Ventured to J-Palm's place in downtown Balmer last night to catch the much-anticipated Monday Night game betwixt the Ravens and Steelers. (If any of our readers want directions to Joe's place, just let me know and I'll be happy to provide it.) Despite leading 13-3 at half, our beloved away team suffered a three-point loss in overtime. I should be disappointed, right? We let slip a huge early-season, interdivisional road win. But I catch myself:
1. Our boy Joe Flacco! Yeah, his numbers (16/31, 191, 1, 0) looked pedestrian, again. And, yeah, he coughed up a fumble that the Steelers ran back for a game-deciding TD. But come on, it was his THIRD start in the NFL. At Pittsburgh. On Monday Night. With Anthony Kornheiser fellating Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, and the rest of the "vaunted" Pittsburgh Steelers with a relentlessness and fervor that would make Heather from ideepthroat.com (extremely NSFW) blush with envy. Hey, Flac was a serviceable game manager. He didn't throw any picks. Hell, he looked better than Benny Boy in the first half.
And my favorite part: Late in the fourth quarter, trailing by a TD, staring adversity squarely in its dirty, Terrible Towel-colored eyes, Flac marched his offense down the field in nine efficient plays (he was 3-for-3 with 60+ yards) and let Le'Ron McClain pound the football in the endzone to tie the game. Brilliant. I saw all I needed to see -- poise, confidence, and, not just a desire, but an ability to win. Kyle Boller doesn't do that crap. Neither does Troy Smith.
I'm drinking the Kool-Aid, baby. We can win with the rook.
2. Rashard Mendenhall was very impressive in his first career start. Oh wait ... no, he wasn't.
Look, I'm not promoting the injuring -- especially not the season-ending variety like Rashard's -- of opposing players. But if you send a harmless text message predicting a big game to the Baltimore Ravens, your chances of escaping said game without a debilitating injury drop from 25-30% to roughly 7-9%. Where are Pittsburgh's veteran leaders? Shouldn't they be looking out for their rookies?
3. J-Palm's party last night cemented the notion that there's nothing more attractive than a pretty lady in a football jersey. My writing isn't lucid enough to adequately explain it. There's just something about a beautiful woman's tight-fitting No. 52 "R. Lewis" jersey that makes me think she must have a wonderfully engaging personality.
[Photo courtesy of Poon of the SEC, poonsec.blogspot.com.]
4. The good thing about Yamon Figurs' ineptitude at kick- and punt-returning is: Eventually Ed Reed and his zero (0) knees will be kick- and punt-returning. Seriously, Yamon, you run like a 4.2 40. Quit muffing punts, and running laterally, and jumping out of bounds, and hesitantly hitting the holes that your wedge blockers so thoughtfully created for you. A key element of successful Ravens football -- the same football that causes fans of other teams to pass out in utter boredom -- is an occasional game-breaking special teams play. Think Jermaine Lewis, bud.
5. Finally, let's break down Balmer's upcoming schedule, which looks pretty daunting at first glance. Tennessee at home next Sunday will be an admittedly tough test. After that, five of our next six games are on the road ('preciate that, Ike!): @Indy, @Miami, home against Oakland, @Cleveland, @Houston, @NY Giants. Remember, though, we're not going to play at any tougher venue than Heinz Field on a Monday night. Our defense is suited to play on the road extraordinarily well, able to neutralize an opposition's offensive momentum and keep us in the game. And Flac's confidence in himself and understanding of the offense grows with each start. @Indy only sounds tough; they're not a great football team. Miami, Oakland, Cleveland, and Houston, no matter where you play them, are bottom-dwellers. It's not unreasonable to think we could be 7-2 or 6-3 heading into the Nov. 16 match-up in the Meadowlands. I wouldn't mind being in that position.
Good lord. I want to apologize to our faithful readers for sounding way too much like straight-man Alex in that last paragraph.
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