NFL 2012: Week 4 -- No More Horsing Around: The Zebras Return

Thank god the real zebras are back tonight in Baltimore’s game hosting Cleveland tonight. The spray painted jack-asses proved to be an insufferable embarrassment for the whole nation to see in the botched call costing Green Bay the win they earned but in Baltimore, fans also saw a touchdown voided that would have them at 3-0 were it not for incompetent officiating. The number of calls overturned by replays told the story of total incompetence.  Thus ends a huge sham in the history of the NFL – not as bad as replacement players – but equally as misguided.

Cleveland @ Baltimore (-13)

The Baltimore Ravens will have to put in one heck of a good showing to beat the point spread on tonight’s game having had so little time to turn around from Sunday night’s dramatic showing. The Browns are still a terrible team, but no team can ever be taken for granted.

Carolina @ Atlanta (-7 ½)

Could this be the breakthrough season Atlanta QB, Matt Ryan has been looking for? Atlanta is the obvious favorite as Cam Newton needs to shake off some signs of the sophomore jinx.

New England (-3 ½) @ Buffalo

New England must be frisky as hell looking for a win giving they are 1-2 and though the camera showed they lost on a last second field goal, they dominated the Ravens and still lost after their embarrassing loss in week 2. New England SHOULD win this one, but Buffalo is often strong early in the season and cannot be ignored.

Minnesota @ Detroit (-5)

Only one Vegas odds maker weighed in on this contest. We should think Detroit should be the clear favorite; however, there’s something wobbly about Detroit’s performance so far. They are subject to a long history of failure which only winning can put in the past.

San Diego @ Kansas City (-1)

Norv Turner teams are notorious underachievers and that trait will likely do them in on an away field in this contest.

Seattle (-2 ½) @ St. Louis

St. Louis’s young talent hasn’t gelled yet. Seattle’s feeling “groovy” after being given a gift by the inept replacement officials.

San Francisco (-4) @ NY Jets

The 49ers haven’t gotten into top gear yet. Facing a sloppy and injured Jets team should be the right remedy for setting the tone for the rest of the season.

Tennessee @ Houston (-12)

This is the year Houston should show all they have arrived as one of the AFC’s current top teams. To do so, they must obliterate weak division rival, Tennessee.

Miami @ Arizona (-6 ½)

Arizona is one of the surprise teams so far this year and the hapless Dolphins are unlikely to stop them.

Cincinnati (-2) @ Jacksonville

Cincinnati gains an exhibition tune-up to secure an easy win and stay at the Ravens throats for now.

Oakland @ Denver (-6)

Is this the week the real Peyton Manning shows up?  Denver wins regardless.

New Orleans @ Green Bay (-7 ½)

Who wouldn’t hate to face Green Bay this week after being robbed at the last second for all the nation to see on Monday Night Football. It’s hard to believe in week four there could be a must win game for any team, but for the Cheese Disease, this is.

Washington @ Tampa Bay (-3)

The RGIII era hasn’t gotten rolling yet in DC. Tampa’s got the slight edge this weekend.

NY Giants @ Philadelphia (-2 ½)

This is a game that will have a direct bearing on the future in January. As a division rivalry game, the Giants, defending champs off to a mediocre start, will not want to see the Eagles put much more distance between them. Still, the Eagles, as sloppy as they can be appear to have the brute strength to win this one.

Chicago @ Dallas (-3 ½)

Every time Dallas wins, and they’ll win this one, the ESPN crew cranks up the band playing love songs to “America’s team” as if they are truly one of the sport’s top teams. What does the Tony Roma era Cowboys have to show for themselves? If they make the playoffs, they never go deep and that’s what can be expected this year.

NFL 2010: Week 13 -- Playoff Racs Shape Up as Craziness Goes Wild

Fights, a QB laughing with a teammate while his team is being blown out then denying it to reporters then going ballistic, but other than that, a typical Thanksgiving weekend. Detroit got pounded, the other two games were pretty good. Sunday was full of fun. Here's Week 13's match ups and picks.

Houston @ Philadelphia (-7 1/2)
It's been a steady trip downhill for Houston who was expected to perform. Philadelphia should have this home game under control.

Washington @ New York Giants (-7)
The Redskins appear to be on life support. Unlikely to see any surprises as the Giants will be large and in change.

San Francisco @ Green Bay (-9 1/2)
Green Bay is rolling along as one of the NFC's elite. No contest.

Denver @ Kansas City (-7)
Denver appears in free fall mode.

 Buffalo @ Minnesota (-7)
Swamp boy Brett should have enough left in his old body to win this one.

Chicago @ Detroit (DRAW)
 Chicago will win.

Jacksonville @ Tennessee (-3)  
Jacksonville is one of the surprise teams of 2010 and should beat their division foes.

New Orleans (-6) @ Cincinnati
Forget the hype about New Orleans playing in cold weather. They'll make an ice sculpture out of the Cinco and Stinko show.

Atlanta (-3) @ Tampa Bay
Tampa is better than one might think but not good enough to stop Atlanta.

Oakland @ San Diego (-12 1/2)
San Diego showed what their offense can do against the Colts. At home they'll whack the Raiders.

Carolina @ Seattle (-6)
Pity the folks from Charlotte, the Panthers are about the weakest team in the game this year. Seattle can fall apart when they should win but not this time.

St. Louis (-2.5) @ Arizona
After how poor they played at home against San Francisco, they'd better show up for the Rams. They'll not have a chance without more effort.

Dallas @ Indianapolis (-5)
This game is a must win for the Colts. They're banged up and Dallas is playing better with Wade Phillips gone, but they still play well at home.


TWO BIG ONES -- The winners of these two games will probably be the AFC Championship contenders.

Pittsburgh @ Baltimore (3)
How hurt is Ben Roethlisberger?  If the Ravens whack him around they win. If they don't, it could get ugly.

New York Jets @ New England (-3.5)
Both teams are 9-2. This will be a brawl between contrasting styles. New England has the edge.

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NFL 2010: Week 7 -- Close Doesn't Count

Close doesn’t matter, got it? This is NFL football. The Ravens WON!!! It might have been by just one point but the Steelers beat the Dolphins. There were so many things about where the football landed in the New England/San Diego game that where an inch here or four inches there, the results would have been the reverse, but San Diego, the might Chargers are a miserable 2-5. Two things matter in football. Did your team win? Did they get away without any serious injuries? The rest of the stuff doesn’t matter. I will not spill any tears because a game screwed up someone’s fantasy picks or that a team didn’t cover the spread cost someone else five bucks in his office pool. What matters tonight in Crab Town is that the Ravens need to win a game when Pittsburgh loses to take the lead in the division. It’s too soon to talk about home field advantage possibilities.

The Redskins know close too. Here’s a team that has so often seemed close to disaster. How many games have they had decided by a field goal or less? They’re darned close to first place. If the hated Cowboys beat the New York Giants tomorrow night, they’ll own a piece of first place.

Something else is close – most likely the end of some coaches jobs. Look at the teams that were expected to do well that are struggling: Cincinnati and San Diego in the NFC. What about Dallas and Carolina in the NFC? Tick-tick-tick-tick, no matter how much Jerry Jones gives Wade Phillips votes of confidence for the Cowboys, the guy is an ineffective oaf, but let us get serious, Tony Romo’s gig as a matinee idol should be over too. How can he impress anyone as a true top notch NFL QB? Think of all the bragging coming from Cincinnati yet how much can Marvin Lewis to with a bunch of babies, criminals, ego-maniacs, and under achievers? San Diego was atop the AFC West on just about every fan’s picks for this season, but where are these guys showing anything? Nice guy Norv is probably hearing the tick-tick-tick too. Carolina won today. Happy days are in Charlotte again? Not really. The team they beat, San Francisco has only one win and they were almost unanimous picks to win the NFC West. Might a restless owner can Mike Singletary? Under the cover of bye’s and the World Series as Halloween approaches is often when the ax falls.

Bring on Bret Favre’s performance in Green Bay tonight. If he can’t support the running game punctuated with some passing drives with Randy Moss, he’s toast. Tomorrow, the New York Giants head to Dallas to tangle with the Cowboys. The Jones Boys better hope that they can round up a little of the “beat New York” mojo that took place a couple blocks away sending the Rangers to the World Series. Does anybody still think when the NFL holds its version of the World Series, the Super Bowl in Dallas, the Cowboys will still be around?

It’s doubtful but consider it impossible if the Dallas falls to the Giants (oops there are Giants playing in the World Series too) tomorrow night.



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Ravens Part with Troy Smith -- Not Suprising When All Is Considered

The Baltimore Ravens cutting QB Troy Smith illustrates college success does not guarantee professional success.

On the surface, would not Troy Smith looked like a likely big stud in the NFL?

He played with distinction for one of the nation’s top programs winning the sport’s top honor the Heisman trophy in 2006. He was also the 2006 College Football Player of the year. In 2005, Ohio State lost two games, only one against Penn State that Smith started. He was the Offensive MVP in the Fiesta Bowl where Ohio State beat Notre Dame 34-20.

In 2006, he continued to wrack up the honors taking the Buckeyes to the National Championship game against the Florida Gators where he was no match for Tim Tebow’s theatrics and a powerful Florida defense, losing 41-14.

Would this not look like the ticket for NFL success?

Clearly all 32 teams realized his talents had significant weaknesses to effectively lead the NFL offense. He was drafted in the 5th round by the Baltimore Ravens. In his first season, 2007, speculation was the Ravens had a sleeper of a bargain. Fans wanted to see him in action as Steve McNair was injured and Kyle Bowler’s work was nothing short of a total failure. Finally, at the end of the season, Bowler was injured and Smith was in. He showed flashes of brilliance and true athletic ability. Going into the next season fans rallied behind Troy Smith to head the offense in 2008.

However, the Ravens drafted Joe Flacco, from Delaware to be their quarterback. On the surface, the choice of Flacco appeared like a less likely prospect playing for a team that was not even bowl eligible. In training camp, Bowler was injured. Smith was the heir-apparent at least for the season, but became ill elevating Flacco to the starter’s job which he has held ever since.

A certain breed of fan still lobbied for Smith every time Flacco faltered arguing what would one expect given their comparative college resumes; however, there are clearly qualities needed for an NFL QB Flacco has that Smith lacks, part of which is height, a rap against Tim Tebow, but does anyone remember Doug Flutie?

After two seasons with Flacco as starter and Smith as understudy, the Ravens realized they needed a true NFL QB to rely on should Flacco go down if they want to advance in the postseason. The Ravens picked up Marc Bolger, who became lost in the woods as the St. Louis Rams team became the rock bottom mess of the entire sport. Clearly, his recent record was not a reflection on his talents.

When it came to the final 53, Troy Smith would be the odd man out. He might catch on as a backup some place else, but his substantial ability might give him the option to retool for another position. He certainly gave the Ravens a spirited effort. There’s no shame of what he did while playing for the Ravens. Clearly, his audition in the 2010 preseason showed he was no longer needed for the Purple and Gold.

2010 Season - Stick a Fork in It -- For Baltimore Baseball -- It's Done

More than a new look needed...

The Orioles are 2-8 since the All-Star Break. Deja Vu?  They were 2-11 to start the season. At their current pace, they'll finish at 51-111. How embarrassing can it get?

No more MASN, no more Orioles. Okay, Brian Roberts is back, that's good. Matt Wieters just got the call. Jake Arrieta is the only young player developed through the system who hasn't became overwhelmed. Chris Tilman and Norm Reimold are in Norfolk. Brad Bergesen and Brian Matusz are floundering seldom showing the promise that looked so apparent a year ago. Of the young Orioles, Adam Jones, appeared closest to being a break through player having represented the team in the 2009 All-Star game and showed tremendous improvement from early May to the All-Star break despite a horrendous start. His batting average for the season is .272 with 15 homers, but since July 11 is only batting .222. Since returning from a long stay on the disabled list, Felix Pie is only batting .237 in his last ten games.

The Orioles only have reliever, Jim Johnson, and outfielder, Lou Montenez on the disabled list. What we see is what we get. 

The horrible reality is with just a few prospects that haven't surfaced on the major league roster yet, the team on the field today with a few possibilities in Norfolk, are the team of the future the big rebuilding plan gave us. Unlike prospects in the past aside from Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis and Erik Beddard who the Orioles under previous leadership hyped as marvels only to fizzle out often before ever reaching Baltimore, the Orioles now have talent that baseball observers felt deserved high ratings seeing strong major league potential. Matt Wieters, for instance, was compared to Twins switch hitting catcher, Joe Mauer. This cadre of players appeared to be well-prepared through the minors further validating their potential, but when they arrive at Baltimore, they show flashes of what they can do early on and then fall back. Sure, players don't continue to progress upward at a steady pace. There are setbacks and slumps, but in the young Orioles' situation, they start to look overwhelmed and lose their grip on the fundamentals, the basic discipline they mastered all the way up to the majors.

It seems like talk of winning is like talking of fighting a war on terror in the current White House. Listen to the better teams talk or the Washington Nationals and hear, "win, win, win, won, winning."  Listen to the Orioles and hear, "Well........" 

The final game against the Twins was the last official home game played at Orioles Park for the 2010 season. Whatever happens there between now and the first weekend in October will hardly be a rumor. All eyes now turn to birds of a different color, opening camp at McDaniel College, about a 40 mile drive to the northwest of town. The Ravens look like a good bet to advance in the playoffs this year. They win. They talk winning. New players arrive, taste the winning culture, and join right in. Imagine one of the young Orioles mentioned catching on like Ray Rice. The Ravens were destitute when they arrived in Baltimore in 2006. After three losing seasons, in 1999 they had one of the most feared defenses in the game. The next year, they won it all. This is the third year of Andy McPhail's attempt to rebuild the Orioles. We should expect .500 ball next year, but that doesn't look likely now. 2012 should have been the year to become a contender -- that's so far away right now it's hard to imagine.

The honest truth right now is that the Orioles are the worst team in baseball. That's what the standings say. Any claim to the contrary would involve tremendous speculation. How does a team such as that command TV viewers?  Why would a local sports fan want to talk about the Orioles with the Ravens now getting ready to go?

They are over the border in Canada poised to play the Blue Jays. They are 0-9 against Toronto so far. They finish the month and begin August against Kansas City.  The Angels, White Sox, Mariners, and Rangers come to Baltimore while the Birds travel to Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The Mariners are miserable, right?  Not playing the O's. They're 4-2. Cleveland is struggling but 2-1 against Baltimore. The ingenious schedule has the Orioles playing the Royals but six games, two at home where they've split. The Orioles have not played the Angels or White Sox yet. Both teams are in contention and the Angels have clobbered the Orioles in recent years.

In September, the Ravens season starts for real. The Orioles sure would like to finish on a positive and not completely collapse in September. In September, they face the four teams in their division at home and away and also the Detroit Tigers. All of those teams spare the Blue Jays should be in contention, but as reported, the Orioles haven't won against Toronto yet.

When a team is playing as poorly as the Orioles, it would be hard to describe anything that might happen as a collapse but what will be hard to take would be flirting with records for the worst team ever in the modern era rivalling the 1962 Mets and 2003 Tigers. Perhaps that's the one goal they can set, not to be in that group.  It will take playing better ball than they've shown so fr to even equal their horrible record of 1988 when they lost 108 games.

We wish the young men in black and orange well and hope much future success. Let's close the book and get ready for the Ravens. Is there anything that could possibly happen between now and October 3rd that would prevent 2010 from being the worst performance in team history and one of the worst seasons in American League history?

Ravens 2009: It's Over

The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Indianapolis Colts 3-20. Making last week's pounding of New England look like a distant memory, the old demons of penalties and turnovers vexed the Ravens as Peyton Manning's mastery intensified as the game progressed. Look at Ed Reed's highlights to see the team's fate. He had one interception called back for a penalty. He fumbled the other. Both had the potential to be game breakers. Add to the fumbles and penalties, a few too many dropped passes, the Ravens never put up a successful attack.

The Ravens Defense did okay, good enough to lose. Reality says a team should plan on scoring more than 20 points to beat the Colts.

For a season that got the Ravens to the second round of the playoffs, their effort provided more than its share of frustration after winning their first three games, which they promptly negated losing their next three, only once in the remaining of the season would they win two straight during the regular season facing the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears. They appeared to blow a lock on the playoffs in their horrible game in Pittsburgh in week 16 but slid into the playoffs with a sharp win in Oakland.

Looking at this year's experience and the 2008 season, the Ravens are a good team, good enough to make the playoffs. They still have work to do to become a championship team. They'll need help with their receiving corp and defensive secondary to do so.

The frustration of this season won't heal easily, but as fans turn their attention to next year, the Ravens can stand proud that they were among an elite few who made it to the playoffs for two years in a row, and if they make some important adjustments to their roster, they should make it three in a row next year.

Baltimore Ravens: Coach Cameron Knows How to Pick a Winner

Cam Cameron's wonderful story reveals the tremendous heart and character of a real winner

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We are proud to report a wonderful story from behind the scenes at Ravens Camp. Offensive Coordinator, Cam Cameron became aware of the plight of a classmate of his son who attends Loyola-Blakefield High School in Towson, Maryland. Matthew Costello is a young man stricken with inoperable brain cancer and is the son of Jaime Costello an anchor for WMAR-TV. Knowing that the young Costello is a diehard sports fan, Cameron felt moved to see what he could do.

ESPN’s columnist Rick Reilly relates this wonderful story. It’s so refreshing amidst all the recent scandals in professional sports to see something as thoroughly wonderful as this!

Please see attached link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=reilly_rick&id=4825585&sportCat=nfl

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Dem Baw-Lee-Mur Sportz Fans Will Drive Yew Crazy, Hon

Why are so many Baltimore fans so blue and crabby?

We don't call our hometown Crab Town for nothing, hon. This writer will be the first to defend his hometown for the many fine things we enjoy or if we're unjustly criticized from afar, but darn, while we do have some great sports fans, just witness the roar at any home Ravens' games, listening to local sports talk over the years reveals a subclass of sports fans that are uniquely Baltimore and uniquely terrible.

Every home town has its dumbass sports fans. There are the ones who are self-appointed geniuses who think they know everything. There are the ones who live in fantasy land who think all the star players are readily available at some great big Sam's Club where its just a matter of team owners and GM's picking someone who the fan thinks belongs on the home team, and boom, just like that done deal. Somebody in the Orioles' organization screwed up with Mark Texeira for example. Some fans are just plain dullards. No explanation needed.

In Baltimore, we have a unique form of paranoia that pervades a significant percentage of sports fans. Tune in to any of the local sports-talk stations any given day, you'll hear them. Some of the talk show hosts could be part of this cult. Hello Nestor Aparacio whose radio station has all the power of an average light bulb.

There's a canned speech that preludes most discussions of the Orioles. Peter Angelos, the team owner, is the villain. The speech begins with "He fired Davey Johnson and Jon Miller..".and then lists whatever crimes Angelos might have committed against Baltimore baseball. Hmm, does anyone think Jon Miller's ability to return to his home town and broadcast for the Giants had an appeal for him? Okay, Angelos screwed things up big time for many years. He also inherited a depleted organization. Still, these Baltimore blockheads must have missed the headlines about Andy McPhail's arrival as team President and not witnessed what he's attempting to accomplish. The Orioles are a frustrating mess, but there's an intelligent, informed point of view and there's the weird conspiracies. Don't hold your breath for the day Cal Ripken owns the club.

The paranoia around the Ravens is more surreal. Okay, no city has ever dealt with the heartbreak and insult the Baltimore football fan suffered on that snowy night in March, 1984 when the Mayflower vans packed up the Colts and moved them to Indianapolis. Ask fans in Cleveland how they feel about what happened to the Browns. Sure Cleveland got a better deal than Baltimore, but who won a Super Bowl first? The Ravens or the Indianapolis Colts? The Ravens did. The Ravens are one of the ten best teams of the last decade. Ooops, the Colts are #1. Baltimore fans must accept that Peyton Manning will deservedly be mentioned in the same breath as Johnny Unitas. Deal with it.

Baltimore, we have a football team. They've been here since 1996. They're not going anywhere, and they're pretty darned good.

Oh, but the league officials are out to get the Ravens. The national media doesn't respect us. Wake up, if we heard the sports talk or listened to the radio broadcasts of other cities, they'd surely cite calls that went against them too. There are some pretty sloppy crews, but the crew who handled Sunday's game in New England was superb.

As for the national media, does anyone really care what Colin Cowherd has to say? He's a west coast pretty boy who could just as well be a tabloid or entertainment reporter. Consider the source. Chris Berman tends to dis the Ravens, but he's a front runner. When the going gets good, all of a sudden, he'll be making all his sound effects and weird noises ring true for the Ravens. Are we going to let something Keeshawn Johnson had to say matter? Truth be told, Baltimore gets treated pretty decently. We're developing the kind of reputation fans in Oakland and Pittsburgh enjoy. The only way to enhance it is to have more home playoff victories. The Ravens post season play has largely been a road show.

The Ravens have the opportunity that only seven other teams currently enjoy, a chance to advance to the Super Bowl. Right now, what else matters? We can relish our win last week or look ahead to Sunday's game. The Ravens weren't "supposed" to beat New England. They did. They're not supposed to beat Indianapolis. They can.

That's good enough for this fan.

Ravens Big Win -- Final Reflections

Savor the victory. The Ravens 33-14 butt-whipping over the New England Patriots rendering glamour-boy quarterback, Tom Brady, absolutely ineffective surely must be one of the finest games the Baltimore Ravens have ever played. Surely, it belongs with last year's playoff victory over the Tennessee Titans, their wins against Tennessee and Oakland in their Super Bowl run, and their Super Bowl win, as historic achievements for one of the NFL's better programs among 31 other teams.

Frank Walker has usually been a whipping boy for penalties and dumb mistakes. He played brilliantly. Terrell Suggs has been tagged with playing fat and lazy after winning his big contract this year (though injuries could have been a factor) perhaps made the play that iced the game sacking Brady and forcing an interception. Chris Carr stepped forward both on defense and returning the ball on special teams. Of course, Ray Lewis played up to his beastly reputation with a mighty sack and strong play through out the whole game. It was a total team effort playing off their strengths, compensating for their weaknesses, and smashing a team, a quarterback, and coach who do not lose at Foxboro.

As if Tom Brady wasn't a sufficient talent, the team moves on to face Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts as their next stop en route to Miami. Whether the story continues beyond Indiana will depend on doing much of the same work they succeeded in doing yesterday. The Ravens must look for every weakness they can exploit to do the job. The mood against the Colts could run high the way they sandbagged their last two games tossing away their chance at a perfect season. Having not suited up in anger for weeks, the Ravens should hope to find a softened team ready for the taking.

Still, there is no ignoring the Colts are a multifaceted, talented team who have far more going for them than Peyton Manning, but one thing's for sure, should Manning go down, so do the Colts. They have no protection beyond #18 as their signal caller.

Ravens Score Two Touchdowns in First Four Minutes Against New England to Advance in the Playoffs

Terrell Suggs had a miserable 2009 season, but what play better defined the Ravens slaughter of the New England Patriots better than the number he laid on Tom Brady forcing a turnover shortly on New England's first offensive drive? Well if you were late getting in front of the television that would make sense but the Ravens were already in business thanks to the long scoring drive Ray Rice cut lose 83 yard run for a touchdown in the first minute of play. That plus playing one tough running game gives Rice the game ball, but it was an all-out team effort, and of course, Ed Reed got a red hot interception with a nice long return too. Sure, the Ray Lewis was right in the heart of the action laying four tackles and nine assists. If no one heard the name, Derrick Mason, so what? For the record, Mason did have one reception for eight yards in a game with just four receipts for a total of just 34 yards from the air attack. The Ravens were taking strength to weakness, their running game against a weak New England running attack. In the Arctic cold, catching a football is like standing in front of a flying rock.

The Ravens played a vicious dominant game on both sides of the ball and special teams did what they had to do as well. Chris Carr provided a 34 yard punt return. Four minutes into the game, the Ravens were up fourteen zippo and New England barely showed signs of life through out this modern day Boston Massacre.

No doubt, the Patriots spin machine will make excuses about missing Wes Welker, Brady not being 100%, and the whole string section of the Boston Pops will play the violin for their team. The Ravens aren’t exactly strangers to the trainer’s room either with Joe Flacco himself dealing with an assortment of ailments as were a number of the team’s clutch players. The bottom line is the Ravens were ahead 24 to 0 at the end of the first quarter making it a long cold afternoon for the fans in Foxboro.

Today’s game is one of historical achievement for the Baltimore Ravens. The Patriots have one of the best home records in football and have never lost a home game in the post season under the Belichick/Brady era. While no one predicted the Patriots would massacre the Ravens, the sports media, local and national, almost universally picked New England unless playing the role of the ultimate Baltimore homer. Still, based on how the Ravens played New England earlier and all things considered, it was a good matchup, but no one would have predicted the Ravens could have blown out the mighty Patriots.

It’s on to Indianapolis. It will be interesting to see how Saturday night’s matchup will be predicted. For so many reasons beyond being a Ravens fans, it’s time for Indianapolis to go down.

What's Hot in Crab Town? The Ravens!!!!

The Baltimore Ravens are the hottest thing in town, but when we're experiencing the coldest weather in recent memory, that makes the triumph all the better! While we cozy around our televisions next Sunday, the long range forecast calls for mostly sunny weather in Foxboro with a high temperature of only 21 degrees and a low of 14. Don't even ask for what the windchill could be. The conventional wisdom is that should favor the running game and mess up the kicking and passing game as if New England's passing game isn't already comprised with Wes Welker out for the post season.

No team can say, "been there, done that" in the post season like New England can. The Ravens have a formidable opponent to be sure. But the 2009 Patriots have not been the dynastic team of seasons past. They can be humbled.

The Ravens must avoid making mistakes. Penalties have been an Achilles' heal for the purple pounders and one seldom hears the name Frank Walker during a broadcast unless he's in the middle of a disaster.

The Ravens must play solid defense and turn things over to largely the talents of Ray Rice and Willis MaGahee to advance to round two.

Ravens fans must have hope that a trip to Foxboro this January is anything but mission impossible.

NFL 2009: Week 13 -- Ravens Frozen Out in Green Bay -- The AFC Wild Card Picture

Ravens fans cannot escape, their football team played a horrible game that the 27-14 loss fails to sufficiently document. The story was familiar, unless a team has a commanding lead in the standings, for serious playoff contenders, all games after Thanksgiving are must win games. Sunday's results gave the Ravens a great opportunity to advance toward a wild-card berth but their efforts in Green Bay proved them unworthy.

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First, Joe Flacco was not on his game and clearly looked rattled when the game was on the line late. His decision-making was faulty and Green Bay's defense was ready. Completing 15 of 36 for 137 yards, the Ravens' QB only achieved about half the yardage of his rival, Aaron Rodgers. Further, misery came in threes as Flacco was intercepted and sacked three times. He also fumbled. So did Ray Rice who is usually a bright spot in the Ravens attack, but tonight was all but invisible rushing for 54 yards with 14 carries.

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Second, the Ravens simply must not play in constant danger of penalties. They were penalized 12 times for 135 yards. Ironically, Green Bay did worse, 11 penalties for 175 yards, but who won the game.

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The Ravens defense came through brilliantly in spots despite missing Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs, given the number of turnovers and short fields, the Ravens defenders had little room to give to avoid Green Bay scores. The scoring damage against the Ravens could have been far worse.

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As poorly as the Ravens started being shut out 17-0 at the half, late in the third quarter, they found life that brought them in easy striking distance of taking the lead scoring two quick touchdowns late in the quarter bringing the score to a three point deficit at 17-14, but that was all they had to give.

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After a couple more mistakes, the air was out of the tires, the dogs had left their cage, the chairs were on the tables, the Ravens looked finished, tired and beaten. Joe Flacco had that frozen "deer in the headlights" look that showed the game had taken its toll.

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While the playoff hunt is not over, the Ravens are now tied with Pittsburgh, Miami, and the New York Jets at 6-6 to overcome Jacksonville who has the tie-breaker if they should even up with them. The Ravens must see Jacksonville lose two games to go ahead of them in the wild card race. Denver would have to lose three games. The task is not impossible, but anyone short of a wild-eyed dreamer would see it as plausible. That the Ravens have Detroit and Oakland on their schedule should not be cause for feeling too comfy. The Ravens must travel to the West Coast on the last Sunday of the season to face the same Oakland Raiders who just knocked off the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

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While it's not time to give up yet, Monday night on the "Frozen Tundra" gave all Ravens fans a painful chill that only victory can solve.

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Wild Card Contenders:

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In:

Denver (8-4) (Div: 3-1, Conf: 6-3)

Remaining: @Indianapolis, Oakland, @Philadelphia, Kansas City

Jacksonville (7-5) (Div: 3-2; Conf: 6-2)

Remaining: Miami, Indianapolis, @New England, @Cleveland

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In Contention:

Baltimore (6-6) (Div: 3-2, Conf: 6-4)

Remaining: Detroit, Chicago, @Pittsburgh, @Oakland

Miami (6-6) (Div: 3-2, Conf: 3-4)

Remaining: @Jacksonville, @Tennessee, Houston, Pittsburgh

New York Jets (6-6) (Div: 2-4, Conf: 5-5)

Remaining: Tampa Bay, Atlanta, @Indianapolis, Cincinnati

Pittsburgh (6-6) (Div: 1-3, Conf: 4-4)

Remaining: @Cleveland, Green Bay, Baltimore, @Miami

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Analysis:

The good news for the 6-6 teams outside looking in is that Denver goes on the road to Indy and Philadelphia facing two strong playoff teams. The bad news is they would have lose a home game against Oakland or Kansas City. Jacksonville battles Miami, Indy, and New England with only Indy in great shape and Miami and New England facing perhaps must win scenarios to achieve their goals. They have a tough fight before their trek to Cleveland to face the Browns.

The Baltimore Ravens face three teams with losing records and one team at .500 in their final four games. They must win all four games and hope for help. The key game is their next to last game in Pittsburgh.

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Miami and the New York Jets have an additional consideration. Both teams trail New England by just one game so they are also in competition to win their division. Neither face New England, but New England will be tough to overcome given they face Carolina, go to Buffalo, host Jacksonville, then finish at Houston. Miami face two contenders and visits Tennessee which has only lost one game (versus New England) since Vince Young took over at Quarterback. While the Jets face two certain playoff teams in Indy and Cincinnati, both teams could be playing soft to preserve their health for the playoffs. Visiting Tampa should bring home a win, but hosting Atlanta who might still cling to playoff hopes in week 15 will be no push over.

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Given the Ravens inability to win games back to back much less putting together any kind of drive, expecting they will carry the rest of the season will require effort not shown so far in 2009. Stacking up against Pittsburgh, the Steelers do have what should be a "gimme" at Cleveland, but then host the Green Bay Packers who will be fighting like mad for their playoff fortunes. In all likelihood, the season will be decided before they travel to finish the year in Miami.

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That's right Yogi, it's not over until it's over, but depending on one team to lose two out of four games while winning all four remaining games is a very tough scenario but one that can happen.

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Keep dreaming. Some times dreams come true, but the 2009 Ravens lack the killer instinct of last year's team.

NFL 2009: Week 13: ONE CRAZY SUNDAY

Hello Green Bay. Guess who's stopping by tonight?

(Are there any dogs in the house? WOOF-WOOF-WOOF!!!)

That’s Why They Play the Game!

Who-da-thunk-it? Week thirteen brought some really high powered upsets.

First, does anybody think Miami isn’t just a little more motivated when they play New England? Visions of a snow blower being dispatched on the field to clear a spot to make it easier for New England a decisive field goal back in the days of Don Shula is certainly part of these two AFC East rivals’ lore. Miami made those boys from Massachusetts pay dearly for escaping the cold weather for the sunny joys of South Florida in a remarkable 22-21 victory.

The Oakland Raiders had been given up for dead before the season ever started, but now they’ve managed to pull off their 4th victory travelling to Pittsburgh and blowing their noses in those horrible terrible towels and beating the defending Super Bowl champs by a field goal. Yo' Iron City fellahs, you're not going to the playoffs this year. Enough to make a Steelers' dude choke on his Primanti Brothers monster sandwich.

Hey, big guy, you got some cole slaw running down your chin!

The New Orleans Saints travelled to the Maryland suburbs of the Nation’s Capital to face the hapless Washington Redskins. Surely, the Skins couldn’t pull the upset and ruin the Saints run at a perfect season could they?

At the end of regulation, the game was undecided. Could Danny’s boys beat the NFC’s most distinguished team, maybe a little tired after playing New England Monday night?

One more thing, the Saints NEVER win when the temperature is below 40 degrees. It’s been years, well over a decade at least.

Sorry folks, this is the Washington Redskins, experts at stealing defeat from the jaws of victory, turnovers and terrors are the tale of this game for Washington losing in overtime by a field goal.

Hey, HOW ‘BOUT THEM COWBOYS? Anybody want to take bets that a lot of Dallas area sports fans are lighting up the phone lines to complain about their star struck QB, Tony Romo, heading off to Vegas after their traditional Thanksgiving game? The Cowboys started play today atop the NFC east with a respectable 8-3 mark. However, something happened before they could hop on a jet and fly home from East Rutherford, New Jersey. They lost to the New York Giants, a team that has been struggling badly recently. The Giants dominated the game winning 31-24. Oh, what month is this? Did somebody say, December? The ‘Boys don’t win in December during the Tony Romo era? Wasn’t this the year the rock star groupie was finally settling down and finding his groove? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? It appears Romo left his football talent in the casino, huh?

‘Twas not a good night for Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings as they travelled to the Arizona desert to play in a domed stadium a lot fancier than theirs and got turned inside out by Kurt Warner and all those other talented dudes who surround him. Last year, the Cardinals’ march to the post season looked like a fluke. This year, they look totally legit beating a team that could scarcely do wrong so far this year.

The playoff fight continues as Baltimore invades the Frozen Tundra for Monday Night Football against the Cheeseheads. This is a crucial game for both teams looking to improve their playoff odds.

NFL 2009: Week 12 -- Ravens Back in Playoff Picture

It sure wasn’t pretty, but the Ravens did what they had to do, secure a win against their arch rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. A field goal in overtime did the trick. Surely the local talk shows tomorrow will be jammed with fussy fans quick to find fault in some aspects of the game’s execution. Still, what’s most important is the win and second it did not create any major injuries.

Had the Ravens lost, their hopes of advancing to the playoffs would have essentially been over. Falling to 5-6 with three teams ahead of them and three teams sharing that same mediocre mark, their ability to advance would have become largely out of their hands. Now, they’re almost in there. Baltimore, Jacksonville, and Pittsburgh all share 6-5 records. Baltimore has the edge on tie-breakers over Jacksonville and Pittsburgh but, ooh, it’s just by a whisker! Denver remains a game up with a 7-4 record, but many feel Denver is in a state of free fall having been overachievers with their brilliant start.

So how do things shape up for the Ravens and their primary wild card competition?

Here’s the road ahead for these four teams:

Denver Broncos
Kansas City (away)
Indianapolis (away)
Oakland (home)
Philadelphia (away)
Kansas City (home)

Pluses:
Kansas City and Oakland are bottom feeders but both have pulled significant upsets in their limited wins.

Minuses:
Two of their three remaining road games are against playoff contenders not the least of which is Indianapolis going for the perfect season.

Baltimore Ravens
Green Bay (away) Monday Night Football
Detroit Lions (home)
Chicago (home)
Pittsburgh (away)
Oakland (away)

Plusses:
Detroit and Oakland are miserable teams that the Ravens should master with ease. Chicago is a mediocre 4-7 team. They must win these games, period.

Minuses:
Their two toughest games against playoff contenders are on the road. Green Bay is a Monday night game. Pittsburgh won’t be as easy next time as they rule Heinz field. Big Ben and Polamalu could surely be healthy in four weeks.

Bottom Line: Run the table and they’re in.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Houston (home)
Miami (home)
Indianapolis (home)
New England (away)
Cleveland (away)

Plusses:
Cleveland is probably the worst team in the NFL right now. It’s too their advantage to face Houston and Miami at home. While the Colts will be big favorites to beat them, at least they face them in Jacksonville.

Minuses:
With both Indy and New England on the schedule, New England, in Foxboro on December 27th, Jacksonville could have the toughest schedule of all the wild card contenders.

Bottom Line:
The Jags have no margin for error and must be healthy and execute to near perfection to beat the two teams that will probably have first round byes in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Oakland (home)
Cleveland (away)
Green Bay (home)
Baltimore (home)
Miami (away)

Plusses:
Oakland and Cleveland are two very weak teams. Their remaining game against division rival, Baltimore, is at home.

Minuses:
Green Bay and Baltimore could be facing do-or-die consequences playing the Steelers. While beating Cleveland should be a given, the Browns will face the Steelers, the city’s long standing rival on the chilly shores of Lake Erie. The Browns have nothing to lose and upsetting the Steelers would be the high point of a terrible season.

Bottom Line:
Their remaining schedule is roughly even with the Ravens with a slight advantage with the remaining home schedule being more favorable. It’s shaping up to where the winner of their game versus Baltimore could decide who is in and who is out.

Remarkably, all four wild card contenders have almost dead even scheduled teams yet to play. Jacksonville probably has the toughest schedule, but Denver and Baltimore face their toughest competition on the road. That Pittsburgh faces both Green Bay and Baltimore at home could be their advantage. Results could turn on which teams remain healthiest and late season weather in the Northeast and Midwest.

One final word, it’s pretty safe to call this race almost exclusively a wild card race as the first place teams generally have a sustainable margin over second place. Baltimore and Pittsburgh are two games behind Cincinnati in the North.

Indianapolis has already secured the South. New England at 7-3 leading Miami, who at 5-6 are pretty much out of wild card competition have the East nailed down. San Diego only has a one game advantage over Denver. San Diego visits Cleveland and Dallas, hosts Dallas, visits Tennessee and concludes hosting Washington. Therefore, the AFC West is really the only open division race with San Diego having a slight advantage to maintain their advantage.

For the division races, New England must defeat the undefeated New Orleans Saints to maintain pace with Cincinnati and San Diego atop their divisions. The battle for the second seed, the second bye remains a three team race as Indy flirts with perfection.

One final note for Ravens fans....

The long range forecast for Green Bay, Wisconsin calls for a mostly cloudy day with highs in the mid 30's and lows in the mid 20's, chilly compared to anything folks from Crab City have faced so far, but far more forgiving that what the "Frozen Tundra" is capable of dishing out. Meanwhile, Baltimore will enjoy a sunny day of 50 degrees and in the 40's at night.

NFL 2009: Week 11 - A November Chill in the Air as Races Heat Up

That the Ravens did not play their best football en route to a 16-0 shutout is not that big of a concern. If the team played to make sure they had things under control to secure the win and played with something in reserve in anticipation of the next three games that’s fine. Joe Flacco might be suffering some of the “sophomore jinx.” Some of his moves appear a little tentative in recent games. The absolute outrage is that after tossing an interception, Browns local kid and former Notre Dame Quarterback threw a cheap shot, chop blocking Raven defender causing a substantial knee injury that has him out against the Colts and possibly longer. The league took action, fining him, but it indicates just how desperate and out of control the Cleveland Browns franchise is. The Browns are a unit with no class, no sense, and no plan for where they are headed. Does anyone expect coach Mangini to be around next year? He’s another one year wonder, here today, gone tomorrow just as the Lerner group ditched their last GM and Phil Savage before.

Is 2009 the season of the terrible team? It well could be. While Ravens fans could take enjoyment in watching the Baltimore team win, it was bad football. How’s this for pathetic? Cleveland moves on to play the Detroit Lions with the Lions favored to win. St. Louis, Oakland, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay are teams, as we’ve lamented before simply don’t have much to allow locals to feel any encouragement, at least not yet.

On the other side, are teams like Indianapolis and New England who fought like warriors in Sunday night’s classic only to have such a hard fought game be lost to New England coach, Bill Belichick’s decision to go for it on fourth down buried deep in his own territory, falling short, giving Payton Manning a short field to pull out the win. Few games have gotten so much attention over a call like that one.

This week has some powerful matchups, as playoff contenders begin to materialize. Starting with Thursday night’s contest with Miami versus Carolina, teams with 4-5 records urgently need wins and some luck to keep their hopes alive with the 5-4 teams must build momentum because while it’s okay in the NFC, AFC teams will have to go beyond Pittsburgh and San Diego with 6-3 records.

The games:
Miami at Carolina (-3)
Carolina has been playing better since their horrendous start. Miami shows flashes of last year’s playoff team at times, but have had their difficulties. Carolina is just a wee bit better than the Fish.

Indianapolis at Baltimore (-1)
The book opened with the Ravens a one point favorite in Vegas. How can this be? We’re picking the Ravens because we don’t have enough sense not to be homers.

Washington at Dallas (-11)
Washington does have a decent defense despite their horrible offense. Dallas must play well to overcome their unexpected loss at Green Bay. Dallas needs to win or else fall back in the pack and a possible three way tie with Philadelphia and the Giants. It’s hard to see Washington pull the upset.

Cleveland at Detroit (3 ½)
The hapless Detroit Lions might look cool and professional at home against Cleveland. Monday night’s loss against Baltimore had all the markings of a team just whose offense just stopped playing. Detroit will obliterate Cleveland sending them floating back to Cleveland down Lake Erie in body bags.

San Francisco at Green Bay (-6 ½)
San Francisco’s early promise has deteriorated into misery as Coach Mike Singletary searches for the right buttons to push to be a winning team. Green Bay is another inconsistent team but should win handily at home against the 49’ers.

Buffalo at Jacksonville (-8 ½)
Perhaps the Bills belong on the list of dreadful teams having fired their coach Dick Jauron earlier this week. Meanwhile, Jacksonville is a team few believed would do anything sports a winning record they will increase by one victory after they go Buffalo hunting.

Pittsburgh (-10) at Kansas City
Here’s a chance for the Steelers to get well after their embarrassing loss to Cincinnati last week.

Seattle at Minnesota (-11)
The Vikings will roll along with a strong win over Seattle.

Atlanta at New York Giants (-6 ½)
Here’s a battle between two 5-4 teams needing to prove themselves as worthy contenders in the playoff hunt. Atlanta has shown they still need to grow to move beyond their surprise success last year. The Giants now show weaknesses easily exploited especially for their passing game. A Giants’ win by a touchdown makes sense.

New Orleans (-11 ½) at Tampa Bay
New Orleans will smash the Buccaneers in the battle for Gulf of Mexico NFC leadership.

Arizona (-9 ½) at St. Louis
Arizona is definitely looking like the leader of the NFC west perhaps stronger than the team that snuck into the Super Bowl last season.

San Diego at Denver (no odds yet posted)
The odds makers make sense. This is a tough one to pick. The Chargers can look tentative and underachieving at times while the color, orange, comes to mind thinking of the Broncos who appear to have turned back into a pumpkin in Cinderella lore. Here’s the battle for the lead in AFC West. With QB Kyle Orton beaten up, San Diego wins.

New York Jets at New England (-10 ½)
New England has work to do. After their embarrassing loss last week and having lost to the Jets in their house in week two, they need a solid win to keep the AFC East from becoming a race again. This one has to be the Patriots.

Cincinnati (-9 ½) at Oakland
The Bengals can have victory celebration as they live it up stomping on the miserable Raiders.

Philadelphia (-3) at Chicago
Philadelphia needs this game to keep pace with the other possible wild cards while Chicago needs to win to get back in the contest. Both teams are erratic to be sure; however, the Eagles are more multidimensional with deeper talent.

Tennessee at Houston (-4 ½)
Houston is a competitive team this year at 5-4 trying to advance into the playoff picture. This will be a key test for the Texans since Tennessee seems to have escaped from their miserable opening of six straight losses. Houston’s time to shine has arrived as they should win against their divisional rivalry.

The Ravens Oh So Stinko Against Ochocinco

The Ravens season is not over, but at 4-4 and two games behind the Cincinnati Bengals, the road ahead will not be easy considering two games against Pittsburgh and one against the undefeated, Indianapolis Colts remain. Short of overtaking the Bengals knowing a tie would still put the Bengals ahead based on head-to-head competition, the Ravens then have to be at least the second best second place team – not an easy task given how many teams are competitive just past halfway through the season.

There’s little point summarizing their loss to Cincinnati. It was a bad loss that will hurt their chances down the road. Without Haloti Ngata, the defense was flat and unresponsive. Joe Flacco tossed two interceptions. Steve Hauschka missed a 38 yard “routine” field goal. Five offensive possessions ended with punts, two ended with interceptions. The Ravens made it to the “red zone” once leading to their only touchdown. They held the ball for 20:00 minutes while the Bengals time of possession was 40 minutes. There’s not much hopeful to be found mining the stats. The Ravens played a weak game in all departments though a competent team should be able to overcome allowing 17 points.

Finishing this week, Cincinnati, Indy, New England, and Denver will be division leaders with Pittsburgh possibly tied with Cincinnati or at worst tied for the best of second place teams if they would fall to 5-3, a record shared with San Diego. Those six teams would be the playoff field right now. Houston is 5-4 one half game ahead of the Ravens. Jacksonville and the New York Jets share 4-4 records with Baltimore. Miami and Buffalo are 3-5 the next step down. If the Ravens win two out of three in their games against Pittsburgh and Indy then run the table, they could secure a playoff spot. Any other possibilities put too much reliance on what other teams do to make anything a sure bet.

Here’s what remains and see just how tough the task ahead is:

11/16 – at Cleveland
11/22 – Indianapolis
11/29 – Pittsburgh
12/7 – at Green Bay
12/13 – Detroit
12/20 – Chicago
12/26 – at Pittsburgh
1/03 – at Oakland

Okay, there are three very tough games, but Green Bay is quite capable as is Chicago both with 4-4 records same as the Ravens. Then Cleveland, Detroit, and Oakland should be pushovers, right?

Don’t count on it.

First, as dazed and confused Mangini and the Browns appear, while the team is going nowhere, it’s every man for himself leading to rough house play and possible serious consequences – cheap shots, injuries, and one man shows. Besides that, when the Ravens go to Cleveland they are one of the most hated visiting rivals in all of sports. It was the evil Art Modell who stole the Browns and moved them to Baltimore. The feeling is not unknown to Baltimore fans who feel a certain kind of rage when Payton Manning and crew stop by for a plate of crab cakes.

Playing the Ravens is the Browns Super Bowl for the year. They win against the Ravens in Cleveland, it’s the fondest revenge driven joy those dog pounders can realize. The players have nothing to lose. They hate their coach. They hate being in last place. They hate being the laughing stock of the media. They hate hearing what’s said about them on Cleveland radio. They’re a mad bunch. They want to take their frustrations out on somebody. They’re allowed to be mean bad ass bullies in the context of a football game. They might play sloppy ball. They might rack up tons of penalties. They could lose the game by a huge margin, but they could also knock some clutch Ravens players off the field. It wouldn’t be the first time the Ravens visited Cleveland and had players ruined for the season. Jamal Lewis announced he will retire at year’s end. How motivated might he be for one last moment in the spotlight against the team that cut him lose?

The Ravens can’t dwell on Cleveland’s situation. They can’t feel smug that they’re playing a last place team. They have to ignore the headlines about turmoil throughout their organization. The Ravens must treat it as the next football game on the schedule that they must win regardless of what color jersey the other team wears.

The Ravens lead the league in yards penalized. They’ve also yield far too many pass interference calls. Nothing turns things in the opponent’s direction faster than pass interference on a deep pattern yielding half a field’s worth of yardage. Only once this year, against Denver, has the Ravens’ defense looked like a top level defense. Their secondary has been just plain awful while the line has been way too porous. The big play making talents of Terrell Suggs and Ed Reed appear neutralized.

The “organized chaos” of the Rex Ryan led defense appears to be just chaotic this year. Some of it is planning. Some of it is execution. Losing Bart Scott and Jim Leonard does not help especially seeing how Dawan Landry might still be shell shocked from his head injury a year ago seeming incapable of delivering the big hit. The Ravens must tackle not just push.

What’s up with special teams? For the few times they’ve looked brilliant, the rest has been pretty sick.

Ravens fans are frustrated as the Ravens played well enough to win with chances to win right up until the final minutes in their first three losses regardless of games where they were clearly outplayed, yet in week 9 after their best game of the year, they travelled to Ohio leaving their talent and spirit in Baltimore.

They’ll head to the other end of Ohio against a much weaker team. The instant they breathe a sigh of relief thinking it’s a lesser team, they’re screwed. Stay out of trouble with penalties, protect the ball, and beat the Browns. Sometimes teams in trouble make the simplest aspect of the game too complicated. The Ravens can’t fall into that trap because after their next trip to the Buckeye state, they’ll be hosting their most difficult visitors of the year, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. Have they ever figured out a Payton Manning team? What new ploys do they have this year that will see them do better than lose three times against Pittsburgh last year?

One more loss and run the table in the rest, and the playoffs remain in sight. Can they do it?

NFL 2009: Week 4 -- Crank it Up!!!

Ravens Enter New England as NFL's Top Rated Team

What are the whining Baltimore Ravens’ fans supposed to do? For the second week in a row, they are #1 in the ESPN power rankings and getting much respect from almost every network talking head and ex-player turned commentator. Keyshawn Johnson and Cris Carter not withstanding, the Ravens are the toast of the NFL this year so far. Even Chris Berman, one who frequently slights the Ravens, is on board but for what opinions Berman has that do not involve his own vanity anything he says lacks conviction and like many network big shots, he’s quick to become a front runner when the hot teams emerge.

The Ravens game against New England in Foxboro is the key matchup of the weekend with two teams most would seem certain to be part of the playoff picture in January. A game like this could affect playoff seedings and home field advantage later on. New England is currently one game behind the upstart New York Jets. The Ravens are a game ahead of the surprising Cincinnati Bengals. It would sure help either team build its case for AFC supremacy by winning this contest on Sunday. Currently, the Patriots are installed as a slight favorite -2 or less. The Ravens key is on defense. They need to rattle Tom Brady and take advantage of a banged up passing attack. If they do that, they should win convincingly.

The other big matchup features the New York Jets travelling to New Orleans to face the Saints in a battle of undefeated teams. Victories by either team could help put the winning team in a nice position atop its division. The matchup features New Orleans explosive multi-faceted attack on offense against an energized Jets’ defense showing Coach Rex Ryan’s influence. Rookie QB, Mark Sanchez, is charged with executing a simple but effective scheme on offense. This game is almost impossible for us to call despite Vegas giving the Saints a touchdown advantage, but we’re going to say the Jets have a little more of that mysterious X factor to win.

The Washington Redskins cannot lose to Tampa Bay, a winless team that could be weaker than the Detroit Lions. A Washington win, they’re at 2-2 with a dozen games to salvage a decent season. If they lose, they are losers to losers, and figures like Coach Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell will get no mercy from their fans or the media. The Redskins have to throw all they have at Tampa and hope the huge FedEx Field crowd delivers pandemonium to keep the Buccaneers off guard.

San Diego visiting Pittsburgh is a crucial test for the Steelers for a loss would put them at 1-3 possibly three games behind the Ravens. San Diego can seek some comfort realizing Denver ahead of them has yet to play truly tough competition. Still, should Denver win and they lose, they’re two games back.

Finally, Monday night provides one of the best scripts for a game so far this year. Division rivals the Green Bay Packers face the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis staring down their former heroic quarterback, Brett Favre. Minnesota is undefeated with a one game lead over Green Bay. Minnesota wins, they’re clearly in the driver’s seat. They lose; they’re dead even but Green Bay gets the edge with a divisional win.

Let’s look at the specific games and who’s going to prevail.

Baltimore at New England (-2 ½)
Baltimore wins. See above.

Tampa Bay at Washington (-7)
Unless the Skins are shell shocked from last week, home cooking will give them the win.

Detroit at Chicago (-10)
Welcome back to reality. “Dah Bears” beat “Dah Lions.”

Cincinnati (-5 ½) at Cleveland
What would have looked like a toss up a few weeks ago clearly puts Cincinnati in as a clear favorite. Derek Anderson starts at QB as Man-Genius tosses local favorite, Brady Quinn, in the dog house. The Cleveland organization is a mess. Deposed GM, Phil Savage, must feel vindicated.

Oakland at Houston (-9 ½)
Houston should be ready to show how good they can be against the hapless Raiders with the friendly Houston home crowd.

Seattle at Indianapolis (-9)
Seattle is torn and frayed. They’ll get their butts thumped in Indy.

Tennessee (-3) at Jacksonville
Here’s a game where the Titans can finally turn things around as they should be a better team than division rival, Jacksonville. They cannot afford to lose this one.

New York Giants (-9) at Kansas City
Off in the Land of Oz, the Chiefs will feel like a house landed on them once the Giants defense comes on the field. This could be ugly.

Buffalo (-2) at Miami
Buffalo is struggling and T.O. is ticking like a time bomb. Sure, Miami is pretty beat up, but they should finally get things moving in the right direction, for now, with Sunday’s game against the Bills.

New York Jets at New Orleans (-7)
This is a tough one to call, but somehow the intangibles seem to favor the Jets. We’d call them this year’s Cinderella, but the thought of Rex Ryan in a Cinderella outfit is just too scary to ponder!

Dallas (-3) at Denver
Though Dallas won on Monday over Carolina, they did not look strong doing so. It’s up to Mike Nolan’s defense to stop an erratic Cowboys offense. The Broncos should win this mild upset.

St. Louis at San Francisco (-9 ½)
San Francisco should get well in a hurry at home against St. Louis. Who’s this Crabtree fellow?

San Diego at Pittsburgh (-6 ½)
Pittsburgh should finally prevail but this will be a hard fought victory.

Green Bay at Minnesota (-3.5)
The Vikings have too many elements on offense and a solid defense to let Green Bay beat them in their own house. Packers fans will not be happy.

ATTENTION RAVENS FANS!!!!!

Disclaimer: It's only week two. There are fourteen games left to play including games against the Colts, the Patriots, the Vikings, and two against Pittsburgh, but in this week's ESPN Power Rankings....

THE RAVENS ARE NUMBER ONE!!!!

Now will you cry babies who keep whining about the Ravens, "Don't get no respect nowhere!" COOL IT!!! First, who cares what Keyshawn Johnson says? Yes, Chris Berman might still take a dig or two at our team. So what? It's all about wins and losses and our team looks good so far.

NFL Week 1: Ravens Win -- Don't Worry About the Defense; Other Week One Notes

Don't panic. Who wasn't scared when the Kansas City Chiefs had the lead in the second half. That wasn't supposed to happen. Get over it. The Ravens won. Yes, the Ravens won.

We can almost hear what's going to be the buzz on Baltimore sports talk today. Rather than celebrating the Ravens first win, fans will be agonizing about the Ravens giving up 24 points as if their once mighty defense collapsed. Consider this, one Chiefs touchdown was scored on a blocked punt in the endzone another came off a very short field from an inteception. As such, the defense is truly accountable for ten points which is a lot for this unit against a team like Kansas City, but must be considered at least acceptable.

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The big story is the offensive explosion. The Ravens flaunted a passing game while not abandoning a multifaceted running attack where the scoring began and ended with Willis Magahee touchdowns.

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Before fans start boasting about a dramatic Seattle comeback, remember they beat up on the St. Louis Rams perhaps the worst team in the business next to Detroit.

Next week won't be so easy. The Ravens travel across country to San Diego, almost certainly the pick of the west.

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Other Notes:

The Chicago Bears must be the most miserable guys in the game this morning. Not only did their first real quarterback, Jay Cutler, look miserable in his Chicago debut, but defensive hit man, Brian Urlacher suffered a separated wrist. The NFC North is looking more like a Green Bay and Vikings shootout which is exactly what fans want. Meanwhile, Detroit now has lost 26 games in a row. 26 games in a row, picture that as wins. That's a dynastic performance.

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Rex Ryan had the Jets looking red hot against the Houston Texans. Rookie QB Mark Sanchez looked brilliant while the Jets played the kind of defense Rex Ryan was famous for as defensive mastermind with the Ravens.

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The six point margin doesn't tell the story. The Redskins looked awful against the Giants with Jason Campbell having that "deer in the headlights" look about him when looking for receivers.

Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, one of the game's real good guys, can't buy a break. He hustles in for a touchdown against Carolina only to have a couple of Panther defenders pile on top of him: the result -- a cracked rib. The dog killer will still be on suspension next week if McNabb can't play. This is a loss in the division that is especially tough in a division as packed as the NFC East. Washington might be the lone team entitled to a little bit of panic based on week one where no one got injured.

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Denver was supposed to be just plain awful. They ditched QB Jay Cutler and fired coach Mike Shannahan replacing him with a fellow who doesn't look old enough to buy a beer. Meanwhile, receiver Brandon Marshall was creating a distraction that would make Terrell Owens and Chad Ocho-Stinko proud. Nevertheless, they came into Cincinnati winning 12-7. Not bad!

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San Francisco had more than enough punch to beat the Arizona Cardinals who couldn't get it together on either side of the ball. Is this the Super Bowl loser's jinx? This is a loss in the Division, a fate the Cardinals don't need if they seek post season play in 2009.

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Brett Favre discovered life is good when all the QB has to do is hand off the ball to a world class running back. Adrian Peterson did the job and how! If the Vikings can tighten up their defense, this could be one killer team.

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Might Colts Fans be a little nervous holding on to win by just two points at home over Jacksonville?

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Tonight's action puts New England against Buffalo. How will Tom Brady do after missing all but part of game one last year? How will T.O. try to grab the spotlight? Across the continent there's a late night game on ESPN with San Diego visiting Oakland. For both games, it's not hard to pick the winners, but both could make for very interesting scripts. Their will be lots of folks with bleary eyes at work tomorrow morning as it will be around 2:0o am when the second game concludes.

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It's only the first week. Barring serious injuries, nothing happened that can't be undone. Two weeks from now, will be time for the first reality check.

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Kick Off in Baltimore

Today, 1:00 am, M&T Bank Stadium, the Baltimore Ravens kick off the 2009 season versus the Kansas City Chiefs after a highly successful 2008 campaign. Many of the key players return: Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, and Ed Reed will lead one of the NFL's most proven defenses with a swift attack of organized chaos to rattle even the stoutest offense. Joe Flacco and Ray Rice will build on their successful rookie start with veterans Derek Mason and Todd Heap, but there will be one fixture in Baltimore football missing, the original Raven, the lone hold over from Cleveland, Matt Stover will not be the team's field goal specialist.

Baltimore fans need not whine about this team not getting respect by national media. They are well known and feared. They will compete with the best this year besides Pittsburgh facing Indianapolis here in Baltimore and New England.

Here's to the success and good health of our beloved Ravens. The dogs are in the house and they're growling!!!