I stated that my prediction of the Ravens Broncos game was entirely optimistic and also based on the assumption that Ray Lewis and Dannell Ellerbe would play. They did not play, and neither did Bernard Pollard. The Ravens defense played admirably and even with a little fire in the first half, but the lack of depth and the absence of starters in conjuction with a no-show from the offense led to a second half collapse. This Ravens team simply can't win games with a skeleton crew. The thing that made this team great earlier in the season was its ability to buckle down and stop teams in the redzone. With a short field, teams had trouble getting into the endzone and often had to settle for fieldgoals. That defense simply wasn't on the field last sunday. This is not to say that I'm making excuses as to why the Ravens lost, but rather, explaining the facts. No Ray Lewis, no Dannell Ellerbe, no Jameel McClain, no Bernard Pollard, no Lardarius Webb, an injured Terrell Suggs, and injured Ed Reed, and a presumably somewhat injured Haloti Ngata means you're left with almost nothing.
The defense, however, could have performed much better last Sunday if they were kept off of the field for a longer period of time with serious offensive drives and morale boosting touchdowns. The Broncos defense is top notch, but the Ravens are supposed to be able to put points on just about anyone at home. The culprit? Well Joe Flacco clearly played a gigantic role, but his ability to succeed seems to be increasingly hampered by a lack of faith in his offensive line.
Joe Flacco spent a much larger time on the ground than he would have liked last Sunday. Michael Oher is clearly not the answer at left tackle, and the only truly dominant lineman the Ravens have on their roster was out with a sprained ankle (I assume you all know that I'm referring to Marshal Yanda). It's easy to understand why the Ravens went 12-4 and to the AFC Championship last year when you look at their offensive line. Bryant McKinney started every game at left tackle and is a talented pass blocker even if he is a little lazy in the run-blocking realm. Ben Grubbs was the pro bowl left guard who was also an excellent pass blocker, but he sadly took a bigger contract with the Saints in the off-season. Matt Birk played well most of the season even if he did get manhandled by Vince Wilfork in January. Marshal Yanda was the right guard and he's simply good at everything. Michael Oher's only major flaws last season stemmed occassional false start penalties at right tackle as he offers rather good protection from edge rushers on THAT side. Fast forward to this season, and you see a patchwork offensive line with few players at their natural position and the only natural left tackle with a pristine, unblemished jersey sitting idly on the bench.
Now I know that Joe Flacco has poor awareness in the pocket and always appears totally taken by surprise by presure off the edge. With that knowledge, however, John Harbaugh has done a poor job at adjusting accordingly and putting in someone who has proven to protect Joe on the left side better than anyone else currently on the roster--especially Michael Oher. Harbaugh is so unyieldingly stubborn with his "doghouse" philosophy that he often keeps the best players off of the field just because they upset him at one point or another. Dannell Ellerbe was reportedly in Harbaugh's doghouse not too long ago and didn't see much of the field as a result. Ellerbe stepped in for Ray Lewis out of necessity earlier this season and suddenly we all saw that he performed phenomenally. The same needs to happen with Bryant McKinney. I don't care if he doesn't seem to give 100% in practice or if Harbaugh didn't like his work ethic in the off-season. McKinney started all season and protected Joe well on the left side. Michael Oher has simply proven he cannot do that regardless of his comparatively better work ethic. A big part of coaching is knowing your weaknesses and adjusting accordingly to minimize the exposure and impact of those weaknesses. Harbaugh has done a poor job of that this year down the stretch, and he's running out of time to redeem himself. We can blame Joe all we want, and he deserves plenty of blame, but when you can't keep him upright, how do you expect him to pass?
WEEK 16 NFL PREDICTIONS
FALCONS AT LIONS- The Lions are on a 6 game losing streak with little motivation to win. The Falcons, on the other hand have made a habit of winning games this season and are one game shy of clinching a #1 seed in the playoffs. MY PREDICTION: FALCONS 34-23.
SAINTS AT COWBOYS- No way the Cowboys lose this game against a slumping Saints team outside of New Orleans. MY PREDICTION: COWBOYS 28-17.
TITANS AT PACKERS- The Packers haven't been nearly the team they were last season, but this won't be a tough matchup at Lambeau. MY PREDICTION: PACKERS 24-16.
COLTS AT CHIEFS- The Colts are fighting to solidify a wildcard spot in the playoffs. The Chiefs are one of the worst teams in the league and rumors have swirled that Romeo Crennel will be fired at the end of this season. This might not be a total blowout, but Andrew Luck seems to do just enough win close games against mediocre and bad teams. MY PREDICTION: COLTS 20-17.
BILLS AT DOLPHINS- Neither of these teams have a prayer to go to the playoffs, but I like the Dolphins in a squeaker at home. MY PREDICTION: DOLPHINS 17-16.
CHARGERS AT JETS- The Chargers will win this game. MY PREDICTION: CHARGERS 21-10.
REDSKINS AT EAGLES- The Eagles are improving in some ways, but they're still prone to turnovers. The Redskins are on a roll here, and they beat the Eagles not too long ago. This could be a blowout of the Eagles keep turning the ball over, but the Redskins' pass defense is poor enough that the Eagles should score some points. MY PREDICTION: REDSKINS 33-23.
BENGALS AT STEELERS- This is a tough one to predict. The Steelers need this win to avoid being eliminated from the playoff hunt and they're at home against a foe that they beat on the road. The Bengals have since picked up steam, however, and their defense has improved drastically. I simply have a hard time seeing the Steelers losing this game. MY PREDICTION: STEELERS 21-17.
RAMS AT BUCCANEERS- The Bucs lost narrowly to two great teams a few weeks ago...and then they lose to two very BAD teams in embarrassing losses for the last two weeks. The Rams have won 3 out of their last 4 and have proven they can win on the road recently. MY PREDICTION: RAMS 20-13.
RAIDERS AT PANTHERS- Panthers win this one easily against and show their promise for next season. MY PREDICTION: PANTHERS 30-17.
PATRIOTS AT JAGUARS- Ha. MY PREDICTION: PATRIOTS 42-19.
VIKINGS AT TEXANS- I want to see Adrian Peterson run away with this game so incredibly badly, but the Texans should have enough firepower to outscore a Vikings team that hinges its success on one freakishly talented player.
BROWNS AT BRONCOS- The Browns have improved greatly since the first half of the season, but the Broncos are probably the best team in football right now. MY PREDICTION: BRONCOS 34-16.
BEARS AT CARDINALS- The Bears are desperate and the Cardinals are bad. C'mon Bears, you can do it. MY PREDICTION: BEARS 24-13.
GIANTS AT RAVENS- Both teams are coming off of embarrassing losses and have serious injuries that could affect this game heavily. I do, however, believe the Ravens will FINALLY get Dannell Ellerbe back and they'll probably give Bryant McKinney some time at left tackle to allow Flacco to open up on an injured and lackluster Giants secondary. It appears as though Marshal Yanda will try to play, and the Giants could be without Justin Tuck. This is yet another game that depends largely on who is healthy enough to play. Will Bernard Pollard be ready to go? What about Ahmad Bradshaw? Eli Manning and Joe Flacco have almost identical statistics this season so it's not like one quarterback is totally above the other this season. I gotta go with my gut feeling that the Ravens are going to put up one last final regular season homestand and win a close game with a Justin Tucker field goal as time expires. I will, again, possibly amend this prediction if gameday arrives and it becomes clear that the a sizeable number of Ravens starters won't play. Assuming they do, however...MY PREDICTION: RAVENS 27-24.
49ERS AT SEAHAWKS- Both of these teams have looked good recently and it's tough to know what to think since the 49ers will be starting a different quarterback than the last time they faced and beat the Seahawks in San Franscisco. I get it, the Seahawks have put up a startling number of points in the last couple of weeks, but they did so against some pretty awful competition. The 49ers on the other hand, did possibly the most difficult thing in football last week when they beat the Patriots in Foxborough. I don't know if the 49ers' passing attack will be strong enough against the Seahawks in Seattle. Man, this is tough. Let's go with the hot home team with something to prove. MY PREDICTION: SEAHAWKS 17-16.
This isn't the last chance for the Ravens to win the division, but they need to win this week to be able to give their starters some much needed rest before attempting a playoff run. Without that rest, the Ravens simply can't contend with the likes of the Patriots, Texans, and Broncos...especially because they'd be playing any of those teams on the road. The Ravens won't be eliminated from the playoffs this week if they lose to their second consecutive Manning, but they might as well be. The Ravens need to win this game and they need the support of their fanbase. If there was ever a time to get pumped and load in Baltimore, it would be this Sunday. Sure couldn't hurt to have #52 burst out of that tunnel... Keep track of injury report and get ready for a war on Sunday, Baltimore.
AS ALWAYS GO RAVENS!!!!
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