'McBoller' tag team at QB clicks for Baltimore

By Jim Corbett, USA TODAY
BALTIMORE — Steve McNair and Kyle Boller provided a twist on the two-back backfield trend with their Week 3 quarterback tag team.
The McBoller double team proved to be a winning one in the Baltimore Ravens' 26-23 win Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
Ravens coach Brian Billick says he has a reliable quarterback contingency. There is no hint of any quarterback controversy considering Boller embraces his role as McNair's backup. He credits the 13th-year veteran with helping him grow in confidence, which he exhibited in playing a key role in back-to-back wins for the 2-1 Ravens.

UPDATES

Ray Lewis does not have a triceps tear. The injury appears to be a strain. He will be a gametime decision for the Jets game.
B. J. Sams was placed on the IR list and Corey Ross was activated from the practice squad.

The Injury Report...

The worst injury suffered on Monday night was not to the Baltimore football team or the Cincinnati football team. It was to Monday Night Football. ES… nay, I won’t even advertise for those tools. As my friends on Fox Sports Radio refer to them, the four letter network has turned, what was once seemed to be a reverent honor, into a jumbling mess of graphics and idiotic sports casters. Being chosen to be nationally televised on Monday night was like being put on a pedestal. Now it is like being featured in a WWE event. The only legitimate sportscaster that they have is Mike Torico. Kornheiser needs to keeps his nonsensical rants and mindless arguments on his little TV set being buffered by Michael Wilbon. His unadulterated love for the sideshow that is Chad Johnson is disgusting. Now I will even give Jaws a pass under the John Madden clause, but how is he any better than Joe Theismann?

Now that I have that off of my chest (See photo below), Let’s get to the Raven’s injuries.
Steve McFumble…er…McNair seemingly has a strained or pulled groin. We probably will hear more on that today. Boller didn’t look bad considering the ok performance by the O line. Maybe we will see some of Troy Smith at full speed. Ray Lewis will undergo an MRI this morning to see if his triceps is strained or torn. B.J. Sams is out for the season with a torn ACL which is really unfortunate for him because he really showed some promise with a tight return game. Fortunately for the Ravens, they have some depth at that position considering Ed Reed’s runback for a TD. Last year, Cory Ross did a decent job covering for him, not to mention that the Ravens drafted the fastest legs in the draft under Yamon Figurs. John Ogden’s toe has become a serious injury and he is out indefinitely. Adam Terry moving over and Marshall Yanda jumping in seems to be a viable solution. Todd Heap’s backup Daniel Wilcox is out with a right ankle sprain (he just recovered from the left ankle sprain in preseason) but Quinn Sypnewski has potential too. I think that’s all but that’s enough.

Monday Night Coverage Recap

Ravens vs. Bengals Recap

Oh. My. God. Where do you begin? I don't think as a fan I can endure an entire season of games like that. On paper, according to all of recorded history, a team doesn’t have an opportunity to win a game with 6 turnovers. The Ravens did, and that is a positive. They also played through numerous injuries and saw guys step up and fill the holes, and that is a positive. It the end, it wasn’t enough, but don’t have a short memory – two years ago, we would have lost 27-6.

First, let me touch on the coverage: Tony Kornheiser LOVES Chad Johnson. And Chad, is this the "safe" celebration? It took 10 minutes to develop! It was a full two drives later for the joke to go down. We tune in to watch a football game, not a stand up act. ESPN just continues the tradition of monkeying around with the MNF lineup to find the “perfect mix” (remember Dennis Miller?). It still doesn’t work.

Let’s break down position by position, starting with what was one of the great surprises of the night.

Running Backs: Willis McGahee turned in a solid performance for his first game. He already looks to be a reliable threat coming out of the backfield, both for the running game and the passing game. McNair seemed very comfortable going to him as a check down, and he runs the out pattern very well, which fits into the Ravens scheme. As the season progresses, look for the Ravens to run more east to west with McGahee as everyone becomes more comfortable with the team. It is too early and would be unfair to make comparisons with McGahee (77 yards on 19 carries) and Lewis (35 yards on 11 carries), but McGahee looks like he will fit in just fine.

Quarterbacks: 4 turnovers. McNair took the blame. “Even though we were in the ballgame the last few minutes, it’s uncalled for and unacceptable this offense and it all starts with me. I got to protect the ball and give my team a chance”. McNair was not sharp, but he is also better then he played last night.

Offensive Line: The line had trouble all night protecting the quarterback. This in part, led to six turnovers. McNair was hit, rushed, and hurried all night. When Ogden left due to problems with his toe, that did not help. It seemed though that the line improved and settled down as the night went on, which is a good sign. The younger guys have to step up.

Defensive Line: The D Line turned in another solid but unspectacular evening. As with the Offensive line, they seemed to settle down as the game went on, turning in some really solid stands late in the game.

Linebackers: The linebackers, as they do most games were solid as the fans have come to expect. Johnson did a good job showing speed in pursuit and getting to Carson Palmer, making us forget that Thomas fellow that went to New England.

Secondary: Cincinnati is a difficult team to defend. They have more then one legitimate deep threats and Palmer can get the ball downfield. The secondary did a great job, especially in the second half limiting the touches of #84 and #85.

Receivers: This is one area where the fans saw bolder play calling then the Ravens have done in the past. It didn’t always work out, but hopefully that doesn’t keep Billick from going to the air in the future. Mason had a solid outing, Williams needs to hold onto the ball.

Officiating: As a Ravens fan, I am admittedly biased. But there were some obvious questionable calls. Even if you take out the Heap play at the end of the game, the game did not seem to be called “evenly” if you will. It was hard to see sometimes with the fascination of the cameras with the guys in the booth, but Cinci’s secondary was very physical, especially on Williams.

Veteran players play through adversity, good players have a short memory. The Ravens have to shake this off and respond.

Ravens at Jets. Sunday at 4:15 pm.

Gearing Up...

After enjoying a large majority of games on Sunday afternoon, I finally got my football fix. Thanks to DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket and my local sports bar’s 50 TV’s, I had the unequivocal privilege of watching most of the games on TV. It was like sensory overload. Within moments I saw 5 teams kick off in five different cities. I love technology. I paid most attention to the Atlanta Minnesota game, while keeping a close eye on the Cleveland Pittsburgh game, got to watch those division boys.

For Atlanta, it’s going to be a long year. I am guessing 4 and 12. I thought for sure that the Vikings were going to be one of those four. Still, I am expecting Harrington and crew to put something together. As far as the Vikings are concerned, Jackson and Peterson both looked good enough to keep hope alive and the strong Minnesota defense held Harrington to only three points.

I can’t say I watched much else than the score in Cleveland. But 34-7 pretty much tells the tale. Either Cleveland sucks or Pittsburgh is scary good. Or it could be a combination of the two. Derek Anderson showed that his not being a starter may have been a mistake, and Jamal Lewis did what Jamal Lewis does. Hit the hole hard and drop the ball. That was all I saw of him I should say.

As the Raven’s gear up for Cincinnati, I am wondering if they will click. All of the teams in the NFL have talent, whether or not they click together is the question. On paper many of the teams that lost on Sunday looked as if they should have done better, but the many variables of an NFL game are what makes it so interesting. So what Raven team will we see tonight? I guess that depends on which Bengals team shows up. GO RAVENS!!