The first week of the regular season is nearly in the books, but every AFC North team saw action Sunday.
Here were seven key observations this weekend in the AFC North:
James Lang/US Presswire
Joe Flacco did a solid job of managing Baltimore's offense in Sunday's victory over the Bengals.
The players for the Baltimore Ravens are getting most of the credit for Sunday's 17-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, but what we noticed most was the stellar coaching. The Ravens' staff, led by rookie head coach John Harbaugh, did a masterful job of putting together a game plan that suited their personnel. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who has head-coaching experience, used a bruising offensive line to pound the ball 46 times, while also putting rookie quarterback Joe Flacco in situations to be successful. Defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, who probably should be a head coach by now, rattled the Bengals with an aggressive scheme that only allowed eight first downs.
Speaking of the Ravens' defense, their complex scheme is at its best when the team has their full complement of defensive backs. The star-studded linebackers get most of the press. But the coverage skills of Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle and safety Ed Reed allows Baltimore to be as aggressive as its wants to be. Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer was not comfortable. Reed's presence, in particular, gave the unit an added swagger.
"I told him early in the week, 'You don't have to hit nobody. We'll play them 10 on 11. You just get lined up, tell us where we've got to go, and we'll be all right,'" Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said.
The reason the Ravens were able to pound the football 46 times was due to the lack of physicality from the Bengals front seven. With a rookie quarterback, Cincinnati knew Baltimore planned to run the ball and still couldn't do much about it. The most telling instance was after Baltimore got the ball back in the fourth quarter with 7:15 remaining and ran the ball on 9 of the final 10 plays to kill the clock.
We noticed a trend that AFC North teams such as Baltimore and the Pittsburgh Steelers have done to neutralize Cincinnati's offense as of late. The Bengals have lost their offensive balance over the past year with their inability to run the football. So that has made it easier to bracket receiver Chad Ocho Cinco, the team's big-play weapon. Baltimore paid extra close attention to Ocho Cinco all game and didn't allow a catch until the third quarter. With Ocho Cinco out of the offense, Cincinnati's offense is not nearly as explosive.
"Based off what Baltimore was doing, our offense couldn't use me any more today," a frustrated Ocho Cinco said. "They wouldn't let me do anything. I only caught one pass and that must have been a blown coverage or something."
The Pittsburgh Steelers' offense will be able to beat teams in so many ways this season. In a 38-17 win over the Houston Texans, it was "Fast" Willie Parker, who showed he still has big-play capability and toughness by getting into the end zone three times. Parker told us all along that his rehab from a broken fibula went well. The Steelers did a good job in minicamp and training camp not to have Parker push things too hard until the start of the regular season.
Outside linebackers are key in Pittsburgh's defense, and LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison combined for 12 tackles, four sacks and an interception on Sunday. Harrison's performance (nine tackles, three sacks) is not a surprise coming off a Pro Bowl year. But Woodley needs to show this year that he can do more than just sack the quarterback, and he's already showing versatility with an interception to start the season.
Since we're down to one more step and have to quickly get rid of the football, we will try to fit in two points with the Cleveland Browns' 28-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. First, this group is not experienced enough for a majority of key players to miss weeks of the preseason and suddenly turn it on. Receiver Braylon Edwards (four drops) and quarterback Derek Anderson were the two main culprits who did not look sharp in their returns. Second, good receivers should be able to exploit this young secondary all season if an addition isn't made, especially if this team doesn't sack the quarterback, which was the case against Dallas.
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James Walker
Walker joined ESPN.com in 2008 after three seasons covering the Cleveland Browns for the Columbus Dispatch. He also covered the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Cavaliers at the Dispatch. Walker grew up in Hyattsville, Md., before attending Temple University, graduating in 2001 with a B.A. in communications and mass media. He resides in the Cleveland area.
Walker joined ESPN.com in 2008 after three seasons covering the Cleveland Browns for the Columbus Dispatch. He also covered the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Cavaliers at the Dispatch. Walker grew up in Hyattsville, Md., before attending Temple University, graduating in 2001 with a B.A. in communications and mass media. He resides in the Cleveland area.
