Tuesday Night Links

In ESPN’s latest Power Rankings, the Ravens moved up to tenth from 14th last week.  The Bengals and Steelers are sixth and seventh, respectively.  The Browns, on the other hand, are 31st and only ahead of the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In Yahoo’s Fantasy Football Big Board, Brandon Funston ranks Ray Rice number 5.  The only fantasy players (all running backs) that he ranks higher than Rice is Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew, Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, Atlanta’s Michael Turner and Tennessee’s Chris Johnson.

In handing the Broncos their first loss of the season and holding the Broncos to their lowest offensive output (200 yards) in six years, Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs credited defensive coordinator Greg Mattison.  Suggs said: “You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. I think coach Mattison did a good job of putting all of us in the right places and playing a good chess match.”

As of yesterday, there were 5,000 tickets available for Sunday’s game in Cincinnati.

When asked for his pick to win the AFC North, Baltimore Sun reporter Mike Preston picked Pittsburgh.

Here’s what rookie tackle Michael Oher said about his personal foul penalty after a Ray Rice run: “I pushed a guy in the back, and they called it. You can’t take it back,” he said. “It is what it is. Can’t argue about it.”

The Ravens went no-huddle 31 times in Sunday’s game.  And they ran the ball more than they threw it for the first time since week 2 at San Diego.

Here’s what running back Willis McGahee said about his role when asked in a Q&A by Ken Murray of the Baltimore Sun: “At this stage in my life right now, I’ve learned that you can’t cry over spilled milk because if I cry, I’m not going to win that battle. It’s just going to make it seem like, ‘Oh, McGahee’s pouting because he’s not touching the ball.’ I just take it in stride, man. I take whatever they give me. I try to make the best of my opportunities, but when you don’t get as many opportunities as you did in the beginning of the season, there’s really nothing I can do about it.”

ESPN blogger James Walker says he would rank the AFC North as the best division ahead of the NFC East.  And then the NFC North.

Walker also names the Ravens’ defense, quarterback Joe Flacco and kick returner/cornerback Lardarius Webb as his three “rising” picks in his AFC North stock watch column.

Tags: ESPN Power Rankings, Greg Mattison, Joe Flacco, Michael Oher, Ray Rice, Terrell Suggs, Willis McGahee