The Ravens hit the halfway mark of the season at 4-4 with a potentially season-saving post-bye win against Pittsburgh. But was it enough to rescue what had been a rather disappointing portion of the year?
Here is the PressBox second-quarter report card:
Quarterback: As much as a quarterback is relied upon to be a leader and to be the most key player any team can have, Joe Flacco is one of the league's most paradoxical figures; the less he does, the better off the Ravens perform. The team is 3-15 when he throws 40 or more times, which he had to do throughout October as the running game in particular, and the team in general, slumped. He came in under that barrier against the Steelers, and the team won rather easily. At times, Flacco has looked fearful of reinjuring his surgically repaired left knee, but that ailment and a constantly changing offensive line had him running for his life most of the quarter. Still, it's up to any quarterback to put a team on his shoulders when times get tough, and Flacco certainly didn't do that in October.
