Once he got the system down, Danny Watkins as been pretty good. Jason Kelce's been pretty solid too.

I wish Julio Jones would stay healthy.

k4mi: Von Miller is a BEAST. Look at how bad the Aggie's D is this year without him.
He will go down as one of the best pass rushers of all time. He's a pro-bowler this year and should be rookie of the year.

Agreed wholeheartedly. He has a chance to eventually be considered among the best linebackers of all time...and that's a pretty big statement coming from a Ravens fan.

Deneb81: Torrey Smith was about 3 dreads from tying Green's TDs and getting near his yardage. Certainly less consistent than Green though.

If he can develop that consistency when it comes to catching the damn ball (and to a lesser extent, Flacco can be more consistent in putting it in a catchable spot), I legitimately think Smith could produce Randy Moss-like numbers.

/For those who didn't notice (which would be anyone who didn't watch the game carefully), Lee Evans returned to action for the Ravens last Sunday. Evans finished 0-0, while Smith hauled in 6 for 165 and a TD.

Snapper Carr: Why I never pay attention to pre-draft analysis (new window)

/he's not the only one either. There's a number of pre-draft articles about how 2011 was the weakest rookie class in recent history.

I know there were some people, who's opinion I otherwise value, were down on the Bengals selecting Dalton. They were down on his arm strength, mainly. They've been cool enough to admit their mistakes since then, however.
Personally, I thought Dalton was going to be a good QB. Arm strength aside, he's got good decision making abilities, is an accurate passer, and has a lot of competitive fire to him. None of those things are coachable, so I figured he'd have a leg up.

I was WAY wrong on Newton however. I thought he'd be Jamarcus Russell. Turns out he may be the next coming of Steve McNair.

Randall Cobb is there yet (part of it that is simply with our depth you won't play him as much) but I think he'll be considered the steal of the draft in 3 years.

Pratty: DeMarco Murray's rise cannot be stated enough, even if it's not a Von Miller, A.J. Green, etc. kind of rise. It really helps Romo to have a good running game, which I don't think they've had since...what, Marion Barber, Felix Jones and that other guy all played there at once?

I agree. Murray's presence has lifted the entire team in a sort of happy domino effect. Tony has less pressure on him to throw, the O-line seems to be taking pride in their new lil buddy, and everyone just seems to have much higher spirits. Well, except Felix Jones, that is. He's probably none too thrilled.

Harv72b: If he can develop that consistency when it comes to catching the damn ball (and to a lesser extent, Flacco can be more consistent in putting it in a catchable spot), I legitimately think Smith could produce Randy Moss-like numbers.

Torrey Smith will never be consistent if his role remains the home run threat. The Ravens tell him 'for a few plays a game, run as fast as you can by the whole defense and we'll take a shot if you're open. Either you catch it or not.' You can never put up consistent numbers on low percentage plays like those. You hit big one game, a dud the next.

Cam Newton vs top 1/3 of the league passing defenses:

95/164 (58%), 1244 yds, 4 TD, 8 INT, 69.7 passer rating, 1-3 record (win against JAX, the 12th best passing D)

Maybe they should actually try running the ball against those teams. Nope, Cam throws it pretty, so let's continue to hurt the team by having him throw against good defenses!

Dalton isn't better; he's 72/125 for 770 yards, 4 TD and 6 INT with a 2-2 record (thanks again, Jags!) The only other win the Bengals got against a top passing defense was against Cleveland, thanks in part to the fact that it's the Browns...and the fact that they limited Dalton to just 15 passes in that game.

Every single game where Dalton or Newton have gone for over 300 yards, they've lost. Why? In those five games they've accounted for 7 TD and 8 INT.

In Newton's 400+ yard games, they passed nearly 50 times each game instead of using their two RBs, who each had fewer than 10 carries. They either had the lead or were within a score for all but a few minutes of both games. Why do coaches have to lose their damn minds every time they get a QB who can make some plays?

In the Arizona game, the Panthers ran the ball with a RB THREE times in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals came back from 7 down to win by 7. They gained 6 yards, 6 yards, and -1 yard (on a first down run). They ran the ball intentionally 0 times once they were down a TD with 7+ minutes to go. That's idiotic.

Against Chicago, they're down 1 in the 4th and get gifted a possession in Chicago territory thanks to a Cutler pick. What do they do? How about incompletion, incompletion, incompletion, missed FG? Williams and Stewart each averaged over 6 YPC against the Bears. Give 'em the f*cking ball! Again, they're down less than a TD for nearly the entire fourth quarter...number of runs? One, for two yards.

You want to talk offenses that DON'T f*cking work with rookie QBs? Relying on them to win the game for you doesn't work.

Deneb81: As a ravens fan... Umm no. Moss put up 17TDs as a rookie. That's ridiculous. Stupid. 3 times what Torrey has now falls short.

Torrey might be the next Mike Wallace though.

Not this season, what I meant is long-term. Moss averaged about 1150 yards & 11 TDs per season over his career; those are numbers I could see Smith hitting (with the caveats above).

GimpyNip: Oh FML, Fred Jackson out vs Jets and possibly rest of season. Down goes my Fantasy Team

Oh noes! I mean, not about your fantasy team, like I freakin care, but I do like Fred Jackson. He's a cool cat. :((((((

GimpyNip: I think the problem is you're comparing him to Randy Moss. I saw Moss's rookie season. Torrey Smith is not having anything close to Moss's rookie season. Now, obviously you didn't mean to imply he was but you can't compare WR X and say 'hey, this rookie could be like the greatest WR of all time who also had the greatest rookie WR season of all time' without catching heat for the hyperbole.

I compared him to Randy Moss, not Jerry Rice. :p

But it's a fair point, perhaps I was a bit overzealous. Can we amend "Randy Moss-like numbers" to read "Pro Bowl-type numbers"?

IAmRight: In the Arizona game, the Panthers ran the ball with a RB THREE times in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals came back from 7 down to win by 7. They gained 6 yards, 6 yards, and -1 yard (on a first down run). They ran the ball intentionally 0 times once they were down a TD with 7+ minutes to go. That's idiotic.

Against Chicago, they're down 1 in the 4th and get gifted a possession in Chicago territory thanks to a Cutler pick. What do they do? How about incompletion, incompletion, incompletion, missed FG? Williams and Stewart each averaged over 6 YPC against the Bears. Give 'em the f*cking ball! Again, they're down less than a TD for nearly the entire fourth quarter...number of runs? One, for two yards.

You want to talk offenses that DON'T f*cking work with rookie QBs? Relying on them to win the game for you doesn't work.

To further elaborate: The Packers have the best QB in the league right now. With a lead over the Lions in the 4th quarter, they ran the ball frequently. Why can't teams with rookie QBs be smart enough to just run the ball on occasion in the 4th with a lead?