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11-15-2011, 02:09 AM #1Hyperbolic curmudgeometer
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Expectations for the rest of the season
Originally Posted by Brian Billick
The opponents came out & smashed the Ravens in the mouth.
And the Ravens turned into the Cravens. Crumpled. Didn't get off the ground until late in the 2nd quarter.
It's sort of amazing they managed to win even one of those games. You can't usually concede the first 25 minutes of a game to even a poor NFL team & come back to win.
It's true that Tennessee had a smart offensive game plan (& a beast in Kenny Britt) versus Pagano's tentative & ineffective rush (& a clay pigeon in the soon-after-IR'd Foxworth). But I have to believe that Jack Del Rio saw how the Titans' defense stifled the Ravens offense by pummeling the line & receivers & thought, We can do that too. And the Jags, with a rookie QB starting, were such underdogs that it must've been easy to say to his team, Let's just go out & hit them as hard as we can & see what happens--at worst we lose a game we were supposed to.
And it worked. And Ken Whisenhut saw that & took note. And next week the Cards did exactly the same thing, & went up 24-3 before the bleeding stopped. Somehow the team pulled things together at halftime & had enough time remaining to come from behind. It had to help to be at home.
And Pete Carroll saw it & took note. And the Seahawks beat the living hell out of the O, the D, & the special-needs teams. And it paid off. In 6 gift points courtesy of 2 fumbles on kickoff returns when the return team couldn't have blocked their own mothers. In the final 5 minutes when the worn-out & beaten-up defense couldn't stop Seattle from running out the clock.
Why haven't the better teams gone at the Ravens like that? My guess is they figured they had a better chance to beat them with a less physical game plan, so why play va banque?
But smashing the Ravens in the mouth has worked for 3 bad teams & nearly worked for a fourth.
Why shouldn't the Bengals do the same next Sunday?
Why would the results be any different?
Cincinnati has a decent running game, good young receivers & a surprisingly competent rookie QB--not to mention a history of baffling & bludgeoning the Ravens offense. The home crowd might keep the game close. Or it might be bailing before the third quarter ends, if the guys in purple once again show that they can dish it out but they can't take it.
I expect a train-wreck Sunday. I expect it to be obvious before the first half ends. I expect, for the fourth week out of 5, to change the channel long before the end of the game to avoid shattering the flat screen or stroking out.
And I expect every team the Ravens play through New Year's Day to come out doing their best to do exactly the same, until & unless they show they can adapt.
I expect that they won't be able to. I expect a sweep by Cincinnati, a national-TV humiliation Turkey Night, further embarrassment at San Diego after a cross-country trip, maybe even a loss in the "Factory Of Sadness" beside Lake Erie.
I expect 9-7 at best. Maybe 8-8. Epic collapse & a lot of golf in January.
(But hey, look at the bright side--at least they'll be drafting a lot higher than anyone expected a couple of weeks ago. )
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11-15-2011, 02:13 AM #2
Re: Expectations for the rest of the season
I think they'll win these next 2 games, but after that Idk what to expect.
90% of the game is half mental
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11-15-2011, 02:15 AM #3
Re: Expectations for the rest of the season
I don't know what to expect now.
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Baltimore Colts (AAFC): 1947-1950
Baltimore Colts (NFL): 1953-1984
Baltimore Stars (USFL): 1985
Baltimore Colts/Stallions (CFL): 1994-1995
Baltimore Ravens (NFL): 1996-Present
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11-15-2011, 02:23 AM #4Hyperbolic curmudgeometer
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11-15-2011, 02:24 AM #5
Re: Expectations for the rest of the season
I expect the play-offs.
Every year the defense has a terrible game. This was it.
We need to run the ball. Joe is a good QB but this team is built to run. Someone on another thread said something about all the posters who were clamoring for the shot-gun sugar huddle finally got their wish on Sunday. That's both true and false.
The Ravens possess the ability now to go into different formations with the same personel. Send Pitta or Dickson out there, along with Rice and Leach. If you want to run, go into an I-form. If you want to spread out the defense, put Rice and Boldin in the slot, Smith and Pitta/Dickson out wide. Leach stays in as a pass blocker/outlet receiver."A moron, a rapist, and a Pittsburgh Steeler walk into a bar. He sits down and says, “Hi I’m Ben may I have a drink please?”
ProFootballMock
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11-15-2011, 02:27 AM #6
Re: Expectations for the rest of the season
90% of the game is half mental
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11-15-2011, 02:32 AM #7
Re: Expectations for the rest of the season
The other thing that the 3 losses have in common. Ray Rice was only a thought.
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11-15-2011, 02:38 AM #8Hyperbolic curmudgeometer
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Re: Expectations for the rest of the season
Well, I'm basing my pessimism on the fact that both previous times they lost this year, the next game was with a very bad team--and they only won the second time by the skin of their teeth. And the fact that there's no quick way to fix the worst special teams in the league, which will spot any opponent at least 3 points & probably 7-10. But I hope you're right & I'm wrong.
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11-15-2011, 02:46 AM #9
Re: Expectations for the rest of the season
There is an easy way to fix the worst special teams in the league.
CUT REED!
See, that was quite simple."A moron, a rapist, and a Pittsburgh Steeler walk into a bar. He sits down and says, “Hi I’m Ben may I have a drink please?”
ProFootballMock
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11-15-2011, 02:51 AM #10
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11-15-2011, 03:14 AM #11Regular 1st Stringer
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Re: Expectations for the rest of the season
Not as cocky as I was a week ago to say the very least, I still expect Bmore to make the post and perform better than yesteryear
Got to buckle up ya chinstrap
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11-15-2011, 03:31 AM #12Hyperbolic curmudgeometer
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Re: Expectations for the rest of the season
Um--
Week 2: TEN 26 BAL 13 -- Week 3: BAL 37 STL 7
Week 7: JAC 12 BAL 7 -- Week 8: BAL 30 ARZ 27
--are you having trouble remembering this, or do you really think St. Louis (with a gimpy Steven Jackson) and Arizona are (or were at the time) decent teams?
This time the Ravens don't have a patsy to get well against. They're playing a team a helluva lot better & if anything more physical than any of the 3 they lost to. And after getting banged up by the Bengals, they have to play a beastly San Francisco team 4 days later.
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