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!!!
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