen it with Chris McAllister, when he ultimately lost his job because he couldn’t adapt to Harbaugh’s more uptight personality as a head coach. While there hasn’t been anything made public, the rumors have swirled for the past year and a half that have led some to believe that McGahee’s relationship with the Ravens’ head coach is less than favorable.

3. Steve Hauschka is a solid field goal kicker. Let’s forget about Matt Stover because he’s forgotten about us.

Hauschka’s stats aren’t overly impressive this season, but he hasn’t had a huge number of chances either. Baltimore is used to seeing a ton of field goals kicked throughout games, mainly because the inadequacy of the offense has provided more than enough opportunities. Every attempt he has made under 40 yards has been good, which is more than any football team could ask for. Opportunities for field goals that are longer than 40 yards tend to be made during desperate times during a game, as was seen in the game against Minnesota. To defend Hauschka for his miss against the Vikings, the offensive play calling before his kick was less than spectacular. With a little bit more urgency, as well as a few different calls, the Ravens would have found themselves looking at a field goal that, according to trend, would have been good.

Matt Stover is an Indianapolis Colt. It kills me when I see people outraged because the Ravens haven’t tried to bring him back; Are you living under a rock? So, for everybody who doesn’t know it yet, Stover is not available. Even before he signed with the Colts, there was no reason for the Ravens to bring him back. Not only would he have required a little more money that Hauschka is being paid (a veteran’s minimum salary is different from that of a younger player), the difference would have been minimal. The fact is, whether or not Stover would have made that kick against the Vikings is one thing (personally, I don’t think he would have made it either), but it’s stupid to debate it anyway considering he plays for another team. If next time you’re thinking how Hauschka could have been so bad as to miss that kick, take a long hard look at the play of the defense throughout the entire contest. With the big names on that unit, how did the team let the outcome of the game come down to the foot of a 24 year old, second year kicker?

4. Despite some questionable calls, the refs aren’t “out” to get the Ravens.

Derrick Mason is one of several veterans that need to set an example for the younger players.

I’m right there with most when it seems that the Ravens got some questionable calls when playing New England in week four. Tom

Brady is undoubtedly the most overprotected quarterback in the NFL. But to think that the trend of yellow flags has followed the Ravens from that game through their most recent game against Denver is sort of ridiculous. There comes a time when fans need to

accept that maybe the Ravens need to work on their ability to stay out of the referee’s sight. It’s my personal opinion that if you can play quietly, you won’t draw attention. The fact is, the Ravens need to do their job, forget about it when something doesn’t go their way, and move on .

Derrick Mason provided the best example of this against the Broncos. Instead of arguing with the refs because he didn’t get a call he felt was deserving, he threw a fit that led to a loss of 15 yards. The pity factor only goes so far before it starts to sound annoying. I understand that the refs are only human, and if you watch every game, you’ll see that missed calls are part of the game. Take, for example, the Monday Night game when Roddy White made a 68 yard touchdown reception. He obviously should have been called for offensive pass interference, but was not. Judging from that play, can you really say that the refs are out to get undefeated New Orleans?

The NFL is full of plays that could swing either way. While it doesn’t seem fair, some calls are going to be missed and some calls are going to be made that aren’t necessarily needed. For all the veteran presense on this team, Baltimore needs to figure out how to avoid the penalties. But, they especially need to stop arguing non-calls that lead to loss of yardage. Emotions are part of the game, but over-reaction is unnecessary.

The Ravens are facing a very tough schedule from here on out. With a small break against Cleveland in two weeks, the rest of the year holds games against Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Green Bay, just to name a few. Looking through the schedule, you have to hope that the Ravens can pull off an unexpected victory. They need to make up for the loss against Cinncinatti in order to stay in contention with the rest of the AFC. Hopefully, the game against Denver is a look into the future; The team seems to be clicking on both sides of the ball, and the special teams brought a glimmer of hope as well.