WEEK 16 NFL PREDICTIONS AND EARLY DRAFT PREVIEW

     Forgive me for not posting predictions and analysis last week...I needed to decompress after an embarrassing loss to the Seahawks.  It wasn't that I expected the Ravens to win--I predicted them to lose soundly, but watching them get utterly destroyed for the first (and not the last) time this season was painful.  It certainly didn't help that they played sloppy football the next weekend against the Chiefs either, but it was actually imperative that the Chiefs win that game as the Ravens need to keep their #3 draft position secure.  This week should be no different.  The Ravens face a red-hot Steelers team that hasn't failed to score over 30 points in quite some time.  I don't believe the Steelers have the defense needed to win a Super Bowl, and they won't be able to secure homefield advantage as the Bengals will still win the division, but the Steelers have the firepower to take it to just about anyone provided that Ben Roethlisberger can remain upright and healthy.

     I'm sure Ravens players and coaches would feel some semblance of satisfaction if by some stroke of luck they were able to beat the Steelers, but there's simply no reason to do so.  The best the Ravens can hope for is a competitive game wherein they both expose weaknesses in the Steelers game plan and still end up losing.  The reality is, however, that a loss is a loss, and there are too many key Ravens on injured reserve to even keep this game within 14 points.  Lest anyone forgot I shall list some of the more important integral cogs missing from this figurative machine:  Joe Flacco, Terrell Suggs, Steve Smith Sr., Crocket Gillmore, Justin Forsett, Breshad Perriman, Jeremy Zuttah, Chris Canty, and Eugene Monroe.  That list doesn't even include HALF of the Ravens players placed on injured reserve this season, but it contains nearly all of the Ravens biggest stars.

     Far too long this season, I clung to hope that the Ravens could turn their season around.  I was not alone.  I, after all, looked at each of their narrow losses early in the season and thought that if only they had THIS player back healthy they might turn narrow losses into wins.  There certainly was merit to that argument, and the reasoning wasn't far fetched, but there was no way I or any loyal fan could have known that nearly half the roster would be put on injured reserve.  Ironically, the Ravens ability to win meaningful football games probably truly ended as soon as Terrell Suggs went down in Denver in Week 1.  So much of what the Ravens do defensively depends on Suggs' leadership and his elite ability to both rush the passer and stop the run.  His absence is particularly apparent now that Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are retired.  I have no doubt that Suggs will return for one or two more seasons following his rehab, but the Ravens defense simply isn't the same without a player of that caliber.

     Fortunately for us, the Ravens have a great draft position with which they should be able to pick a player who can become an immediate starter.  I still have faith in Ozzie Newsome despite bad luck with first round picks in 2 out of the last 3 drafts.  Anyone who read my draft wishlists after the Ravens won the Super Bowl knows I didn't have Matt Elam at the top of the list of safeties I believed the Ravens should pick.  I, instead, wanted them to go with Jonathan Cyprien, who has done quite well thus far in his NFL career.  There are many impatient Ravens fans who lambaste Ozzie for picking Breshad Perriman.  These same critics have decided to label the young receiver as a bust simply because he sustained a knee injury before getting a chance to hit the field this season.  Any criticism of the 2015 draft first round draft pick is likely premature as Perriman will presumably be quite healthy and also fairly experienced after having spent an entire year at Ravens facilities soaking up the playbook.  The addition of Perriman will be like having an extra first round pick in the 2016 draft, and that's something for which even the most doubtful Ravens fans should be happy.  Sure, it would have been nice to see Perriman get on the field late this season, but that wouldn't have meant much anyway considering that Joe Flacco tore his ACL.

    Sometimes it takes one step back to take two steps forward.  Going into next season with a healthy Breshad Perriman, an impact player from the top of the first round of the draft (the top of the second round too for that matter), and the return of Suggs and Flacco, the Ravens should easily be ready to return to their status as major AFC contenders.  There are many who believe the Ravens' first priority should be finding receiving talent early in the draft--I am not one of those people.  Far more important to the success of next season is the acquisition of a defensive player who can make an immediate impact in 2016.  There are two defensive players I believe the Ravens could take the first round who could bring immediate significant improvement to a unit that has allowed an embarrassing 25 points per game this season.  The first is, of course, Ohio State defensive end, Joe Bosa.  Bosa is essentially a younger J.J. Watt.  He stands at 6'6" and nearly 280 pounds, and he possesses the explosive speed and physicality to scare nearly anyone who finds himself lined up opposite this behemoth.  Bosa can rip by and bullrush through offensive linemen to get to the quarterback, and he seemingly effortlessly uses his push-pull move to toss run-blockers aside and get to the ball carrier (this move can be seen at 1:56 and 2:13 in the video linked below).  Bosa's highlights speak for themselves, take a look:

Joey Bosa 2015 Defensive End

    A defensive end with this level of pass-rushing and run-stuffing talent would be impossible for the Ravens to pass up with the third pick of the draft.  The question is whether or not Bosa will be available with the 3rd overall pick.  The Titans and Browns are both slated to pick before the Ravens, and the question remains as to whether or not the Titans and Browns will view offensive tackles or quarterbacks as a higher priority than a defensive lineman.  The Ravens might even view offensive tackle as a greater priority than defensive lineman considering Eugene Monroe's issues staying healthy and a lack of quality depth behind him.  Kelechi Osemele has played offensive tackle well for the past couple of weeks, but he'll be a free agent after this season, and the Ravens likely won't be able to afford to pay him an offensive tackle contract with Eugene Monroe already on the books.  The Ravens could, instead, draft the best offensive tackle available, and either start him at left tackle, or start him at right tackle if Eugene Monroe is healthy and doesn't get cut this summer.

     In the event that the Ravens do go with the best left tackle available, it's highly likely they'll pick Notre Dame's Ronnie Stanley.  Stanley is the second best tackle in the draft, and the best tackle, Laremy Tunsil, could very well be off the board as the Titans appear likely to pick him first overall.  Stanley, however, has the frame, athleticism, and sheer strength to ultimately be a starting left tackle anywhere he goes.  The 2015 did expose a few weaknesses in Stanley's game such as the fact that he struggles to sink his hips back down and reset after a defensive lineman has gotten under his pads and stood him up.  Stanley does, nevertheless, display the ability to block defensive lineman and then get to the second level that is required to be successful in a zone blocking scheme such as that of the Ravens.  His pass protecting skills are fantastic with only some minor adjustments that will be worked out with pro experience.  At 6'6" and 315 muscular pounds, Ronnie Stanley possesses prototypical left tackle size.  At the very least, if Eugene Monroe stays a Raven, Stanley can be placed at left guard to replace Kelechi Osemele assuming he leaves for a big contract elsewhere.  I couldn't exactly find a highlight reel for the young tackle, but here's the video from his performance against Syracuse in the 2014 season:

Ronnie Stanley (Notre Dame OT) vs Syracuse 2014 

     I doubt Ronnie Stanley will make the same impact his first season that Joey Bosa likely would as a rookie, but that doesn't mean the value isn't still phenomenally high, and a top offensive tackle would certainly fill a serious Ravens need.  Another major glaring need is in the secondary.  It appears highly likely that the Ravens will shift Lardarius Webb to free safety where he has shown the ability to play quite well when asked to do so in the second half of the season.  That would mean the starting safeties would be Will Hill at strong and Webb at free with the likes of Kendrick Lewis, Terrence Brooks, and Matt Elam providing depth.  With Webb at safety, however, the Ravens will need a serious presence opposite Jimmy Smith at corner.  I have twice posted the highlights of Florida State corner, Jalen Ramsey, on facebook.  Ramsey has good size, reportedly excellent leadership abilities, and the versatility to play safety at a high level.  I had planned most of this week to write about why I believe he'd be the best defensive back for the Ravens to draft.  I changed my mind.  Vernon Hargreaves III is simply the best cover corner in the draft and his prowess as a ballhawk is spectacular.  Jalen Ramsey does have great upside and versatility, but his ability to make an immediate impact and shut down his side of the field is nowhere close to that of Hargreaves.  The Florida product may not be what anyone would consider big for a corner at 5'11", but he's certainly not undersized at nearly 195 pounds.  His instincts, athleticism, and technique mean he'll make an immediate impact as a Ravens starter, and his presence could totally change how teams have to gameplan for the Ravens.  Check out his highlights:

Vernon Hargreaves III: Florida Gator - Career Highlights [HD] 

     The cool thing about the 2016 NFL draft is that the Ravens will have their choice of basically all of the elite players available.  Ozzie and company have never failed to deliver when picking in the top 10, and this will literally be the highest draft pick he's ever had at his disposal.  It's also possible that Ozzie will trade back between the 5th and 10th picks and STILL get a top notch player AND an additional 2nd and even possibly an extra 3rd round pick as well.  If, for example, Ozzie stays pat and picks 3rd, he should go with Joey Bosa if he's on the board or Ronnie Stanley if Bosa has already been picked.  If both Stanley and Bosa are off the board at 3rd (highly unlikely) then Ozzie should trade back and pick Hargreaves III.  In any likely scenario, the Ravens get an impact player that fills a major need, and they're left with the 3rd pick in each round for the rest of the draft along with a handful of compensatory picks.  This means the Ravens will be in prime position to pick a quality wide receiver with their second round pick.  The season is essentially already over for the Ravens, but the offseason has already begun.  We, as football fans, still have plenty of football to watch, and for that reason let's now take a look at this week's picks!

WEEK 16 NFL PICKS

REDSKINS AT EAGLES- It's kind of hilarious to think that the Eagles at 6-8 in the final two weeks of the season actually still have a shot at winning their division. The last time these two teams played one another in D.C. it was an extremely close game.  That game, however, did not feature Desean Jackson.  The Eagles pass defense is one of the very worst in the league, and the Redskins will get a rare road victory to help solidify their grasp on the division.  I can't see the Redskins going beyond the first week of the post-season, but they should at least make it to the playoffs.  REDSKINS 27-20

PATRIOTS AT JETS- This is unquestionably the game of the week, and that's sad considering it's Steelers week here in Baltimore.  The Patriots made a great late game comeback against the Jets early in the season in Foxborough, but now they head to New Jersey without Julian Edelman or Danny Amendola.  The Patriots DO have Rob Gronkowski, and Brandon LaFell will likely play despite his own injury, but there's no question that the Patriots are short-staffed compared to the last time they faced the Jets.  It's almost never a good idea to bet against the Patriots, and there's a good chance I'll look foolish for doing this, but the Jets have what it takes to beat the Patriots in the Meadowlands this time around, especially since Tom Brady  has less weapons with which to move the football.  The Patriots want homefield advantage through the playoffs, but the Jets are fighting to simply get INTO the playoffs.  As it stands, Gang Green is on the outside looking in.  They have to hope that either the Chiefs or Steelers lose this weekend and they MUST beat the Patriots.  The Patriots already have 12 wins, and they know that if they don't win this week, at least they'll have a winnable game next week to secure a first round bye and homefield advantage.  Ugh, this is tough.  JETS 31-28

 
TEXANS AT TITANS- The Titans stand to gain absolutely nothing by winning this game, and they stand to lose their number one draft pick.  The Texans need to win this to help solidify their position as division leader and ensure a playoff spot.  Marcus Mariota is out for the season.  J.J. Watt will have a field day.  TEXANS 38-13

BROWNS AT CHIEFS-  What a nice late-season gift for Kansas City.  CHIEFS 42-17

COLTS AT DOLPHINS-  The Colts will be fighting to hang on to hope that the Texans could lose in the next two weeks.  The Dolphins have lost motivation to win and gained motivation to lose as their draft position will be better if they lose out.  COLTS 23-20

49ERS AT LIONS- These are two bad teams, but the Lions are...well...LESS bad.  LIONS 30-14

COWBOYS AT BILLS- Yet another meaningless game.  I'll have to give this one to the home team.  BILLS 21-17

BEARS AT BUCCANEERS- UGH!!! SO MUCH MEANINGLESS FOOTBALL!!! This is getting frustrating just to think about.  Without Alshon Jeffrey, I can't see the Bears winning.  The Buccaneers are still trying to find their rhythm and develop Jameis Winston.  BUCCANEERS 23-21

PANTHERS AT FALCONS-  The Panthers won't rest their starters this week, but they will next week.  This should be over before halftime.  PANTHERS 35-3

STEELERS AT RAVENS-  This is no sort of classic Ravens-Steelers slugfest.  The Ravens have nothing to gain by winning this, nor do they have the physical ability to do so barring some calamitous injury to Ben Roethlisberger.  STEELERS 37-19

JAGUARS AT SAINTS- The Saints have improved since the first half of the season.  I'll pick them against a mediocre team at home.  SAINTS 33-21

RAMS AT SEAHAWKS-  The Rams usually play the Seahawks competitively, but the Rams are bad right now and the Seahawks look like one of the top 2 teams in the NFC...and they're at home. SEAHAWKS 31-16

PACKERS AT CARDINALS-  The Packers don't have enough weapons to win this game on the road.  The Cardinals are in the zone right now despite the loss of Tyrann Mathieu.  CARDINALS 24-21

GIANTS AT VIKINGS-  If Odell Beckham Jr. had not been suspended, I would have predicted a narrow Giants win here.  His appeal failed, and the Vikings will win instead.  VIKINGS 27-21.

BENGALS AT BRONCOS-  The Bengals aren't good enough without Red Rocket to win this game on the road, and the Broncos are playing for their post-season lives.  BRONCOS 28-20


FOR THE BALTIMORE RAVENS, THIS IS MERELY THE BEGINNING OF 2016, NOT THE END OF 2015.  THIS TEAM WILL REBOUND GET BACK TO WINNING NEXT SEASON.  

NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!!  


    

WEEK 14 NFL PREDICTIONS

     There have been three major types of games this year for the Ravens.  The first is the narrow loss that could'a should'a would'a been a win had Steve Smith made a catch in the endzone at the end of the game, for example.  The second type is the narrow win at the last second of the game that both gave fans a glimmer of hope but proved immeasurably costly because it came at the expense of the health of a key player such as Flacco, Smith Sr., or Forsett.  The third and final type of game is that which was taken from the Ravens by the referees.  I don't say this to whine, as fans of rival teams would almost certainly insist.  I, instead, bring it up to highlight one of the worst officiated NFL seasons on record for the entire league. 

     Last week the Ravens lost by two points to a Miami Dolphins team that which Baltimore outplayed substantially.  The major call in question came on a flawlessly clean 55 yard touchdown that would have easy made the difference in a game where the Ravens held Ryan Tannehill to just over 80 passing yards and a single offensive score.  Instead, however, a referee called the receiver, Daniel Brown, for what the replay proved to be an utter fictional offensive pass interference.  Not only did Daniel not push off, he actually didn't even put either of his hands on the defensive back at ALL.  The defensive back, instead, put one hand on the receiver and then turned and lost his footing, thus, drawing the flag and negating what would have meant a Ravens win. 

     The Ravens should be on a 5 game winning streak right now, but the referees took away both the Dolphins game AND the Jaguars game--and the league even ADMITTED the Ravens legitimately should have won the Jaguars game.  Instead of 6-6, the Ravens now sit 4-8 without a shot at the playoffs.  Here's the thing though: the Ravens are better off having lost those two games.  In order for Baltimore to have had a realistic shot at the playoffs, a host of teams needed to lose last week and would need to lose more games going forward.  Well most of those teams did NOT lose last week, and appear to have serious momentum going forward.  At this point, any two teams out of the Jets, Steelers, Texans, and Chiefs will take the wildcard spots for the AFC.  The Ravens have fought and continue to fight valiantly despite their copious critical, season-ending injuries and mounting losses, but they're essentially (though not officially) mathematically eliminated, and the team benefits far more from a higher draft pick now that they've finally reached this point. 

     You may have noticed that I've changed my tune since last week.  Last week I insisted that the Ravens still had a slim glimmer of hope of they could win in Miami and certain other teams could lose.  Well neither of those things happened, and while I still continue to root for our beloved Ravens each week, my hope that they could find a way to squeak into the playoffs has been entirely extinguished.  I still maintain that this team stands to gain a lot developmentally by giving everything it has in an attempt to win each remaining game.  I don't, however, expect the Ravens to be ABLE to win more than maybe one more game this season, and it's possible and likely they won't even win THAT much.  Every remaining team is a playoff contender and a red-hot one at that.  The Seahawks suddenly appear to be the fiercest team in the NFC, and the Chiefs, Steelers, and Bengals all make up a trio of the most dangerous teams in the AFC at this point.  The Ravens have improved their defense by leaps and bounds, and their offense has received a boost Buck Allen's rise as one of the most dynamic young running backs in the last two weeks.  The quarterback position, however, has been taken down several notches with the pick-sixes from Matt Schaub in both games he has started, and now Jimmy Clausen may have to take over because of a shoulder injury Schaub sustained last week.  Jimmy Clausen likely won't be an improvement over Schaub, and the Ravens will suffer a home losing streak the likes of which hasn't been seen during the John Harbaugh era.

     If it's any consolation to Ravens fans, the Steelers actually may not make the playoffs either.  As good as they looked last week against the Colts, the Steelers still have to face the Bengals in Cincy, the Broncos at home, and then they face the Ravens in Baltimore.  Sure, I don't expect the Ravens to beat the Steelers without Joe, but it's Ravens-Steelers and that means anything can happen.  Regardless, if the Steelers simply lose to the Bengals and Broncos, they'll finish 9-7 at BEST.  Their head to head loss to the Chiefs means Kansas City has a tiebreaker over them, and the Texans or Jets (or both) should finish with at least 9 wins which would make the situation unclear for Ben and company.  The Steelers are still good enough that they could potentially win out, but their remaining schedule is fairly daunting.  We'll know much more about their status after their game against the Bengals later today. 

     Ok.  So even I, the eternal purple optimist, now have given up hope on a Ravens playoff berth and am actually quite excited about the draft in 2016.  In fact, assuming that the Ravens lose out with Jimmy Clausen running the show, the Ravens will absolutely have top 5 draft pick position.  Think about that for a moment--if the Ravens lose out and the Steelers miss the playoffs with a 9-7 record, the Ravens will have a top 5 draft pick and the Steelers will not...and BOTH teams will have missed the playoffs.  HA.  Misery, of course, loves company, and I make no secret about my sheer joy at watching the Steelers and Patriots lose.  This season simply wasn't meant to be for the Ravens, but with a great 2016 draft and a host of returning key veterans, Baltimore should be poised for a big comeback next season.  Stay tuned over the next several weeks as I'm going to get an early start on draft prospect analysis.  Ok, let's take a look at this week's picks.

WEEK 14 NFL PICKS

BILLS AT EAGLES-  I get that the Eagles narrowly beat an ailing Patriots team last week, but I don't believe that means their problems are solved.  Chip Kelly may have his players amped up because they have as good a shot as any other NFC East team of winning the division at this point, but Buffalo is good enough to make life hard for phans in Philly.  BILLS 31-27

49ERS AT BROWNS- The 49ers are still a bad team, but they've improved.  They improved, however, a little too late, and a win this week in Cleveland will be meaningless.  Maybe it'll keep fans in San Fran hopeful for the future though.  I know how they feel.  49ERS 21-17

LIONS AT RAMS- The Lions have improved dramatically while the Rams have fallen off of a cliff.  Todd Gurley is good, but teams have figure out how to stop him after the Ravens rendered him basically useless. LIONS 33-20

SAINTS AT BUCCANEERS-  They're not a great team yet, but the Buccaneers beat the Saints in New Orleans--why shouldn't they beat them in Tampa? BUCCANEERS 28-24

TITANS AT JETS-  The Jets are simply too good with Revis on the field to lose this game.  JETS 30-21

STEELERS AT BENGALS-  The Bengals beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh, they should beat them again in Cincy, but I fully expect a close, hard-fought game.  Tyler Eifert's return will prove pivotal against a Steelers defense that has struggled against the tight ends this season.  BENGALS 24-21

COLTS AT JAGUARS- The Jaguars have showed promise despite a poor record this season, but their defense without a key linebacker will not hold up to the Colts offense.  COLTS 34-23

CHARGERS AT CHIEFS- For so many reasons, the Chargers won't win this game. CHIEFS 28-13

REDSKINS AT BEARS- The Redskins have yet to win a road game this season.  They needed to beat the Cowboys last week because three of their four remaining games are on the road.  BEARS 30-21

FALCONS AT PANTHERS- What about the Falcons would make ANYONE believe they could win this game?  PANTHERS 38-17

SEAHAWKS AT RAVENS-  This will be the first first loss the Ravens suffer by more than a score.  Sure, the Seahawks had to travel across the country and play at 1:00, but the Ravens are starting the backup to the backup who has never won an NFL game.  This shouldn't be a blowout of epic proportions, but Russell Wilson is too slippery to allow the Ravens to get enough pressure to win this game.  SEAHAWKS 28-17

RAIDERS AT BRONCOS-  The Broncos are playing well enough with Osweiler running the show to dash the Raiders' dwindling hopes of a playoff berth. BRONCOS 31-27

COWBOYS AT PACKERS-  I know the Cowboys beat a divisional rival last week, but without Romo there is simply no way they're going into Lambeau and coming out with a win.  It should be closer than I'm probably making it seem though.  PACKERS 28-21

PATRIOTS AT TEXANS-  The Texans have won tougher games such as their win on the road over the Bengals.  With Gronkowski back (I can hardly imagine he'll be 100%) the Patriots offense will once again be a difficult force to stop.  If any defense could stop them it would be the that of the Texans, but the fact that J.J. Watt just broke his hand should provide just enough of an edge for the Patriots to take this game.  I sure hope I'm wrong.  PATRIOTS 35-24

GIANTS AT DOLPHINS-  The Dolphins offense looked absolutely horrendous last week.  Their defense will have trouble with the Giants wide receivers.  GIANTS 28-19.

I KNOW THE OFF-SEASON FEELS LONG, AND IT FEELS FRUSTRATING THAT BASICALLY AN ENTIRE SEASON WAS WASTED BECAUSE OF A PILE OF KEY, SEASON-ENDING INJURIES, BUT SOMETIMES TEAMS HAVE TO TAKE ONE STEP BACK TO TAKE TWO STEPS FORWARD.  A GREAT DRAFT POSITION COULD MEAN A FUTURE HALL-OF-FAMER FOR THE RAVENS AND DOMINANCE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS TO COME.  ONCE AGAIN, STAY TUNED FOR UPCOMING DRAFT PROSPECT ANALYSIS, BECAUSE IT'S TIME RAVENS FANS HAVE SOMETHING TO WHICH THEY CAN LOOK FORWARD.   DON'T STOP ROOTING FOR OUR GUYS, BUT A LOSS IS MORE VALUABLE THAN A WIN AT THIS POINT.

NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!!...SECURE THAT DRAFT SPOT! 

WEEK 13 NFL PREDICTIONS

     This continues to be the most frustrating Ravens season in recent memory.  Suddenly the Ravens find themselves at 4-7 and not entirely out of the playoff race with 5 games left to play.  One could point back to many narrow losses and say "if only they had made that one catch" or "if only we still had Steve Smith or Suggs", but the truly frustrating point was that the Jaguars game legitimately SHOULD have been a win for the Ravens...and the NFL confirmed that fact.  If, in fact, that game HAD been called correctly, the Ravens would sit at 5-6 with a shot at improving to 6-6 this weekend against a Dolphins team that has struggled as of late.  *Sigh*  There's simply no correcting the outcome of a game after the fact, but it's important that we note the Ravens SHOULD be on a 4 game winning streak right now, and they've still officially won 3 out of their last 4 games.

     In the last 5 weeks of the season (one was a bye) the Ravens have figured out how to turn narrow losses into narrow wins.  I am fully aware that each of these wins only serves to worsen Baltimore's position in the 2016 NFL Draft, but finding ways to win with the current cast of characters may go much further to the advancement of this team over the next few seasons than being several spots higher in the draft.  The fact is that the Ravens don't need to draft the most sought after quarterback available, and that would be the best reason to own the top spot.  Sure, it would be nice to have the top spot from a value standpoint as Ozzie Newsome could easily trade back from the first spot to anywhere in the top 5 or top 10 and receive extra picks for years.  Figuring out how to win with nearly a team full of backups, however, gives the Ravens far more for next season than an impact player or two.

    The recent season-ending injury to Justin Forsett has given young talent a chance to shine.  Buck Allen has immediately demonstrated vision, burst, elusiveness, the strength to break tackles, and great pass-catching ability.  If that weren't enough, the Ravens recently acquired Terrance West to share carries with Allen.  West was on the Ravens' draft radar two years ago, but he was picked by the Browns before the Ravens had a chance to draft him in the round they likely planned to do so. The Towson alum and Baltimore native has displayed unquestionable talent in his brief time in the league with roughly 700 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns as a rookie.  He also displayed excellent lateral movement as he made his former teammates miss last Monday in Cleveland.  These two young running backs will likely be the one-two push of the Ravens' rushing attack for the next few years, and this season gives them an invaluable volume of reps that simply wouldn't have been possible with a healthy Justin Forsett. There's no question that the Ravens need help in the wide receiver department, but that may take care of itself as the Ravens will have Breshad Perriman FINALLY back from his knee injury during this off-season, and that will be like getting an extra first round pick for 2016.  A team certainly doesn't need the first overall pick to draft great receiving talent.  I have never even heard of one of the greatest receivers in the league being drafted in the top 2-3 picks.

     It's not as though Matt Schaub will be the quarterback of the Ravens future, but they get the benefit of having a proven veteran with plenty of experience in this offense to finish out this season.  Hopefully Schaub will be able to continue to get in sync with the remaining Ravens wide receivers and tight ends to shock some doubters with a win or two over a quality team.  I must admit that I briefly lost hope in this team after they officially lost to the Jaguars, but their wins over the last two weeks have, despite the loss of Joe Flacco, shown me this team has something that many teams do not: quality coaching.  In all likelihood, the Ravens are not going to the playoffs, but their coaching staff has made enough adjustments to win games in the second half of the season no matter who is on their roster.  With that said, there is actually still a faint glimmer of playoff hope, and it's brighter than many people actually realize...

     The Ravens will face a Dolphins team that has not scored more than 20 points in the last 5 weeks.  There was a brief two week point wherein the Dolphins appeared to have turned their season around.  They fired their head coach, and suddenly they demolished the Titans 38-10 and blasted the Texans 44-26.  That momentum came to a screeching halt when the Dolphins' most talented pass rusher and defensive player, Cameron Wake, fell victim to a season-ending injury.  Suddenly the Dolphins couldn't keep opposing offenses off the field, and that limited their own offensive opportunities.  Miami's only win over the last 5 games was a 20-19 victory over an Eagles team that is going through its OWN catastrophic tailspin.  The Dolphins, in fact, have been outscored by opponents by an average of 14.4 points per game since the end of Wake's season.

     Part of me feels for the Dolphins.  They, after all, are in an incredibly similar situation to that of the Ravens with only 4 wins, and they too lost their best defensive player.  I even love the city of Miami and root for the Dolphins when they're not playing the Ravens.  This Sunday, however, they're playing the Ravens.  The Ravens happen to be facing the Dolphins at a time when Miami will be without one of its starting wide receivers, Rishard Matthews, its starting right offensive tackle, Ja'Wuan James, and its starting defensive tackle, Earl Mitchell.  The Ravens WILL have to contend with Dolphins first round pick, DeVante Parker, who had 80 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Jets last week, but it's difficult to imagine Tannehill having a tremendous amount of success against a Ravens defense that is only truly vulnerable against offenses that make big, downfield plays.  Tannehill struggles on deep passes, and his ability to find the time to even attempt long throws will be diminished by the mismatch of Elvis Dumervil against a backup right tackle.  Despite the loss of Terrell Suggs, the Ravens are still tied with the Seahawks for the 12th most sacks in the league, and they've brought enough ferocious pressure, and violent hits to take starting quarterbacks out in the last two games.  The Dolphins have allowed Tannehill to be sacked 33 times this season...ouch.

     The most vulnerable aspect of the Dolphins has to be their run defense.  The Dolphins have given up the second most fantasy points in the league to running backs this season, and they'll be facing a Ravens team that appears to be hitting its stride in the rushing department at the right time.  Miami has, in fact, allowed an average of 138 yards per game on the ground in 2015.  In the last 5 games that average has been a staggering 149 yards allowed!  The Dolphins limited the injury plagued Eagles to 83 yards on the ground, but they allowed the Cowboys to rush for a monstrous 266 yards.  Fortunately for the Ravens, they happen to have a pair of the best run-blocking mauler offensive guards in the league in Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele.  Osemele will return to action this week after and solid week of practice.  A weakened Dolphins front seven will almost certainly struggle to stop Buck Allen and Terrance West running behind the likes of Yanda and Osemele, and if the Dolphins commit everything they have to stopping the Ravens rushing attack, Schaub should be able to work the middle of the field with his tight ends and find the likes of Chris Givens open downfield on play action passes.

     Ok, so let's say the Ravens handle their business and DO in fact beat the Dolphins on Sunday.  Suddenly they'll find themselves at least somewhat in the thick of things for the AFC wildcard hunt.  Sure, they'll be a game or two behind where they'd likely need to be in order to have a decent probability of shocking the world, but this team has been in every single game it has played this season and gone toe to toe with the likes of the Broncos, Bengals, and Cardinals--they have a shot to win every game they play even if the odds are against them. So let's look at the AFC wildcard race for a moment.  This weekend the 6-5 Steelers play a red-hot Colts team in Pittsburgh.  My first impulse would be to say the Steelers win this game at home since Ben is playing, but the Colts are better than they appear with a healthy starting quarterback.  In the last 3 weeks, the Colts beat the Broncos, Falcons, and Buccaneers, and even in the 3 losses immediately prior to their current winning streak, the Colts only barely lost to an undefeated Panthers team on the road in overtime, and lost to both the Saints and Patriots by a touchdown.  This Colts team certainly has the firepower to exploit a Steelers pass defense that just gave up 5 receiving touchdowns to the Seahawks last week.

     So let's say the Steelers lose and find themselves 6-6.  Now we look to a key matchup of the Chiefs in Oakland against the Raiders.  The Chiefs will not have their best defensive player and pass rusher, Justin Houston, and they'll be without their starting center, Mitch Morse.  Morse's backup could be adequate, but the Chiefs will struggle to get pressure on an incredibly mobile Derek Carr on the road.  This could easily be a loss for the Chiefs which would bring both the Chiefs and Raiders to 6-6 records.  The Jets are also a 6 win team that could easily lose this weekend.  They've had a thunderous running game and stout defense most of the season, but the Jets will once again be without Darrelle Revis OR his backup this Sunday, and that could lead to a loss against a Giants team with the wide receivers to torch just about anyone.  A loss would leave the Jets with a 6-6 record as well...hmmm, interesting.  The Texans have looked great as of late, and my gut tells me they'll beat the Bills in Buffalo.  If they do, it will knock the Bills down to 5-7 and elevate the Texans to 7-5.  If, however, the Texans lose, the Bills and Texans will BOTH be 6-6...again, hmmm.

     The Ravens clearly have a decent chance of improving to 5-7 and also ending the week only one game behind all or nearly all of the wildcard contenders.  The Ravens finish the final month of their season with 3 consecutive home games against tough teams and one road game against a Bengals team that may very well have clinched their position in the playoffs and could easily pull their starters against the Ravens.  The Bengals might even find it prudent to allow the Ravens to back into the playoffs knowing full well that they'd be a relatively easy playoff team to beat after having lost so many starters.  One way or another, the Ravens have given us yet another week to hope and wonder about what they can do to salvage this season.  The odds are against them, but I can think of plenty of times where that was the case and John Harbaugh found a way to keep the team motivated and competitive to the bitter end.  They beat the odds every single week all the way to a Super Bowl a few years ago, and even when they missed the playoffs in 2013, they were one quarter away from winning their division in the final game of the regular season.  They're nowhere near the team that slaughtered the Steelers and came a couple of plays away from beating the Patriots in the playoffs last season, but this team's will to fight is unquestionably inspiring.  Ok, with that said, let's take a look at this week's picks!

WEEK 13 NFL PICKS

JETS AT GIANTS-  This game could make a fool out of me, but I fully expect Eli Manning and company to exploit the absence of Darrelle Revis and his backup.  O'dell Beckam should have a great day, and the Giants should retake the lead of the worst division in footGTball.  This, however, will be no sort of blowout.  The Jets will find success on the ground, and Chris Ivory will rush for at least 100 yards.  The Giants improved pass rush with the return of JPP will be enough to slow down the Jets' passing attack, and the Giants will have a big second half to edge their New York counterparts.  GIANTS 27-24

CARDINALS AT RAMS-  I don't really care that the Rams beat the Cardinals last time they faced them.  The Cardinals are a better team from top to bottom, and they should have learned quite a bit about how to beat the Rams since their first surprising loss to them this season.  CARDINALS 23-14

FALCONS AT BUCCANEERS- The Falcons are a bad team at this point, and the Buccaneers are just a little bit better.  Take the Falcons out of Atlanta and they have no shot at winning this game...and it's in Tampa.  BUCCANEERS 31-17

SEAHAWKS AT VIKINGS- The Seahawks will focus so much of their power on stopping Adrian Peterson that Teddy Bridgewater will have some success through the air.  The Seahawks also WON'T be able to stop Adrian Peterson anyway.  No Marshawn Lynch and no Jimmy Graham (yes I know he wasn't have a great season) means the stout Vikings defense will have two less weapons for which they must account.  Outside of Seattle the Seahawks don't have the finishing power to hold of a quality team.  The only Seahawks road wins have come against two of the worst teams in the league (the 49ers and Cowboys).  The Vikings are 4-1 at home with their only home loss coming at the hands of the 8-4 Packers.  VIKINGS 28-21

 TEXANS AT BILLS-  One way or another, the Texans have found ways to be dominant over the last month.  They even beat two strong teams, the Bengals and Jets, in addition to the two poor teams they destroyed, the Titans an Saints.  J.J. Watt is playing like the defense player of the year once again, and if he wins that award for the third year in a row, he'll basically cement his place in the hall of fame with plenty of career left to continue to dominate.  The Bills have an inexplicably disappointing defense this season, and it's confusing to figure out how Rex Ryan ruined one of last season's best units.  TEXANS 24-17

RAVENS AT DOLPHINS- Whichever team loses this game will have any lingering playoff hopes totally dashed.  The Ravens have never lost to the Dolphins during John Harbaugh's head coaching career.  The Ravens defense has improved with the emergence of Sharice Wright as the third cornerback, and the Ravens pass rush will be dialed up heavily against a quarterback who has enjoyed little protection all season and who won't have the benefit of his starting right tackle.  The Ravens, as mentioned above, should run roughshod over one of the worst run defenses in the league as starting left guard Kelechi Osemele returns to the field.  The Ravens are mostly vulnerable to quarterbacks who can make big downfield throws...Tannehill is not one of them.  This will be the Ravens first solid victory of the season.  RAVENS 28-17

BENGALS AT BROWNS-  The Browns have zero hope at this point.  BENGALS 42-14

JAGUARS AT TITANS-  With Allen Hurns out, the Jaguars offense will struggle to find its rhythm against the Titans.  This loss will end the Jaguars dwindling hopes of squeezing into the playoffs.  TITANS 21-20

49ERS AT BEARS- This one is a headscratcher!  BEARS 33-20

BRONCOS AT CHARGERS- The Chargers have been a team hit with nearly as many injuries as the Ravens this season.  They had a nice win over the Jaguars last week, but the Broncos defense will stifle nearly everything the Chargers attempt as they lack the elite weapons with which they began the season.  BRONCOS 30-14

CHIEFS AT RAIDERS-  The Raiders will unleash some serious aerial firepower this week on a Chiefs defense that is suddenly without its most critical defender.  Derek Carr's playoff hopes will at least temporarily be kept alive by a narrow home win against one of the hottest teams in the NFL over the last month an a half.  RAIDERS 35-31

PANTHERS AT SAINTS- SNOOOOOZE.  PANTHERS 34-16

EAGLES AT PATRIOTS-  Gronk will be out, but the Eagles have basically checked out of this season and their players are nearly ready to make their head coach walk the metaphorical plank.  The Patriots find ways to win at home, and Jamie Collins' return will help solidify a defense that struggled without him last week.  PATRIOTS 38-19

COLTS AT STEELERS-  I don't doubt the Colts, but I have enough faith the Steelers offense with Ben Roethlisberger playing to expect them to simply outscore Matt Hasselbeck and company.  The old quarterback's fairy tale hits a bit of a snag this week in Pittsburgh.  STEELERS 33-24

COWBOYS AT REDSKINS- No Romo? No win.  The Redskins are strong at home this season, and the Cowboys are winless without Romo.  REDSKINS 28-13


I GET IT, EVEN WITH A WIN THIS SUNDAY, THE RAVENS HAVE AN UPHILL BATTLE TO SLIP THEIR WAY INTO THE PLAYOFFS, BUT LAST WEEK'S WIN KEPT EVEN THE DIMMEST OF HOPES ALIVE FOR AT LEAST ONE MORE WEEK.  IF YOU'RE A TRUE RAVENS FAN, YOU NEVER ROOT FOR THEM TO LOSE.  SURE, WE CAN AT LEAST TAKE SOLACE IN THE DRAFT SPOT THE RAVENS WILL HELP SECURE WITH EACH LOSS THEY AMASS, BUT WINS AT THIS POINT GO JUST AS FAR TO HELPING THE RAVENS DEVELOP PLAYERS AND A GAME PLAN FOR NEXT SEASON AS THE DRAFT POSITION LIKELY WILL.  IT AIN'T OVER TILL IT'S OVER, BALTIMORE.

NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!! 

 

THANKSGIVING NFL PREDICTIONS

     Less than a week has gone by since Joe Flacco demonstrated that he's the toughest, most stoic quarterback in the NFL today by not letting anyone know his ACL and MCL were torn and continuing to stay right in the game to get the win--I've never heard of anything like that.  It's not like playing pumped full of painkillers with a broken bone here or there; this was a fully blown out knee.  I doubt anyone will argue that Joe Flacco is the greatest quarterback in the league, but it's that kind of situation that has solidified in my mind the fact that there's no one in the league I'd rather have playing quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens than #5.  His certainly isn't the first time he's played injured, though it IS the most injured he's been while playing.  Make no mistake: Joe WILL be back, and he'll be back in a BIG way next season.

     With Joe out, the Ravens turn to a quarterback who, if it were three years ago, may have been more highly regarded than Flacco by many.  Matt Schaub went to the Pro Bowl in 2009 and 2012, and he utterly DESTROYED the Ravens in the 2012 Super Bowl season.  For whatever reason, however, Schaub fell off a cliff the following year, and then he couldn't find success as a backup in 2014.  The question is whether or not there is something physical that changed about Schaub or whether his issues were purely psychological.  Who knows?  Maybe it was a combination of both.  I would say that I'm curious to see how he's able to rise to the occassion, and I am, but on Monday he'll be playing with less talent at the wide receiver position than he's had at his disposal at literally any time in his professional career. 

     Now let's get one thing straight: it's not as though the Ravens CAN'T beat the Browns on Monday.  Their defense has actually looked quite strong at times over the last month, and it did an excellent job limiting the Browns earlier this season until far too many starters came out with injuries.  Buck Allen looked fantastic running against a Rams team with a sensational defensive line, and each one of the Ravens top three tight ends was recently rated in the top 10 by Pro Football Focus.  It's entirely possible that the Ravens will take pressure off of Schaub with Buck Allen and Terrance West (especially since Terrance West is quite familiar running against the Browns defense in practice) and then they'll include lots of 2 and even 3 tight end sets as Schaub has typically loved going to his tight ends over the course of his career.  No, the question isn't whether or not the Ravens can beat the Browns--the question is whether they actually WANT to beat the Browns at this point.

     The Raven are 3-7.  Without Steve Smith, Dennis Pitta, Breshad Perriman, Justin Forsett, Joe Flacco, Terrell Suggs, and Jeremy Zuttah this season has BEEN lost for quite some time.  Yes, there was a point going into the bye week where there was a shred of optimism that the Ravens could make a run if their team could get healthy and Perriman and/or Pitta could return to add legitimate weapons to Flacco's arsenal.  None of that even REMOTELY panned out.  According to the NFL, the Ravens should be 4-6 right now, but even if they had received credit for beating the Jaguars, the Ravens would still be without their starting quarterback, their starting tailback, and their starting center now with more difficult opponents in front of them.  This would SEEM like an appropriate time to give it the old college try and make all efforts to win games, but I would hope the organization is in full agreement that each game their lose from here on out is a step closer to the highest draft pick this team has possessed in a long time or ever.  With that said, I'll always root for the Ravens to win anytime they play...it's just that now we can find a silver lining to their losses. 

     Football is almost always worth watching, but I must say that I'm a little bummed that each of the 3 Thanksgiving games features only NFC teams.  I am, nevertheless, quite curious to see one of the three matchups.  The Eagles are in a tailspin at this point, and the Lions have shown signs of life as of late, so I'm expecting a rare lunchtime home win today in Detroit.  The Packers will host the Bears in what could prove to be a hard-fought divisional showdown or a total snoozefest/blowout.  The truly intriguing game is the 4:30.  The unbeaten Panthers are in Arlington Texas this afternoon/evening to face a Cowboys team that just recently became a threat to win every game on its remaining schedule.  Yes, the best the Cowboys can do is 9-7, but that may be easily enough to win the NFC East at this rate.  Tony Romo and Dez Bryant are both healthy, and Darren McFadden's excellent recent excellent production are all reasons the Panthers may well experience their first loss on the road today.  I'll be curious to see how Cam Newton can rise to the occasion once more.  Let's take a look at the picks!

THANKSGIVING NFL PICKS

EAGLES AT LIONS- Megatron is back healthy, and the Lions are coming off of two consecutive wins over quality teams.  Mark Sanchez will start, and that means I have zero faith in Chip Kelly's idiotic experiment of getting rid of his most talented players.  The Lions' record is bad, but I can't see them losing to a team that is much worse at this point.  LIONS 23-17

PANTHERS AT COWBOYS- The have appeared to be the league's most complete team this season with strong defense and a quarterback who wills his offense to victory, but the Cowboys should have the NFC's strongest offense now that both Tony Romo and Dez Bryant are back healthy.  The Cowboys are undefeated with Romo on the field, and they couldn't win a single game without him.  The Panthers could easily squeak this one out too, but I'm expecting the Cowboys to control the line of scrimmage and simply outscore a Panthers offense that has been clutch but not overwhelming this season.  COWBOYS 31-28

BEARS AT PACKERS-  The return to form of Eddie Lacy will help the Packers win what will be a much closer game than many realize.  The Bears beat the Chargers in San Diego, overwhelmed the Rams in St. Louis, and just barely lost to the Broncos.  The Packers are a top 5 team in the league with 7-3 record, but they've looked uneven as of late with three losses in their last  games.  Last week, however, they dominated a strong Vikings team in Minnesota as Eddie Lacy finally had a strong performance.  The Packers are 4-1 at home this season, and they should emerge 5-1 by the end of the night.  PACKERS 33-21

I URGE RAVENS FANS NOT TO THINK OF THIS YEAR AS A FAILURE, BUT RATHER TO THINK OF IT AS A BIG OPPORTUNITY TO SET THE FRANCHISE UP FOR GREAT YEARS TO COME.  THERE HAVE BEEN SOME DRAFT DISAPPOINTMENTS BY OZZIE NEWSOME IN THE EARLY ROUNDS IN RECENT YEARS, BUT THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN SOME GEMS INCLUDING BRANDON WILLIAMS, CROCKETT GILMORE,  C.J. MOSLEY, MAXX WILLIAMS, NICK BOYLE, TIMMY JERNIGAN, AND CARL DAVIS.  THIS IS A GREAT ORGANIZATION AND SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO TAKE ONE STEP BACK TO TAKE TWO STEPS FORWARD. 

I KNOW IT'S A BIT EARLY, BUT I'M GOING TO BEGIN DRAFT CANDIDATE ANALYSIS OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT MONTH.  THE RAVENS WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY HAVE THE ABILITY TO PICK WHOMEVER THEY PLEASE THIS SPRING, AND THAT MEANS A TON OF POSSIBILITIES!

NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!!

WEEK 11 NFL PREDICTIONS

     Watching the Jaguars' kicker nail a 53 yard field goal on an untimed down to end any lingering hopes of late-season Ravens run was almost as painful as hearing an apology from the NFL that the Ravens SHOULD have won the game because of a missed false start penalty on the play that ultimately set up the aforementioned field goal.  Any lingering hopes I wrote about regarding the return of Dennis Pitta and Breshad Perriman have no been totally dashed as both players have been put on injured reserve.  This season has been utter purgatory.  All seven of the Ravens losses have come by no more than a single score.  It didn't matter if the team they faced on any given week was one of the best in the league or one of the worst; they found ways to blow a late lead and nearly every team to get the best of them.
     When deconstructing this season and getting at the root of all of the Ravens' losses, one could easily point to the wide receiver and defensive back positions as enormous reasons that every single one of the Ravens' losses wasn't a solid win.  The injury to Terrell Suggs played a massive role as well, but one has to figure that if the Ravens had just one effective wide receiver beyond Steve Smith senior for most of this season, they would currently be totally entrenched in a playoff race at this moment--they are not.  You won't see this Ravens team go down without a fight, but there isn't a terrific amount to fight for at this point.  It wouldn't behoove the Ravens to just mail it in for the rest of the season because they need to find ways to win games or at least be effective with the guys they have remaining on the roster so as to get in a groove and generate some semblance of momentum going into the off-season.  Quite simply, they need to find a winning formula so that Baltimore doesn't once again depend on totally unknown commodities to win as they did with Perriman.
     One thing the Ravens must absolutely get back on track leading into next season is the running game.  The Ravens just promoted Terrance West to the active roster, and we shouldn't be surprised if he soon starts to get carries given his incredible talent.  West could actually be the feature running back of the future for the Ravens if he lives up to his explosive potential running behind a decent Ravens offensive line.  At the very least, West and Buck Allen could form the 1-2 punch of the next 3-4 years as the Ravens attempt to re-establish their identity of a hard-nosed, power running football team capable of willing themselves to wins in harsh playoffs environments.  I hope desperately to see West get carries against the Rams.  If there is a defensive line I'd like to see the Ravens find success running against, it's that of St. Louis. 
     If the Ravens offensive line can also pass protect against a rather fierce Rams pass rush, the Ravens actually have a decent shot at winning this game.  More important than winning the game, however, is seeing John Urschel have success at the center position.  Jeremy Zuttah went out for the season last week with a torn pectoral, and Urschel needs to step up and fill Zuttah's shoes.  If the offensive line can perform in pass protection, Joe Flacco has a chance to further develop chemistry with a receiving corps that looked, at times, electric last week.  The problem was that at OTHER times, that receiving corps just GAVE the ball away to the other team.  Flacco needs to get on the same page with the wideouts and tight ends he has at this point so that the front office knows exactly what it has going into next season.
     There's not much else to say or hope for at this point.  Yes, if the Ravens miraculously win out from this point, they have a shot to make the playoffs.  That of course, will not happen.  They're too depleted and no longer have the hope of major receiving weapons returning for the second half of the season to jump-start an offensive that has stayed just shy of being consistently effective enough to win games.  Getting dead money from Rice, Ngata, and Pitta off the books in the off-season along with a top 10 draft position will allow the Ravens to acquire the free agents and draft picks they need to bounce back in 2016.  I'll never stop watching and rooting for them each week, and I'll look forward to their rematch with the Steelers later this season, but after last week, I'm convinced this season has simply been cursed by the football gods for our beloved team.  Fortunately for the true football fans out there, this season still has plenty of games left.  Let's take a look at this week's picks!

WEEK 11 NFL PICKS

RAIDERS AT LIONS-  At this point I don't know what to expect from the Raiders OR Lions.  The Raiders have a better body of work this season, but the Lions looked strong beating the Packers recently.  Have the Lions figured things out?  Probably not.  The Raiders still have a high-flying offense that should make trouble for the Lions.  RAIDERS 30-21

COLTS AT FALCONS- Without a healthy Andrew Luck, what do the Colts even have?  FALCONS 28-13

JETS AT TEXANS-  The Texans have been hot as of late, but the Jets are coming off a bye week, and the Texans are one of the worst teams in the league at stopping the run.  Revis will limit Hopkins, and the Jets will grind out a victory on the ground. JETS  21-17

BUCCANEERS AT EAGLES- I guess I wasn't THAT surprised that the Eagles lost to the Dolphins last week, but it's really getting hard to know what to expect with this Philly team.  I still believe the Eagles can beat the Bucs at home though.  EAGLES 27-24

BRONCOS AT BEARS-  No healthy Peyton Manning means the Bears should do enough to exhaust an otherwise strong Broncos defense. The Broncos don't have a strong enough running game to make Brock Osweiler effective in Kubiak's system yet.  BEARS 33-20

RAMS AT RAVENS- The Ravens have lost at home to worse teams this season, and the Rams have a strong enough running game to open things up for Tavon Austin and company for some big downfield plays.  The Ravens have nothing to play for at this point except pride.  RAMS 23-21

COWBOYS AT DOLPHINS-  I'd like to think the Dolphins can build on last week's win, but the return of Romo makes this Cowboys team dangerous. COWBOYS 31-28

REDSKINS AT PANTHERS-  The Redskins looked incredible at home against the Saints, but on the road against the Panthers they'll fall short.  That's ok, no one has beaten the Panthers yet.  PANTHERS 24-17

CHIEFS AT CHARGERS- The Chargers are simply to depleted and devoid of weapons other than Danny Woodhead and Antonio Gates at this point to be able to put away decent teams.  CHIEFS 38-28

PACKERS AT VIKINGS-  The Packers will continue their skid despite valiant second half efforts from Aaron Rodgers.  Adrian Peterson will control the clock as needed. VIKINGS 23-20

49ERS AT SEAHAWKS- I dunno if this warrants much of an explanation.  SEAHAWKS 34-17

BENGALS AT CARDINALS- This week will mark the second week of an interesting point wherein the Bengals finally run out of steam.  Carson Palmer will pick apart his old team, and Chris Johnson should break free for a big run or two.  The problem with the Bengals, as I've stated numerous times in the past, is that they look electric early on in regular seasons, but that is because they use basically everything they have in their playbook prematurely.  By the time they hit the playoffs, the Bengals have put everything on film that another team would need to see to beat them.  They're 9-1, but this year shouldn't be much different.  CARDINALS 24-20

BILLS AT PATRIOTS- The Patriots will be without Julian Edelman and once again without Jamie Collins, but they're strong enough offensively to edge the Bills in this one.  PATRIOTS 33-28

THERE'S NOTHING THAT COULD EVER MAKE ME STOP ROOTING FOR MY RAVENS, AND IF YOU CALL YOURSELF A RAVENS FAN AND YOU DON'T GET EXCITED TO WATCH THEM EACH WEEK REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME, YOU NEED TO FIND A NEW TEAM.  THIS SQUAD WILL BE BACK IN A BIG WAY NEXT YEAR, AND IT WILL HAVE BEEN WORTH THE WAIT

NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!! 

 

WEEK 10 NFL PREDICTIONS

     I've been told by a close friend that I'm nuts to believe there's a decent possibility the Ravens can make the post season just because of their comparatively easy second-half schedule and because of the fact that the rest of the wildcard contenders should falter to a significant degree based on THEIR comparatively TOUGH second-half schedules.  Well Monday night was just one first step in the direction of proving my point.  The Buffalo Bills aren't a great team, and they weren't favored to beat the Jets in New Jersey.  Divisional games, however, are often incredibly difficult to predict, and upsets are frequent between teams with an advanced level of familiarity such as the Bills and Jets.

     This weekend is filled with opportunities for the Ravens to gain ground on the teams that sit ahead of them in the wildcard race.  Buffalo's victory over the Jets means that the Jets are just one loss closer to only finishing 8-8 or 9-7 despite a red-hot start to the regular season.  The teams that remain ahead of the Ravens are the Bills, Jets, Steelers, Raiders, Chiefs, Dolphins, Texans, and Jaguars.  The Ravens can knock the Jaguars basically out of any semblance of contention by handling business against them at home on Sunday, which I fully expect them to do coming off of a bye week.  The Ravens offensive line is mostly healthy with Eugene Monroe slated to play, and we should expect a good amount of time in the pocket and numerous shots downfield to some of Joe Flacco's newest speedy weapons, Chris Givens, Jeremy Ross, and Joe Morgan.

     The Texans travel to Cincinatti on Monday night, and any rational mind has to predict that will be a loss for J.J. Watt and company.  The Dolphins will play the Eagles in Philly, and while the Dolphins could pull an upset there, the Eagles should win that game now that Cameron Wake is on injured reserve for Miami.  The Chiefs will face Peyton Manning and the Broncos in Denver, and the addition of Vernon Davis should help to fill the void that Julius Thomas left when he departed for Jacksonville. The Chiefs should make it interesting, but they're probably not winning that game.  The Raiders will face a difficult task when Adrian Peterson comes to town as the Vikings, though they don't put up monster score totals, can suffocate teams with defense and control the clock with a thunderous running game.  The Raiders still have a good chance to win this game, but it certainly won't be easy, especially with the emergence of Stephon Diggs and a Raiders secondary that allowed a single receiver to catch for 284 yards last week.

     That leaves us with the Steelers as the only other wildcard contender that has yet to play this week.  The Steelers will be without Big Ben, and they are, of course, without Le'Veon Bell.  Pittsburgh hosts the Browns, and those Browns will likely start Johnny Manziel at quarterback.  Landry Jones is a capable enough backup that I still expect a Pittsburgh win here, but the Browns have been known to beat the Steelers from time to time.  James Harrison will also not play, and that could hurt the Steelers' ability to generate a pass rush on a relatively mobile, young QB.  The Browns certainly have enough weapons to beat a team decimated by key injuries, and Joe Hayden should be able to at least somewhat limit Antonio Brown.

     If the Browns find a way to upset the Steelers, the Vikings handle their business against the Raiders, and every other favored aforementioned team wins this weekend, the Ravens will actually have gained quite a bit of ground in earning a wildcard spot.  Regardless of how the Raiders or Steelers do, the Ravens SHOULD leapfrog the Jaguars, Texans, Dolphins, and Chiefs in a single weekend based on divisional records.  Things then become trickier as the Ravens have to beat more difficult teams and hope any three of the four remaining teams in front of them (the Bills, Jets, Steelers, and Raiders) falter under the weight of their remaining respective strengths of schedules.  As we examined a week ago, all four of those teams will have a tough time getting beyond 8 or 9 wins, and this leaves a glimmer of hope for Ravens players, coaches, and fans that Baltimore can go on a run and make it to the 9 wins I believe it necessary to squeak into the playoffs this season.  One way or another, because of the utter disappointing play of nearly all of the teams in the AFC, this will be quite a wild ride.  With that said, let's take a look at this week's picks!


WEEK 10 NFL PICKS

LIONS AT PACKERS-  This should be a nice bounce-back game for Packers team that has struggled in recent weeks despite heroic play by Aaron Rodgers.  Eddie Lacy needs to get into better shape, but Starks will tote the rock instead.  The Lions are atrocious, so this shouldn't be too interesting unless you're starting Rodgers as your fantasy QB.  PACKERS 31-17

COWBOYS AT BUCCANEERS- The Cowboys have played their last 3 games insanely closely against 3 contending teams.  I don't consider the Buccaneers to be any type of contending team even though they DID have one quality win over the Falcons in Atlanta two weeks ago.  With that said, the Buccaneers simply don't have enough defensive power to stop the likes of Darren McFadden running behind strong Cowboys O line nor do they have anyone who can cover Dez Bryant.  This is the week the Boys finally get a win. COWBOYS 28-24

PANTHERS AT TITANS-  The Titans can upset a team with poor defense, but that's not the Panthers.  The Panthers will lose at some point this season, but it won't be this week. PANTHERS 28-21

BEARS AT RAMS-  If this game were going to be played in Chicago, it might be more interesting, but the Rams play suffocating defense at home, and Todd Gurley should absolutely run roughshod over a poor Bear's defense.  Injuries to Alshon Jeffrey, Matt Forte, and Pernell McPhee make this a game the Bears simply won't win.  RAMS 33-20

SAINTS AT REDSKINS- The Redskins are 3-1 at home, and the Saints are 1-3 on the road.  The Saints defense is waaay too crappy on the road to overcome a Redskins offense that will get DeSean Jackson back this week.  The Redskins defense has allowed less than 20 points per game this season, and the Redskins offense has scored an average of exactly 22 point per game at home this season.  This should be close, but I'm gonna go with the home team here.  REDSKINS 27-24

DOLPHINS AT EAGLES-  With Cameron Wake still healthy, the Dolphins could have pulled off a win here.  Without him, the Dolphins' pass rush, as I mentioned above, is only a fraction as effective. EAGLES 34-23

BROWNS AT STEELERS-  The Browns COULD pull off an upset here if Josh McCown was starting--but he will not.  Landry Jones is good enough, and D'Angelo Williams has been so effective running the football that I can't see many scenarios were Johnny Manziel is able to pull this one out on the road as much a I would LOVE to see that.  STEELERS 28-17

 JAGUARS AT RAVENS- This is not a game the Ravens should lose at home coming off of a bye week.  The Jaguars, however, are one of the best teams in the league when it comes to big plays of over 20 or more yards.  Blake Bortles is unquestionably better than Blaine Gabbert, but the Jaguars are still only putting up 21 points per game and allow and average of 29 points per game.  To make matters worse, wide receivers Allen hurns and Marquise Lee are questionable for Sunday's game.  Hurns is dealing with a foot sprain and deep thigh bruise from last week's game, and Marquise Lee is dealing with a hamstring injury.  I expect both to try to play, but there's no way either will be close to 100%.  The Ravens will have a relatively healthy, well-rested offensive line, and that will prove the difference-maker in this game.  Flacco now has downfield threats and an offensive line that should give him ample time to hit them in stride.  Expect a big day on the ground from Forsett and Buck Allen, and we should expect Flacco to get the ball to his trio of big tight ends after deep threats and the running game open up the middle of the field for them.  This isn't a bad Jaguars team, they've played a lot of decent teams closely, but they're banged up and playing the Ravens at the wrong time. RAVENS 30-24

VIKINGS AT RAIDERS-  The Vikings are lucky that Teddy Bridgewater isn't out this week with the lingering effects of a concussion.  Derek Carr has looked incredibly impressive this season, and I have a hard time believing he'll be held under 20 points in this game.  The Vikings COULD control the clock and limit the Raiders' opportunities, but their only road wins have come against incredibly weak teams, and those wins weren't particularly convincing.  I'll be rooting eagerly for the Vikings, but the Raiders should simply be too difficult to slow down or match in production. RAIDERS 28-23

PATRIOTS AT GIANTS-  The Giants have won nearly all of their matchups with the Patriots in recent years, but Giants team lacks something required to beat this Patriots team: defense.  It's not that the Giants couldn't have a big deal through the air and go toe to toe with the Patriots, but in the end, the Patriots simply have a more effective offense and a better defense.  Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to see the Giants run the Patriots' day on Sunday, but until Victor Cruz gets back, I can't see the Giants being able to overcome their defensive deficiencies to a degree that they could outscore the Patriots.  The Patriots, after all, average 34 points per game, and they've only been held under 30 points once in the last 7 weeks.  C'mon, ODB, make some circus catch with the small of your back or your armpit to ruin the Patriots undefeated season.  PATRIOTS 35-27

CHIEFS AT BRONCOS- This could get interesting with Aqib Talib's suspension and DeMarcus Ware's injury, but the addition of Vernon Davis should give Manning the firepower he needs to outscore the Chiefs at home.  BRONCOS 27-23

CARDINALS AT SEAHAWKS-  I don't care that this game is in Seattle.  The Cardinals have a good enough defense to severely limit the Seahawks, and Carson Palmer has enough weapons to make even the famed Legion of Boom look weak at times.  If the Seahawks can only barely put up points against the Cowboys, they're truly going to struggle against the Cardinals.  CARDINALS 24-17

TEXANS AT BENGALS- This doesn't require a tremendous amount of explanation.  The Texans are really bad and the Bengals are really good.  The Bengals are also going to take out their frustrations from previous years of being bounced from the playoffs by the Texans in what SHOULD be a blowout win.  BENGALS 42-21

THIS IS THE EASIEST WEEK THE RAVENS WILL HAVE FOR THE ENTIRE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON, SO LET'S HOPE THEY CAPITALIZE.  LET'S ALSO HOPE JOE DEMONSTRATES FURTHER DEVELOPMENT IN CHEMISTRY WITH HIS NEW, YOUNG WEAPONS.  IF THE RAVENS CAN FINALLY HANDLE BUSINESS AND GET ON TRACK, THE REST OF THE AFC WILDCARD CONTENDERS ARE WEAK ENOUGH TO GIVE BALTIMORE A SHOT AT A PLAYOFF SPOT.

DON'T LOSE HOPE NOW, BALTIMORE
NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!! 



   

RAVENS BYE WEEK ANALYSIS AND WEEK 9 NFL PREDICTIONS

     Who knew that two of the NFL's most elite receivers would have season-ending injuries in a single, seemingly inconsequential game between teams with records near the worst in the league?  Keenan Allen was on pace to set a single season record for sheer number of catches, and Steve Smith was on pace to pass Marvin Harrison and finish 7th on the all time career receiving yards list--Smith currently sits at 10th.  Who knew that Philip Rivers would be able to complete two touchdown passes AFTER Keenan Allen went down with a lacerated kidney, and who knew that none of that would matter because Joe Flacco would ultimately orchestrate a masterful pair of drives in the 4th quarter without his still-elite, future hall-of-fame receiver?  The Chargers are so incredibly decimated by injuries after last week's game that it's difficult to imagine them mounting much of a comeback in the second half of the season.  The Ravens, however, pose an intriguing set of possibilities for second-half success despite the departure of easily the best wide receiver to don purple and black in Baltimore. 

     I must preface this paragraph by stating that the odds of the Ravens going on a winning streak and earning a wildcard spot in the playoffs don't appear particularly promising.  With that said, I will ask you to throw out your preconceived notions about what kind of a record is required to make it to the playoffs in the AFC.  On any given year, the bare minimum record to earn a wildcard berth is typically 9-7 or 10-6.  The Ravens, for example, earned a wildcard spot in 2009 with a 9-7 record.  Had the Ravens won their final game of the 2013 season, they would have earned a playoff spot with a 9-7 record yet again.  In order to get to 9-7 in 2015 Baltimore would need to win 7 of their final 8 games--not an easy task.  What if, however, the Ravens didn't NEED to win 9 or 10 games to get a wildcard spot this season?  One thing that has been largely overlooked by sports talk radio hosts and columnists has been the fact that the rest of the wildcard contenders are doing BARELY better than the Ravens.  As a matter of fact, aside from the three unbeaten AFC teams, the most wins any franchise in the AFC currently possesses is 4, and that's only 2 more than the supposedly lowly birds of Baltimore.

     The biggest reason for my comparatively high optimism regarding the Ravens reaching the post-season is the strength of the schedules awaiting the other AFC wildcard contenders.  The Raiders, Jets, and Steelers all have 4 wins, while the Bills, Dolphins, Chiefs, and Texans all have 3.  Here's the interesting part: every single team in front of the Ravens has a tougher remaining schedule than that of Baltimore. 

     The Raiders have to play the Steelers in Pittsburgh this weekend, and then they play the impressive Vikings next week.  Oakland has a couple of poor road opponents, but then they finish the season with the Chiefs, Broncos in Denver, the Packers, Chargers, and then the Chiefs in Kansas City.  We can expect the Raiders to lose at least to the Vikings, the Chiefs at least once, the Broncos, and Packers, and there's a good chance they lose to the Steelers this weekend--that would leave the Raiders 7-9 on the season at best.

     The Jets got off to an impressive start, but their season could be in serious jeopardy because of ligament damage in the throwing hand of Ryan Fitzpatrick.  Beyond that injury though, the Jets will face a pair of sub par teams at home for the next two weeks in the Jaguars and the Bills, but then they face a somewhat dangerous divisional rival in the Dolphins.  After the Dolphins, the Jets will face the Giants, and the Giants have proven rather explosive at times and should have Victor Cruz back healthy at that point.  The Jets will almost certainly beat the Titans, but then they will have to face the Cowboys in Arlington when Tony Romo will be back healthy, and then they once again face the Patriots.  The Jets go to Buffalo in the final week of the season, and road divisional games are always difficult.  With the level of play that Fitzpatrick has displayed as of late with an injured hand that will not heal as long as he continues to use it, I would say the Jets will likely lose to the Dolphins, Giants, Cowboys, and Patriots.  There's also a reasonable chance they lose on the road versus the Bills, but I won't give the Bills too much credit.  I doubt, therefore, that the Jets will finish better than 9-7, and they could easily finish 8-8.

     The Steelers, like the Ravens, had great hype building up before the season started.  When healthy, they have great offensive weapons such as Big Ben, Antonio Brown, and Le'Veon Bell.  Well two of those three haven't stayed healthy, and at this point Ben doesn't look fully recovered from his knee injury, and Le'Veon Bell is out for the season.  Ben still has impressive weapons around him and a capable back up running back in D'Angelo Williams, but he is also staring down an incredibly difficult second-half schedule.  The Steelers face a Raiders team that has just enough young talent to shock a team on any given week, and the Steelers haven't been incredible at home thus far this season.  Pittsburgh then faces the Browns the next week, and both the Browns and Raiders have been known to upset the Steelers from time to time.  Big Ben and company then have to go to Seattle to face a Seahawks team that isn't as good this season, but is nearly impossible to beat at home in recent years.  They should beat the Colts handedly, but the Steelers then go to Cincy to face a Bengals team that just beat them in Pittsburgh, and then they face Peyton Manning and the league's best defense the next week.  The Steelers then go into Baltimore two days after Christmas to face a Ravens team that will presumably be operating with its first round draft pick and that has the 7th ranked offense in the league despite having few big name weapons.  The Steelers finish their season on the road in Cleveland.  By my estimation, the Steelers will lose to the Seahawks, the Bengals, and Broncos, and there's a good chance they lose once again to the Ravens in Baltimore late in the season.  The Steelers could also lose in an upset to the Raiders or split with the Browns.  The best the Steelers will finish is 9-7, and it's more likely they'll finish 8-8 once more-- but they could easily finish 7-9.  Critical injuries may once again keep this team out of the playoffs.

     The Buffalo Bills are just downright bad.  They still have to face quality opponents such as the Dolphins, Jets, Patriots, Chiefs, Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys, and Jets again.  In all likelihood, the Bills should emerge with a record no better than 7-9 this season, and that's probably generous.

     The Chiefs have looked good in their last two wins, but their remaining road schedule will make their awful start to the season difficult to overcome.  The Chiefs have to go Denver next weekend, then San Diego the following weekend.  They'll almost certainly beat the Bills, but then they go across country to face Oakland, and then to Baltimore to face a Ravens team that hasn't lost to them during the Flacco Harbaugh era.  Without Jamaal Charles, they have lost a major element to their team, but I'll give the Chiefs credit that they've found ways to put up big points in the last two weeks with the other weapons they have.  With that said, the Chiefs will most likely lose in Denver, they'll likely split with the Chargers, split with the Raiders, and I have a strong feeling they'll fall in Baltimore.  Even if the Chiefs manage to beat the Ravens or sweep the Chargers or Raiders, they'll still likely lose at least 3 of their remaining games, and that'll leave them with an 8-8 record at best.

     The Texans are horrendous and are only capable of beating the very worst teams in the league.  Their problem is that they'll be playing some of the BEST teams in the league and plenty of teams vying for playoff spots.  The Texans go into Cincinatti next week to face an undefeated Bengals team that is hungry to secure home field advantage in the playoffs.  They then play the Jets, the Saints, the Bills, the Patriots, a Colts team in Indy that already beat them in Houston, and then they finish with the Titans and Jaguars.  The Texans will almost certainly lose to the Bengals, the Jets, the Saints, the Patriots, and the Colts--and there's little guarantee that they even beat the likes of the Titans.  This Texans team should finish with no more than 6 wins.

     The Jaguars are only ahead of the Ravens in the playoff standings because they've played one less game.  They will, however, lose in Baltimore in one week.  This weekend they'll lose in New Jersey to the Jets.  It's likely that they lose all but maybe one of their remaining games as they then face the Titans, Chargers, Titans, Colts, Falcons, Saints, and Texans.  The Jaguars should finish with 4 wins on the season at best and will be nothing more than an afterthought following their loss in Charm City next week. 

     The Ravens do have some challenging opponents ahead of them, but they play 5 of their remaining 8 games at home, and there's a good chance that the Bengals rest their starters against the Ravens in the final week of the season as they will have already clinched their spot in the playoffs.  The Ravens will, of course, face the lowly Jaguars at home after the bye week, and then they face an interesting Rams team at home.  The Rams have a single road win on the season, and they won dominant wins at home against poor teams in the last two weeks.  The Rams' strength has been running the football and defense, but the Ravens are fairly stout against the run when playing teams that can't throw the football.  The Rams average only 179 passing yards per game.  I like the Ravens to win that one.  The Ravens then travel to Cleveland to face a team that they should beat handedly despite the fact that it's a road game.  The Ravens were well on their way to a big win over the Browns before Webb, Dumervil, Kyle Arrington, and Will Davis all went down in the second half leaving the pass rush and secondary with almost no one no one left.  Baltimore will then travel to Miami to face a tough Dolphins team, but the Ravens have never lost to the Dolphins during the Harbaugh era, and they almost certainly won't do so now that Cameron Wake is out for the season.  The Ravens will face the Seahawks, Chiefs, and Steelers at home, and I expect them to beat at least two of those three teams.  They then finish the season in Cincy, and even if the Bengals don't sit their starters, that should be a competitive game.  The Ravens should beat the Jaguars, Rams, Browns, Dolphins, Chiefs, and they should beat either the Seahawks or Steelers.  Its' difficult to predict a Ravens win over a Bengals team that already beat the Ravens narrowly in Baltimore, but we'll see how that shakes out. Speaking with homerish optimism, with the rise of young, speedy receivers and the return of an injured weapon or two, the Ravens should win at least 8 games this season.  With a little luck, they could win 9.  The point is that the Ravens are in no way guaranteed to get a playoff spot, but everyone in their way has a harrowing list of opponents ahead, and it's almost certain that 8-8 or 9-7 or both will earn wildcard berths.  The Ravens have just as good a shot to get to 8-8 or 9-7 as any of the other teams given the circumstances.

     Now I've watched every single Ravens game just as you have.  I've seen the brief flashes of brilliance against various division-leading teams, and I've seen those flashes disappear with 4th quarter defensive collapses followed by failed last minute Ravens offensive rallies.  I've seen the Ravens come just short of being one of the best teams in the league, and I've heard highly critical conclusions drawn as a result.  By the way many people speak of our beloved team, you'd think they'd been blown out every single week of this season, but that is so incredibly far from the truth.  The truth is that the Ravens, despite their monumental number of critical season-ending injuries, are still only a play or two and a player or two away from being a serious contender.  Fortunate for Harbaugh and company, the Ravens might just see the arrival of a couple of game-changing integral cogs in the machine that is the Ravens offense.  No, it's not the Patriots offense, and it is currently devoid of big name playmakers.  Justin Forsett could be considered a big name, but he was a career backup before his breakout year in 2014.  The Ravens instead possess a handful of no-name receivers and tight ends that have, on the shoulders of Joe Flacco and under the guidance of Marc Trestman, put up an average of 357.3 offensive yards per game which ranks 7th in the league.  And despite a serious lack of wide receivers, Joe Flacco has managed to pass for over 2,100 yards which currently ranks him 6th in the league in that category. 

     By now you're probably saying to yourself that Joe Flacco couldn't possibly continue at this pace without his number one target.  You may very well be correct on that point, but that would ignore the pending return of two interesting targets.  If Dennis Pitta is going to play this season, we'll know by next week.  There is, of course, the risk of re-injury, but I'm actually in the minority of people who believes that over a year of rehab after his surgery has been about as much as Pitta could need to be ready to give this a shot.  If old #88 can come in an contribute, he'll likely do so from the slot.  Pitta is a tight end, but the Ravens will likely utilize him much the way that one would ideally utilize Anquan Boldin.  Pitta is a height mismatch on any defensive back and most linebackers in the league.  He also excels at finding soft spots in opposing defenses, and his hands are some of the best to which Joe Flacco has ever had the pleasure of throwing.  If Dennis Pitta's rehab has been comprehensive enough and he has been able to regain even close to his previous form, it's safe to say that the Ravens will gain a chain-mover after losing one less than a week ago.

     Breshad Perriman is a lesser known commodity than Dennis Pitta, not because of his lack of talent, but because of the fact that he has never made a play on an NFL field in a game or even a preseason game.  Perriman's college highlights speak for themselves as he demonstrated a knack for getting behind opposing free safeties and snatching the ball out of the air to complete acrobatic catches.  Perriman is reportedly "weeks away" from playing, and I have to assume that means he'll begin practice next week or the week after, and he'll likely see his first actual game action on the road against the Browns or Dolphins.  The Ravens likely won't need him to beat the Jaguars and Rams, but it would be fantastic, though, to get the tall, explosive target into Joe's arsenal as soon as the Ravens have to once again play in enemy territory.  If there's one thing that can take advantage of Joe Flacco's arm, it's blistering, explosive, breakaway speed--and that's something the Ravens receiving corps lacked through much of the first half of this season.

     Now let me be clear about something: the Ravens receiving corps is not currently devoid of speed.  It has, in fact, been recently injected with a shot of speed in the form of Chris Givens and Jeremy Ross.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, Chris Givens ran an elite 4.35 second forty yard dash in the 2012 NFL combine, and Jeremy Ross ran a 4.44 second official forty yard dash in his combine.  To put that into perspective, Torrey Smith ran an official 4.41 forty at the 2011 combine, and Ray Rice ran an official 4.42 second forty at the 2008 combine.  Givens has already demonstrated an ability to get deep behind opposing defenses with his current 19 yards per catch average.  Givens caught three passes last week for a respectable 57 yards against the Chargers.  Jeremy Ross has shined as a returner on special teams, but he also made a fantastic catch and run down inside the 1 yard line to set up a game-tying touchdown by Joe Flacco.  These two receivers are not, of course, Steve Smith senior, but they're young, speedy, and athletic, and they have demonstrated the ability to separate from defensive backs and stretch the field to both make big plays and open up opportunities for other targets.  Ironically, the Ravens achieved their only two wins when Smith Sr. went down with a serious injury.  It appears as though the absence of Steve Smith as meant Flacco is forced to spread the ball out to his younger weapons rather than forcing the ball to his lone super star.  You never want to lose a guy like Steve Smith, but his absence may just free Joe Flacco psychologically from using Smith as a security blanket.

     I'm not betting money on the Ravens getting to the playoffs or making some magical run for the Super Bowl, but it's abundantly clear that mediocrity in the AFC aside of the three top teams will give Baltimore a solid chance to turn their season around and at least make things interesting in the second half.  For now, we Ravens fans will get to kick back and enjoy watching the rest of the league beat itself up during this Ravens bye week.  Let's take a look at this week's picks!


WEEK 9 NFL PICKS

PACKERS AT PANTHERS- This is a tough matchup.  The Packers, as good as they've looked, don't nearly have the offensive production that many people might assume.  They're efficient in that Rodgers has scored on many of the offensive drives he's had into enemy territory, but there haven't been nearly as many of those as he is used to engineering.  Rodgers only has 1,598 passing yards on the season, and he has 15 touchdowns.  That means for 106.5 yards, Rodgers has produced a TD.  Flacco, for example, has had 2,179 passing yards and 10 touchdowns.  The ratio is good for Rodgers, but he could use more yards and more TDs.  On paper, the Panthers should win this game, but the Panthers have had an incredibly weak schedule thus far, and only BARELY held off a relatively weak Colts team in Charlotte last week.  UGH, this one is tough.  Ultimately, the Packers defense has been horrendous, especially on the road, as of late.  The Packers wide receivers have also struggled to get separation in recent weeks.  This will be interesting and likely close, but I have to give it to the stronger defense at home. PANTHERS 27-21

REDSKINS AT PATRIOTS- This doesn't require an explanation.  PATRIOTS 33-17

TITANS AT SAINTS- The Saints offense has come alive in recent weeks.  I have to hand it to Brees, he's doing a LOT without Jimmy Graham.  The Titans aren't good and they won't be able to pull an upset in the Big Easy.  SAINTS 42-13

DOLPHINS AT BILLS- The Dolphins WERE looking much better, but the Bills are getting Tyrod Taylor back, and Cameron Wake is done for the season--that's big.  Cameron Wake's level of play prior to his injury was a major reason for the reassurance in Miami's play.  Tyrod Taylor already beat the Dolphins handedly in Miami; I can't imagine he won't be able to do so at home this time around.  This likely will be much closer than the 41-14 victory earlier this season.  BILLS 24-20

RAMS AT VIKINGS- The Rams are a solid team, and they appear to be able to go toe to toe with anyone in St. Louis, but everything the Rams can do the Vikings can do better, and this game will be far away from Missouri.  Both teams can run the football, but the Vikings have some speedy targets upon which Bridgewater can rely.  The Vikings are actually built to go beyond the first round of the playoffs this season with the second ranked defense in the league and the 5th ranked running game.  VIKINGS 21-17

JAGUARS AT JETS-  The Jets have some issues, but I would be SHOCKED if they lost at home to the Jaguars.  The Jets offense still gets enough from Chris Ivory to overcome any issues at the quarterback position when facing one of the worst teams in the league.  JETS 31-23

RAIDERS AT STEELERS- Ben Roethlisberger had to shake the rust off last week, and he will be missing Le'Veon Bell for the rest of the season, but the Steelers actually have the 6th ranked defense in the league in regards to points allowed.  I would LOVE to see an upset here, but Ben still has enough weapons to at least edge the up and coming Raiders.  STEELERS 28-24

GIANTS AT BUCCANEERS-  The Giants have a ridiculously difficult schedule going forward, and it'll be an uphill battle to make the playoffs, but they'll get Victor Cruz back after their bye week, so he'll be available for the final 6 weeks of the season.  Eli Manning has played out of his mind as of late, and he'll put up enough points to win this game even if his defense isn't particularly effective.  JPP is back with his deformed hand, but he'll still be an added factor in bolstering a struggling defense.  GIANTS 38-31

FALCONS AT 49ERS- Blaine Gabbert?  Really?  Ok then.  FALCONS 35-20

BRONCOS AT COLTS- This Broncos defense is about as good as defenses get this day an age with rules to protect receivers.  Peyton Manning is also excellent in domes...particularly THIS dome.  Andrew Luck is a great young quarterback, but he doesn't have protection or a serious enough defense to win a game like this.  BRONCOS 31-23

EAGLES AT COWBOYS- The Eagles get back DeMarco Murray, and the Cowboys still don't have Tony Romo.  The Eagles also get Kiko Alonso back, and that's bigger than a lot of people may realize.  I gotta go Eagles in this one. EAGLES 33-28

BEARS AT CHARGERS-  I don't think much of the Bears this season, and Philip Rivers will be able to put up points on anyone even without Keenan Allen.  CHARGERS 28-21

THIS IS THE WEEK THE RAVENS GET HEALTHY AT EVALUATE WHAT IT IS THEY'RE GOOD AT AND WHAT IT IS THEY NEED TO STOP EVEN TRYING TO DO.  BEYOND THE ELITE TEAMS, THERE ARE NO TEAMS IN THE AFC THAT ARE FAR AHEAD OF THE RAVENS IN EITHER RECORD OR POTENTIAL.  THIS HAS BEEN A DISATROUS SEASON THUS FAR, BUT THIS TEAM HAS AN AGREEABLE SCHEDULE AND A FIGHTING CHANCE TO MAKE THINGS INTERESTING DOWN THE STRETCH.

DON'T GO NUTS IF IT DOESN'T WORK OUT IN THE END
BUT DON'T LOSE FAITH EITHER, BALTIMORE
NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!!