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rwalling

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If our defense doesn't figure out how to stop the run, we will get beat...

WHODEY !!!

Same old same old - we've been saying this for the last 4 to 12 years and more!!!!!

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ratbirds were better than us this week. we've outplayed them the first 3 weeks though. ratbirds had to come back vs the browns, do u remember that?

give me a break, were better than baltimore. 2-0 sweep is my prediction for the season series.

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Some grist for the mill, courtesy of coldhardfootballfacts.com...

A true Raven

Since Steve McNair was acquired by Baltimore back in June, we’ve heard the same story out of Baltimore: McNair was the missing piece for the Ravens. He was the top-notch quarterback that the team needed to finally put its offense on par with its stellar defense.

Never mind his diminishing statistics the past few seasons or the fact that arguably the worst team in the league, Tennessee, basically shoved him out the door. We were told over and again by the media that he was the anti-Kyle Boller and his presence would make the Ravens fearsome on both sides of the ball.

The media snippets were plentiful:

“For the first time in years, it appears that the Ravens won't have to depend solely on their defense and running game to win.” – Associated Press

“With McNair in the huddle, however, all things seem possible – including a run deep into the playoffs.” – Len Pasquerelli, ESPN.com

“And the Ravens think a proven quarterback like McNair is exactly what they've been missing for a long time.” – Don Banks, SI.com

“What we have here right now is the unity we had in 2000 and an offense like we haven’t had here.” – Ray Lewis, quoted in Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback after Week 1.

“In McNair the Ravens have someone they genuinely believe can take them to the top; someone who can return order to a fractured offense; someone who won't suffer second-guessing every time he throws an incompletion. Or an interception.” – Clark Judge, CBS.sportsline.com

The Ravens and their newfound offense were the talk of the league. Now, five weeks into the season, the Ravens sit comfortably at 4-1, and on the surface, things are as good as they’ve been in years.

Except for one thing – their offense still sucks.

What their gaudy win total (which has come at the expense of teams who are a combined 4-13) has managed to mask to this point is that Steve McNair and the resurgent Ravens' offense looks strikingly similar to the one they were so excited to leave in the past.

Through five games, the great, incomparable Steve McNair has statistics that look strikingly similar to the scorn of the Ravens franchise – Kyle Boller.

Here’s how they stack up through five the first five games of the past two seasons:

McNair (2006): 93 for 165 (56.4%), 911 yards, 5 TD, 6 INT, 67.0 rating

Boller (2005): 90 for 157 (57.3%), 855 yards, 4 TD, 7 INT, 62.5 rating

McNair’s passer rating puts him at 26th in the league, despite having the good fortune of playing his first three games against doormats Tampa Bay, Oakland and Cleveland. Boller had to deal with a turf toe injury, and his first four games were against AFC playoff powers: Indy, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh and Cincy.

Conclusion: The Ravens are no better at the quarterback position this year than they were last year. McNair supporters say it will take time to adjust to the offense, but other quarterbacks under new schemes have better numbers (Drew Brees, Marc Bulger, Brad Johnson).

Perhaps McNair just isn't that good anymore. Somebody alert the media.

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