Sittin’ On Top of the World
Three weeks down and the Ravens are on top of their division. Granted we’ve only played two games against two very bad teams but you can’t deny that the Ravens are already better than what anyone thought they could be.
Joe Flacco showed yesterday that he is in fact a true rookie and that he is not above mistakes. I think he’s going to have a tough time playing Pittsburgh in their house. That will be his biggest mental challenge yet.
I wish Ray Rice was given the ball more. Willis McGahee has the wheels but it seems like all a defender has to do is breathe on him and he goes down. I’m convinced that the best pick up the Ravens made this off season was Lorenzo Neal. Put that guy in front of any back and that back will succeed. Neal really does not get enough credit.
Watching the defense play yesterday I got that old feeling from two years ago that this team has a shot. The defense just seems to keep improving. Ed Reed’s touchdown was a thrill. To think that three weeks ago we didn’t know when or if he would play this season and to see how aggressive he is playing now just shows you how dedicated this guy is.
My favorite moment so far this season though has to be the hit that Ray Lewis laid on a Browns receiver, popping the ball out to be picked off. On that play Ray Lewis looked like he was 25.
I know it’s early but I can’t help being pumped up for this team, and why not? After last year’s horror show I’ll enjoy this years success as long as I can. If Flacco can keep the mistakes to minimum, the running game can stay consistent and the defense can stay healthy and dominant — if all those things can happen — then we might get to hang out at the top of the division a little while longer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAoL7kAdYxE
this is more like it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NWjlaCLjHg
What an interesting year it’s been so far…
I’m surprised the ravens have looked as good as they have, but as justin said, the two teams they have played so far have looked downright atrocious. Maybe because of the ravens defense? I don’t know.
If you’re a Ravens fan, I think you have to try to stay a little grounded at this point. Against Pittsburgh, at Pittsburgh, will be a true test for them. If they can make Pittsburgh look like The made Cleveland and Cincinnati look, then I will be a true believer. If not, I still think this team is a six game winner at best.
yeah i agree that until the ravens beat a worthy opponent we won’t know much. not only that, but i’m not sure i’ll feel confident all year given that with one or two significant injuries, particularly in the secondary, it could all unravel like last year.
i won’t predict a ravens win this monday, but i will predict one thing. even if the steelers end up beating us 9-6 (or whatever the low score will inevitably be either way) we might sack their qb ten times.
seeing their 0-line get completely embarrassed by the eagles made me almost feel sorry for them and what could unfold monday night.
okay, not really.
i expect some ravens blitz packages will look something like this:
x x
x x x x x x x x x
aw damn the two x’s were supposed to be in the center!
You mean like this?
x x
x x x x x x x x x
damn…
I guess HTML code doesn’t work in this forum! LOL
Well, those two awful teams had their way with us last year, didn’t they? And beating inter-division rivals, regardless of their stature, is always big in my book. Good teams beat the guys they might not, and make the guys they’re supposed to beat look positively foolish. So far, so good.
| |
| \ / |
| x x |
| |
| x x x x x x x x x |
| o \ \ \ ooooo / / / o |
| o |
| |
| o |
| o |
| |
| |
There…that’s better! LOL
I have seriously too much time on my hands today.
I give up…
You’re on your own Big Ben. haha
Neal… HTML-able comments for TLC 2.0?
okay how bout this:
_____x_x_____
_x_x_x_x_x_x_x_x
x<—— ed reed who doesn’t want to fuck his neck up
x <—— Reed could actually line up all the way down here… roaming wherever the fuck he wants to roam… And still read Big Ben’s mind and return a pick for 6.
__________________________
x<—- ed reed steps in front of ward and streaks to endzone
^
^
^
^
#@$%!
@#$*(&%@# <——- Ray Lewis leaves his feet and goes completely vertical while blocking Hines Ward, and thus laying him out, after Reed intercepts the ball. (I can picture the block now where he actually did this. Was that when Reed returned the missed field goal from the end zone for a TD? I can’t remember)
You actually can use some HTML in the comments (for bold, italics, etc) but I guess not every tag will work. I’m not sure how I would change that but I’ll look into it.
It’s going to be one hell of a game next Monday.
random dude that was ray’s crushing blow on keith burns of the broncos to help spring chris mccalister’s (then) record 107 yard touchdown return.
you’re right, it was a mcalister return. Reed and McAlister have both had long and impressive returns, I couldn’t keep them straight.
I want to remind everyone of what I said about the Ravens back in early August:
Predicting the NFL is a form of madness, but I don’t think that should stop anyone. I look at this team and I see 8-8, maybe 7-9. It’s probably not a playoff year but I don’t think they’ll embarrass themselves again.
It’s way too early to claim to know much, but I’m prepared to stand by that.
The Ravens are very lucky that some of the good teams from last year look really vulnerable.
Bengals – Won
Browns – Won
Steelers – pretty good, cept the O-line
Titans – really good
Colts – looking bad, shockingly
Dolphins – looking bad
Raiders – looking bad
Browns – looking bad
Texans – looking bad
Giants – pretty good
Eagles – pretty good
Bengals – looking bad
Skins – about matched
Steelers – pretty good, O-line issues
Cowboys – really good
Jaguars – looking vulnerable, O-line issues
If we can win the games we’re supposed to win, and win an upset or two, no reason why we shouldnt expect a 9-7 season or better.
Saying the dolphins are looking pretty bad after they just trounced the Pats is a bit of an understatement, don’t you think? Maybe that game is a flunk, but I don’t think you can just write them off.
I look at that schedule and I see 6-10, with your four remaining wins coming against the texans, browns, bengals, and raiders.
The Ravens may be able to sneak out a game or two some where else, but if you are talking games that they “should” win, I think you can only say those four for sure.
flunk = fluke
what is up with my spelling lately. damn.
Of course, how they play in Pittsburgh will tell us a lot, and how they handle the mid to late season without the bye will be very important, but heck, I don’t see any reason they can’t go 8-8, honestly.
I think you might mistake the Dolphins being good as New England just looking bad.
New England:
Last year,
115.6 Rushing Yd/G (13th)
17 rushing TD (6th)
21 sacks in 16 games (5th best)
50 passing touchdowns (1st)
4859 passing yards (1st)
17.1 pt/G allowed (4th)
98.3 rushing yd/g allowed (10th)
190.1 passing yd/g allowed (6th).
This year so far,
103 rushing Yd/G (20th)
2 rushing TD (20th)
10 sacks in 3 games (6th worst)
2 passing TD (24th)
549 passing yards (20th)
19.3 pt/g allowed (12th)
140.7 rushing Y/G allowed (24th)
193 passing Y/G allowed (14th)
The Dolphins are undoubtedly better, especially with Pennington under center, Ronnie Brown healthy and Joey Porter healthy. But the Patriots aren’t even a shadow of themselves this year. They struggled against the Jets (who are bad) and the Chiefs (who are also bad). We’ve also had some cake opponents, but we also have the stats to back it up.
While we’re close to dead last in pass yards per game, we’re second in rush yards. Second in points allowed per game. First in yards allowed per game.
Basically, the Ravens of right now would take apart the Patriots of right now. Patriots can’t trust Cassel to throw the ball, and no one can run the ball on the Ravens. Based on the Pats rush defense this year, we could run all day on them and never have to give Flacco the ball. I think this is how the Steelers and Titans will beat us: make Flacco throw.
Oh my. Willie Parker and DT Hampton out against the Ravens.
Okay. Now how could we not beat the Steelers. Our defense is going to sack the living crap out of Roethlisberger. Mendenhall gets his first start ever, and he can’t even hold onto the ball. And now with our improved O-line, and one less starting Steeler tackle… Flacco may get a lot of time to throw, and McGahee and McClain may take the ball to the hole a couple times.
Oh man, this is going to be a good game.
You’ve made a very good point, Greg, and I certainly agree with you that the Pats are a shadow of what they were last year. However, just like it’s too early to tell that the ravens are going to be good, great or bad this year, it’s too early to tell if the Pats are really that bad this year, or just suffering the lumps of losing Brady. Yes…one player can make that much difference.
My point was that you listed the dolphins as “looking bad” when the evidence of how well they kicked the living crap out of the Pats suggests perhaps otherwise.
I am anxious to see the Ravens/Steelers game. With or without Parker I believe it will be a dog fight. Mendenhall is no slouch, he’s just not proven at this point.
And…despite the fact that I’m not a Ravens fan, I would love to see them kick the hell out of the Steelers, so understand I’m not against you here.
I’m just trying to provide what I believe is a more realistic, less biased opinion of what the Ravens are really capable of doing.
it’s just completely fucking stupid to predict ravens/steelers.
anything can happen and always seems to happen.
we could win 31-3 or 11-6 or vice versa and i honestly wouldn’t be surprised.
such is the nature of the class of the afc north for the last ten years.
is ron cook of the pittsburgh post-gazette a crackead?
The Steelers are going to win the AFC North Division. Let’s get that straight right at the top. As badly as they played in Philadelphia Sunday, they still are better than Baltimore, Cleveland and Cincinnati. They will prove that again Monday night when they smack down the Ravens at Heinz Field.
I’m thinking something along the lines of 35-10.
Seriously.
i mean, maybe the steelers are the best in the division. we’ll find out. but i’d love to hear him breakdown exactly how the steelers are going to score five touchdowns against a healthy ravens defense, presumably in the air.
hilarious.
Simply put, the NFL inspires madness.
It’s true that in any given game/match in any given sport you don’t really have any idea what will happen. That’s largely why we watch, right?
But when watching the NFL you really don’t have any fucking idea what will happen. Who thought the Raiders last week would march into Buffalo and dominate for three quarters? After that, who thought they’d blow it as badly as they did? The difference from the worst to the best is paper thin, period.
That said, Ron Cook is out of his mind to think that the Steelers will score 35 points on the Ravens. In fact, I think the Ravens have a fine chance of winning this game.
I feel like the fact that I’m not a Ravens “fan” gives me an opportunity to look at the team objectively. That’s why I said 7-9 or 8-8 back at the beginning of the season, and that’s why I still feel that way. I’ve never felt like they were the worst or the best in the division. The question of which way they’re leaning will go a long way towards an answer on Monday.
You’re definitely right about the Ravens not being the best in the division, thats obvious. But what exactly is different about our team now that was so different in 2000? Trent Dilfer was not stellar, the receiving core was the same level of talent… the defense was stellar and the offensive line was good enough to keep Dilfer from throwing it away or fumbling or getting hurt. We have the same thing now except Dilfer is Flacco. As long as the team is healthy, we can be the best in the division because our schedule is easier than the Steelers’ schedule, and if not the best than definitely a wildcard contender. And that can easily be done on a 9-7 record.
Also consider that the top 4 teams in the NFL are in the NFC… if we can make it to the playoffs, our only real worries are on the day of the Super Bowl.
I’ve gotten way ahead of myself and I’m also drinking the purple koolaid. But it’s not impossible.
yeah if anything i was the one questioning whether they’d win six games this year. this is the first year as a ravens fan that i fully expected them to suck – like have almost no chance – only to get fooled by the nfl AGAIN.
this is why it always bears repeating:
nfl football = BEST SPORT EVER
you know greg i’ve been trying to make an honest assessment of the steelers and ravens to try and figure out this “best in the division” thing.
there’s no question that the steelers have the edge at skill positions in my opinion.
but honestly, if football is won and lost in the trenches, you could make a serious argument that the ravens are superior on both lines – particularly with the loss of faneca, hampton, and other injuries etc.
also look at what the steelers did to us last year on monday night without mccalister and rolle. then look at what we did to them in 2006 when we were all there.
i guess my point is “best in the division” don’t mean shit when you aren’t fielding the players that supposedly .make you the best.
also that last post reads like i’m claiming the ravens are the best – i’m really not. just throwing out the idea that the “best” label can change week to week in this clusterfuck league.
You’re dead on, BBOL. The Steelers were deemed the “best” by default, when in fact they have plenty of holes and some serious concerns about depth on the lines. Those issues might be on large display this week. I don’t know that the Ravens offense can do much against their D, but then again it won’t matter if Flacco and company can make their own plays on D and control the ball when they need to.
I think the Steelers win this game, but that’s not something I’m saying strictly because I’m a fan. I just think they’ve got enough weapons to pull it out. But a Ravens win would not surprise me on any level.
Somewhat unrelated but definitely worth pointing out is this lead paragraph from the espn.com story about Matt Millen getting fired. Whoever wrote this deserves a pat on the back:
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions fired president Matt Millen on Wednesday, more than seven years after the former linebacker and TV analyst took over one of the NFL’s most mediocre franchises and made it the worst.
That’s great work right there. Brings a smile to my face.
“i guess my point is “best in the division” don’t mean shit when you aren’t fielding the players that supposedly .make you the best.”
Ravens 2007 season is evidence of this. I wanted to throw up during that game when Manning was embarrassing Michael Pittman over and over again every time he throw to Gonzalez. Rolle and McCallister would have never let that slide. We may have beaten the Patriots. How many passes to Heap could we have completed? How many less times would McNair not have to fumble the ball away on a blitz because the offensive line was not healthy?
http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2008/09/25/nfl-power-rankings-cowboys-are-no-1/#cont
This is quite the dubious distinction, although I don’t really know this guy’s credentials. Facinating anyway.
That was definitely a sweet hit. And the fact that it came on that “soulja” Winslow made it that much sweeter. Let the naysayers keep thinking Ray has lost a step – We know better here in B’More.