Not much is new in Baltimore this week. Oh, that controversy over Ed Reed telling a Sirius Radio show that Joe Flacco was "rattled" against Houston? Yeah, that happened. So what? He did get sacked five times, didn't he? Well, part of that was the offensive line's fault, but maybe he was rattled. But he threw two touchdown passes despite it.
Right guard Marshal Yanda and center Matt Birk took up Flacco's cause and said Reed was right, they should have given him better protection against Houston. Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis also spoke up for Flacco. This doesn't mean there is a rift in the Ravens' clubhouse, despite what ESPN's Pardon The Interruption and other national talk outlets are portraying.
I'll go along with the fact that Reed shouldn't have told Sirius those things, and Flacco had a right to speak to Reed directly and pretty much ask, "What's up with THAT?" But it's over now, or so we're being told by those - as they say - close to the situation. Except it's not really over now, since it's still being mentioned, and not just by Bleacher Bum. Every talk show under the sun, locally in Boston and Baltimore, and nationally, is refusing to let go.
The soon departing Jen Royle of CBS' 105.7 WFAN in Baltimore gave a lively interview to WGAM The Game in New Hampshire, in which she dismissed the weight of Reed's remarks, because they were true. Royle is moving to Boston after two years covering the Ravens and Orioles, and Fan Vs. Fan wishes her well.
Only one problem. The game is Sunday, and Ed Reed might be advised to focus on rattling Tom Brady. There are a few pressing issues named Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker that the Ravens will have their hands full with, and Brady can be expected to throw the ball regardless of the weather. A snow squall visited the Foxboro area Thursday night, and another is forecast for Saturday. But clear, cold weather is forecast for Sunday.
Things have a way of going the opposite of the way that was predicted, and so it may be in this case. The Ravens couldn't put up more than 20 points at home on the Houston defense, but that may partly be explained by being secure in the knowledge that T.J. Yates wasn't going to rally the Texans. Obviously Brady can put touchdowns on the board before you can blink, so Cam Cameron might have it in mind to open up the offense more than Ravens fans saw last week
Thus, those pundits expecting the Ravens to win if it's a low-scoring game could be fooled, and Flacco could stay toe-to-toe with Brady no matter how many points are scored. Anyone, including Bleacher Bum, who expects Flacco to feed the Patriots a lot of Rice, to keep Brady off the field as much as possible ... that's probably the expectation most likely to come true. Probably.
Another great way to keep Brady and his offense off the field is by not turning the ball over, for one, and by intercepting him, for another. As strategies go, it takes no particular brilliance to say that, but doing it isn't easy. It should help that every Ravens player was at practice all week, although Reed was limited with an ankle injured suffered against Houston.
New England tight end Hernandez, who missed the last series of the Denver game after taking a big hit and suffering an apparent head injury, was limited in practice Wednesday, according to reports.
Wide receiver Deion Branch (knee), safety Patrick Chung (knee), guard Logan Mankins (knee), linebacker Rob Ninkovich (hip), tackle Nate Solder (concussion), tackle Sebastian Vollmer (back/foot) and wide receiver Wes Welker (knee) were all among the limited.
But not much is new in Baltimore this week.
(baltimoreravens.com images)
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