Cam Cameron

Bob in Ellicott City: Joe Flacco was on in Sunday's playoff game and showed mobility and pocket awareness not always evident. I am, however, puzzled as to why you never see Flacco doing his homework on the sidelines. All the other great quarterbacks are pouring over pictures, interpreting game schematics or talking things over with their team members or offensive coordinators. Joe is always just sitting on the bench! What am I missing? Bob, you aren't missing anything. If that is the way Flacco prefers to operate, I don't mind as long as he is successful.

The chaotic final moments of Joe Flacco's impressive duel with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had barely unfolded when expectations for the Ravens quarterback began skyrocketing. Although the Ravens lost their grip on a Super Bowl berth when wide receiver Lee Evans failed to secure a pass in the end zone and kicker Billy Cundiff flubbed a chip shot field-goal attempt, Flacco had nearly toppled the Patriots. After his commanding performance, much more was expected from Flacco.

Each Wednesday, blogger Matt Vensel will highlight five statistics that really mean something for the Ravens. 17.3 -- percentage of snaps in 2012 for Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in which he attempted a deep throw. According to Pro Football Focus, Joe Flacco threw the ball downfield more often than any quarterback in the NFL, with 17.3 percent of his throws traveling 20 or more yards. And the Ravens set a new franchise record with 41 completions of 25-plus yards. But you can cherry-pick stats on either side of the spectrum to say whether all those deep throws were a good thing or a bad thing.

There is the slim chance that the outcome of the Ravens' final regular-season game against the Cincinnati Bengals will have an impact on their place in the postseason pecking order, but it won't change the way anyone looks back on 2012. The past 12 months have taken Ravens fans on a ride that has been - at various junctures - exhilarating and exasperating. The year started with an exciting playoff run that fell achingly short when Lee Evans dropped an apparent touchdown pass and Billy Cundiff missed a chip-shot field goal in the AFC title game.

A week after running a few bunch formations and stretch plays in a disappointing loss to the Denver Broncos, the Ravens used an efficient no-huddle and a strategy of attacking the middle of the field to whip the New York Giants, 33-14, on Sunday. Those tweaks would appear to be the most visible imprints offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell has left on the unit since succeeding Cam Cameron on Dec. 10. But Caldwell dismissed the notion that the offense can now be labeled as his during his weekly news conference Thursday.

Two weeks after he was named offensive coordinator, Jim Caldwell has finally put his finger prints on the game plan. After gaining 533 yards of total offense Sunday in their 33-14 win over the New York Giants, it's hard to tell if the Ravens can continue the dominance, but now they have a sound starting point under Caldwell. There is newfound confidence. "I think so," Ravens receiver Torrey Smith said of gaining momentum. "We were on a rough stretch for a while, even though - I guess it was three games - we played alright at times, we just weren't consistent.

If I'm feeling sorry for anyone on the Ravens right now, it's Jim Caldwell. Going into today's game against the New York Giants, the new Ravens offensive coordinator finds himself in a no-win situation. He's basically auditioning for the offensive coordinator job for 2013 - assuming another team doesn't snap him up to be a head coach. But he can't make any major changes to this struggling Ravens' offense this late in the season. Which means he has to essentially call the same ho-hum plays Cam Cameron called before he got the axe. This is sort of like taking over as the president of a failing widget company and being told: "Let's just keep making those same lousy widgets, OK?"

This feature appears every week on the Baltimore Sports Blitz. It's just like “What They're Saying About the Ravens,” but it includes blogger Matt Vensel saying something about what those people are saying. Got it? --- Don Banks of Sports Illustrated wonders if the Ravens used up the rest of their magic on 4th-and-29 . “The Ravens are failing every test in December so far, miserably. Baltimore is injury-depleted and grasping for answers on defense, and nothing about last week's firing of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and the elevation of quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell to the post did anything to fix the team's offensive issues,” he wrote.

As a Baltimorean and Ravens fan, I am disheartened by the fact that so much attention is being given to the dismissal of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and so little attention to Terrell Suggs' alleged domestic abuse troubles ("Suggs, fiancee reach court agreement," Dec. 12). John Harbaugh has held various press conferences to explain the organization's position regarding the dismissal of Mr. Cameron and the future expectations for the team. However, he has yet to publicly condemn domestic abuse and state that the Ravens will not tolerate such behavior by their players.