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!!!
Sunday, October 11, 2015
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!!!
Sunday, September 27, 2015
WEEK 3 NFL PREDICTIONS!!!
There's simply no telling which Ravens team will show up from week to week at this point. Either the defense is absolutely lock down and the offense looks inept or the offense is firing on all cylinders and the defense looks as bad as it ever has in the last 4 years. What will be different about their game about the Bengals? Fortunately for the Ravens, the the Bengals are 2-5 in Baltimore during Joe Flacco's career. Unfortunately for the Ravens, the Bengals are a healthy, complete, fierce team right now, and Andy Dalton is in the phase of his season where he forgets that he's not a great quarterback. The biggest question is whether or not the Ravens can learn from the mistakes of each of the last two weeks and put together a complete game against a quality team at home. Only time will tell.
Beyond the Bengals-Ravens game, Week 3 of the 2015 NFL season features few titanic match-ups. That is at least in part due to the fact that many of last year's powerhouse teams, such as the Seahawks, Colts, and Ravens, have started 0-2. This week does, however, feature some confrontations between teams that have yet to reveal their true identity. We, for example, don't know if the Eagles are already a lost cause with their 0-2 start, and it's difficult to know if the team they face, the Jets, are truly as good as they looked against the Colts last week. The Steelers could quite easily have their hands full in St. Louis against a Rams team that holds its own quite well at home despite a trend of poor road appearances, and we'll see if Derek Carr is as good as he looked against the Ravens last week when he leads his team into Cleveland to face the Browns. No, this week might not feature a host of major rivalry games between traditionally elite teams, but it should be an educational experience nevertheless. Without further ado, it's time for the picks!
WEEK 3 NFL PREDICTIONS
REDSKINS AT GIANTS- I posted my prediction for this game on Facebook as 23-20, Giants. The Giants ended up winning 32-21 and finally finished a game.
FALCONS AT COWBOYS- The Falcons look vastly improved from last season, and the Cowboys will be without Dez and Romo for a while. I have zero faith in Old Man Weeden. FALCONS 31-20
COLTS AT TITANS- I keep on placing faith in the Colts, and they keep letting me down. I, however, am going to give the Colts the benefit of a doubt one more time as I believe they're an organization with coaches and a quarterback who all know how to make adjustments after a rough start to a season. COLTS 28-24
RAIDERS AT BROWNS- The Ravens should be embarrassed about losing last week to the Raiders, but not as embarrassed as many people think. Maybe Derek Carr won't feel nearly as comfortable on the road, but as bad as the Raiders looked in Week 1 against the Bengals, one has to remember that Carr came out of the game in the first quarter with an injured hand. The Browns are perplexingly starting Josh McCown after Johnny Football led them to a win last week...that's how poorly that organization is run. RAIDERS 21-17
BENGALS AT RAVENS- My heart tells me the Ravens will win an emotional home opener, but my brain tells me the Bengals don't have any notable weaknesses in any phase of their game. Jimmy Smith will likely be able to limit A.J. Green, but the Bengals simply have too many other weapons between Mohammed Sanu, Tyler Eifert, Marvin Jones, Giovanni Bernard, and Jeremy Hill. The Bengals are also healthier on defense than the Ravens at the moment. Oh and let's not forget that Eugene Monroe is once again out with a concussion, which leaves James Hurst to start in his place against a formidable Bengals pass rush. My brain tells me Ravens fans will have their hearts broken on yet another late touchdown drive given up against a Suggsless Ravens defense. My heart prays that the Ravens prove my brain wrong. BENGALS 30-27
JAGUARS AT PATRIOTS- What a snoozefest. PATRIOT 42-13
SAINTS AT PANTHERS- Drew Brees is out for this game...but even if he were playing, they'd still lose. PANTHERS 35-10
EAGLES AT JETS- I like what I've seen from Gang Green, and Chip Kelly's predictable play-calling will allow Revis to feast in the interception department. JETS 28-20
BUCCANEERS AT TEXANS- The Texans faced two tough matchups through their first two weeks. The Buccaneers aren't total scrubs, but Mike Evans is dealing with a hamstring injury, and beating a worthless Saints team is much easier than going up against J.J. Watt and company in Houston. TEXANS 24-21
CHARGERS AT VIKINGS- The Chargers are simply a better team than the Vikings, and they won't be dealing with absolutely frigid temperatures tomorrow in Minnesota. CHARGERS 33-20
STEELERS AT RAMS- The Steelers still don't have much in the way of defense, but the return of Le'Veon Bell should bolster and already spectacular offense. STEELERS 38-27
49ERS AT CARDINALS- The 49ers are bad at football. CARDINALS 42-24
BILLS AT DOLPHINS- I'd like to think the Dolphins can right the ship after last week, but the Bills impressed me as they gave the Patriots a good fight. I'll be rooting for the Fins, but until Suh can give them something serious in the pass rush department, they're going to have trouble with quality teams. This game could absolutely go either way though. BILLS 21-20
BEARS AT SEAHAWKS- The Seahawks will finally have a chance to lay the smackdown on a crappy team at home. SEAHAWKS 36-19
BRONCOS AT LIONS- Jim Caldwell might know Peyton Manning fairly well, but the Lions haven't won a game and the Broncos haven't lost a game. Peyton will relish playing in a dome--even though it isn't HIS dome. BRONCOS 23-21
CHIEFS AT PACKERS- I like to watch Justin Houston, but Aaron Rodgers is highly mobile and tough to sack. Oh, and he's also ridiculously good at home. PACKERS 27-23
The first four weeks of any season are difficult to predict because of a lack of a serious collection of statistics, but this week will go a long way to establishing the identities of many teams in question thus far. The Ravens are absolutely one of those teams. If they can win their home opener against a quality Bengals team without major injury issues, I like the odds of them winning 10-11 games this season considering their potential once their first round pick takes the field in the next week or two.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
Beyond the Bengals-Ravens game, Week 3 of the 2015 NFL season features few titanic match-ups. That is at least in part due to the fact that many of last year's powerhouse teams, such as the Seahawks, Colts, and Ravens, have started 0-2. This week does, however, feature some confrontations between teams that have yet to reveal their true identity. We, for example, don't know if the Eagles are already a lost cause with their 0-2 start, and it's difficult to know if the team they face, the Jets, are truly as good as they looked against the Colts last week. The Steelers could quite easily have their hands full in St. Louis against a Rams team that holds its own quite well at home despite a trend of poor road appearances, and we'll see if Derek Carr is as good as he looked against the Ravens last week when he leads his team into Cleveland to face the Browns. No, this week might not feature a host of major rivalry games between traditionally elite teams, but it should be an educational experience nevertheless. Without further ado, it's time for the picks!
WEEK 3 NFL PREDICTIONS
REDSKINS AT GIANTS- I posted my prediction for this game on Facebook as 23-20, Giants. The Giants ended up winning 32-21 and finally finished a game.
FALCONS AT COWBOYS- The Falcons look vastly improved from last season, and the Cowboys will be without Dez and Romo for a while. I have zero faith in Old Man Weeden. FALCONS 31-20
COLTS AT TITANS- I keep on placing faith in the Colts, and they keep letting me down. I, however, am going to give the Colts the benefit of a doubt one more time as I believe they're an organization with coaches and a quarterback who all know how to make adjustments after a rough start to a season. COLTS 28-24
RAIDERS AT BROWNS- The Ravens should be embarrassed about losing last week to the Raiders, but not as embarrassed as many people think. Maybe Derek Carr won't feel nearly as comfortable on the road, but as bad as the Raiders looked in Week 1 against the Bengals, one has to remember that Carr came out of the game in the first quarter with an injured hand. The Browns are perplexingly starting Josh McCown after Johnny Football led them to a win last week...that's how poorly that organization is run. RAIDERS 21-17
BENGALS AT RAVENS- My heart tells me the Ravens will win an emotional home opener, but my brain tells me the Bengals don't have any notable weaknesses in any phase of their game. Jimmy Smith will likely be able to limit A.J. Green, but the Bengals simply have too many other weapons between Mohammed Sanu, Tyler Eifert, Marvin Jones, Giovanni Bernard, and Jeremy Hill. The Bengals are also healthier on defense than the Ravens at the moment. Oh and let's not forget that Eugene Monroe is once again out with a concussion, which leaves James Hurst to start in his place against a formidable Bengals pass rush. My brain tells me Ravens fans will have their hearts broken on yet another late touchdown drive given up against a Suggsless Ravens defense. My heart prays that the Ravens prove my brain wrong. BENGALS 30-27
JAGUARS AT PATRIOTS- What a snoozefest. PATRIOT 42-13
SAINTS AT PANTHERS- Drew Brees is out for this game...but even if he were playing, they'd still lose. PANTHERS 35-10
EAGLES AT JETS- I like what I've seen from Gang Green, and Chip Kelly's predictable play-calling will allow Revis to feast in the interception department. JETS 28-20
BUCCANEERS AT TEXANS- The Texans faced two tough matchups through their first two weeks. The Buccaneers aren't total scrubs, but Mike Evans is dealing with a hamstring injury, and beating a worthless Saints team is much easier than going up against J.J. Watt and company in Houston. TEXANS 24-21
CHARGERS AT VIKINGS- The Chargers are simply a better team than the Vikings, and they won't be dealing with absolutely frigid temperatures tomorrow in Minnesota. CHARGERS 33-20
STEELERS AT RAMS- The Steelers still don't have much in the way of defense, but the return of Le'Veon Bell should bolster and already spectacular offense. STEELERS 38-27
49ERS AT CARDINALS- The 49ers are bad at football. CARDINALS 42-24
BILLS AT DOLPHINS- I'd like to think the Dolphins can right the ship after last week, but the Bills impressed me as they gave the Patriots a good fight. I'll be rooting for the Fins, but until Suh can give them something serious in the pass rush department, they're going to have trouble with quality teams. This game could absolutely go either way though. BILLS 21-20
BEARS AT SEAHAWKS- The Seahawks will finally have a chance to lay the smackdown on a crappy team at home. SEAHAWKS 36-19
BRONCOS AT LIONS- Jim Caldwell might know Peyton Manning fairly well, but the Lions haven't won a game and the Broncos haven't lost a game. Peyton will relish playing in a dome--even though it isn't HIS dome. BRONCOS 23-21
CHIEFS AT PACKERS- I like to watch Justin Houston, but Aaron Rodgers is highly mobile and tough to sack. Oh, and he's also ridiculously good at home. PACKERS 27-23
The first four weeks of any season are difficult to predict because of a lack of a serious collection of statistics, but this week will go a long way to establishing the identities of many teams in question thus far. The Ravens are absolutely one of those teams. If they can win their home opener against a quality Bengals team without major injury issues, I like the odds of them winning 10-11 games this season considering their potential once their first round pick takes the field in the next week or two.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
RAVENS-RAIDERS REFLECTION: RAVENS MUST REGROUP
The Ravens sit in uncharted territory. This is the first time during the Flacco-Harbaugh era that the team has begun the season 0-2. I wish I could pinpoint exactly one major flaw the Ravens must correct to get over the hump and turn two narrow losses into wins, but each loss was for profoundly different reasons. In Week 1, the defense appeared to be easily one of the top units in the league as it held Peyton Manning out of the end zone IN DENVER! In Week 2, by contrast, that very same defense couldn't stop a second year quarterback on a presumably abysmal team from completing drive after drive and ultimately scoring 37 points. If there is one thing both of these games have in common, however, it's that the Ravens possessed 4th quarter leads against both the Broncos and Raiders only to falter on final drives that resulted in what could've and should've been touchdown passes to Steve Smith. There is no shame in losing to the Broncos in a hard-fought road game, but there IS shame in losing against the Raiders when the Raiders didn't even have a healthy secondary.
I've listened to callers blast Lardarius Webb on the radio and seen plenty of people suggest he needs to be cut on Facebook in large part because those same people didn't know what it was they were looking at on Sunday. Lardarius Webb actually played out of his mind. He had spectacular diving passes defensed, but critics seemed to believe Webby got burned on a double move by a receiver--he did not. The Ravens were in Tampa 2 coverage, and Webby covered the receiver through his zone before releasing him to the safety who was SUPPOSED to be there to pick him up. The safety, Kendrick Lewis, was instead in the middle of the field, and Lardarius Webb had to sprint back after the receiver and leap onto his back to make the tackle to save a touchdown. Webb, in fact, had the highest grade of any defensive player on the team according to Pro Football Focus, and Kendrick Lewis had the lowest grade of any defender. The bad news is that the loss to the Raiders counts just as much as a loss to the Broncos, but the good news is that there are still 14 more games to get it right, and the miscommunications in the secondary are easily correctable.
Another frustrating defensive issue was the lack of a pass rush nearly the entire game. The Ravens sacked Peyton Manning 5 times the week prior, but left Derek Carr untouched until after he released the ball if they were able to hit him at all. Ravens Defensive Coordinator, Dean Pees, was not creative in his blitzing, and almost didn't blitz at all. He, instead, appeared to stay in kind of a soft prevent defense for nearly all of the game. One of the most puzzling things that a great number of fans appeared to pick up on was the type of coverage Pees put his corners in on 3rd and short situations. One doesn't typically have corners play 7-10 yards off the line when the opposing team needs only to gain 2 yards for a first down. The play of the Ravens defensive backs as a whole was often atrocious on Sunday, but it was not helped by lackluster schemes.
The Ravens just announced that they traded a 7th round pick in the 2016 draft for former Dolphins corner, Will Davis. That move may simply serve to add depth while Rashaan Melvin works back from a thigh injury, but it may also serve as notice to the veteran corners that their jobs are not set in stone and anyone can be benched. Davis is not the only addition to the Ravens that may soon see the field. Terrell Suggs' replacement, former Pro Bowl outside linebacker Jason Babin, was not active for the Raiders game, but he'll presumably be active against the Bengals this weekend. Babin, despite his advanced age of 35, ranked as the 9th best outside linebacker in the league last season with the Jets, and Suggs ranked 4th overall. That shouldn't nearly the drop-off that many are expecting, but we shouldn't expect Babin to play every down. At the very least, Babin's presence should help the Ravens generate a pass rush without having to blitz heavily, and he should take pressure off of Dumervil.
Another player the Ravens have yet to add to the lineup is injured receiver, Breshad Perriman. Perriman's knee issue has many people proclaiming him to be a bust because of nothing more than sheer ignorance. They heard that Perriman has had Osgood Schlatter disease in the past, and they assumed it was some sort of serious, degenerative disease. Perriman does not currently have Osgood Schlatter. I had Osgood Schlatter during middle school, and it went away by 9th grade. Perriman, instead, is currently working through a sprained PCL. That is an injury that was caused by an impact to his knee, and is unrelated to anything he had as an adolescent or anything his family members had at any time. Perriman also appears as though he's finally able to cut and jog. It wouldn't surprise me if the speedy wideout isn't activated for this week's game, but it would surprise me tremendously if he doesn't get back to practice before the Ravens travel to Pittsburgh the following Thursday. The Ravens do have targets, and their pass protection looked better last week even against Khalil Mack and Justin Tuck, but nothing helps the Ravens weapons get open all over the field like a deep threat who can stretch out opposing defenses. The Ravens know this well, and they know that Perriman's presence is absolutely vital to the team's offensive success this season. A deep threat helps open up the middle of the field, and it helps open up the run. It also takes advantage of arguably the strongest arm in the NFL.
Everything wrong with the Ravens right now can be corrected with schematic adjustments and the addition of injured or recently acquired personnel. The issue is that their schedule in the next three weeks is absolutely daunting. The Ravens face all three of their AFC North foes in a row, and each one has a better record than Baltimore. Let's hope that the Ravens can simply put it all together. Instead of the defense looking great while the offense looks horrible and vice versa the next week, let's hope the Ravens coaching staff and players can put up a complete effort and beat a formidable Bengals foe in Baltimore for the home opener. Remember, the Patriots went 1-2 through their first three weeks last season, and they won homefield advantage through the playoffs and the Super Bowl. It's not too late to right the ship and dominate, but we'll know a lot more about exactly what the coaching staff is capable of doing after Sunday.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
I've listened to callers blast Lardarius Webb on the radio and seen plenty of people suggest he needs to be cut on Facebook in large part because those same people didn't know what it was they were looking at on Sunday. Lardarius Webb actually played out of his mind. He had spectacular diving passes defensed, but critics seemed to believe Webby got burned on a double move by a receiver--he did not. The Ravens were in Tampa 2 coverage, and Webby covered the receiver through his zone before releasing him to the safety who was SUPPOSED to be there to pick him up. The safety, Kendrick Lewis, was instead in the middle of the field, and Lardarius Webb had to sprint back after the receiver and leap onto his back to make the tackle to save a touchdown. Webb, in fact, had the highest grade of any defensive player on the team according to Pro Football Focus, and Kendrick Lewis had the lowest grade of any defender. The bad news is that the loss to the Raiders counts just as much as a loss to the Broncos, but the good news is that there are still 14 more games to get it right, and the miscommunications in the secondary are easily correctable.
Another frustrating defensive issue was the lack of a pass rush nearly the entire game. The Ravens sacked Peyton Manning 5 times the week prior, but left Derek Carr untouched until after he released the ball if they were able to hit him at all. Ravens Defensive Coordinator, Dean Pees, was not creative in his blitzing, and almost didn't blitz at all. He, instead, appeared to stay in kind of a soft prevent defense for nearly all of the game. One of the most puzzling things that a great number of fans appeared to pick up on was the type of coverage Pees put his corners in on 3rd and short situations. One doesn't typically have corners play 7-10 yards off the line when the opposing team needs only to gain 2 yards for a first down. The play of the Ravens defensive backs as a whole was often atrocious on Sunday, but it was not helped by lackluster schemes.
The Ravens just announced that they traded a 7th round pick in the 2016 draft for former Dolphins corner, Will Davis. That move may simply serve to add depth while Rashaan Melvin works back from a thigh injury, but it may also serve as notice to the veteran corners that their jobs are not set in stone and anyone can be benched. Davis is not the only addition to the Ravens that may soon see the field. Terrell Suggs' replacement, former Pro Bowl outside linebacker Jason Babin, was not active for the Raiders game, but he'll presumably be active against the Bengals this weekend. Babin, despite his advanced age of 35, ranked as the 9th best outside linebacker in the league last season with the Jets, and Suggs ranked 4th overall. That shouldn't nearly the drop-off that many are expecting, but we shouldn't expect Babin to play every down. At the very least, Babin's presence should help the Ravens generate a pass rush without having to blitz heavily, and he should take pressure off of Dumervil.
Another player the Ravens have yet to add to the lineup is injured receiver, Breshad Perriman. Perriman's knee issue has many people proclaiming him to be a bust because of nothing more than sheer ignorance. They heard that Perriman has had Osgood Schlatter disease in the past, and they assumed it was some sort of serious, degenerative disease. Perriman does not currently have Osgood Schlatter. I had Osgood Schlatter during middle school, and it went away by 9th grade. Perriman, instead, is currently working through a sprained PCL. That is an injury that was caused by an impact to his knee, and is unrelated to anything he had as an adolescent or anything his family members had at any time. Perriman also appears as though he's finally able to cut and jog. It wouldn't surprise me if the speedy wideout isn't activated for this week's game, but it would surprise me tremendously if he doesn't get back to practice before the Ravens travel to Pittsburgh the following Thursday. The Ravens do have targets, and their pass protection looked better last week even against Khalil Mack and Justin Tuck, but nothing helps the Ravens weapons get open all over the field like a deep threat who can stretch out opposing defenses. The Ravens know this well, and they know that Perriman's presence is absolutely vital to the team's offensive success this season. A deep threat helps open up the middle of the field, and it helps open up the run. It also takes advantage of arguably the strongest arm in the NFL.
Everything wrong with the Ravens right now can be corrected with schematic adjustments and the addition of injured or recently acquired personnel. The issue is that their schedule in the next three weeks is absolutely daunting. The Ravens face all three of their AFC North foes in a row, and each one has a better record than Baltimore. Let's hope that the Ravens can simply put it all together. Instead of the defense looking great while the offense looks horrible and vice versa the next week, let's hope the Ravens coaching staff and players can put up a complete effort and beat a formidable Bengals foe in Baltimore for the home opener. Remember, the Patriots went 1-2 through their first three weeks last season, and they won homefield advantage through the playoffs and the Super Bowl. It's not too late to right the ship and dominate, but we'll know a lot more about exactly what the coaching staff is capable of doing after Sunday.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
Saturday, September 19, 2015
WEEK 2 NFL PREDICTIONS!!
I wasn't wrong about Peyton Manning being noticeably less accurate this year than he has been in the past. I did, however, overestimate just how effective the Ravens offensive line would be against the Broncos pass rush. The Broncos corners were also far more impressive than I had anticipated--but then again maybe that's just what the Ravens look like without a legitimate deep threat on the field for the first time in nearly half a decade. It wasn't until the final drive of the game that the Ravens actually truly moved the football. It also appeared as though Marc Trestman has not yet fully mastered play-calling with his current personnel. Between offensive line ineptitude, a lack of deep threat speed, and subpar play-calling, the Ravens offense just couldn't find its rhythm last week. The bright side? The Ravens have a great opportunity to find that rhythm against an Oakland Raiders team that will likely be without both of its starting safeties.
Far more disappointing than a road loss to the Broncos was the loss of Terrell Suggs. Sizzle was the heartbeat of Baltimore's defense and the last remaining iconic Ravens defender from the last decade. I have faith that Suggs will absolutely return and have a productive season next year, but for now the Ravens have found a reasonable replacement in Jason Babin. Babin actually graded out as the 9th best outside linebacker in the league last season, and he'll essentially function as a quality one year rental. Who knows? He could stick around for another year or two beyond that considering that James Harrison is older and still productive for the Steelers. But Terrell Suggs will only be 33 when he takes the field next season. Not young or at his peak, but certainly not totally over the hill. Sizzle will have had far more time to recover from this achilles tear than he did for his last one, and he'll also have a year off from the wear and tear of the NFL. The rest of the Ravens defense looks absolutely fierce, and with Babin filling in for Suggs, we shouldn't see the drop off that some initially feared.
One of the fiercest aspects of the 2015 Ravens defense is Will Hill who has already graded out as the NFL's best safety. Obviously he'll need to do so for more than one week to truly be considered the NFL's best safety, but that's not a bad start against one of the NFL's premier quarterbacks. C.J. Mosley terrified Manning so much that the veteran QB crumpled to the ground when he saw Mosley bearing down on him. Many wondered about the Ravens defensive line depth with Timmy Jernigan out last week, but rookie Carl Davis actually graded out as the Ravens' highest rated defender last week according to Pro Football Focus. Well Jernigan gets back this week, and that means the Ravens defensive line rotation will be absolutely saturated with talent even without Haloti Ngata.
I heard no one worrying about the Ravens defense that held the Broncos offense without a single touchdown last week. The secondary is stacked, the defensive line looks explosive, and the linebacker corps might just be the best in the NFL. Yes, the defense will be fine, but we'll need the offense to click to put points on the board and win games. I'd like Joe Flacco to utilize the height of Marlon Brown, Darren Waller, Maxx Williams, and Crocket Gilmore to make up for the lack of a true deep threat. The Ravens do have a pair of quick, small receivers in Michael Campanaro and Steve Smith, and there's no reason they can't be utilized the same way that the Patriots utilize Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman. The Patriots, in fact, don't currently have an elite deep threat either. Like the Ravens, they have big targets and small, quick targets. The big difference, of course, is that the Patriots know how to USE those targets extremely well.
The passing game wasn't the only offensive disappointment for the Ravens in Week 1. The Ravens struggled to run the football, but they could find more success with the return of their big power back, Lorenzo Taliaferro, who will return this week against the Raiders. I have not been particularly impressed with Justin Forsett thus far between the preseason and last week, but that may be because Trestman needs to change how the diminutive back is used. Forsett can still likely make defenders miss in open space, but he appears to have lost his ability to run explosively between the tackles. That's ok because the Ravens have younger backs to do exactly that, but this team won't be able to do much if they can't run the ball right down the throats of their opponents on a weekly basis. Joe Flacco's greatest plays have historically been off of play action, but no one can sell a play action fake if they can't first establish the run. If the Ravens can't find offensive success this week, they need to truly go back to the drawing board.
Ravens fans shouldn't worry about the Raiders, but they should worry if the Ravens don't blow them out. The Bengals throttled the Raiders last week, and that was when the Raiders had a far healthier staff. This SHOULD be a week where Joe Flacco establishes a connection with many of his targets and where the rushing attack imposes its will. If the Ravens can't win this game by at least a two touchdown margin, it will absolutely be time to worry in Baltimore...and God help us if they lose this game. There are a lot of other interesting games in Week 2, so let's get to the picks!
WEEK 2 NFL PICKS
TEXANS AT PANTHERS- I don't know what to make of the Texans thus far. I would have assumed a defense with Vince Wilfork, J.J. Watt, Brian Cushing, and Jonathan Joseph would have been absolutely stifling in Week 1, but they allowed the Chiefs team without an elite quarterback to score 27 points in Houston. The Panthers, on the other hand, will be without Luke Kuechly. The Panthers beat the Jaguars on the road last week (not exactly an impressive feat) and now they'll face a flawed Texans team in North Carolina. I may regret this, but I'll go with the home team on this one because it's just too difficult to get a read on the Texans right now. PANTHERS 23-20
49ERS AT STEELERS- The 49ers may have looked strong against the Vikings last week, but I have a hard time believing they'll be able to keep up with the Steelers on the opposite side of the country. I'll certainly be rooting for San Francisco, but I can't see their secondary stopping Big Ben and company. STEELERS 31-24
BUCCANEERS AT SAINTS- The Saints don't scare anyone, but I don't bet against Drew Brees at home. SAINTS 35-21
LIONS AT VIKINGS- Divisional games are always difficult to predict, but I simply don't like the Vikings at this point. LIONS 33-17
CARDINALS AT BEARS- The Cardinals shouldn't absolutely be thought of as one of the serious super bowl contenders in the NFC. The Bears played a tough game against the Packers last week, but I'm still not buying them. CARDINALS 20-17
PATRIOTS AT BILLS- Rex Ryan's defenses have often played the Patriots tough, but now he has a far better defense to work with when he faces New England tomorrow. The Patriots defense looked porous and weak against the Steelers, and the Patriots offense faced a TERRIBLE Steelers defense last week in Foxborough. This will be the day the Patriots wish they still had Revis, Browner, Arrington, and Wilfork. BILLS 21-20
CHARGERS AT BENGALS- The Chargers SHOULD go to the playoffs this year, and the Bengals aren't nearly as good as many people believe. I'm looking for an upset in Ohio tomorrow. CHARGERS 30-27
TITANS AT BROWNS- Marcus Mariotta will continue to make waves this week in a hard fought win against a hopeless team that still has a surprising amount of talent at various positions. TITANS 17-16
FALCONS AT GIANTS- The Falcons looked good at home against the Eagles, but they won't be at home against the Giants. They'll be playing a decent team outdoors, and that decent team should have won last week's game against the Cowboys. Please note that the Cowboys absolutely deserved to win with their late game heroics, but I simply mean that the Giants had the ability to win that game and simply blew it. The Giants are, thus, far improved from the embarrassing team that donned their uniforms last season. GIANTS 31-28
RAMS AT REDSKINS- The Redskins are missing key weapons. Until they get those weapons back, they'll have a hard time winning football games. The Rams aren't as good as they always look against the Seahawks, but they're good with Nick Foles at QB. RAMS 21-13
DOLPHINS AT JAGUARS- The Jags are awful and Miami and this barely qualifies as a road game for the Dolphins. DOLPHINS 24-10
RAVENS AT RAIDERS- The Raiders might have some talented pass rushers, but that's about all they have. The Ravens will likely end up with a top 2 or 3 defense when all is said and done this season. The Raiders will be without their two starting safeties, and they weren't even good when those safeties were healthy. RAVENS 31-13
COWBOYS AT EAGLES- The Cowboys aren't a bad team, but they won't be nearly as good until Dez Bryant returns. EAGLES 35-28
SEAHAWKS AT PACKERS- The Seahawks simply won't be the same without Kam Chancellor. His contract holdout could spell doom for the Legion of Boom. PACKERS 30-21
JETS AT COLTS- The Colts should be happy they drafted Philip Dorsett, because they'll need a burner since T.Y. Hilton went down with an injury last week. The Jets trounced the Browns last week, but the Browns could end up losing 90+% of their games this year. I would like nothing more than a road upset for the Jets here, but I'm not expecting it. This should still come right down to the wire though. COLTS 28-27
There aren't many teams that have pulled away from the pack and established themselves as dominant as of yet, but we should know quite a bit more about the league after tomorrow. We'll definitely know a good deal more about the Ravens after tomorrow too. They lost a game most people predicted them to lose last week, but if they can win all of the games they are expected to win and some of the games they're not expected to win, they should once again be playoff bound.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
Far more disappointing than a road loss to the Broncos was the loss of Terrell Suggs. Sizzle was the heartbeat of Baltimore's defense and the last remaining iconic Ravens defender from the last decade. I have faith that Suggs will absolutely return and have a productive season next year, but for now the Ravens have found a reasonable replacement in Jason Babin. Babin actually graded out as the 9th best outside linebacker in the league last season, and he'll essentially function as a quality one year rental. Who knows? He could stick around for another year or two beyond that considering that James Harrison is older and still productive for the Steelers. But Terrell Suggs will only be 33 when he takes the field next season. Not young or at his peak, but certainly not totally over the hill. Sizzle will have had far more time to recover from this achilles tear than he did for his last one, and he'll also have a year off from the wear and tear of the NFL. The rest of the Ravens defense looks absolutely fierce, and with Babin filling in for Suggs, we shouldn't see the drop off that some initially feared.
One of the fiercest aspects of the 2015 Ravens defense is Will Hill who has already graded out as the NFL's best safety. Obviously he'll need to do so for more than one week to truly be considered the NFL's best safety, but that's not a bad start against one of the NFL's premier quarterbacks. C.J. Mosley terrified Manning so much that the veteran QB crumpled to the ground when he saw Mosley bearing down on him. Many wondered about the Ravens defensive line depth with Timmy Jernigan out last week, but rookie Carl Davis actually graded out as the Ravens' highest rated defender last week according to Pro Football Focus. Well Jernigan gets back this week, and that means the Ravens defensive line rotation will be absolutely saturated with talent even without Haloti Ngata.
I heard no one worrying about the Ravens defense that held the Broncos offense without a single touchdown last week. The secondary is stacked, the defensive line looks explosive, and the linebacker corps might just be the best in the NFL. Yes, the defense will be fine, but we'll need the offense to click to put points on the board and win games. I'd like Joe Flacco to utilize the height of Marlon Brown, Darren Waller, Maxx Williams, and Crocket Gilmore to make up for the lack of a true deep threat. The Ravens do have a pair of quick, small receivers in Michael Campanaro and Steve Smith, and there's no reason they can't be utilized the same way that the Patriots utilize Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman. The Patriots, in fact, don't currently have an elite deep threat either. Like the Ravens, they have big targets and small, quick targets. The big difference, of course, is that the Patriots know how to USE those targets extremely well.
The passing game wasn't the only offensive disappointment for the Ravens in Week 1. The Ravens struggled to run the football, but they could find more success with the return of their big power back, Lorenzo Taliaferro, who will return this week against the Raiders. I have not been particularly impressed with Justin Forsett thus far between the preseason and last week, but that may be because Trestman needs to change how the diminutive back is used. Forsett can still likely make defenders miss in open space, but he appears to have lost his ability to run explosively between the tackles. That's ok because the Ravens have younger backs to do exactly that, but this team won't be able to do much if they can't run the ball right down the throats of their opponents on a weekly basis. Joe Flacco's greatest plays have historically been off of play action, but no one can sell a play action fake if they can't first establish the run. If the Ravens can't find offensive success this week, they need to truly go back to the drawing board.
Ravens fans shouldn't worry about the Raiders, but they should worry if the Ravens don't blow them out. The Bengals throttled the Raiders last week, and that was when the Raiders had a far healthier staff. This SHOULD be a week where Joe Flacco establishes a connection with many of his targets and where the rushing attack imposes its will. If the Ravens can't win this game by at least a two touchdown margin, it will absolutely be time to worry in Baltimore...and God help us if they lose this game. There are a lot of other interesting games in Week 2, so let's get to the picks!
WEEK 2 NFL PICKS
TEXANS AT PANTHERS- I don't know what to make of the Texans thus far. I would have assumed a defense with Vince Wilfork, J.J. Watt, Brian Cushing, and Jonathan Joseph would have been absolutely stifling in Week 1, but they allowed the Chiefs team without an elite quarterback to score 27 points in Houston. The Panthers, on the other hand, will be without Luke Kuechly. The Panthers beat the Jaguars on the road last week (not exactly an impressive feat) and now they'll face a flawed Texans team in North Carolina. I may regret this, but I'll go with the home team on this one because it's just too difficult to get a read on the Texans right now. PANTHERS 23-20
49ERS AT STEELERS- The 49ers may have looked strong against the Vikings last week, but I have a hard time believing they'll be able to keep up with the Steelers on the opposite side of the country. I'll certainly be rooting for San Francisco, but I can't see their secondary stopping Big Ben and company. STEELERS 31-24
BUCCANEERS AT SAINTS- The Saints don't scare anyone, but I don't bet against Drew Brees at home. SAINTS 35-21
LIONS AT VIKINGS- Divisional games are always difficult to predict, but I simply don't like the Vikings at this point. LIONS 33-17
CARDINALS AT BEARS- The Cardinals shouldn't absolutely be thought of as one of the serious super bowl contenders in the NFC. The Bears played a tough game against the Packers last week, but I'm still not buying them. CARDINALS 20-17
PATRIOTS AT BILLS- Rex Ryan's defenses have often played the Patriots tough, but now he has a far better defense to work with when he faces New England tomorrow. The Patriots defense looked porous and weak against the Steelers, and the Patriots offense faced a TERRIBLE Steelers defense last week in Foxborough. This will be the day the Patriots wish they still had Revis, Browner, Arrington, and Wilfork. BILLS 21-20
CHARGERS AT BENGALS- The Chargers SHOULD go to the playoffs this year, and the Bengals aren't nearly as good as many people believe. I'm looking for an upset in Ohio tomorrow. CHARGERS 30-27
TITANS AT BROWNS- Marcus Mariotta will continue to make waves this week in a hard fought win against a hopeless team that still has a surprising amount of talent at various positions. TITANS 17-16
FALCONS AT GIANTS- The Falcons looked good at home against the Eagles, but they won't be at home against the Giants. They'll be playing a decent team outdoors, and that decent team should have won last week's game against the Cowboys. Please note that the Cowboys absolutely deserved to win with their late game heroics, but I simply mean that the Giants had the ability to win that game and simply blew it. The Giants are, thus, far improved from the embarrassing team that donned their uniforms last season. GIANTS 31-28
RAMS AT REDSKINS- The Redskins are missing key weapons. Until they get those weapons back, they'll have a hard time winning football games. The Rams aren't as good as they always look against the Seahawks, but they're good with Nick Foles at QB. RAMS 21-13
DOLPHINS AT JAGUARS- The Jags are awful and Miami and this barely qualifies as a road game for the Dolphins. DOLPHINS 24-10
RAVENS AT RAIDERS- The Raiders might have some talented pass rushers, but that's about all they have. The Ravens will likely end up with a top 2 or 3 defense when all is said and done this season. The Raiders will be without their two starting safeties, and they weren't even good when those safeties were healthy. RAVENS 31-13
COWBOYS AT EAGLES- The Cowboys aren't a bad team, but they won't be nearly as good until Dez Bryant returns. EAGLES 35-28
SEAHAWKS AT PACKERS- The Seahawks simply won't be the same without Kam Chancellor. His contract holdout could spell doom for the Legion of Boom. PACKERS 30-21
JETS AT COLTS- The Colts should be happy they drafted Philip Dorsett, because they'll need a burner since T.Y. Hilton went down with an injury last week. The Jets trounced the Browns last week, but the Browns could end up losing 90+% of their games this year. I would like nothing more than a road upset for the Jets here, but I'm not expecting it. This should still come right down to the wire though. COLTS 28-27
There aren't many teams that have pulled away from the pack and established themselves as dominant as of yet, but we should know quite a bit more about the league after tomorrow. We'll definitely know a good deal more about the Ravens after tomorrow too. They lost a game most people predicted them to lose last week, but if they can win all of the games they are expected to win and some of the games they're not expected to win, they should once again be playoff bound.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
Sunday, September 13, 2015
2015 WEEK 1 NFL PICKS!!!
I hope Patriots fans didn't feel TOO good about beating the Steelers at home. Obviously, a win is a win, but there were some alarming things that anyone who watched should have noticed about both the Steelers and the reigning world champs.
The Patriots allowed the Steelers to absolutely gash them with a 32 year old backup running back for 133 yards. The presence of Vince Wilfork is sorely missed in that front seven, and that could make it incredibly difficult for the Patriots to stop better teams from driving. The other thing that should scare the Patriots is that the Steelers had little chance to win in large part because of the fact that their kicker missed two field goals from well within 45 yards which ruined two early scoring drives. With a competent kicker, that game would have been incredibly close.
In the case of the Steelers, they can look forward to the return of Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant within the next month as reasons for optimism that their team will improve immediately upon their return. It's also possible that pro bowl center Markice Pouncey will return at mid season or sometime in the second half, and that should give them a sizable boost as well. The Patriots, however, were operating with MOSTLY a full squad. Yes, they were missing Brandon LaFell, but their defense was healthy.
This is what the Patriots USED to look like around the end of the last decade up until maybe 2012. They had fantastic receiving weapons and an elite quarterback leading the charge, but their defense left many things to be desired...especially the secondary. All of that changed in 2014 with starting corners Revis and Browner. Suddenly defense was the thing keeping the Patriots in football games and they had their corners to thank in large part. After winning the Super Bowl, however, those starting corners and their nickel corner, Kyle Arrington, all bolted for other teams in free agency. Suddenly the Patriots found themselves giving up 351 passing yards at home to a team crippled by offensive suspensions.
Does this mean the Patriots won't win football games? Of COURSE not, but it does mean that they don't nearly have the type of complete team this season that they've always had when they've won Super Bowls. The Patriots defense could very well improve as the season progresses as well. It is, despite all of the controversy about alleged cheating, a well-coached football team. They still have good linebackers with young talent such as Jamie Collins, but the defensive line is suspect without its long-time anchor, and the secondary may simply not have the horses this season. It's a long season, and we'll see how that all shakes out. For now, the Patriots are 1-0, and the Steelers are 0-1.
As we move west, we find a Ravens team ready to face a team led by both their old offensive coordinator and a quarterback who has not lost to them in the regular season since 1998. Peyton Manning, in fact, obliterated the Ravens in Denver to begin the 2013 season, and he set a record with 7 passing touchdowns during the game. Peyton Manning is, after all, the master of the regular season, and great in warm weather. It is for these reasons that the vast majority of pundits have picked the Broncos to win this game. They very well may do so, but this may not be the Peyton Manning we've come to know for well over a decade and a half.
Peyton Manning has had a historic tendency to choke in the post-season, but last year his performance fell off long before the post-season began. Here we are one year later and Manning is one year older. Even just in the pre-season there was reason for alarm regarding Manning's arm strength and accuracy. I must admit that I didn't watch the Broncos' preseason games, but I happened upon an article published on NFL.com, and the video that accompanied it showed serious reasons for alarm if you're a Broncos fan. Take a look: PEYTON MANNING'S ARM STRENGTH SIGNIFICANTLY DIMINISHED Now this certainly wouldn't be the first time Peyton Manning needed to shake off the rust in the pre-season, but it wasn't the first pre-season game, and it's not as though he doesn't have a high degree of familiarity with these receivers.
It IS possible, as the analyst in the video mentions, that Peyton has not yet become comfortable in Gary Kubiak's system, but I simply can't shake the memory of the Broncos having to lean on their running game for the last quarter of the regular season...and then of course Andrew Luck and the Colts absolutely demolishing the Broncos IN Denver in the playoffs. That doesn't mean that the Broncos are currently broken and battered, but there may be wear and tear on Peyton Manning's body that time can't fix...time and age appear to be the problem.
A more tangible reason for optimism if you're a Ravens fan is the absence of the Broncos Pro Bowl safety, T.J. Ward. The Ravens may not have field-stretching speed at the moment with the departure of Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones, as well as the absence of Breshad Perriman, but passing should be at least somewhat easier without an elite safety patrolling the secondary.
It's difficult to say whether Kubiak will have an advantage since he knows the Ravens or whether the Ravens will have an advantage knowing Kubiak. It may the case that Marc Trestman has thrown enough wrinkles in to reduce Kubiak's familiarity with what it is the Ravens do, but that's hard to gauge given the fact that the Ravens wouldn't tip their hand during the pre-season.
It's difficult and probably a mistake to base a prediction on our suppositions regarding the schematic decisions of NFL teams in Week 1. We, instead, have to look at personnel match-ups. I like the way the Ravens have fortified their secondary since the last time the Baltimore faced Denver in Denver. Jimmy Smith, Kyle Arrington, Lardarius Webb, Will Hill, and Kendrick Lewis all make up a collective upgrade over the until that took the field in Week 1 of 2013. Couple that with the Broncos' loss of Julius Thomas and diminished throwing velocity and accuracy of good ol' Pey Pey, and this could be a pleasant surprise for a large majority of football fans in the greater Baltimore area. Add to that the fact that 52 out of 53 Ravens on the active roster practiced Friday, and you've got yourself about as healthy a team as one can expect to have during an NFL season.
I know quite well that Peyton Manning is tough to beat at home and at the beginning of the season, but I know what this Ravens team is capable of doing. They're almost entirely healthy (with one speedy exception) and their offensive line should quite easily give Flacco the protection he needs to carve up the Broncos pass defense without T.J. Ward. This is a much better team that the one that Peyton blasted in Week 1 of 2013. They may not have their insanely fast deep threat, but they have weapons no glaring weak points.
WEEK 1 NFL PREDICTIONS
STEELERS AT PATRIOTS- Well I put my prediction of 28-17 on facebook, so I guess that still counts. It ended up being pretty damn close to my predicted score and exactly for the reasons I suggested about the Steelers defense being absolute garbage. So that one's done
PACKERS AT BEARS- The Packers aren't working with Jordy Nelson right now, but their system and the talented quarterback they have running it will make this game a laugher by the end. PACKERS 35-14
CHIEFS AT TEXANS- This one is tough. I'd say the Chiefs are a better team and the Texans don't have the quarterback position truly nailed down this year, but that Houston defense should be insane with Vince Wilfork clogging the middle, collapsing the pocket and taking pressure off the monster that is J.J. Watt. The Chiefs could seriously struggle to move the ball, and they don't have receiving talent to win this game. The Texans no longer have Andre Johnson, but DeAndre Hopkins is going to take a big step up this season. TEXANS 21-20
BROWNS AT JETS- This a contest not of who is better, but who sucks less. JETS 17-13
COLTS AT BILLS- I'm sold on the Bills' defense, and I'm NOT sold on the Colts' offensive line or their ability to play outside that dome. Can't say that the Bills have much in the way of a quarterback, but they'll have Shady McCoy this year, and Rex Ryan will absolutely enjoy playing with that new toy. BILLS 27-21
DOLPHINS AT REDSKINS- The Redskins aren't good at football. DeVante Parker and Big Suh could be the pieces that turn this Dolphins team into a real playoff contender this season. DOLPHINS 30-17
PANTHERS AT JAGUARS- The Jaguars defense has some interesting pieces and occasionally looked good last year. Otherwise, however, they're a useless team. PANTHERS 23-13
SEAHAWKS AT RAMS- The Legion of Boom didn't last long. Cary Williams is not serviceable anymore, and I have no idea what Seattle was thinking when they inked him to a deal. This is still a scary rushing team with a new, potent weapon in Jimmy Graham. The Rams often play the Seahawks tough at home, but the Rams don't have the offensive firepower to prevail in the end. SEAHAWKS 21-14
SAINTS AT CARDINALS- With Carson Palmer back healthy, the Cardinals will once again be one of the best teams in the NFC. The Saints? They're pretty bad on the road. CARDINALS 38-27
LIONS AT CHARGERS- It's tough to know what you're going to get with Philp Rivers from week to week, but I don't like the Lions away from Detroit. If Haloti Ngata were more consistently healthy, this might be different. CHARGERS 28-20
TITANS AT BUCCANEERS- Marcus Ariota and Dorial Green-Beckham should make the Bucs look bad...very bad...because they are very bad. TITANS 42-21
BENGALS AT RAIDERS- Nope, not this year, Oakland. BENGALS 45-10
RAVENS AT BRONCOS- With the return to health of all but one player on the Ravens active roster and the suspension of T.J. Ward, I gotta go with my sense of early season optimism and say the Ravens are going to be able to jam and cover the Broncos receivers, and get furious pressure on an aging Manning. He doesn't have the accuracy and arm strength anymore mount comebacks the way he did years ago. I could be very wrong with this one, but I think our boys get this done. RAVENS 28-27
GIANTS AT COWBOYS- I wonder if the Cowboys will once again be undefeated on the road and horrible at home. The Cowboys are unquestionably the better team, but that was a weird trend last year. COWBOYS 35-33
EAGLES AT THE FALCONS- I liked what I saw from the Eagles in the pre-season. The Falcons have never climbed back up to their pre-2013 status in my mind. EAGLES 38-21
VIKINGS AT 49ERS- The 49ers are depleted and a mess. Sorry Torrey, the Vikings have Adrian Peterson back to crush your dreams of success with the team that wanted to overpay you. Just kidding, we love Torrey and Q., but their team is doomed. VIKINGS 31-17
There's really no reason to take predictions to seriously in the first quarter of the season. We have zero statistics off of which to base these predictions, but at least we can say we went with what we were given and hopefully we'll get a majority correct. This is a league of parity so we'll always see upsets, but there are a good number of these picks I consider to be absolute slam dunks. Get ready for the FIRST FOOTBALL SUNDAY OF 2015!!!
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
The Patriots allowed the Steelers to absolutely gash them with a 32 year old backup running back for 133 yards. The presence of Vince Wilfork is sorely missed in that front seven, and that could make it incredibly difficult for the Patriots to stop better teams from driving. The other thing that should scare the Patriots is that the Steelers had little chance to win in large part because of the fact that their kicker missed two field goals from well within 45 yards which ruined two early scoring drives. With a competent kicker, that game would have been incredibly close.
In the case of the Steelers, they can look forward to the return of Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant within the next month as reasons for optimism that their team will improve immediately upon their return. It's also possible that pro bowl center Markice Pouncey will return at mid season or sometime in the second half, and that should give them a sizable boost as well. The Patriots, however, were operating with MOSTLY a full squad. Yes, they were missing Brandon LaFell, but their defense was healthy.
This is what the Patriots USED to look like around the end of the last decade up until maybe 2012. They had fantastic receiving weapons and an elite quarterback leading the charge, but their defense left many things to be desired...especially the secondary. All of that changed in 2014 with starting corners Revis and Browner. Suddenly defense was the thing keeping the Patriots in football games and they had their corners to thank in large part. After winning the Super Bowl, however, those starting corners and their nickel corner, Kyle Arrington, all bolted for other teams in free agency. Suddenly the Patriots found themselves giving up 351 passing yards at home to a team crippled by offensive suspensions.
Does this mean the Patriots won't win football games? Of COURSE not, but it does mean that they don't nearly have the type of complete team this season that they've always had when they've won Super Bowls. The Patriots defense could very well improve as the season progresses as well. It is, despite all of the controversy about alleged cheating, a well-coached football team. They still have good linebackers with young talent such as Jamie Collins, but the defensive line is suspect without its long-time anchor, and the secondary may simply not have the horses this season. It's a long season, and we'll see how that all shakes out. For now, the Patriots are 1-0, and the Steelers are 0-1.
As we move west, we find a Ravens team ready to face a team led by both their old offensive coordinator and a quarterback who has not lost to them in the regular season since 1998. Peyton Manning, in fact, obliterated the Ravens in Denver to begin the 2013 season, and he set a record with 7 passing touchdowns during the game. Peyton Manning is, after all, the master of the regular season, and great in warm weather. It is for these reasons that the vast majority of pundits have picked the Broncos to win this game. They very well may do so, but this may not be the Peyton Manning we've come to know for well over a decade and a half.
Peyton Manning has had a historic tendency to choke in the post-season, but last year his performance fell off long before the post-season began. Here we are one year later and Manning is one year older. Even just in the pre-season there was reason for alarm regarding Manning's arm strength and accuracy. I must admit that I didn't watch the Broncos' preseason games, but I happened upon an article published on NFL.com, and the video that accompanied it showed serious reasons for alarm if you're a Broncos fan. Take a look: PEYTON MANNING'S ARM STRENGTH SIGNIFICANTLY DIMINISHED Now this certainly wouldn't be the first time Peyton Manning needed to shake off the rust in the pre-season, but it wasn't the first pre-season game, and it's not as though he doesn't have a high degree of familiarity with these receivers.
It IS possible, as the analyst in the video mentions, that Peyton has not yet become comfortable in Gary Kubiak's system, but I simply can't shake the memory of the Broncos having to lean on their running game for the last quarter of the regular season...and then of course Andrew Luck and the Colts absolutely demolishing the Broncos IN Denver in the playoffs. That doesn't mean that the Broncos are currently broken and battered, but there may be wear and tear on Peyton Manning's body that time can't fix...time and age appear to be the problem.
A more tangible reason for optimism if you're a Ravens fan is the absence of the Broncos Pro Bowl safety, T.J. Ward. The Ravens may not have field-stretching speed at the moment with the departure of Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones, as well as the absence of Breshad Perriman, but passing should be at least somewhat easier without an elite safety patrolling the secondary.
It's difficult to say whether Kubiak will have an advantage since he knows the Ravens or whether the Ravens will have an advantage knowing Kubiak. It may the case that Marc Trestman has thrown enough wrinkles in to reduce Kubiak's familiarity with what it is the Ravens do, but that's hard to gauge given the fact that the Ravens wouldn't tip their hand during the pre-season.
It's difficult and probably a mistake to base a prediction on our suppositions regarding the schematic decisions of NFL teams in Week 1. We, instead, have to look at personnel match-ups. I like the way the Ravens have fortified their secondary since the last time the Baltimore faced Denver in Denver. Jimmy Smith, Kyle Arrington, Lardarius Webb, Will Hill, and Kendrick Lewis all make up a collective upgrade over the until that took the field in Week 1 of 2013. Couple that with the Broncos' loss of Julius Thomas and diminished throwing velocity and accuracy of good ol' Pey Pey, and this could be a pleasant surprise for a large majority of football fans in the greater Baltimore area. Add to that the fact that 52 out of 53 Ravens on the active roster practiced Friday, and you've got yourself about as healthy a team as one can expect to have during an NFL season.
I know quite well that Peyton Manning is tough to beat at home and at the beginning of the season, but I know what this Ravens team is capable of doing. They're almost entirely healthy (with one speedy exception) and their offensive line should quite easily give Flacco the protection he needs to carve up the Broncos pass defense without T.J. Ward. This is a much better team that the one that Peyton blasted in Week 1 of 2013. They may not have their insanely fast deep threat, but they have weapons no glaring weak points.
WEEK 1 NFL PREDICTIONS
STEELERS AT PATRIOTS- Well I put my prediction of 28-17 on facebook, so I guess that still counts. It ended up being pretty damn close to my predicted score and exactly for the reasons I suggested about the Steelers defense being absolute garbage. So that one's done
PACKERS AT BEARS- The Packers aren't working with Jordy Nelson right now, but their system and the talented quarterback they have running it will make this game a laugher by the end. PACKERS 35-14
CHIEFS AT TEXANS- This one is tough. I'd say the Chiefs are a better team and the Texans don't have the quarterback position truly nailed down this year, but that Houston defense should be insane with Vince Wilfork clogging the middle, collapsing the pocket and taking pressure off the monster that is J.J. Watt. The Chiefs could seriously struggle to move the ball, and they don't have receiving talent to win this game. The Texans no longer have Andre Johnson, but DeAndre Hopkins is going to take a big step up this season. TEXANS 21-20
BROWNS AT JETS- This a contest not of who is better, but who sucks less. JETS 17-13
COLTS AT BILLS- I'm sold on the Bills' defense, and I'm NOT sold on the Colts' offensive line or their ability to play outside that dome. Can't say that the Bills have much in the way of a quarterback, but they'll have Shady McCoy this year, and Rex Ryan will absolutely enjoy playing with that new toy. BILLS 27-21
DOLPHINS AT REDSKINS- The Redskins aren't good at football. DeVante Parker and Big Suh could be the pieces that turn this Dolphins team into a real playoff contender this season. DOLPHINS 30-17
PANTHERS AT JAGUARS- The Jaguars defense has some interesting pieces and occasionally looked good last year. Otherwise, however, they're a useless team. PANTHERS 23-13
SEAHAWKS AT RAMS- The Legion of Boom didn't last long. Cary Williams is not serviceable anymore, and I have no idea what Seattle was thinking when they inked him to a deal. This is still a scary rushing team with a new, potent weapon in Jimmy Graham. The Rams often play the Seahawks tough at home, but the Rams don't have the offensive firepower to prevail in the end. SEAHAWKS 21-14
SAINTS AT CARDINALS- With Carson Palmer back healthy, the Cardinals will once again be one of the best teams in the NFC. The Saints? They're pretty bad on the road. CARDINALS 38-27
LIONS AT CHARGERS- It's tough to know what you're going to get with Philp Rivers from week to week, but I don't like the Lions away from Detroit. If Haloti Ngata were more consistently healthy, this might be different. CHARGERS 28-20
TITANS AT BUCCANEERS- Marcus Ariota and Dorial Green-Beckham should make the Bucs look bad...very bad...because they are very bad. TITANS 42-21
BENGALS AT RAIDERS- Nope, not this year, Oakland. BENGALS 45-10
RAVENS AT BRONCOS- With the return to health of all but one player on the Ravens active roster and the suspension of T.J. Ward, I gotta go with my sense of early season optimism and say the Ravens are going to be able to jam and cover the Broncos receivers, and get furious pressure on an aging Manning. He doesn't have the accuracy and arm strength anymore mount comebacks the way he did years ago. I could be very wrong with this one, but I think our boys get this done. RAVENS 28-27
GIANTS AT COWBOYS- I wonder if the Cowboys will once again be undefeated on the road and horrible at home. The Cowboys are unquestionably the better team, but that was a weird trend last year. COWBOYS 35-33
EAGLES AT THE FALCONS- I liked what I saw from the Eagles in the pre-season. The Falcons have never climbed back up to their pre-2013 status in my mind. EAGLES 38-21
VIKINGS AT 49ERS- The 49ers are depleted and a mess. Sorry Torrey, the Vikings have Adrian Peterson back to crush your dreams of success with the team that wanted to overpay you. Just kidding, we love Torrey and Q., but their team is doomed. VIKINGS 31-17
There's really no reason to take predictions to seriously in the first quarter of the season. We have zero statistics off of which to base these predictions, but at least we can say we went with what we were given and hopefully we'll get a majority correct. This is a league of parity so we'll always see upsets, but there are a good number of these picks I consider to be absolute slam dunks. Get ready for the FIRST FOOTBALL SUNDAY OF 2015!!!
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
Sunday, August 2, 2015
RAVENS RELOADED AND RARING TO GO
The 2015 NFL preseason is only weeks away now, and the Baltimore Ravens
appear as ready as they've been in any year in the team's two decade history to contend
for a Super Bowl title. Ravens fans have grown accustomed to
post-season success during the Flacco - Harbaugh Era with 6 post-season
berths and 11 post-season wins in the last 7 years. Despite their
consistent success, the Ravens often find themselves entrenched in a
dense fog of off-season questions and fears from fans and sports
journalists leading into Week 1. For the first time during the Flacco -
Harbaugh era, however, that simply isn't the case.
Only any given year, the Ravens are typically saturated with pro bowlers and promising new talent from the draft. Baltimore has been a defensive factory, churning out highly sought-after free agents and future hall-of-famers. Many physically dominant offensive linemen have donned purple and black as well, and that fact has helped Baltimore grind out rushing yards year after year to maintain an identity of a tough, smash mouth, playoff-ready team. The passing department, by contrast, has always been a source of at least some frustration and uncertainty. Joe Flacco has helped solidify the Ravens passing attack to an extent, but the revolving door of offensive coordinators and lack of truly elite receiving weapons has kept Baltimore out of the "elite" passing statistical categories....until now.
For the first time in Ravens history, Baltimore is saturated with offensive weapons and guided by a talented offensive mind within the framework of a tried-and-true offensive system. Marc Trestman inherited the basic framework of the most productive offense in Ravens history from 2014, but Trestman has more and better weapons with which to work. Ozzie Newsome appears to have drafted one of the fastest, most explosive receivers this franchise has ever seen in Breshad Perriman, and the most impressive tight end in the 2015 draft with Maxx Williams. Just to give you reference, Breshad Perriman ran his pro day forty yard dash in 4.25 seconds--that's exactly what Randy Moss ran at his. If that wasn't enough, the Ravens drafted another solid tight end, Nick Boyle, and a big-bodied wide receiver, Darren Waller, with 4.46 combine forty speed and fantastic hands. Now add those newbies into the mix with the existing veterans and you have more talent than the Ravens may realistically be able to keep on the active roster.
Arguably more important than receiving talent is the crew protecting our fearless QB. For the first time in Joe Flacco's career the Ravens will be returning their entire starting offensive line from the previous season. What's more exciting is that last season's offensive line allowed the second fewest sacks in the league behind Denver. On top of that, players such as James Hurst, Ryan Jensen, and John Urshel give the Ravens depth capable of maintaining continuity in the event that starters become sidelined. The return to health of the NFL's #2 rated right tackle, Rick Wager, should provide a major boost to the ferocity of this unit as he paired well with Marshal Yanda in run blocking and proved downright elite in pass protection. This group of lineman has thrived in Gary Kubiak's blocking schemes, and we should expect a similarly dominant performance this season.
Another fantastic beneficiary of the dominant Ravens offensive line is the stable of Ravens running backs. Justin Forsett led the league in yards per carry in 2014, and amassed nearly 1300 rushing yards on the season. Some wonder if Forsett can duplicate last season's success in a year that he turns 30, but Forsett has fewer career carries than many other starting running backs aged 25-26. Even in the event that age and the grind of the season wear on the diminutive scatback, the Ravens have the youthful legs and thunderous size of Lorenzo Taliaferro and Javorius "Buck" Allen on which to rely.
On the other side of the ball, the Ravens had numerous questions leading into the off-season regarding a beaten, battered 2014 defensive secondary. Injuries and uneven performances led to a different cast of starters in the Ravens secondary nearly every week of last season. Both Lardarius Webb and Jimmy Smith spent significant chunks of the season injured, and Matt Elam's regression left Will Hill alone as the only quality safety.
The departure of Corey Graham after the 2013 season also meant a sizable void at the nickel corner position that was never truly filled during 2014. In 2015, however, the Ravens signed former Patriots corner, Kyle Arrington, and former Texans safety, Kendrick Lewis. Both still play at a high level and should bring veteran leadership as well as sorely needed ball hawking ability to a Ravens secondary that has lacked significant turnover production since the departure of Ed Reed. Lewis, in fact, had a rather athletic pick off of Joe Flacco on Friday, and he has already taken the reigns as a major leader in the secondary according to Jamison Hensley. Take a look at his interception at practice: KENDRICK LEWIS INTERCEPTION Ravens fans should feel far more confident this season with Jimmy Smith, Lardarius Webb, and Kyle Arrington as the starting 3 corners along with Kendrick Lewis and Will Hill as the starting safeties. Reports from camp yesterday, in fact, described Arrington as being Steve Smith's tightest competition. Rashaan Melvin will provide quality depth at corner as he continues to develop his fantastic raw talents, and hopefully Matt Elam will step up and provide solid depth and experience at safety.
The defensive front 7 should be the strongest unit on the team. The trade of Haloti Ngata to the Lions shouldn't set the Ravens defensive line back at all considering the outstanding job Timmy Jernigan did filling in for Ngata during his 4 game suspension at the end of last season. Brandon Williams is one of the best run-stuffing defensive linemen in the league, and statistically the Ravens actually fared better against the run with Ngata off the field last season. Reports from camp yesterday proclaimed that the defensive line didn't give an inch to the running game, and that only provides further justification for the decision to trade Haloti Ngata and his massive contract to the Lions. C.J. Mosley should continue his already rapid development into one of the league's best middle linebackers, and Suggs and Dumervil should be able to put up yet another impressive season as one of the league's best pass-rushing tadems. There were concerns when Suggs arrived two months ago at team headquarters roughly 20-25 pounds overweight. Those concerns melted away last week when Suggs was first seen stepping out of his car with totally shredded muscles and a tight midsection.
Some have labeled me an unflinching optimist in regards to our beloved birds, but year in and year out the Ravens success leaves my optimism comfortably justified. I am certainly not alone in my unusually high level of optimism for this season as even the likes of Peter King and Teddy Bruschi have proclaimed Baltimore to have the best roster in the league heading into the 2015 regular season. As far as the rest of the division is concerned, the Bengals can't seem to do any real damage beyond the regular season with Andy Dalton, the Steelers are in serious defensive rebuilding mode, and the Browns are one of the worst organizations in pro football. Beyond the AFC North, the Ravens' biggest non-divisional rival, the Patriots, are in a major state of turmoil with Tom Brady's 4 game suspension recently upheld by Roger Goodell. It's entirely possibly, however, that his suspension will be reduced or overturned as a part of a court or out-of-court settlement prior to the beginning of the regular season. Even if we assume Tom plays the entire season, the Patriots have gone through almost a total overhaul of the secondary that helped win the Super Bowl.
The Ravens' regular season schedule is by no means easy, but Baltimore's biggest rivals each appear to be facing an uphill battle leading into this season. No one should crown the Ravens as Super Bowl champs 5 weeks before the season starts, but fans of purple and black have every reason to be excited about 2015. This, after all, could very well be the most complete team the Ravens have ever fielded.
PRESEASON BEGINS A WEEK FROM THURSDAY!
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
Only any given year, the Ravens are typically saturated with pro bowlers and promising new talent from the draft. Baltimore has been a defensive factory, churning out highly sought-after free agents and future hall-of-famers. Many physically dominant offensive linemen have donned purple and black as well, and that fact has helped Baltimore grind out rushing yards year after year to maintain an identity of a tough, smash mouth, playoff-ready team. The passing department, by contrast, has always been a source of at least some frustration and uncertainty. Joe Flacco has helped solidify the Ravens passing attack to an extent, but the revolving door of offensive coordinators and lack of truly elite receiving weapons has kept Baltimore out of the "elite" passing statistical categories....until now.
For the first time in Ravens history, Baltimore is saturated with offensive weapons and guided by a talented offensive mind within the framework of a tried-and-true offensive system. Marc Trestman inherited the basic framework of the most productive offense in Ravens history from 2014, but Trestman has more and better weapons with which to work. Ozzie Newsome appears to have drafted one of the fastest, most explosive receivers this franchise has ever seen in Breshad Perriman, and the most impressive tight end in the 2015 draft with Maxx Williams. Just to give you reference, Breshad Perriman ran his pro day forty yard dash in 4.25 seconds--that's exactly what Randy Moss ran at his. If that wasn't enough, the Ravens drafted another solid tight end, Nick Boyle, and a big-bodied wide receiver, Darren Waller, with 4.46 combine forty speed and fantastic hands. Now add those newbies into the mix with the existing veterans and you have more talent than the Ravens may realistically be able to keep on the active roster.
Arguably more important than receiving talent is the crew protecting our fearless QB. For the first time in Joe Flacco's career the Ravens will be returning their entire starting offensive line from the previous season. What's more exciting is that last season's offensive line allowed the second fewest sacks in the league behind Denver. On top of that, players such as James Hurst, Ryan Jensen, and John Urshel give the Ravens depth capable of maintaining continuity in the event that starters become sidelined. The return to health of the NFL's #2 rated right tackle, Rick Wager, should provide a major boost to the ferocity of this unit as he paired well with Marshal Yanda in run blocking and proved downright elite in pass protection. This group of lineman has thrived in Gary Kubiak's blocking schemes, and we should expect a similarly dominant performance this season.
Another fantastic beneficiary of the dominant Ravens offensive line is the stable of Ravens running backs. Justin Forsett led the league in yards per carry in 2014, and amassed nearly 1300 rushing yards on the season. Some wonder if Forsett can duplicate last season's success in a year that he turns 30, but Forsett has fewer career carries than many other starting running backs aged 25-26. Even in the event that age and the grind of the season wear on the diminutive scatback, the Ravens have the youthful legs and thunderous size of Lorenzo Taliaferro and Javorius "Buck" Allen on which to rely.
On the other side of the ball, the Ravens had numerous questions leading into the off-season regarding a beaten, battered 2014 defensive secondary. Injuries and uneven performances led to a different cast of starters in the Ravens secondary nearly every week of last season. Both Lardarius Webb and Jimmy Smith spent significant chunks of the season injured, and Matt Elam's regression left Will Hill alone as the only quality safety.
The departure of Corey Graham after the 2013 season also meant a sizable void at the nickel corner position that was never truly filled during 2014. In 2015, however, the Ravens signed former Patriots corner, Kyle Arrington, and former Texans safety, Kendrick Lewis. Both still play at a high level and should bring veteran leadership as well as sorely needed ball hawking ability to a Ravens secondary that has lacked significant turnover production since the departure of Ed Reed. Lewis, in fact, had a rather athletic pick off of Joe Flacco on Friday, and he has already taken the reigns as a major leader in the secondary according to Jamison Hensley. Take a look at his interception at practice: KENDRICK LEWIS INTERCEPTION Ravens fans should feel far more confident this season with Jimmy Smith, Lardarius Webb, and Kyle Arrington as the starting 3 corners along with Kendrick Lewis and Will Hill as the starting safeties. Reports from camp yesterday, in fact, described Arrington as being Steve Smith's tightest competition. Rashaan Melvin will provide quality depth at corner as he continues to develop his fantastic raw talents, and hopefully Matt Elam will step up and provide solid depth and experience at safety.
The defensive front 7 should be the strongest unit on the team. The trade of Haloti Ngata to the Lions shouldn't set the Ravens defensive line back at all considering the outstanding job Timmy Jernigan did filling in for Ngata during his 4 game suspension at the end of last season. Brandon Williams is one of the best run-stuffing defensive linemen in the league, and statistically the Ravens actually fared better against the run with Ngata off the field last season. Reports from camp yesterday proclaimed that the defensive line didn't give an inch to the running game, and that only provides further justification for the decision to trade Haloti Ngata and his massive contract to the Lions. C.J. Mosley should continue his already rapid development into one of the league's best middle linebackers, and Suggs and Dumervil should be able to put up yet another impressive season as one of the league's best pass-rushing tadems. There were concerns when Suggs arrived two months ago at team headquarters roughly 20-25 pounds overweight. Those concerns melted away last week when Suggs was first seen stepping out of his car with totally shredded muscles and a tight midsection.
Some have labeled me an unflinching optimist in regards to our beloved birds, but year in and year out the Ravens success leaves my optimism comfortably justified. I am certainly not alone in my unusually high level of optimism for this season as even the likes of Peter King and Teddy Bruschi have proclaimed Baltimore to have the best roster in the league heading into the 2015 regular season. As far as the rest of the division is concerned, the Bengals can't seem to do any real damage beyond the regular season with Andy Dalton, the Steelers are in serious defensive rebuilding mode, and the Browns are one of the worst organizations in pro football. Beyond the AFC North, the Ravens' biggest non-divisional rival, the Patriots, are in a major state of turmoil with Tom Brady's 4 game suspension recently upheld by Roger Goodell. It's entirely possibly, however, that his suspension will be reduced or overturned as a part of a court or out-of-court settlement prior to the beginning of the regular season. Even if we assume Tom plays the entire season, the Patriots have gone through almost a total overhaul of the secondary that helped win the Super Bowl.
The Ravens' regular season schedule is by no means easy, but Baltimore's biggest rivals each appear to be facing an uphill battle leading into this season. No one should crown the Ravens as Super Bowl champs 5 weeks before the season starts, but fans of purple and black have every reason to be excited about 2015. This, after all, could very well be the most complete team the Ravens have ever fielded.
PRESEASON BEGINS A WEEK FROM THURSDAY!
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)