You are what your record says you are, right? Well then the Seahawks are, as I predicted, not nearly as good as they were last season. The Legion of Boom currently ranks 16th in the league in passing yards allowed, and Seattle has fallen to third place in their division with a mediocre 3-3 record. Now they suddenly trade Percy Harvin to the Jets, and there is clearly no way to deny that something is going seriously wrong within the Seahawks organization. The Bengals, like the Seahawks, were placed at or near the top of numerous major power rankings withing the first few weeks of the season. Now, also like the Seahawks, the Bengals find themselves with only 3 wins (none since September) and obvious problems within their own organization. Is it possible that much of the Bengals early success was the result of a gimmick offense that good teams (and even some bad teams) have since dissected and exposed? The Bengals, after all, were almost totally shut down in the second half of their very first game against the Ravens with the exception of but one deep, bobbled, game-winning pass to A.J. Green. Otherwise, the Ravens appeared to have them completely figured out.
Fast forward to Week 8 in the NFL wherein the Bengals find themselves with injuries to starters vitally important to their ability to win football games. Make no mistake, the Bengals will trot as many of the walking wounded out on to that field if they believe it will help them stop the bleeding of their season, but how much can they really expect out of injured starters? Vontaze Burfict, for example, reportedly practiced in full on Thursday, but he suffered a cervical neck strain during last week's blowout loss to the Colts. Burfict has the habit of tackling by putting the top of his helmet into the abdomen of opposing quarterbacks. This isn't particularly dirty or even very dangerous to opposing quarterbacks, but it has twice caused Burfict to leave games. Ravens fans may recall Vontaze barrelling into Joe Flacco's midsection with the top of his helmet. Flacco got right back up and continued to play seemingly unaffected by the helmet to the gut, but Burfict injured his neck and left the game. I highly doubt Burfict's neck is totally healed, and as a middle linebacker Burfict will undoubtedly take some major jarring contact to his helmet this week trying to stop a potent Ravens rushing attack.
Vontaze Burfict is not the only major injured starter on the Bengals defense. Leon Hall suffered a lower back strain last week against the Colts. Hall is the Bengals' best cornerback, and his absence will be a huge boost to an already strong Ravens aerial attack. Hall was not listed on the injury report in any capacity for the past two days, but there's absolutely no way he'll be at full strength or even necessarily on the field this weekend. Rey Maualuga was also not listed on today's injury report, but that is because he was reportedly expected to miss the next two weeks according to Wednesday's injury report. With so many injured defensive starters and little production from Geno Atkins, it's no surprise the Bengals rank 30th in run defense, 27th in pass defense, and 18th in average points allowed per game.
The Bengals defense is not the only one of Cincinnati's units with problems stemming from major injuries. A.J. Green has not been healthy for weeks as he currently suffers from a toe injury that has kept him out of the last two games. The Bengals offense simply can't function at the same level without Green, and he's likely to be slowed by the same injury even if he manages to get the field this weekend. I read a post on Facebook today that read: "A.J. Green at 75% is still dangerous." In response to that post, another commenter wrote: "A.J. Green at 75% is absolutely no match for Jimmy Smith." Both were correct, but the second post was absolutely spot-on. The Ravens secondary was horrendously thin during the last meeting of these two teams. With Lardarius Webb nearly back to full form, the rise of Terrence Brooks, and the return of Will Hill, the Ravens secondary is a drastically improved unit compared to that of Week 1. I have a sneaking suspicion that an improved Ravens secondary and a weakened Bengals receiving corps will yield entertaining results for viewers in the greater Baltimore area.
The Ravens will also soon presumably see the return their starting left offensive guard and left offensive tackle. This should give added protection, punch, and depth to an already strong Ravens offensive line. Despite the major factors in favor of the Ravens for their game on Sunday, I've heard several sports commentators on the radio bring up the fact that Joe Flacco has a poor record in Cincinnati. I would, however, argue that during Andy Dalton's time as the Bengals starting quarterback, Joe Flacco has had reasonable success. His record against the Bengals during that time period is skewed in part by a the fact that the Ravens rested their starters in the final week of the 2012 season in Cincinnati as they had already clinched the AFC North division. The only legitimate Ravens loss in Cleveland during the Andy Dalton era was, thus, last year's season-ending showdown. Much has changed since that heart-breaking day, and I expect serious redemption this Sunday. It's time for this week's picks!
WEEK 8 NFL PREDICTIONS
LIONS AT FALCONS- The Lions have surprised the NFL with one of the league's best defenses thus far. Lions fans will be happy to see Calvin Johnson return to the field as he has practiced for multiple days on his previously injured ankle. The Falcons offensive line won't be able to hold up to the pass rush of a fierce Lions defensive line. This game is in London, so the Falcons won't get any sort of home field advantage. LIONS 35-17
RAMS AT CHIEFS- The Rams probably felt great about beating the Seahawks last week, but they shouldn't get too comfortable yet. The Chiefs run the football better than almost anyone in the leage, and the Rams defend the run worse than almost anyone in the league. This is a poor matchup on the road for the Rams. CHIEFS 34-20
TEXANS AT TITANS- The Texans will rebound after an embarrassing loss to the Steelers last week. Poor ball security allowed the Steelers to put up 24 points in the second quarter. This in no way means the Steelers are fixed or back in business, but it does mean that the Texans will take out their frustrations on a division rival and one of the worst teams in the league. TEXANS 38-14
VIKINGS AT BUCCANEERS- The Vikings are quite bad...and so are the Buccaneers. In a contest like this, I have to give an advantage to the home team. The Vikings are slightly better on paper, but the Bucs still have some good receiving weapons that helped them beat the Steelers several weeks ago. This is a game that I will not watch. BUCCANEERS 19-17
SEAHAWKS AT PANTHERS- I'd like to think the Seahawks are the better of these two teams. DeAngelo Williams is still out for the Panthers. Until he comes back and they can establish a running game, I can't see them winning against a decent team. SEAHAWKS 20-17
RAVENS AT BENGALS- The Bengals haven't won a game nearly a month and the Ravens have a healthy, fully loaded roster. The Bengals defense is near the bottom of the league, and the offense will not function correctly without a healthy A.J. Green. I forgot to mention earlier that Giovanni Bernard has been limited in practice due to a rib injury. The Ravens defense will feast on Andy Dalton, and the Bengals defense will struggle to stop the Ravens surging O. RAVENS 31-17
DOLPHINS AT JAGUARS- Don't be fooled by the Jaguars win over the Browns. The Dolphins are going to take those fools down. Jacksonville is incredibly lame compared to Miami anyway...just as far as cities are concerned. DOLPHINS 24-13
BEARS AT PATRIOTS- The Patriots are going to have some trouble in the future with the loss of Jerrod Mayo and Steven Ridley. Not this week though. I wasn't sold on the Bears as some sort of offensive powerhouse coming into this season. Brian Urlacher is absolutely right: Jay Cutler is not an elite quarterback. Last season Josh McCown has the same weapons and line to work with and he put up far better numbers...and McCown sucks. I wonder what a REAL QB could do with those weapons. Brady, for example, does more with a lot less at his disposal. PATRIOTS 35-23
BILLS AT JETS- Kyle Orton has helped the Bills win two of their last 3 games. The Bills have one of the best run defenses in the NFL, and that does not bode well for the Jets. Who knows if Percy Harvin will be much of a factor this soon, but I sincerly doubt it. The Jets did, however, show me something promising even in their heart-breaking loss to the Patriots. Chris Ivory has been a pleasant surprise. BILLS 21-20
EAGLES AT CARDINALS- Darren Sproles and Mychal Kendricks should be good to go against the Cardinals on Sunday. The Cardinals have a single win over a winning team all season and that was against the Colts in Week 2. The Cardinals have the 31st ranked pass defense and they'll be going up against the #7 ranked pass offense in the league. The Eagles are simply a better team. EAGLES 33-24
RAIDERS AT BROWNS- The Browns had a confusing loss to one of the worst teams in football last week, but that will not happen for a second week in a row as the Browns face the ACTUAL worst team in football. BROWNS 30-16
COLTS AT STEELERS- The high of beating the Texans will be dashed as soon as the Colts come to town on Sunday. The Colts have quickly become into one of the most complete, dynamic teams in the NFL. The Steelers--not so much. COLTS 38-23
PACKERS AT SAINTS- The Saints have shown that they're improvint slightly, but the Packers have improved by leaps and bounds since their loss to the Seahawks on opening night. I don't care that this game is in New Orleans. PACKERS 42-21
REDSKINS AT COWBOYS- This isn't the Redskins' year. Maybe karma for the franchise name? Who knows. I don't like the Cowboys, but they certainly have impressed me thus far. DeMarco Murray is having a historically great season in a era when the rules favor passing. COWBOYS 28-14
I'm usually nervous leading up to divisional games. This week, I'm not. The Ravens should win their next three games against inferior teams in convincing fashion and go into the bye week 8-2. The Ravens are getting healthy just in time for a second half push.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
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