The rest of the way

**Cj34** · 10-26-2014, 11:37 PM

Originally Posted by GOTA

@Saints @Dolphins @Texans

There is such a huge difference between home and the road for the Ravens. I do think they'll beat the Steelers next week but then it's going to get ugly away from home. The Chargers game will be tough but they have a ton of injuries on their defense which at home Flacco will be able to exploit.

The Miami game is not even going to be a true road game. It will be 50-60% Raven fans.

**Cj34** · 10-26-2014, 11:40 PM

Originally Posted by Wieters

I find it hard to post after a loss because so many of you lack the ability to see beyond the negatives and objectively evaluate this team.

As Harbaugh said in the postgame, if this is who we are as a team then we'll go a long way.

This team has had one true dud of a game which was in Indianapolis. In truth, the defense played really well against the Colts and it was just the offense that turned in a clunker.

Otherwise, we have lost to one other team who for whatever reason has a beat on us. The Bengals seem to be able to see right through Flacco. Despite our superiority this year and in many previous seasons, the Bengals have fared disproportionately well against us.

That Dalton to Sanu pass was the ballgame, and I am okay with it. Brooks will improve. Will Hill will get more snaps. The pass rush will finish Dalton the next time around. Other teams aren't going to complete passes like that with any frequency.

We're probably a 10-6 team. The only difference between that and 11-5 is that an 11-5 team needs to pull out at least one of these Bengal games, which was totally conceivable.

I really like this team once they're in the playoffs. They're complete but with tons of room to grow. This is the second best team since 2006 in my opinion (2011 was the best).

I agree with you this team has a lot of room to grow and with half the season to go they still have as much of a chance as anyone in the AFC. I also agree that the 2011 team was our best team since 2006. Imo it was much better then the SB winning team a year later, things just didn't break well for them as we all know.

**Bigfish** · 10-27-2014, 01:56 AM

Originally Posted by CincyCat

This^

Our last two games scare me. It's going to take a long time to see how this shakes out.

The Ravens played tough today and both of our games could have gone either way. I really hated seeing the injury bug biting you guys today. Neither team was at full strength but once again it went down to the final seconds.

:respect

The injury bug has bitten both teams, hopefully it doesn't end of being the story of the season.

**LukeDaniel** · 10-27-2014, 02:21 AM

11-5 seems most logical, although 10-6 is certainly a possibility.

The Ravens only play two teams currently with a positive SRS over their final 8 games. One of those team (San Diego) has traditionally been pretty horrid once cold weather hits too. The other has yet to beat the Ravens on their home field in the Harbaugh era. The Ravens are a better team right now than every remaining opponent.

**camdenyard** · 10-27-2014, 03:19 AM

Yesterday wasn't a surprise. Cincy has been Flacco's house of horrors for some time now.

I think it all depends on the injuries. Right now, it's getting alarming. Predicting the NFL is a bad bet. Pittsburgh looked close to dead after the JAX game. Now look at them - Roethlisberger just bent over a good Colts D. I shudder to think what could be coming, but who knows.

**Igotstoknow** · 10-27-2014, 06:12 AM

Been struggling to recover from this loss. I admit it hit me much harder than most for a variety of reasons. It was a huge game. We should have had all the motivation in the world. We seemed to have a struggling rival right where we wanted them as we seemed to be peaking. I was the most excited about this team that I had been since the SB run. Then, to not only lose, but the way we lost, while being swept by a division rival, was deflating to say the least. Then there's our injuries.

But now it's time to gain some perspective and face reality. I've come to realize 2 things about the Ravens. One is, they can't stand prosperity. As soon as things look to be lining up perfectly for them they do something to relegate themselves to underdog status, where they have to scratch and claw from that day forward. They don't know how to be frontrunners. It's not in their DNA. They have to make everything hard. They seem to write the same script every year.

Secondly, the Bengals are Flacco's kryptonite. Something happens to Joe when he sees those striped helmuts. I know we failed in many other areas in this game, but if Joe even plays okay, we win. I'm as big of a Flacco guy as there is, rarely criticize him, and often pump him up, but he routinely sucks vs Cincy. That 1st pick in the 3rd quarter when we came out of halftime with the ball and only down 1 was horrendous and a sign of things to come.

With that said though, this game was nowhere near as important as the upcoming Pitt game imo. For all of the respect we show Cincy around here, while denigrating the Steelers, Pittsburgh, with all of their flaws, now appears to be a bigger threat for the division than the Bengals if you ask me. They are 5-3 with their remaining schedule as follows: Ravens, @Jets, @Tenn, NO, @Cinn, @Atl, KC, and Cinn. I just don't see more than 3, maybe even 2, losses in there, given who they play at home. One of them has to be to us and I can still see them going 11-5, 10-6 at worst. I said it before the season started when people were saying how awful they looked. They would still find a way to grind out 10 wins, give or take one.

The Bengals on the other hand are 4-2-1 and will play Jax, Cle, @NO, @Hou, @TB, Pitt, @Cle, Den, and @Pitt. Whoever said they have an easy remaining schedule wasn't seeing the same one I was seeing. They did get a 1st place schedule. I'd be willing to bet there are at least 3 more losses in there. Can't say to who for sure because this is the unpredictable NFL, but that is no cakewalk. Best guess would be @NO, @Pitt and Den. They also could easily lose one of the Cle games. 3 more losses makes them 10-5-1, 4 and it's 9-6-1. That tie could come back to bite them.

Now the Ravens. The injuries do concern me, but the secondary play scares the hell out of me, especially with Jimmy out. What did Ben have, like 540 yards passing vs Indy? I'm hoping for the best, but that could get ugly fast. Just praying this game reverts to us vs them form and is a slugfest decided late, hopefully in our favor. As to the balance of the season, we absolutely can't afford more than 3 losses, and 2 would be optimal, in order to have a chance to take the division or even make the playoffs. .500 ball, 9-7, the rest of the way and we miss the postseason again.

However, I do think 11-5, 6-2 from here on out is doable, but it has to start with a win @Pitt to balance out the sweep of us by Cincy and give us the tiebreaker over the Steelers. I do think we win our 4 remaining home games, including SD. So if we can eek one out at Pitt, we only have to win one from among @NO, @Mia and @Hou. I believe we will do at least that.

So, just to extend this rambling post even further, it wouldn't be hard to project us and Pitt at 11-5 and Cincy at 10-5-1 or us and Pitt at 10-6 and the Bengals at 9-6-1. Ravens win the AFC North due to sweeping Pitt. Honestly, I thought Cincy was going to run away with it and we'd be playing for a wild card. Never saw their slump coming. That sweep by the Bengals hurts, but could end up not mattering. What does matter though is us sweeping the Steelers, which makes this upcoming game the biggest of the season. I just hope the now down and out Ravens can find a way to pull it out.

Qualifier: I realize that all of the above is just silly, wild assed speculation and probably will not happen as I projected, but it helps me take my mind off of that soul sucking loss.

**lovefootball** · 10-27-2014, 06:40 AM

Hope the ravens keep it close in the losing games, hate to see blowouts. Saints, steelers winning big yesterday will be tough games for harbaugh. Those teams ,harbaugh may have to settle for field goals, just to keep from being shutout. 8-8 is more likely.

**LukeDaniel** · 10-27-2014, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by lovefootball

Hope the ravens keep it close in the losing games, hate to see blowouts. Saints, steelers winning big yesterday will be tough games for harbaugh. Those teams ,harbaugh may have to settle for field goals, just to keep from being shutout. 8-8 is more likely.

8-8 would mean losing all 5 of the "toss up" games. That's highly unlikely. Like I said, the Ravens are a better team than every team remaining on their schedule.

**alienrace** · 10-27-2014, 11:42 AM

They should go 10-6. I had them at 11-5, and the only unexpected loss was the opener. If they take the Steelers out next week(and I still believe they will), then 11-5 is back on the table.

**JustaslowZ06** · 10-27-2014, 02:48 PM

Like I said yesterday. We're gonna lose to Pitt and still go 11-5. Yeah I know that's really optimistic. But I'm hoping the coaching staff pulls its head out of its ass and stops this safety turnstile were doing. They keep up the way they are and we'll go 9-7 and be watching the playoffs from home again. THAT is the key. This secondary is pathetic. The worst in franchise history easily. So you better dial up the blitzes like they have the previous 2 weeks and leave Hill back in centerfield and Elam at SS. Anything other than that and it's a wash. 11-5 cause I have faith that the coaching staff isn't stupid.

**Ghoulahoo** · 10-27-2014, 03:41 PM

I had yesterday's game as a loss last week with an 11-5 finish. I only see losses to SD and NO. However, the injury to Jimmy Smith may be more of a factor now, might make us 10-6 with a loss next week.