The Baltimore Ravens will finish the regular season 13-3, with a first round bye in the playoffs.
I will post a game by game synopsis later, as mind seem to be long winded.
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The Baltimore Ravens will finish the regular season 13-3, with a first round bye in the playoffs.
I will post a game by game synopsis later, as mind seem to be long winded.
Two weeks ago I would have said 12-4 now I say 10-6. I think the team chemistry has taken a hit that will cost us at least one game and young players another.
I HOPE I AM WRONG....
I give the 49ers the win the Ravens have been choking in big televised games.
Steelers - L
@ Titans - W
@ Rams - W
Jets - L
bye
Texans - W
@ Jaguars - W
Cardinals - W
@ Steelers - L
@ Seahawks - W
Bengals - W
49ers - L
@ Browns - L
Colts - L
@ Chargers - W
Browns - W
@ Bengals - W
Hey BP!!!
Ok, past few years I have been close, but like Sean said...it is hard to gauge where this team will land with so much turnover in roster... soooooo.... my heart say 12-4, but my gut says 10-6... <pondering> heart .. head... heart .. head..
:229031_confused2:
HEART always wins!
12-4
U2--
"Two weeks ago I would have said 12-4 now I say 10-6."
Precisely why I (and I'm sure RavnMadMAn would agree) started these threads on The Forum That May Not Be Named, and plan to conduct them over here. Perceptions sometimes change with the wind, and one thing that I saw way too much of on The FTMNBN was the --
"Man, are we gonna be GREAT this year!", or the "Oh, SHYT, we are DOOOMED!" reaction to every signing or lack thereof;
"The season's lost" after a report on every injury;
"They didn't sign the guy I thought they should have, so we're screwed" or the "Every other team in the AFCN/AFC/entire NFL has signed every good player ever and the Ravens are stuck with guys who can't walk and chew gum simultaneously" doomsday scenario;
and I'm sure you have your own favorites.
What I find a lot more refreshing on this board, at least, is that most posters have some line of thinking as to why they feel a certain way, and generally can express themselves without pissing on any contradictory opinion. While I still think there's a lot of emotion in what folks believe will happen, it's also interesting to look at the general fan temperature at the beginning of TC, then just before the first regular season game (and then another look around draft time.)
edit:
RM, good to see ya, kiddo!
Well, here is the most pessimistic prediction I have EVER made on one of Beau's pre-season prediction threads....
Lots of youth and a shaky O-line have me thinking 8-8 this year. Unless one of our young WR's has an absolutely freak breakout year, I see everyone double covering Boldin and teeing off on our running game and daring us to beat them with the pass, which as we all have seen the last decade plus just ain't gonna happen. And someone please explain to me how the hell we ended up with a roster where the RT for the opening game against Pitt is either going to be Cousins or a 3rd round rookie... :187734: We'll be lucky if Flacco lives through that game....and who is the friggin backup QB if he goes down????
We are relying on a completely unknown quantity in Kindle to provide some pass rush help for Suggs, and with Foxworth hobbling we may be starting a rookie CB.
I think that if the young guys work out next year we could kick some serious ass, but I see some serious growing pains this season.
Anyone else here get the feeling that the front office is looking at this as a rebuilding year? I just can't figure how we addressed none of our glaring needs via FA this offseason unless they have already written this year off.
ML--
Excellent post, even if some disagree. Ya gotta wonder....
You want disagreement? :laugh:
How about I start a thread pondering whether or not retaining Ngata at an astronomical salary is even a smart idea, considering that no team has ever won a championship on the back of a non-sack artist defensive lineman?
You want to see some folks piss in their Wheaties..... :141847_bdmoon:
.
I have no idea what their record will be b/c I wanna see the preaseason games and how their offense starters and #3 & #4 WRs shape out (plus the backups too.. OL depth).
I will predict the 49ers game will be a win though. West coast teams rarely do well when they travel to East Coast with a full week. The 49ers gotta make a Thurs nite game to Baltimore. Wow, that's an extremely difficult task to prepare for. If they 49ers were Packers caliber, I say, ok maybe they could overcome that huge hurdle, but the 49ers aren't that great. Alex Smith ain't Peyton/Tom/Aaron/Drew/Ben. Sure the 49ers could beat the Ravens, but I'd put pretty good money on the Ravens for that game (of course this is minus injuries to our key starters)
Can we revise after the pre-season and before Sept. 11th?
If I had to pick a record now, I would say 8-8.
I think long-term, they are set-up for success, but in the short-term (this season) they will go through some growing pains due to the young/inexperienced players that will be starting.
I hate playing the Steelers week one, followed by 2 road games, followed by the Jets on National TV. I can see them being 1-3 at the quarter pole.
Overall, I think the team is due to take a step back. However, what would be nice (and what is long overdue) is to have a season like the Steelers' last year:
> Not really that talented of a team at the start (some due to injury/suspension), but lady-luck hands them some gift wins (Buffalo, Miami).
> They then get healthy and step-up their game at the end of the season when it matters (Baltimore - twice).
> Develop a young WR from mid-round in the draft (Mike Wallace)....something that seems to happen with just about every other team besides the Ravens.
Like I said, the above would be nice, but I am not counting on it.
8-8