When the Cleveland Browns traveled to Baltimore earlier this season the Ravens appeared to finally have a solid win ahead of them as they traveled into the locker room at halftime. John Harbaugh's guys were up 21-9 and in firm defensive and offensive command of the game. The second half, however, saw all of that disappear as a rash of injuries took away the Ravens' ability to rush the passer, cover receivers, and eventually, run the football. Baltimore couldn't create a drive on their overtime possession, and then they could do absolutely nothing to stop the Browns' drive to seal an embarrassing, depressing Ravens loss.
Fast forward to Week 8 wherein the Ravens currently find themselves once again staring down a team with minimal success this season in the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers possess one of the league's worst defenses, and that defense will further weakened by injuries to their top two tacklers. Both Manti Te'o and Eric Weddle will not suit up in Baltimore. The Ravens should, thus, be able to move the football against a team whose only wins came by three points against the Browns and by five points at home against the bottom-feeding Lions. The Ravens have been even less successful with their lone win coming against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, but the Ravens have also played 3 of their 7 painfully close games against division leaders, and two of those teams remain unbeaten. Here's the problem though: the Chargers lost to two unbeaten teams by a single score as well...on the road.
These teams have experienced such a similar lack of success this season that this game becomes much harder to predict than sports commentators and writers have made it appear. An overwhelming number of members of the sports media have picked the Ravens to win. I certainly hope they're correct, but I remember vividly the seemingly game-sealing drive in which the Ravens stalled out last season only to give the ball back to Philip Rivers with more than enough time to go right down the field and put the ball in the end zone for an incredibly narrow victory. The Ravens and Chargers are, in fact, 2-2 against the Chargers during Joe Flacco's career. Three of those four contests came right down to the wire, and both Ravens wins came on monumentally memorable plays (Ray Lewis shooting the gap on 4th down to bury Sproles in the backfield, and the legendary 4th and 29). It would, therefore, stand to reason that this game will be either thrillingly or depressingly close.
One cannot simply look at a team's record when predicting this game. The biggest keys to an accurate prediction in this case are the setting and specific match-ups. Both teams, in this case, had to travel east as the Ravens just came off of a road trip to Arizona that they SHOULD have won if not for inexcusably critical calls and non-calls by the referees. The Ravens are on a short week, but the familiarity of the home setting should help soften the blow. Baltimore, however, will once again be without its starting left tackle, Eugene Monroe #thisisgettingridiculous. Monroe's backup, James Hurst isn't particularly impressive, but he has at had a great deal of experience at the position this season and last season with Monroe's extended absences. The Ravens will otherwise be just about as healthy as they can be at this point, and their defense actually looked fairly impressive against a Cardinals offense with devastating aerial weapons last Monday.
The Chargers sport some devastating aerial weapons of their own with Keenan Allen on pace to set a single season NFL catches record. Allen, in fact, has 62 catches within the first seven weeks of the season, and he faces a Ravens pass defense that has proven vulnerable to elite receivers on a weekly basis. Fortunately for the Ravens, it appears doubtful that Antonio Gates will play considering that he didn't practice this week with a sprained knee. Gates' backup, Ladarius Green, however, has caught one touchdown pass in every game he's started this season, and he offers a formidable skill set of his own. The Ravens have actually held tight ends to surprisingly low production on the season, so we must expect the coverage issues to come on big chunk plays to speedy wide receivers such as the aforementioned Allen. The Ravens have struggled all season to prevent deep threat receivers from beating them over the top. Philip Rivers' arm makes deep passes a near constant danger. Beyond Keenan Allen, the Chargers have Malcolm Floyd averaging over 18 yards per reception, but his production has been hit-or-miss this season as he has less than 50 yards per game and has produced only a single touchdown in 2015. Believe it or not, the Chargers second leading receiver is actually the shifty running back, Danny Woodhead. Woodhead already has 37 receptions and over 400 receiving yards. Woodhead is not the feature back as rookie Melvin Gordon has taken that spot.
Philip Rivers always gives the Chargers opportunities to score quickly, but something about this week doesn't seem to scare me. If the Ravens can double team Keenan Allen and put Jimmy Smith on an aging Malcolm Floyd, the Chargers will likely struggle to sustain and finish drives. The Chargers rank 29th in the league in rushing yards per game, and Melvin Gordon has already fumbled 4 times. The Ravens have arguably the league's greatest run defender in Brandon Williams, and despite Suggs' absence, the Ravens rank 5th in the league with 20 sacks on the season. If they can manage to sack Rivers 4-5 times tomorrow (not exactly an easy task) they'll actually be on pace to finish with the same number of sacks as last season (49).
The Ravens offense sometimes stalled last week against the Cardinals, but the Cardinals boast one of the league's most impressive arrays of defensive weapons. We saw early in that game that Chris Givens was able to get open deep on Tyrann Mathieu, but Joe simply has to trust Givens' elite speed and unleash a strong throw so as to hit him in stride. Without Eric Weddle playing, expect the Ravens to take deep shots downfield to Givens early and often in order to open up the field for the rest of the Ravens weapons. Without Manti Te'o playing, expect the Ravens to run the football to maintain a balanced attack and keep the football out of Philip Rivers' hands at critical points.
I liked a lot of what I saw from the Ravens defense last week with Lardarius Webb back healthy. If he can STAY healthy for the entire game tomorrow, then the Ravens have a great shot to win this game. The Chargers can't play defense, they can't reliably run the football, and they'll be playing in Baltimore on a day where the Ravens will be honoring Ray Lewis. This may not be some sort of turning point in the Ravens' season, but it's a great opportunity for a solid win at home against a broken, flawed team. Get em, birds.
WEEK 8 NFL PICKS
LIONS AT CHIEFS- The Chiefs may not be nearly as good without Jamaal Charles, but they're adjusting to his absence and will face one of the very worst teams in the league in London on Sunday. CHIEFS 24-16
BUCCANEERS AT FALCONS- If the Falcons lose this game, they need to do a little soul searching. FALCONS 42-21
CARDINALS AT BROWNS- The Browns won't be able to move the ball much as Freeney continues to get back into form rushing the passer. CARDINALS 31-17
49ERS AT RAMS- The 49ers will be on the road and without Carlos Hyde. Let's see if poor Torrey Smith catches for less than 500 or 600 yards this season and is then cut. RAMS 35-20
GIANTS AT SAINTS- The Saints have looked good every now and then. The Giants have own 4 of their last 5 games, but they were crushed by the Eagles. When Victor Cruz gets back, the Giants will make a push for the playoffs and possibly a serious run, but the Saints should find their rhythm against a banged up Giants. SAINTS 31-27
VIKINGS AT BEARS- I don't think much of the Bears, and Stephon Diggs has added a spark to the Vikings offense. With Adrian Peterson in good shape to play, this game should be at least a narrow win for Minnesota. VIKINGS 23-21
CHARGERS AT RAVENS- The Ravens defense is beginning to heat up, and the Ravens offense now has a deep threat it can begin to utilize. The Chargers will be missing two of their top defenders, and that should mean the Ravens shouldn't have to punt more than 2-3 times. RAVENS 34-27
BENGALS AT STEELERS- The Bengals coming off of a bye week will be a tough team to beat. Big Ben won't be particularly mobile. I have gone back and forth about this one in my mind, but the Bengals should edge this one out. BENGALS 26-24
TITANS AT TEXANS- Mettenberger should be able to get something going this week. I actually like him better than Mariota. TITANS 21-17
JETS AT RAIDERS- Darrelle Revis will take away Amari Cooper and the Raiders won't be able to stop the Jets rushing attack. JETS 30-21
SEAHAWKS AT COWBOYS- Until Romo gets back, this has to be a loss. SEAHAWKS 34-21
PACKERS AT BRONCOS- Aaron Rodgers will struggle to find his rhythm early, but he spreads the ball out to well and is too mobile not to be able to score against Denver's D. PACKERS 23-20
COLTS AT PANTHERS- The Colts have occasionally put up points on good teams such as the Patriots, but the Pathers defense is strong enough to force Luck to turn the ball over multiple times. Old Andrew isn't the same with his arm injury. PANTHERS 28-24
THE RAVENS HAVE ALMOST ZERO CHANCE OF GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS AT THIS POINT, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEY CAN'T FIND A WAY TO WIN GAMES AND BECOME COMPETITIVE TO BUILD UP MOMENTUM FOR NEXT SEASON. FLACCO NEEDS TO TAKE COMMAND AND FINALLY PUT TOGETHER A DOMINANT, COMPLETE GAME WITH THE WEAPONS HE HAS.
NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!! WIN THIS ONE FOR RAY!!!
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
WEEK 7 NFL PREDICTIONS
After yet another loss to the lowly 49ers, it's hard to think of anything particularly uplifting in my usual unflinchingly optimistic fashion. It's not out of the realm of possibility that the Ravens go on some kind of serious run from this point on, but there likely won't be even a wildcard spot open if they do. The biggest reason is the New York Jets' resurgence as run-first team with an elite defense. The Jets are, in fact, off to their best start in years as they have only lost a single game up to this point. That may change this weekend to two games, but they're still far ahead of the Ravens--who have one win. What's that you say? The Jets and the Ravens can BOTH get wildcard spots after a miraculous run by Baltimore? Nope, try again. The Bengals are undefeated, and the Steelers have only two losses despite not having a healthy Ben Roethlisberger for an entire month now. So, either the Bengals or Steelers will win the AFC North, and whichever one of those teams doesn't win will almost certainly get the second wildcard spot. If having no Ben doesn't slow down the Steelers this year, I can't imagine what will.
Some people ignore these factors and cling to hope that the Ravens will make their dreams come true once again. Many more people, however, have decided it would be a good idea for the Ravens to tank their season in order to get an extremely high draft pick. I want the Ravens to show improvement. I want Joe to continue find chemistry with receivers such as Chris Givens Jeremy Ross, Darren Waller, and the young tight end corps. I want to know that when the Ravens have bolstered their roster through free agency and the draft they will be that much better because they learned to perform WITHOUT a strong, compete roster in 2015.
The Arizona Cardinals will likely beat the Ravens. Carson Palmer has had great success against Baltimore in his career, and so too has Bruce Arians. The Cardinals have an impressive wide receiver tandem, and their defense is simply better than that of Baltimore. The Cardinals, however, and not nearly the best team the Ravens have faced; that would be the Bengals. This should be another game the Ravens have a chance to win late. Who knows? Maybe things will click and they hand the Cardinals their 3rd loss in 4 weeks? Eh, probably not, but who knows? Either way, we'll get to watch the rest of the NFL beat up on itself on Sunday because the Ravens play on Monday. So let's take a look at who is likely going to win each game.
WEEK 7 NFL PICKS
BILLS AT JAGUARS- The Jaguars have done nothing this season to suggest they should win this game. The Bills aren't what we thought they'd be defensively after last season, but they're still good enough to beat one of the worst teams in the league. BILLS 23-17
BUCCANEERS AT REDSKINS- The Redskins get a nice win here on the back of a good defense and running game. REDSKINS 33-21
FALCONS AT TITANS- The Titans will be without their starting QB, and the Falcons are finally for real again this year. FALCONS 42-13
SAINTS AT COLTS- This is a game between two similar underachieving dome teams. I'll give the edge to the home dome team. COLTS 35-28
VIKINGS AT LIONS- NFC North divisional games are difficult to predict, but this one shouldn't be. The Vikings are legit this season and should do some damage in the playoffs. The Lions? Not so much. Minnesota is also coming off of a bye week. VIKINGS 24-20
STEELERS AT CHIEFS- The Steelers still don't have Ben back, but they've shown they don't need him to win. This team has too many weapons, and the defense has performed miracles with what was expected to be a poor defense at the beginning of the season. The Chiefs lost their season when Jamaal Charles went down. STEELERS 34-19
BROWNS AT RAMS- The Browns can make this a game, but the Rams defense should prove the difference-maker at home. RAMS 23-21
TEXANS AT DOLPHINS- The Dolphins are playing with a renewed level of vigor since Philbin got canned. The Texans, despite having defensive superstars, are total garbage. The Texans have only managed wins against the Jags and Bucs. The Dolphins won't blow the Texans out, but this should be interesting. DOLPHINS 27-21
JETS AT PATRIOTS- The Patriots will be without their starting running back, but they get Brandon LaFell back. I would love to see an upset here, but Revis can't cover Gronk, and the Patriots are simply too good at home to be slowed down the way it would take to upset them. The tide may turn when these teams play in New Jersey later this season though. PATRIOTS 31-24
RAIDERS AT CHARGERS- The Chargers aren't nearly what I thought they'd be this season, but Philip Rivers is starting to heat up. CHARGERS 28-21
COWBOYS AT GIANTS- No Romo, no Dez. No Cruz, but Odell WILL play. Gotta give this one to the Gmen at home against a Cowboys team missing some incredibly important pieces. GIANTS 30-20
EAGLES AT PANTHERS- The Panthers defense hasn't been good enough this season to step on the throats of some pretty horrendous offenses. Their undefeated status is a product of a poor strength of schedule and some clutch performances by Cam. The Eagles, on the other hand, have won 3 of their last 4 in impressive, dominant fashion. EAGLES 38-20
RAVENS AT CARDINALS- The Ravens will be big underdogs by most accounts, but they shouldn't be. The Cardinals have dropped two of their last 3 including a 10 point loss to a team starting it's third string quarterback. The Ravens have yet to lose by more than a single score. With that said, they have also only won a single game because their offense has typically taken either too long to get going or failed to score on key late game drives, while their defense couldn't even stop one of the worst offenses in the league last week. Lardarius Webb will be back healthy this week, however, and that will make a big difference despite what many people think about his current abilities. When is healthy, he's the best corner on this team this season statistically because Jimmy Smith doesn't seem completely recovered from that foot injury. Let's hope Shareece Wright and Kyle Arrington can redeem themselves too. I keep praying the Ravens prove me wrong, but they keep making an honest man out of me. CARDINALS 34-31\
AT THIS POINT THERE'S NOT MUCH WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO REGARDING THE WILDCARD RACE, BUT AT LEAST WE RAVENS FANS GET TO KICK BACK AND WATCH THE REST OF THE LEAGUE THIS SUNDAY BEFORE WATCHING AND PRAYING BALTIMORE CAN TURN IT AROUND AGAIN IN PRIME TIME ON MONDAY NIGHT.
NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!!
Some people ignore these factors and cling to hope that the Ravens will make their dreams come true once again. Many more people, however, have decided it would be a good idea for the Ravens to tank their season in order to get an extremely high draft pick. I want the Ravens to show improvement. I want Joe to continue find chemistry with receivers such as Chris Givens Jeremy Ross, Darren Waller, and the young tight end corps. I want to know that when the Ravens have bolstered their roster through free agency and the draft they will be that much better because they learned to perform WITHOUT a strong, compete roster in 2015.
The Arizona Cardinals will likely beat the Ravens. Carson Palmer has had great success against Baltimore in his career, and so too has Bruce Arians. The Cardinals have an impressive wide receiver tandem, and their defense is simply better than that of Baltimore. The Cardinals, however, and not nearly the best team the Ravens have faced; that would be the Bengals. This should be another game the Ravens have a chance to win late. Who knows? Maybe things will click and they hand the Cardinals their 3rd loss in 4 weeks? Eh, probably not, but who knows? Either way, we'll get to watch the rest of the NFL beat up on itself on Sunday because the Ravens play on Monday. So let's take a look at who is likely going to win each game.
WEEK 7 NFL PICKS
BILLS AT JAGUARS- The Jaguars have done nothing this season to suggest they should win this game. The Bills aren't what we thought they'd be defensively after last season, but they're still good enough to beat one of the worst teams in the league. BILLS 23-17
BUCCANEERS AT REDSKINS- The Redskins get a nice win here on the back of a good defense and running game. REDSKINS 33-21
FALCONS AT TITANS- The Titans will be without their starting QB, and the Falcons are finally for real again this year. FALCONS 42-13
SAINTS AT COLTS- This is a game between two similar underachieving dome teams. I'll give the edge to the home dome team. COLTS 35-28
VIKINGS AT LIONS- NFC North divisional games are difficult to predict, but this one shouldn't be. The Vikings are legit this season and should do some damage in the playoffs. The Lions? Not so much. Minnesota is also coming off of a bye week. VIKINGS 24-20
STEELERS AT CHIEFS- The Steelers still don't have Ben back, but they've shown they don't need him to win. This team has too many weapons, and the defense has performed miracles with what was expected to be a poor defense at the beginning of the season. The Chiefs lost their season when Jamaal Charles went down. STEELERS 34-19
BROWNS AT RAMS- The Browns can make this a game, but the Rams defense should prove the difference-maker at home. RAMS 23-21
TEXANS AT DOLPHINS- The Dolphins are playing with a renewed level of vigor since Philbin got canned. The Texans, despite having defensive superstars, are total garbage. The Texans have only managed wins against the Jags and Bucs. The Dolphins won't blow the Texans out, but this should be interesting. DOLPHINS 27-21
JETS AT PATRIOTS- The Patriots will be without their starting running back, but they get Brandon LaFell back. I would love to see an upset here, but Revis can't cover Gronk, and the Patriots are simply too good at home to be slowed down the way it would take to upset them. The tide may turn when these teams play in New Jersey later this season though. PATRIOTS 31-24
RAIDERS AT CHARGERS- The Chargers aren't nearly what I thought they'd be this season, but Philip Rivers is starting to heat up. CHARGERS 28-21
COWBOYS AT GIANTS- No Romo, no Dez. No Cruz, but Odell WILL play. Gotta give this one to the Gmen at home against a Cowboys team missing some incredibly important pieces. GIANTS 30-20
EAGLES AT PANTHERS- The Panthers defense hasn't been good enough this season to step on the throats of some pretty horrendous offenses. Their undefeated status is a product of a poor strength of schedule and some clutch performances by Cam. The Eagles, on the other hand, have won 3 of their last 4 in impressive, dominant fashion. EAGLES 38-20
RAVENS AT CARDINALS- The Ravens will be big underdogs by most accounts, but they shouldn't be. The Cardinals have dropped two of their last 3 including a 10 point loss to a team starting it's third string quarterback. The Ravens have yet to lose by more than a single score. With that said, they have also only won a single game because their offense has typically taken either too long to get going or failed to score on key late game drives, while their defense couldn't even stop one of the worst offenses in the league last week. Lardarius Webb will be back healthy this week, however, and that will make a big difference despite what many people think about his current abilities. When is healthy, he's the best corner on this team this season statistically because Jimmy Smith doesn't seem completely recovered from that foot injury. Let's hope Shareece Wright and Kyle Arrington can redeem themselves too. I keep praying the Ravens prove me wrong, but they keep making an honest man out of me. CARDINALS 34-31\
AT THIS POINT THERE'S NOT MUCH WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO REGARDING THE WILDCARD RACE, BUT AT LEAST WE RAVENS FANS GET TO KICK BACK AND WATCH THE REST OF THE LEAGUE THIS SUNDAY BEFORE WATCHING AND PRAYING BALTIMORE CAN TURN IT AROUND AGAIN IN PRIME TIME ON MONDAY NIGHT.
NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!!
Friday, October 16, 2015
WEEK 6 NFL PREDICTIONS
There is almost zero faith in the Ravens at this point. Their 1-4 start coupled with the ever-growing list of injuries to major players has left fans and probably many within the organization doubting that any sort of turnaround could occur at this point that would allow Baltimore to sneak into the playoffs.
For the first half of last week's game against the Browns, I fully believed the Ravens had turned the corner and were on their way to putting together a 3-4 game winning streak that would allow them to make a strong push in the second half of the season with the eventual return of their vaunted first round pick, Breshad Perriman. The second half told a different story. Lardarius Webb, Elvis Dumervil, and the newly acquired, talented cornerback, Will Davis, all went down with injuries and never returned to the game. Suddenly drives that might have ended in field goals for the Browns during the first half found their way into the end zone without such integral cogs in the Ravens pass defense. Josh McCown was made to look like an absolute stud, and the Ravens offense possessed the ball far fewer times and for less minutes than in the first half. Then, when the Ravens had first and goal from the 10 yardline at the end of regulation, Justin Forsett exited the game with an ankle injury, and that halted the Ravens otherwise spectacular march down the field nearly dead in its tracks.
The Ravens, no longer able to run the football effectively without Justin Forsett, settled for a field goal toward the end of regulation and then proceeded to go three and out on the first possession of overtime. The Ravens defense found itself almost totally devoid of pass defending and pass rushing talent, and allowed the Browns to go promptly down the field to drive a sudden death dagger into the hearts of the citizens of Baltimore.
I would like to sit here and explain how and why the Ravens are only inches away from winning games against tough opponents, and therefore, ultimately going to get better, but that would have only been the case before Dumervil, Webb, Davis, and Forsett all went down. Sure, poor Steve Smith Sr. is gearing up to try to play, and Crockett Gilmore might be able to play too, but there's simply not enough on defense to stop mediocre opponents such as the Browns at this point and even less to stop quality opponents that lay ahead. The Ravens, in order to have a good shot at securing a wildcard berth, must win a bare minimum of 9 games, but it's more likely that they'll need 10 wins.
At this point in the season, in order to accrue 10 wins, the Ravens will have to win 9 of their remaining 11 games. There was already only a small chance that such and miraculous comeback would take place BEFORE more players became injured, but now that chance may actually be less than 1 percent. Lardarius Webb may come back healthy in a week, and it's possible that so too will Elvis Dumervil. It's also possible that Shareece Wright, Will Davis' quality replacement, will prove just as useful as Davis did during his brief stint with the Ravens, and help solidify the pass defense. The problem is that the odds of these players all getting healthy and coalescing into one effective group within the next two weeks is low, and the Ravens go to Arizona next week to face a dangerous Cardinals team led by a quarterback who has almost never lost to Baltimore. So that means the Ravens have high odds of losing their next two games and falling to 1-6, and in order to reach 10 wins, they'd have to win all 9 of their remaining games...and that ain't happening, folks.
The biggest hope that Ravens fans can cling to going forward is that the Ravens win put together an offensively dominant performance this week and limit a 49ers offense that has performed quite poorly this season to say the least. If by some chance the Ravens can FINALLY get their first round pick back onto the field following a win this week, then hopefully he can be ready to go in two weeks when the Ravens face an uneven Chargers team that only barely beat the Browns and just lost at home to the Steelers. I'm writing off the Cardinals game as a loss regardless, but the best case scenario is that the Ravens find a way to get healthy and win two out of their next three games going into the bye week. After the bye week, the Ravens face many teams doing just as poorly if not far worse than they are currently, and the possibility for some kind of winning streak improves IF the Ravens can get healthy and stay that way to an extent. Also, as I write this, I have just read that Steve Smith Sr. has not felt good in practice and is not likely to play. Justin Forsett has listed himself as a game-time decision as his ankle has improved each day of this week, but Forsett, Elvis Dumervil and Marshal Yanda have all returned to practice today.
I am not optimistic that the Ravens will somehow find a healthy, dominant groove and go 9-2 for the remainder of the season--no one should be. I, instead, will continue to support my favorite team and hope that, despite a lack of a playoff berth, Flacco will develop chemistry with his young tights ends and Breshad Perriman down the stretch. This team should finish with anywhere from 6-8 wins, and their higher-than-usual position in the 2016 draft should enable them to go after a high quality corner or safety to finally return the Ravens pass defense to its elite status of yesteryear. If, however, Perriman hits the field and proves the difference-maker that turns narrow losses into a string of solid wins, then we should all be pleasantly surprised--just don't hold your breath. With that said, there is still a lot of good football to watch this season aside of the Ravens. Let's take a look at this week's picks around the league!
WEEK 6 NFL PICKS
REDSKINS AT JETS- This game isn't easy to predict. The Redskins have looked tough at times, and so have the Jets. The Jets are coming off of a bye week, and they rely on heavy rushing production from Chris Ivory, but Ivory may struggle to find much running room against a quality Redskins defense. The Redskins, however, must also content with a suffocating Jets defense front and some of the best corners in the league with Revis and Cromartie in the secondary. I'm going with the home team coming off of a bye here, but an upset won't surprise me in the least. JETS 24-20
CARDINALS AT STEELERS- Michael Vick may have engaged in late-game heroics against the Chargers, but the Chargers haven't looked great this season. The Cardinals are one of the top 10 teams in the league, and their head coach is the Steelers' former offensive coordinator. It might be nice to see the Steelers BEAT the Cardinals in order to give a blueprint to the Ravens as to how one accomplishes that, but I can't see that happening until Ben gets healthy. CARDINALS 33-21
CHEIFS AT VIKINIGS- With no Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs are doomed. VIKINGS 42-10
BENGALS AT BILLS- The Bills are a tremendous disappointment, and the Bengals are quite good, if not the most complete team in the league. BENGALS 37-17
BEARS AT LIONS- The Bears are bad, but the Lions may be worse. In this kind of a situation, I go with the home team, but does it even really matter? LIONS 21-20
BRONCOS AT BROWNS- Without Demarcus Ware, this game will be a lot more interesting. The Browns aren't nearly as bad as their record might suggest, and the Broncos aren't nearly as GOOD as THEIR record might suggest. The Broncos only barely beat the Raiders last week, and they could be walking into a buzz saw here. The thing that will tip the scales in favor of the Broncos is the fact that Joe Haden won't play. BRONCOS 28-24
TEXANS AT JAGUARS- These are two very bad teams. The Texans have yet to win a road game this season, and the Jaguars are 1-1 at home. God, I hate predicting meaningless games. JAGUARS 20-17
DOLPHINS AT TITANS- The Dolphins are in a state of utter chaos right now. The Titans lost two games by a combined score of 4 points in the last two weeks against better teams than the Dolphins. I have to imagine they'll win this one at home. TITANS 17-13
PANTHERS AT SEAHAWKS- The Seahawks have a bad record and the Panthers have a good one, but the Seahawks still have enough firepower to beat a team such as the Panthers at home. SEAHAWKS 31-23
CHARGERS AT PACKERS- If the Chargers just barely beat the Browns and lose to a Michael Vick-led Steelers team at home, then they're going to be absolutely blasted in Green Bay. PACKERS 35-20
RAVENS AT 49ERS- The 49ers have looked horrible this season, but they began to pick up offensive steam in their loss to the Giants last week. The Ravens will likely start Justin Forsett and possibly Crocket Gillmore, but Steve Smith is doubtful, and that leaves them with almost no serious wide receivers against a team that did manage to hold the Packers to a mere 17 points. PLEASE Joe, PROVE ME WRONG, I'M BEGGING YOU!!! 49ERS 27-23
PATRIOTS AT COLTS- The Patriots may have lost their left tackle, but that won't stop them from flattening the worst Colts team since Peyton Manning missed a season because of his neck injury. PATRIOTS 49-21
GIANTS AT EAGLES- The Eagles are coming off of their second win in three weeks. If the Giants were healthy, I would pick them. Odell Beckham and Victor Cruz are both injured, so is Prince Amukamara. This has Eagles written all over it. I'll be rooting for the Gmen though. EAGLES 33-28
AS RAVENS FANS, WE HAVE BEEN SPOILED FOR YEARS. OUR TEAM GIVES US A CONSISTENT, HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT. EVERY TEAM MUST OCCASIONALLY FACE A DOWN SEASON. THERE IS STILL HOPE THAT THE RAVENS CAN GET HEALTHY AND THEIR COACHING STAFF CAN MAKE SIGNIFICANT ADJUSTMENTS THAT WILL LEAD TO A STRING OF WINS AND PLAYOFF BERTH, BUT NONE OF THAT IS LIKELY WITH 4 LOSSES ALREADY IN THE BOOKS. THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD STOP WATCHING OR ROOTING FOR OUR GUYS, BUT IT MEANS THAT RAVENS FANS SHOULD TEMPER THEIR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS SEASON IF THEY HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO WITHIN THE LAST MONTH. AN EARLY PICKING SLOT IN THE DRAFT ORDER COULD BE JUST WHAT THIS TEAM NEEDS TO REGROUP AND MOVE FORWARD NEXT SEASON. DON'T LOSE HOPE, BUT TRY NOT TO LOSE YOUR MINDS, BALTIMORE. IT IS< AFTER ALL, JUST A GAME.
NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!!
For the first half of last week's game against the Browns, I fully believed the Ravens had turned the corner and were on their way to putting together a 3-4 game winning streak that would allow them to make a strong push in the second half of the season with the eventual return of their vaunted first round pick, Breshad Perriman. The second half told a different story. Lardarius Webb, Elvis Dumervil, and the newly acquired, talented cornerback, Will Davis, all went down with injuries and never returned to the game. Suddenly drives that might have ended in field goals for the Browns during the first half found their way into the end zone without such integral cogs in the Ravens pass defense. Josh McCown was made to look like an absolute stud, and the Ravens offense possessed the ball far fewer times and for less minutes than in the first half. Then, when the Ravens had first and goal from the 10 yardline at the end of regulation, Justin Forsett exited the game with an ankle injury, and that halted the Ravens otherwise spectacular march down the field nearly dead in its tracks.
The Ravens, no longer able to run the football effectively without Justin Forsett, settled for a field goal toward the end of regulation and then proceeded to go three and out on the first possession of overtime. The Ravens defense found itself almost totally devoid of pass defending and pass rushing talent, and allowed the Browns to go promptly down the field to drive a sudden death dagger into the hearts of the citizens of Baltimore.
I would like to sit here and explain how and why the Ravens are only inches away from winning games against tough opponents, and therefore, ultimately going to get better, but that would have only been the case before Dumervil, Webb, Davis, and Forsett all went down. Sure, poor Steve Smith Sr. is gearing up to try to play, and Crockett Gilmore might be able to play too, but there's simply not enough on defense to stop mediocre opponents such as the Browns at this point and even less to stop quality opponents that lay ahead. The Ravens, in order to have a good shot at securing a wildcard berth, must win a bare minimum of 9 games, but it's more likely that they'll need 10 wins.
At this point in the season, in order to accrue 10 wins, the Ravens will have to win 9 of their remaining 11 games. There was already only a small chance that such and miraculous comeback would take place BEFORE more players became injured, but now that chance may actually be less than 1 percent. Lardarius Webb may come back healthy in a week, and it's possible that so too will Elvis Dumervil. It's also possible that Shareece Wright, Will Davis' quality replacement, will prove just as useful as Davis did during his brief stint with the Ravens, and help solidify the pass defense. The problem is that the odds of these players all getting healthy and coalescing into one effective group within the next two weeks is low, and the Ravens go to Arizona next week to face a dangerous Cardinals team led by a quarterback who has almost never lost to Baltimore. So that means the Ravens have high odds of losing their next two games and falling to 1-6, and in order to reach 10 wins, they'd have to win all 9 of their remaining games...and that ain't happening, folks.
The biggest hope that Ravens fans can cling to going forward is that the Ravens win put together an offensively dominant performance this week and limit a 49ers offense that has performed quite poorly this season to say the least. If by some chance the Ravens can FINALLY get their first round pick back onto the field following a win this week, then hopefully he can be ready to go in two weeks when the Ravens face an uneven Chargers team that only barely beat the Browns and just lost at home to the Steelers. I'm writing off the Cardinals game as a loss regardless, but the best case scenario is that the Ravens find a way to get healthy and win two out of their next three games going into the bye week. After the bye week, the Ravens face many teams doing just as poorly if not far worse than they are currently, and the possibility for some kind of winning streak improves IF the Ravens can get healthy and stay that way to an extent. Also, as I write this, I have just read that Steve Smith Sr. has not felt good in practice and is not likely to play. Justin Forsett has listed himself as a game-time decision as his ankle has improved each day of this week, but Forsett, Elvis Dumervil and Marshal Yanda have all returned to practice today.
I am not optimistic that the Ravens will somehow find a healthy, dominant groove and go 9-2 for the remainder of the season--no one should be. I, instead, will continue to support my favorite team and hope that, despite a lack of a playoff berth, Flacco will develop chemistry with his young tights ends and Breshad Perriman down the stretch. This team should finish with anywhere from 6-8 wins, and their higher-than-usual position in the 2016 draft should enable them to go after a high quality corner or safety to finally return the Ravens pass defense to its elite status of yesteryear. If, however, Perriman hits the field and proves the difference-maker that turns narrow losses into a string of solid wins, then we should all be pleasantly surprised--just don't hold your breath. With that said, there is still a lot of good football to watch this season aside of the Ravens. Let's take a look at this week's picks around the league!
WEEK 6 NFL PICKS
REDSKINS AT JETS- This game isn't easy to predict. The Redskins have looked tough at times, and so have the Jets. The Jets are coming off of a bye week, and they rely on heavy rushing production from Chris Ivory, but Ivory may struggle to find much running room against a quality Redskins defense. The Redskins, however, must also content with a suffocating Jets defense front and some of the best corners in the league with Revis and Cromartie in the secondary. I'm going with the home team coming off of a bye here, but an upset won't surprise me in the least. JETS 24-20
CARDINALS AT STEELERS- Michael Vick may have engaged in late-game heroics against the Chargers, but the Chargers haven't looked great this season. The Cardinals are one of the top 10 teams in the league, and their head coach is the Steelers' former offensive coordinator. It might be nice to see the Steelers BEAT the Cardinals in order to give a blueprint to the Ravens as to how one accomplishes that, but I can't see that happening until Ben gets healthy. CARDINALS 33-21
CHEIFS AT VIKINIGS- With no Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs are doomed. VIKINGS 42-10
BENGALS AT BILLS- The Bills are a tremendous disappointment, and the Bengals are quite good, if not the most complete team in the league. BENGALS 37-17
BEARS AT LIONS- The Bears are bad, but the Lions may be worse. In this kind of a situation, I go with the home team, but does it even really matter? LIONS 21-20
BRONCOS AT BROWNS- Without Demarcus Ware, this game will be a lot more interesting. The Browns aren't nearly as bad as their record might suggest, and the Broncos aren't nearly as GOOD as THEIR record might suggest. The Broncos only barely beat the Raiders last week, and they could be walking into a buzz saw here. The thing that will tip the scales in favor of the Broncos is the fact that Joe Haden won't play. BRONCOS 28-24
TEXANS AT JAGUARS- These are two very bad teams. The Texans have yet to win a road game this season, and the Jaguars are 1-1 at home. God, I hate predicting meaningless games. JAGUARS 20-17
DOLPHINS AT TITANS- The Dolphins are in a state of utter chaos right now. The Titans lost two games by a combined score of 4 points in the last two weeks against better teams than the Dolphins. I have to imagine they'll win this one at home. TITANS 17-13
PANTHERS AT SEAHAWKS- The Seahawks have a bad record and the Panthers have a good one, but the Seahawks still have enough firepower to beat a team such as the Panthers at home. SEAHAWKS 31-23
CHARGERS AT PACKERS- If the Chargers just barely beat the Browns and lose to a Michael Vick-led Steelers team at home, then they're going to be absolutely blasted in Green Bay. PACKERS 35-20
RAVENS AT 49ERS- The 49ers have looked horrible this season, but they began to pick up offensive steam in their loss to the Giants last week. The Ravens will likely start Justin Forsett and possibly Crocket Gillmore, but Steve Smith is doubtful, and that leaves them with almost no serious wide receivers against a team that did manage to hold the Packers to a mere 17 points. PLEASE Joe, PROVE ME WRONG, I'M BEGGING YOU!!! 49ERS 27-23
PATRIOTS AT COLTS- The Patriots may have lost their left tackle, but that won't stop them from flattening the worst Colts team since Peyton Manning missed a season because of his neck injury. PATRIOTS 49-21
GIANTS AT EAGLES- The Eagles are coming off of their second win in three weeks. If the Giants were healthy, I would pick them. Odell Beckham and Victor Cruz are both injured, so is Prince Amukamara. This has Eagles written all over it. I'll be rooting for the Gmen though. EAGLES 33-28
AS RAVENS FANS, WE HAVE BEEN SPOILED FOR YEARS. OUR TEAM GIVES US A CONSISTENT, HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT. EVERY TEAM MUST OCCASIONALLY FACE A DOWN SEASON. THERE IS STILL HOPE THAT THE RAVENS CAN GET HEALTHY AND THEIR COACHING STAFF CAN MAKE SIGNIFICANT ADJUSTMENTS THAT WILL LEAD TO A STRING OF WINS AND PLAYOFF BERTH, BUT NONE OF THAT IS LIKELY WITH 4 LOSSES ALREADY IN THE BOOKS. THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD STOP WATCHING OR ROOTING FOR OUR GUYS, BUT IT MEANS THAT RAVENS FANS SHOULD TEMPER THEIR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS SEASON IF THEY HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO WITHIN THE LAST MONTH. AN EARLY PICKING SLOT IN THE DRAFT ORDER COULD BE JUST WHAT THIS TEAM NEEDS TO REGROUP AND MOVE FORWARD NEXT SEASON. DON'T LOSE HOPE, BUT TRY NOT TO LOSE YOUR MINDS, BALTIMORE. IT IS< AFTER ALL, JUST A GAME.
NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!!
Sunday, October 11, 2015
WEEK 5 NFL PREDICTIONS
The Week 4 Thursday night win over the Pittsburgh Steelers gave Ravens fans a glimmer of hope that their favorite team's season could yet be salvaged. Baltimore, after all, was able to go into a hostile road environment and squeak out a typical Ravens-Steelers style 3 point win and end their early season drought. The Ravens gashed the Steelers on the ground for over 170 yards, and the Ravens pass rush was able to come up with timely sacks on a highly elusive quarterback. The most promising aspect of the game, however, was the fact that the Ravens pass defense was finally able to hold an elite group of receivers to a mediocre receiving yardage total and come up with 4 stops on 4th down to help seal the fate of a Steelers team starting its backup quarterback for the first time this season.
How much does this win truly mean to the Ravens though? They weren't facing Ben Roethlisberger after all, and he's the absolute MVP of that Steelers offense, right? Yes, he is. The Ravens, on the other hand, had to deal with some crushing losses of their own including Steve Smith Sr., Michael Campanaro, Crockett Gilmore and the continued absence of both Eugene Monroe and of first round pick, Breshad Perriman. The Ravens, in fact, played the second half almost exclusively with receivers who would be backups on any team in the NFL at the wide receiver position.
The lack of starting-caliber targets forced the Ravens to engineer a resurgence in their rushing attack and rely upon pass-catching abilities of Darren Waller, Maxx Williams, and Kamar Aiken. If Baltimore can move the football in do-or-die situations using only those targets and the legs of Justin Forsett, then there is yet hope for the rest of their season as every receiving weapon currently missing in action will return sooner rather than later. Eugene Monroe is slated to play against the Browns this weekend, and the Ravens also will test out the athleticism and hands of newly acquired deep threat, Chris Givens.
Givens ran an official 4.35 second combine 40 yard dash in 2012 (not 4.41 as some have reported), and he has made plays on the field nearly any time he has been called upon and targeted in his relatively short career. His playing time fell by the wayside when the Ravens drafted Tavon Austin, but that in no way suggests a decline in his skill level; he simply lost his spot to an elite young talent with a similar skill set. The Rams have also lacked the consistent quarterback play during Givens' time in St. Louis, and Joe Flacco has the best arm to take advantage of a receiver with the sheer speed and burst Givens possesses. In the absence of Steve Smith, hopefully Givens' ability to stretch opposing defenses with help to open up the field for Aiken, Waller, Brown, Williams, Boyle, and the Ravens' running game.
Joe Flacco and company certainly have a favorable matchup this week against the Browns who happen to currently possess the league's worst defense. To add to their poor defensive ranking, the Browns also posses the league's second worst run defense, and that's a weakness the Ravens will look to exploit in order to move the chains, control the clock, and set up Flacco's patented deep bombs of of play-action fakes. This game, however, won't be easy. Despite an incredibly dominant 13-1 record over the Cleveland, Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh have won many games against the Browns by the skin of their teeth including two rather narrow wins last season. Josh McCown led the Browns to score 27 points against the Chargers last week, and he has beaten the Ravens before. This is a week where we'll get a better idea of whether or not last week's dominant performance by the Ravens secondary was just a product of a team playing its backup quarterback. The addition of Will Davis as the third cornerback certainly appeared to help solidify the pass defense, but it's possible that had a lot to do with the declining skills of Michael Vick. We'll know more by about 4:30 on Sunday. Speaking of Sunday, let's take a look at this week's picks!
WEEK 5 NFL PICKS
BEARS AT CHIEFS- The Bears may have just beat a solid Raiders team last week, but I'm not ready to suggest they're improved enough to beat the Chiefs in Aaronhead Stadium. CHIEFS 23-20
SEAHAWKS AT BENGALS- The Seahawks once again got the benefit of horrible officiating in a game they absolutely should have lost under the rules of the NFL. Seattle should be 1-3 right now, and the Bengals should be able to do just enough to beat them this week. This will be close though. BENGALS 28-24
REDSKINS AT FALCONS- The Redskins aren't a terrible team right now, but the Falcons have once again reached a state of dominance they haven't enjoyed since the retirement of Tony Gonzales. There's really not much too this one; Matt Ryan is ridiculously successful at home. FALCONS 30-17
JAGUARS AT BUCCANEERS- This game wins the award for least relevant matchup of the week. The Buccaneers are the better team. BUCCANEERS 35-21
SAINTS AT EAGLES- The Saints enjoyed an exciting win over the Cowboys in Week 4, but this should be a rare enjoyable matchup for Eagles fans. Drew Brees doesn't have the protection or the targets to match the Eagles touchdown for touchdown. Make no mistake: the Eagles still suck. This might give their fans a little hope though. EAGLES 38-28
BROWNS AT RAVENS- This should be the first truly dominant, balanced offensive day for the Ravens this season. Justin Forsett will set Joe Flacco up for nice passing opportunities, and Joe will likely hit Chris Givens for one or two deep strikes downfield. Josh McCown will find his rhythm at times, but the Ravens pass rush will give him a hard enough time at key moments. RAVENS 31-24
RAMS AT PACKERS- I...uhhh...do I really need to write this? PACKERS 38-20
BILLS AT TITANS- I thought the Bills would be much better than they are. Their elite defense of last season is essentially nowhere to be found. At 2-2, they're doing about as well as most teams in the league, but I like Marcus Mariota this week to out-duel Tyrod Taylor. TITANS 28-14
CARDINALS AT LIONS- The Lions should have won last week by all accounts, but they've still looked weak this season. Expect the Cardinals to bounce back after a shocking loss last week at the hands of the Rams. CARDINALS 28-20
PATRIOTS AT COWBOYS- The Boys will put up a points this weekend, but the Patriots will simply out score them. PATRIOTS 35-28
BRONCOS AT RAIDERS- This will be the prediction I'm most likely to regret making, but Derek Carr will outscore Peyton Manning. He has the talent, he has the home crowd, and Peyton has a weaker arm than in his youth. This will be a quarterback duel, but the pass rush of Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware won't mean much with Carr's mobility and the athleticism of his young targets. RAIDERS 27-24
49ERS AT GIANTS- The Giants are shaping up to be a solid team, and the 49ers have dropped off the face of the earth. Kaepernick is useless now that teams know how to contain him and force him to throw the football from the pocket. Poor Torrey. I know the Ravens aren't doing any better in the record department, but at least the Ravens losses have been close and to good teams. I'm sure old number 82 imagines his presence could have turned at least two of the Ravens' losses into wins....sigh. Back to the 49ers. The Giants knew very well how to beat the 49ers when the 49ers were an elite team--now San Fran is offensively worthless. GIANTS 42-10
STEELERS AT CHARGERS- I think it's funny that people believe that 10 days of preparation means that Michael Vick will suddenly look like a winner. He is horribly inaccurate at this point in his career, and his speed has diminished enough to take away what it was that once made him a serious weapon. Philip Rivers will tear that Steelers secondary apart. CHARGERS 33-17
THIS COULD VERY WELL BE THE BEGINNING OF A SERIOUS HOT STREAK FOR THE RAVENS CONSIDERING THE COMPARATIVE WEAKNESS OF THEIR SCHEDULE OVER THE NEXT TWO MONTHS. IF THE RAVENS RECEIVING CORPS BECOMES HEALTHY OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, WE COULD SEE THE RAVENS WIN 7 OF THEIR NEXT 8 GAMES, WHICH WOULD MEAN THEY'D ONLY LIKELY NEED TO WIN 2 OF THEIR FINAL 4 GAMES TO GO 10-6 AND SECURE A WILDCARD BERTH. THIS IS A WELL-COACHED TEAM. IT'S MUCH BETTER THIS TEAMS GOES THROUGH GROWING PAINS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON THAN AT THE END. KEEP THE FAITH BALTIMORE
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
How much does this win truly mean to the Ravens though? They weren't facing Ben Roethlisberger after all, and he's the absolute MVP of that Steelers offense, right? Yes, he is. The Ravens, on the other hand, had to deal with some crushing losses of their own including Steve Smith Sr., Michael Campanaro, Crockett Gilmore and the continued absence of both Eugene Monroe and of first round pick, Breshad Perriman. The Ravens, in fact, played the second half almost exclusively with receivers who would be backups on any team in the NFL at the wide receiver position.
The lack of starting-caliber targets forced the Ravens to engineer a resurgence in their rushing attack and rely upon pass-catching abilities of Darren Waller, Maxx Williams, and Kamar Aiken. If Baltimore can move the football in do-or-die situations using only those targets and the legs of Justin Forsett, then there is yet hope for the rest of their season as every receiving weapon currently missing in action will return sooner rather than later. Eugene Monroe is slated to play against the Browns this weekend, and the Ravens also will test out the athleticism and hands of newly acquired deep threat, Chris Givens.
Givens ran an official 4.35 second combine 40 yard dash in 2012 (not 4.41 as some have reported), and he has made plays on the field nearly any time he has been called upon and targeted in his relatively short career. His playing time fell by the wayside when the Ravens drafted Tavon Austin, but that in no way suggests a decline in his skill level; he simply lost his spot to an elite young talent with a similar skill set. The Rams have also lacked the consistent quarterback play during Givens' time in St. Louis, and Joe Flacco has the best arm to take advantage of a receiver with the sheer speed and burst Givens possesses. In the absence of Steve Smith, hopefully Givens' ability to stretch opposing defenses with help to open up the field for Aiken, Waller, Brown, Williams, Boyle, and the Ravens' running game.
Joe Flacco and company certainly have a favorable matchup this week against the Browns who happen to currently possess the league's worst defense. To add to their poor defensive ranking, the Browns also posses the league's second worst run defense, and that's a weakness the Ravens will look to exploit in order to move the chains, control the clock, and set up Flacco's patented deep bombs of of play-action fakes. This game, however, won't be easy. Despite an incredibly dominant 13-1 record over the Cleveland, Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh have won many games against the Browns by the skin of their teeth including two rather narrow wins last season. Josh McCown led the Browns to score 27 points against the Chargers last week, and he has beaten the Ravens before. This is a week where we'll get a better idea of whether or not last week's dominant performance by the Ravens secondary was just a product of a team playing its backup quarterback. The addition of Will Davis as the third cornerback certainly appeared to help solidify the pass defense, but it's possible that had a lot to do with the declining skills of Michael Vick. We'll know more by about 4:30 on Sunday. Speaking of Sunday, let's take a look at this week's picks!
WEEK 5 NFL PICKS
BEARS AT CHIEFS- The Bears may have just beat a solid Raiders team last week, but I'm not ready to suggest they're improved enough to beat the Chiefs in Aaronhead Stadium. CHIEFS 23-20
SEAHAWKS AT BENGALS- The Seahawks once again got the benefit of horrible officiating in a game they absolutely should have lost under the rules of the NFL. Seattle should be 1-3 right now, and the Bengals should be able to do just enough to beat them this week. This will be close though. BENGALS 28-24
REDSKINS AT FALCONS- The Redskins aren't a terrible team right now, but the Falcons have once again reached a state of dominance they haven't enjoyed since the retirement of Tony Gonzales. There's really not much too this one; Matt Ryan is ridiculously successful at home. FALCONS 30-17
JAGUARS AT BUCCANEERS- This game wins the award for least relevant matchup of the week. The Buccaneers are the better team. BUCCANEERS 35-21
SAINTS AT EAGLES- The Saints enjoyed an exciting win over the Cowboys in Week 4, but this should be a rare enjoyable matchup for Eagles fans. Drew Brees doesn't have the protection or the targets to match the Eagles touchdown for touchdown. Make no mistake: the Eagles still suck. This might give their fans a little hope though. EAGLES 38-28
BROWNS AT RAVENS- This should be the first truly dominant, balanced offensive day for the Ravens this season. Justin Forsett will set Joe Flacco up for nice passing opportunities, and Joe will likely hit Chris Givens for one or two deep strikes downfield. Josh McCown will find his rhythm at times, but the Ravens pass rush will give him a hard enough time at key moments. RAVENS 31-24
RAMS AT PACKERS- I...uhhh...do I really need to write this? PACKERS 38-20
BILLS AT TITANS- I thought the Bills would be much better than they are. Their elite defense of last season is essentially nowhere to be found. At 2-2, they're doing about as well as most teams in the league, but I like Marcus Mariota this week to out-duel Tyrod Taylor. TITANS 28-14
CARDINALS AT LIONS- The Lions should have won last week by all accounts, but they've still looked weak this season. Expect the Cardinals to bounce back after a shocking loss last week at the hands of the Rams. CARDINALS 28-20
PATRIOTS AT COWBOYS- The Boys will put up a points this weekend, but the Patriots will simply out score them. PATRIOTS 35-28
BRONCOS AT RAIDERS- This will be the prediction I'm most likely to regret making, but Derek Carr will outscore Peyton Manning. He has the talent, he has the home crowd, and Peyton has a weaker arm than in his youth. This will be a quarterback duel, but the pass rush of Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware won't mean much with Carr's mobility and the athleticism of his young targets. RAIDERS 27-24
49ERS AT GIANTS- The Giants are shaping up to be a solid team, and the 49ers have dropped off the face of the earth. Kaepernick is useless now that teams know how to contain him and force him to throw the football from the pocket. Poor Torrey. I know the Ravens aren't doing any better in the record department, but at least the Ravens losses have been close and to good teams. I'm sure old number 82 imagines his presence could have turned at least two of the Ravens' losses into wins....sigh. Back to the 49ers. The Giants knew very well how to beat the 49ers when the 49ers were an elite team--now San Fran is offensively worthless. GIANTS 42-10
STEELERS AT CHARGERS- I think it's funny that people believe that 10 days of preparation means that Michael Vick will suddenly look like a winner. He is horribly inaccurate at this point in his career, and his speed has diminished enough to take away what it was that once made him a serious weapon. Philip Rivers will tear that Steelers secondary apart. CHARGERS 33-17
THIS COULD VERY WELL BE THE BEGINNING OF A SERIOUS HOT STREAK FOR THE RAVENS CONSIDERING THE COMPARATIVE WEAKNESS OF THEIR SCHEDULE OVER THE NEXT TWO MONTHS. IF THE RAVENS RECEIVING CORPS BECOMES HEALTHY OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, WE COULD SEE THE RAVENS WIN 7 OF THEIR NEXT 8 GAMES, WHICH WOULD MEAN THEY'D ONLY LIKELY NEED TO WIN 2 OF THEIR FINAL 4 GAMES TO GO 10-6 AND SECURE A WILDCARD BERTH. THIS IS A WELL-COACHED TEAM. IT'S MUCH BETTER THIS TEAMS GOES THROUGH GROWING PAINS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON THAN AT THE END. KEEP THE FAITH BALTIMORE
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
Sunday, October 4, 2015
WEEK 4 NFL PICKS
Few things infuriate me more than when news is sensationalized and consequently misreported. This tends to happen frequently with sports injuries. Earlier this season, I heard speculation that Breshad Perriman had some serious degenerative joint issue known as Osgood Schlatter disease *gasp*. I, however, knew quite well that Osgood Schlatter is simply tendinitis in the knees that typically accompanies teenage growth--I had it myself. Suddenly countless callers flooded the airwaves on 105.7 The Fan with nonsensical ideas that Ozzie Newsome missed a major red flag with Perriman, and it is finally time for Ozzie to go...because...well...any idiot can call a radio station. In reality, Breshad Perriman has a sprained PCL, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he had tendinitis in his knees during his teenage years. Perriman will absolutely make it to the field this season, and I'm quite confident we'll see him in a helmet and pads within the month of October.
Yesterday morning news broke that Steve Smith had 4 broken bones in his back and that the Ravens were in "wait and see mode." To nearly anyone who read that report it appeared as though Steve Smith had 4 cracks in his spine and his career could potentially be over. The Ravens swooped in, and John Harbaugh clarified the situation. Harbaugh explained that Smith actually simply has 4 microfractures in the RIBS in his back. This injury could take simply two weeks to heal, and while the veteran receiver has already been ruled out for the Week 5 divisional showdown with the Browns, Steve Smith should be expected to be ready to face the 49ers in Week 6 or the Cardinals in Week 7 at the latest. This morning was, nevertheless, utterly saturated with Ravens fans all over the internet so ready to call it a season and drown themselves head first in their respective punch bowls filled with purple cool aid that my head felt as though it would burst had I not decided to simply close up my laptop and ignore their catastrophizing. All of the relatively needless worry about Steve Smith detracted from some pretty fantastic news.
No, it wasn't good news that the Ravens had to put Michael Campanaro on season-ending injured reserve, but the end of his season prompted the Ravens to trade a late round conditional draft pick in the 2017 draft for extremely speedy former Rams receiver, Chris Givens. Givens ran a blazing fast official NFL combine 40 yard dash of 4.35 seconds. To put that into perspective, Torrey Smith ran a 4.41 official forty yard dash at the NFL combine. Givens isn't a pro bowler by any stretch of the imagination, but his ability to stretch opposing defenses should help to open up the middle of the field for the Ravens host of young, talented tight ends and also their second tier receivers such as Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown. Givens had between 600-700 receiving yards per year for his first two seasons in the NFL, but the Rams brought in other receivers they favored more and his targets dropped significantly. It's also important to note that the Rams never had a serious quarterback from whom Givens could catch passes for any significant period of time, so it's simply no surprise that he didn't rack up mind-boggling statistics in St. Louis. Now he will be targeted by the strongest arm in the NFL on deep passes, and he absolutely possesses the high-end speed to allow Joe to launch bombs knowing his target will be able to hit that second gear to catch up to the ball and snag it. He's not incredibly tall at 6'0", but the Ravens need him to separate, not catch jump balls. This isn't a groundbreaking, landmark acquisition, but Givens is definitely a timely addition while the starting Ravens WRs recover from injuries.
On the defensive side, Will Davis appears to be the factor that finally brought the Ravens defense back to life. With Davis playing significant snaps, in fact, the Ravens were able to limit vaunted receiver, Antonio Brown, to a mere 42 receiving yards in their win in Pittsburgh over a Big Benless Steelers team on Thursday night. Not having Ben certainly helped the Ravens defense, but it's not as though Michael Vick can't throw a football. What was apparent was that regardless of Vick's accuracy (or lack thereof), the Steelers receivers struggled for most of the latter half of the game to separate from the Ravens defensive backs, and that still would have been the case with Roethlisberger playing. Davis earned the second highest defensive grade on the team according to Pro Football Focus, and suddenly the Ravens were able to hold the Steelers scoreless for nearly the entire second half and overtime. The Ravens finally got back to Ravens-style football with multiple stops on 4th down and grinding out a victory with a thunderous rushing attack. That may not be the style of football that thrills many fans nationwide, but it warmed my heart to see an old school AFC North slugfest. I'm well aware that plenty of Ravens fans still fear playing a game without Steve Smith, and I understand why, but this team showed it could win on the road and finally finish a decent team off with suffocating defense. There is yet hope for our birds. Ok, let's take a look at this week's picks!
WEEK 4 NFL PREDICTIONS
RAVENS AT STEELERS- Well we already know how this one ended, but my Thursday night prediction of Ravens 27-20 was pleasantly accurate. The Ravens, of course, won 23-20 in an overtime thriller.
JETS AT DOLPHINS- The Jets came back down to earth last week, but I'm troubled by the current state of the Dolphins. Divisional battles are always difficult to predict, but I'll give the edge to gang green because of their defense. JETS 21-20
JAGUARS AT COLTS- The Colts only barely won one of their games thus far, but there's absolutely no reason they shouldn't beat the Jaguars in Indy to improve to 2-2. The Colts defense isn't good though, so this will be another one that ends up waaaay too close for the comfort of Colts fans. COLTS 33-28
GIANTS AT BILLS- No Victor Cruz means Tyrod Taylor will beat a quarterback who has won multiple Super Bowls...kind of a weird thought. BILLS 24-17
PANTHERS AT BUCCANEERS- The Panthers appear to be having some injury issues with Luke Kuechly, but they're still a better team than the Bucs even on a bad day. PANTHERS 20-17
EAGLES AT REDSKINS- Chip Kelly has failed as an NFL coach. This isn't college. It isn't all about his little system, or maybe it is and his system sucks anyway. REDSKINS 28-21
RAIDERS AT BEARS- I'm not sure the Bears even care whether or not they win another game. They could be angling for the #1 pick in the draft. RAIDERS 35-13
TEXANS AT FALCONS- The Texans are simply not a good team this year, and the Falcons are pretty explosive at home. Get em, Julio. FALCONS 42-23
CHIEFS AT BENGALS- I know the Bengals ultimately beat the Ravens, but I wasn't nearly as impressed with them as I thought I would be. With that said, they're still a more complete team than the Chiefs at this point. BENGALS 27-20
BROWNS AT CHARGERS- I don't think this needs much explanation. The Browns aren't good--they're never good. CHARGERS 30-16
PACKERS AT 49ERS- This is another game whose outcome should surprise no one. PACKERS 38-13
RAMS AT CARDINALS- The Cardinals are a top 3 team in the league right now. The Rams can't do much away from home and when playing anyone other than the Seahawks. CARDINALS 31-17
VIKINGS AT BRONCOS- The Vikings are starting to look better than they initially appeared. This will be far closer than many anticipate. BRONCOS 24-21
COWBOYS AT SAINTS- The Saints are bad at football. COWBOYS 35-19
LIONS AT SEAHAWKS- I figured the Lions defense would be a lot better than it has been, but then again, they replaced Suh with Ngata, and neither one of those men has produced much at all this season. Gotta go with the home team in this one. SEAHAWKS 27-23
IT SURE WILL BE NICE TO KICK BACK AND ENJOY FOOTBALL ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT WITHOUT THE FEAR THAT THE RAVENS WILL ONCE AGAIN LOSE. MY HOPES WERE AT LEAST SOMEWHAT RENEWED AS TUCKER BOOTED THAT BALL FROM 52 YARDS OUT. THIS SEASON IS FAR FROM OVER.
KEEP THE FAITH, BALTIMORE
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
Yesterday morning news broke that Steve Smith had 4 broken bones in his back and that the Ravens were in "wait and see mode." To nearly anyone who read that report it appeared as though Steve Smith had 4 cracks in his spine and his career could potentially be over. The Ravens swooped in, and John Harbaugh clarified the situation. Harbaugh explained that Smith actually simply has 4 microfractures in the RIBS in his back. This injury could take simply two weeks to heal, and while the veteran receiver has already been ruled out for the Week 5 divisional showdown with the Browns, Steve Smith should be expected to be ready to face the 49ers in Week 6 or the Cardinals in Week 7 at the latest. This morning was, nevertheless, utterly saturated with Ravens fans all over the internet so ready to call it a season and drown themselves head first in their respective punch bowls filled with purple cool aid that my head felt as though it would burst had I not decided to simply close up my laptop and ignore their catastrophizing. All of the relatively needless worry about Steve Smith detracted from some pretty fantastic news.
No, it wasn't good news that the Ravens had to put Michael Campanaro on season-ending injured reserve, but the end of his season prompted the Ravens to trade a late round conditional draft pick in the 2017 draft for extremely speedy former Rams receiver, Chris Givens. Givens ran a blazing fast official NFL combine 40 yard dash of 4.35 seconds. To put that into perspective, Torrey Smith ran a 4.41 official forty yard dash at the NFL combine. Givens isn't a pro bowler by any stretch of the imagination, but his ability to stretch opposing defenses should help to open up the middle of the field for the Ravens host of young, talented tight ends and also their second tier receivers such as Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown. Givens had between 600-700 receiving yards per year for his first two seasons in the NFL, but the Rams brought in other receivers they favored more and his targets dropped significantly. It's also important to note that the Rams never had a serious quarterback from whom Givens could catch passes for any significant period of time, so it's simply no surprise that he didn't rack up mind-boggling statistics in St. Louis. Now he will be targeted by the strongest arm in the NFL on deep passes, and he absolutely possesses the high-end speed to allow Joe to launch bombs knowing his target will be able to hit that second gear to catch up to the ball and snag it. He's not incredibly tall at 6'0", but the Ravens need him to separate, not catch jump balls. This isn't a groundbreaking, landmark acquisition, but Givens is definitely a timely addition while the starting Ravens WRs recover from injuries.
On the defensive side, Will Davis appears to be the factor that finally brought the Ravens defense back to life. With Davis playing significant snaps, in fact, the Ravens were able to limit vaunted receiver, Antonio Brown, to a mere 42 receiving yards in their win in Pittsburgh over a Big Benless Steelers team on Thursday night. Not having Ben certainly helped the Ravens defense, but it's not as though Michael Vick can't throw a football. What was apparent was that regardless of Vick's accuracy (or lack thereof), the Steelers receivers struggled for most of the latter half of the game to separate from the Ravens defensive backs, and that still would have been the case with Roethlisberger playing. Davis earned the second highest defensive grade on the team according to Pro Football Focus, and suddenly the Ravens were able to hold the Steelers scoreless for nearly the entire second half and overtime. The Ravens finally got back to Ravens-style football with multiple stops on 4th down and grinding out a victory with a thunderous rushing attack. That may not be the style of football that thrills many fans nationwide, but it warmed my heart to see an old school AFC North slugfest. I'm well aware that plenty of Ravens fans still fear playing a game without Steve Smith, and I understand why, but this team showed it could win on the road and finally finish a decent team off with suffocating defense. There is yet hope for our birds. Ok, let's take a look at this week's picks!
WEEK 4 NFL PREDICTIONS
RAVENS AT STEELERS- Well we already know how this one ended, but my Thursday night prediction of Ravens 27-20 was pleasantly accurate. The Ravens, of course, won 23-20 in an overtime thriller.
JETS AT DOLPHINS- The Jets came back down to earth last week, but I'm troubled by the current state of the Dolphins. Divisional battles are always difficult to predict, but I'll give the edge to gang green because of their defense. JETS 21-20
JAGUARS AT COLTS- The Colts only barely won one of their games thus far, but there's absolutely no reason they shouldn't beat the Jaguars in Indy to improve to 2-2. The Colts defense isn't good though, so this will be another one that ends up waaaay too close for the comfort of Colts fans. COLTS 33-28
GIANTS AT BILLS- No Victor Cruz means Tyrod Taylor will beat a quarterback who has won multiple Super Bowls...kind of a weird thought. BILLS 24-17
PANTHERS AT BUCCANEERS- The Panthers appear to be having some injury issues with Luke Kuechly, but they're still a better team than the Bucs even on a bad day. PANTHERS 20-17
EAGLES AT REDSKINS- Chip Kelly has failed as an NFL coach. This isn't college. It isn't all about his little system, or maybe it is and his system sucks anyway. REDSKINS 28-21
RAIDERS AT BEARS- I'm not sure the Bears even care whether or not they win another game. They could be angling for the #1 pick in the draft. RAIDERS 35-13
TEXANS AT FALCONS- The Texans are simply not a good team this year, and the Falcons are pretty explosive at home. Get em, Julio. FALCONS 42-23
CHIEFS AT BENGALS- I know the Bengals ultimately beat the Ravens, but I wasn't nearly as impressed with them as I thought I would be. With that said, they're still a more complete team than the Chiefs at this point. BENGALS 27-20
BROWNS AT CHARGERS- I don't think this needs much explanation. The Browns aren't good--they're never good. CHARGERS 30-16
PACKERS AT 49ERS- This is another game whose outcome should surprise no one. PACKERS 38-13
RAMS AT CARDINALS- The Cardinals are a top 3 team in the league right now. The Rams can't do much away from home and when playing anyone other than the Seahawks. CARDINALS 31-17
VIKINGS AT BRONCOS- The Vikings are starting to look better than they initially appeared. This will be far closer than many anticipate. BRONCOS 24-21
COWBOYS AT SAINTS- The Saints are bad at football. COWBOYS 35-19
LIONS AT SEAHAWKS- I figured the Lions defense would be a lot better than it has been, but then again, they replaced Suh with Ngata, and neither one of those men has produced much at all this season. Gotta go with the home team in this one. SEAHAWKS 27-23
IT SURE WILL BE NICE TO KICK BACK AND ENJOY FOOTBALL ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT WITHOUT THE FEAR THAT THE RAVENS WILL ONCE AGAIN LOSE. MY HOPES WERE AT LEAST SOMEWHAT RENEWED AS TUCKER BOOTED THAT BALL FROM 52 YARDS OUT. THIS SEASON IS FAR FROM OVER.
KEEP THE FAITH, BALTIMORE
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
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