Apparently, the Ravens' preseason emphasis on throwing the ball in just about every possible situation was not just a passing fancy.
Joe Flacco came out flinging on Sunday, and the Ravens rang up their biggest offensive performance - in terms of total yardage - since the franchise moved to Baltimore.
Flacco set career highs in passing attempts (43), passing yardage (307) and touchdown passes (3). The Ravens piled up 501 yards and put up 38 points. I suppose you have to consider the competition, but the Kansas City Chiefs came to play and simply ran into a Ravens offense that had too many ways to move the ball.
Cam Cameron had hinted at this with his wide-open offensive attack in the preseason opener against the Washington Redskins, but everybody just kind of assumed that the heavy emphasis on the pass had more to do with sorting through the team's extra receivers than any overall change in offensive strategy.
The pass/run ratio moderated some during the ensuing preseason games, but the receiver auditions continued, and it was easy enough to conclude that the running game was already set and the Ravens' run-first philosophy was still in place.
Maybe it is. Maybe Cameron just decided to throw the Chiefs a curve ... and a change-up ... and a slider ... and a few fastballs down the middle.
But when Flacco dropped back to pass seven times in the Ravens' first eight offensive plays of the game, it was certainly fair to wonder.
"Yeah, I think we wanted to put the ball in the air and go from there," said Flacco, who drove the offensive unit 54 yards before the Ravens settled for a 44-yard field goal by Steve Hauschka. "That was pretty much the game plan for the most part, and we were able to do that."
The Ravens mixed it up a little more on their second possession, but Flacco threw the ball seven times on a 70-yard drive that ended with a short touchdown pass to Willis McGahee.
Flacco spread the ball around to seven receivers, connecting with Mark Clayton and Todd Heap five times each and hooking up with each of them on a touchdown pass.
Still, during John Harbaugh's post-game news conference, the question hung in the air like the ball that floated into Clayton's hands for the 31-yard touchdown that put the Ravens ahead to stay. Has the Ravens' coaching staff made a conscious decision to depend on a more pass-oriented attack this season?
"We're going to throw more, if it's going to help us win a game," Harbaugh answered.
