I haven’t done this column in a couple of weeks but after this weekend’s games, I thought it was an appropriate time to bring it back.

So here’s the latest installment of “I’m just saying…,” NFL Divisional Round-style.

- Colts fans after Nick Folk missed that chip shot field goal in the first quarter of the Jets-Patriots game on Sunday: “Oh come on!”

- After the Packers-Falcons game, I took a quick look at the stats sheet and saw that Aaron Rodgers was 31-of-36 passing for 366 yards and accounted for four touchdowns. My first reaction was: He had five incompletions?!

- Hey, when your team is up 25 points late in the third quarter and all you need to do is run some clock, why wouldn’t you call a halfback pass with Matt Forte and risk turning the ball over? You keep doing your thing, Mike Martz.

- Rex Ryan just beat Peyton Manning and Tom Brady (two of the best quarterbacks in NFL history) in back-to-back weeks using two different game plans. Say what you want about his mouth, but the guy knows defense.

- If I’m a team that needs a defensive coordinator, I’m on the phone right now with Rob Ryan. I want that gene pool designing my defenses.

- Most defenders would sacrifice one of their limbs to have a free shot at Jay Cutler when he’s running with the ball towards the end zone. But instead of delivering a punishing blow, Seattle safety Earl Thomas tried to bring the quarterback down by osmosis on Cutler’s touchdown run in the second quarter on Sunday. Somewhere, Ndamukong Suh is weeping.

- Matt Ryan after the game on why he threw the sideline pass that Tramon Williams intercepted and returned for a touchdown instead of throwing the ball away: “Well, I thought if Williams was anything like our corners, he would be playing 10 yards off the ball and I’d be able to pick up an easy seven yards.”

- I know where I’ve seen Bears’ O-lineman Frank Omiyale before: he doubles as a turnstile at Halas Hall during the weekdays.

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Here are five quick-hit thoughts on the Steelers’ 31-24 victory over the Ravens in the NFL Divisional Round.

1. Ravens pick a horrible time to play their worst football.
Baltimore’s second half collapse in this game was one of the worst I have ever seen. They did such a great job building all of this momentum in the first half only to give it right back on their first offensive possession in the third quarter. The Ravens took a two-touchdown lead into the second half but quickly allowed Pittsburgh back into the game with sloppy play. From Ray Rice and Joe Flacco’s fumbles to two huge drops by Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh at the end of the game, the Ravens saved their worst for the most important game of the year. That said…

2. …what a great job by the Steelers to capitalize on Baltimore’s mistakes.
You have to hand it to the Steelers: they always seem to make plays when it matters most. When Rice fumbled at the start of the third quarter, they turned the gift into seven points. When the defense picked off Flacco, they again put the ball into the end zone. When Boldin dropped that key pass on third down late in the game, Ben Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown on an improbable 58-yard pass to set up the eventual game-winning touchdown. Pittsburgh played a horrible first half, but it didn’t matter in the end. Because when the other shoe eventually dropped, the Steelers took full advantage.

3. Flacco must elevate his game in the playoffs.
In his third year, Joe Flacco has done some great things. You can tell he “gets it” and that he’s going to be a very good player for a long time. But if the Ravens want to win anything of any substance, he has to elevate his game when they get to the playoffs. He only threw for 125 yards and while he did have one touchdown, his fumble and interception in the second half proved costly. Granted, if Boldin catches that ball at the goal line on third down or Houshmandzadeh doesn’t drop that fourth down pass, maybe I’m signing Flacco’s praises right now. But those two drops don’t excuse Flacco’s lackluster play in the second half.

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While the extent of the injury is still unknown, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said in his post game press conference that Ray Rice injured his knee in the team’s 24-17 win over the Browns on Sunday.

The Ravens were only leading by a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, but Rice didn’t play on their final two drives so the injury must be somewhat serious. Harbaugh said that he doesn’t have ligament damage, but even a sprain could sideline Rice for the next couple of weeks.

On a lighter note, the Ravens’ offense looked like a completely different unit today then they did in the first two weeks. Joe Flacco played with more confidence then he did last week in Cincinnati while throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns. All three scores went to Anquan Boldin, who hauled in eight catches for 142 yards and made Eric Wright’s life miserable for three hours.

But while the Baltimore offense played remarkably better, the defense took a gigantic step backwards. They allowed Peyton Hillis to rush for 144 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown, as well as catch seven passes for 36 yards.

Of course, a sand bunker 20 feet high and seven miles wide couldn’t stop Hillis today. Every time he got his hands on the ball he pushed the pile forward and gained positive yards. The Ravens’ have one of the better front sevens in football, so to watch Hillis do what he did today was pretty impressive.

It looks like Jerome Harrison and James Davis will have to fight over the scraps every week, because it’s going to take a S.W.A.T. team to remove Hillis from the starting lineup now.

Well, that was fun. Watching the Jets’ offense was roughly about as exciting as a three hour root canal in which your dentist has to jab you with a Novocain needle six times because he keeps missing the nerves in your mouth.

The only difference between Mark Sanchez and Trent Edwards right now is $7.25 million a year. The second-year quarterback did nothing Monday night to silence critics that say he’s the one thing that will hold the Jets back from competing for a Super Bowl berth.

In his team’s 10-9 loss to the Ravens, Sanchez completed 10-of-21 passes for 74 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. For those scoring at home, his average completion averaged a measly 3.5 yards. There’s a good chance that if he purposely tried to trip over one of his offensive lineman every play, he could have fallen forward for more yards then if he attempted a pass.

Drop back, look down field, hold for one second, check down to running back, repeat.

When the Jets’ offense came back onto the field down one point with under two minutes left, they had no shot to get into field goal range because Sanchez wasn’t going to throw vertical. And even when he went temporarily insane and threw the ball further than three yards on a crucial 4th and 10 at the end of the game, tight end Dustin Keller caught the ball and ran out of bounds one yard short of the first down marker when nobody was around him. Keller must have felt that the Ravens played hard enough to earn the win, so he’d just give it to them. Of course, he was hit so hard by Ray Lewis the play before that it’s possible he didn’t know what down, quarter or team he played for by that point.

Speaking of the Ravens, they didn’t set the world on fire with their offensive performance tonight, but at least they moved the ball. Turnovers killed them in the first half and they couldn’t run against the Jets’ stingy front seven, but how good did Anquan Boldin look in his Baltimore debut? He beat Kyle Wilson so many times that the New Jersey highway patrol is going to have to stop the Ravens’ bus before it heads to the airport so they can integrate Boldin about domestic abuse.

Does anybody else feel like they just got done watching a fourth preseason game?

Adam Schefter tweeted the details:

Ravens reached agreement with former Seahawks wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh on a one-year, $855,000 deal. More at espn.com.

Personnel-wise, this is a strange fit, seeing as the Ravens already have a couple of talented possession-type receivers in Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason. But Housh is a cheap upgrade at WR2/WR3 and he gives Joe Flacco another sure-handed route-runner.

From a fantasy standpoint, this probably hurts Derrick Mason more than Boldin, who will get his looks as the Ravens’ WR1. It gives Flacco a little boost because his receiver corps has more depth and could weather an injury to one of the aforementioned WRs.

As for Housh, he’s probably only worth a late round flyer at this point because he’s joining a new team and his role is unclear. It’s going to take him some time to get settled.

2010 NFL Division Previews & Predictions: AFC East | AFC North | AFC South | AFC West | NFC East | NFC North | NFC South | NFC West | 2010 Question Marks Series

The AFC North is chockfull of good storylines this year, from Big Ben’s suspension to two rising offensive stars in Baltimore to the new receiving duo of Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens in Cincinnati.

Oh, and Mike Holmgren is now in charge of a Browns team that is sure to be improved.

Here’s how I see things shaking out in the AFC North in 2010. Be sure to check out the link entitled “2010 Question Mark” under each team’s preview, which is a breakdown of one or two potential weaknesses that could derail that squad’s hopes this season.

1. Ravens

What to Like: Ray Rice is knocking on the door of superstardom and as long as Cam Cameron doesn’t get cute and start limiting his running back’s chances, then I think Rice could produce MVP-type numbers this year. He can do it all: run between the tackles, run outside, be a big-time factor in the passing game – everything. Staying on the offensive side of the ball, Joe Flacco is in store for big things heading into his third season. He made great strides in his development last year and the front office finally went out and got him a No. 1 target in Anquan Boldin. While Boldin can’t stretch the field like he did earlier in this career, he’s a consistent playmaker and will be a great weapon on third downs. On the other side, veteran Derrick Mason continues to be a consistent, steady presence for Flacco. Defensively, Ray Lewis once again anchors a defense that allowed only 300.5 yards per game last season. That was good for third in the NFL and if Terrell Suggs can get back to being the dominant player he was not too long ago, then the Ravens’ D shouldn’t take a step back.
What Not to Like: Suggs has to step up or there will be serious concerns about the pass rush. Trevor Pryce was okay in that department last year, but not great. The team added Corey Redding in the offseason, but he has proven to be a pretty average player over the years. The bigger problem for this team is in the secondary, where Ed Reed isn’t healthy and the secondary was dealt a huge blow when Domonique Foxworth went down for the season with a knee injury in camp. Fabian Washington didn’t play particularly well last season and if the Ravens can’t drum up a pass rush, Chris Carr will likely struggle playing on an island. He’s more suited to play as a nickel, so there are serious concerns about the makeup of this defensive backfield heading into the season.
Keep Your Eye On: Tom Zbikowski
If you notice, the only name I didn’t mention from the list of problems the Ravens will potentially have in their secondary is Tom Zbikowski. That’s because he’s the most underrated player on the Ravens’ defense and arguably the toughest outside of Lewis. With Reed out, the youngster from Notre Dame will be counted on once again this year to make a major contribution.
The Final Word: The lack of a pass rush and the secondary outside of Zbikowski is worrisome, but this is practically the same team that went into Foxboro last year and gave the Patriots the beating of a lifetime on their home turf. Plus, the offense is improved with the acquisition of Boldin and I think Flacco is in store for a huge season. He’s starting to see the entire field and now has two full years of starting experience under his belt. He also has a running back in Rice that he can lean on in case he starts to struggle in the passing game. This is the team to beat in the North this year and I wouldn’t be completely shocked if the Ravens showed up in Dallas come February.

Baltimore Ravens 2010 Question Mark: Secondary

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Merry training camp season, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the Cardinals massive issues at the quarterback position.

The Cardinals have a couple of weakness that could be discussed, including offensive tackle, cornerback and inside linebacker. But none of them will impact their chances this season like the quarterback position will.

Gone is Kurt Warner, as well as the high-powered offense that the Cards have been able to run the past couple of years. The team traded Anquan Boldin to the Ravens during the offseason because quite frankly, they didn’t need him. (It’s also noteworthy that they felt as though he couldn’t stretch the field anymore.) The team knew the offense would focus more on the running game and less on the pass and thus, they could get by with the combination of Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston at wideout.

The look of the offense was changing and former first round pick Matt Leinart was going to usher in a new era.

But after giving him all the first-team reps this offseason and two starts in preseason, there’s growing speculation that Leinart won’t even make the final roster – nevertheless emerge as the regular season starter.

Reports have surfaced that there isn’t a lot of confidence in the locker room that Leinart can be the team’s long-term quarterback. Some have coined him “Captain Checkdown,” in reference to the way he looks to checkdown early in his progression instead of going through all of his reads and throwing downfield. While he has completed over 70% of his passes in preseason, he has failed to move the offense, which is why Derek Anderson is now the favorite to start.

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Merry training camp season, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. First up is the Baltimore Ravens and their question marks surrounding their secondary.

After dismantling the Patriots in the postseason last year, Raven fans are more excited about the team’s Super Bowl hopes this season than I am about “Shark Week” every year. (I think it goes without saying that sharks are the greatest fish, human and/or breathing organism on the planet. I mean, they’re sharks.)

And who could blame the Baltimore faithful? Joe Flacco is heading into his third season (which is the year when things are supposed to really “click” for players), Ray Rice is on the verge of superstardom and the passing game added a legitimate No. 1 wideout this offseason thanks to Ozzie Newsome’s trade for Anquan Boldin.

But just like all 32 teams at this time of year, the Ravens have some concerns and most of theirs lie within the secondary.

First and foremost, Ed Reed isn’t healthy and that’s a huge problem. At 31, some note that he isn’t as physical as he was earlier in his career, but the guy can still cover ground with the best of them. His ability to read what formation an offense comes out in, bait the quarterback into making a poor throw and then actually make a play on the ball is unrivaled. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to say he was the best coverage safety in the league last year, along with Arizona’s Adrian Wilson.

But again, he’s also hurt. The Ravens recently placed him on the active/Physically Unable to Perform list and he’s a candidate to miss the first six weeks of the season as he continues to battle a hip injury. He missed four games last year and the Ravens still made the playoffs, but playing without him isn’t something the team wants to make a habit of.

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