Schedule Gets Tougher

**BcRaven** · 10-14-2019, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by 757RavensFan

Yes and we probably all predicted a W vs the 49ers and Bills when the schedule 1st came out. The Ravens definitely have a tough task ahead of them.

757, that they do, but we will see what this young team is made of in the next 8 weeks (7 games). We fans can write all the W's and L's we want, but a friend of mine told me what his grandfather told him long ago, "Make all your future plans in pencil and keep an eraser handy."
Wise words indeed... Bc

**smoothSeph** · 10-14-2019, 01:27 PM

I’d feel a lot better if we were putting our foot on the throats of these bad teams, but we haven’t really done that since Miami

**simplesimon** · 10-14-2019, 01:56 PM

I see us going 1-6. Buffalo has a good defense and all of these teams have better quarterbacks than the Bengals. Mark Andrews get doubled team and that shuts us down offensively. We need one more speedy tall receiver. We are fun to watch but we have a lot of deficiencies. I will be rooting for them though through thick and thin. We need to be realistic however. I don't see Harbaugh making any changes in coaching strategy.

**Rygar64** · 10-14-2019, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by RavenIsh

The Browns have the rest of the way:

NE-. L
Den-. L
Buf-. W
Pit-. W
Mia-. W
Cincy-. W
Pit-. W
AZ-. W
Bal-. L
Cincy-. W

That puts them at 9-7.

It's important that we go 3-3 over these next 6 games.

Based on what?? What the hell has this CLE team shown that gives you the impression they are built to go on a sustained winning streak? What happens when a couple of offensive players get injured or dinged up. Baker looked a little beat up himself yesterday...those things can become cumulative. The Browns have now routinely been still discussing the previous week's game on Thursday of the following week, which gives me the impression that Kittens still has no idea how to get that team focused and moving in the same direction each week consistently. They also frequently discuss the refs, missed calls, getting OBJ the ball and whatever perceived slight someone lobbed at them the previous week...all signs of immaturity and poor focus.

I have zero confidence that they are going to run off a six game winning streak.

**Rygar64** · 10-14-2019, 02:18 PM

Originally Posted by simplesimon

I see us going 1-6. Buffalo has a good defense and all of these teams have better quarterbacks than the Bengals. Mark Andrews get doubled team and that shuts us down offensively. We need one more speedy tall receiver. We are fun to watch but we have a lot of deficiencies. I will be rooting for them though through thick and thin. We need to be realistic however. I don't see Harbaugh making any changes in coaching strategy.

Andy Dalton routinely torched this team over the past 4 to 5 years and that was when we had a "good defense" and it didn't matter whether the Bengals were good or not, so I look at yesterday as an improvement actually, lol. I think every team that plays us believes "double Mark Andrews and that shuts it down"...easier said than done and other guys have stepped up this season. Still think Ingram is being under-rated as an addition by a lot of us Ravens fans too. The defense can also still improve as the season goes on.
In the same vein that teams we think should have no shot at playing the Ravens close...why can't the Ravens do the same to these so called "upper tier/elite" teams?
Also, for those of us that look at the schedule and assess an opponent as a tough game...what do you honestly think other teams think when they see the Ravens on their schedule? Do you think they say "oh that's an easy win..."? I don't think that's how opposing teams approach games against us, so I've never really understood why we as fans think that.

The Ravens have never lost 4 games in a row with Harbaugh as head coach. So 0-7 is highly unlikely.
And, bad teams or not, the Ravens actually do have an above average offense, so the chances of a major stretch of losing also seems unlikely. For anyone saying the Ravens offense is fools gold, the same should be said about the Patriots defense. My guess is 3-4 and possibly 4-3 through this stretch. If the defense can continue to limit the mental breakdowns, that should not be a problem.

**Dirt1** · 10-14-2019, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by Rygar64

Andy Dalton routinely torched this team over the past 4 to 5 years and that was when we had a "good defense" and it didn't matter whether the Bengals were good or not, so I look at yesterday as an improvement actually, lol. I think every team that plays us believes "double Mark Andrews and that shuts it down"...easier said than done and other guys have stepped up this season. Still think Ingram is being under-rated as an addition by a lot of us Ravens fans too. The defense can also still improve as the season goes on.
In the same vein that teams we think should have no shot at playing the Ravens close...why can't the Ravens do the same to these so called "upper tier/elite" teams?
Also, for those of us that look at the schedule and assess an opponent as a tough game...what do you honestly think other teams think when they see the Ravens on their schedule? Do you think they say "oh that's an easy win..."? I don't think that's how opposing teams approach games against us, so I've never really understood why we as fans think that.

The Ravens have never lost 4 games in a row with Harbaugh as head coach. So 0-7 is highly unlikely.
And, bad teams or not, the Ravens actually do have an above average offense, so the chances of a major stretch of losing also seems unlikely. For anyone saying the Ravens offense is fools gold, the same should be said about the Patriots defense. My guess is 3-4 and possibly 4-3 through this stretch. If the defense can continue to limit the mental breakdowns, that should not be a problem.

**Charmcityflex** · 10-14-2019, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by Harley-Ravenson

I am encouraged by the OLD SCHOOL reminder of who the Ravens can be on demand yesterday! This bodes well for December and January football if we can survive the upcoming gauntlet!

Looking at this with my head and not my heart- based on what I have seen from all of these teams thus far:

Seahawks - L (exciting and close- but Hawks make a few more key plays)

Patriots- L (can't wait to see the Genius's plan to slow our attack)

Bengals- W (Ravens recover one and get a reprieve from the storm)

Texans- W (My heart wants to give us a W here.... but I think Texans may be AFC Championship game material after yesterdays win) Balanced- good- football team- this could be us next year.

After giving us a L- I changed to a W- Lamar beat Deshaun in college. I think he puts the Ravens on his back - balls out- and makes a statement here!

Rams- L (this game depends on what version of the Rams we see. Will they recover and play Rams football on offense- or???- and does Weddle give up our secrets? does it matter?)

49ers- L (We might win this game with them traveling our way- but they are a SOLID football team. Ravens see the light at the end of the tunnel of this gauntlet- but we drop this one

Bills - W (Ravens put on the cold weather gear- and begin the resurgence with a W in Frigid Buffalo!

3- 4 over the stretch!

If we come out relatively injury free- we make a run and are very battle tested for the playoffs! In fact this is almost like a MINI- PLAYOFF series that will make or break us! I think we come out stronger and make a run in the tournament!

It's like a whole new team come January. they have been able to knockout heavy weights in the past.

**srobert96** · 10-14-2019, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by Rygar64

Andy Dalton routinely torched this team over the past 4 to 5 years and that was when we had a "good defense" and it didn't matter whether the Bengals were good or not, so I look at yesterday as an improvement actually, lol. I think every team that plays us believes "double Mark Andrews and that shuts it down"...easier said than done and other guys have stepped up this season. Still think Ingram is being under-rated as an addition by a lot of us Ravens fans too. The defense can also still improve as the season goes on.
In the same vein that teams we think should have no shot at playing the Ravens close...why can't the Ravens do the same to these so called "upper tier/elite" teams?
Also, for those of us that look at the schedule and assess an opponent as a tough game...what do you honestly think other teams think when they see the Ravens on their schedule? Do you think they say "oh that's an easy win..."? I don't think that's how opposing teams approach games against us, so I've never really understood why we as fans think that.

The Ravens have never lost 4 games in a row with Harbaugh as head coach. So 0-7 is highly unlikely.
And, bad teams or not, the Ravens actually do have an above average offense, so the chances of a major stretch of losing also seems unlikely. For anyone saying the Ravens offense is fools gold, the same should be said about the Patriots defense. My guess is 3-4 and possibly 4-3 through this stretch. If the defense can continue to limit the mental breakdowns, that should not be a problem.

There are a couple of areas of concern for the Ravens that I don't see how we improve. Pass rush is a big one. Suggs and Z Smith have 9 combined sacks for their new teams. The Ravens have 11 total sacks. It is going to be tough for the defense to improve if they can't get a pass rush. Pass rushers are very difficult to find. I also worry about the interior of the oline. Bozeman and Skura are concerning and Yanda is not getting any younger. I do not think Ingram is being underrated. If the Ravens continue to use a heavy dose of the read option the Ravens are going to be a handful on offense. They are going to minimize the number of possessions an opponent gets and that will help the defense.

The Ravens are 4-2. When teams see the Ravens on their schedule they think it is going to be a tough game. That is good and bad as they are going to come prepared to play.

**Rygar64** · 10-14-2019, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by srobert96

There are a couple of areas of concern for the Ravens that I don't see how we improve. Pass rush is a big one. Suggs and Z Smith have 9 combined sacks for their new teams. The Ravens have 11 total sacks. It is going to be tough for the defense to improve if they can't get a pass rush. Pass rushers are very difficult to find. I also worry about the interior of the oline. Bozeman and Skura are concerning and Yanda is not getting any younger. I do not think Ingram is being underrated. If the Ravens continue to use a heavy dose of the read option the Ravens are going to be a handful on offense. They are going to minimize the number of possessions an opponent gets and that will help the defense.

The Ravens are 4-2. When teams see the Ravens on their schedule they think it is going to be a tough game. That is good and bad as they are going to come prepared to play.

I'm trying to understand why our own fans don't think that?! Folks look at the schedule and automatically start penciling in losses and i just don't get it. The ravens are somewhere between a decent and a good team, which means that on any given Sunday they should be in position to win if they execute properly. There may be a few teams that they are simply outmatched against (KC) but it's not like they are a JV squad out there.

**webbrick2007** · 10-14-2019, 02:50 PM

No pass rush, castoffs starting at ILB, DB's decimated by injury.
I would not be surprised to see a 2-8 finish to this year

**srobert96** · 10-14-2019, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by Rygar64

I'm trying to understand why our own fans don't think that?! Folks look at the schedule and automatically start penciling in losses and i just don't get it. The ravens are somewhere between a decent and a good team, which means that on any given Sunday they should be in position to win if they execute properly. There may be a few teams that they are simply outmatched against (KC) but it's not like they are a JV squad out there.

To be fair the Ravens have not been dominating teams with the exception of the Miami game. In the two losses the Ravens were down over two TDs and put up some late game points to make them look closer. 3 of the games against bad teams came down to getting stops on the final possession. If they put up a couple of two TD wins over the Bengals and Cards I think people would be more positive. We also nearly lost to Pitt who rolled a 6th round rookie off the bench to QB the 2nd half.

**Rygar64** · 10-14-2019, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by webbrick2007

No pass rush, castoffs starting at ILB, DB's decimated by injury.
I would not be surprised to see a 2-8 finish to this year

Have you done the same analysis of the Ravens opponents and concluded that they have no weaknesses? An imperfect Ravens team against a fully healthy and stacked opponent will probably struggle. but every team has weaknesses that can be exploited. It's gonna come down to execution, not which team is feeling sorry for itself because things aren't perfect.