An Easy Win For the Ravens in Tennessee?
Have you noticed that almost nobody is picking the Titans on Saturday?
Everywhere I turn, from Mike & Mike this morning (it was a moment of weakness) to Sports Illustrated to the comments on my last post and, of course, the talk radio callers. To a person they’re all picking the Ravens, even if most are calling for a close game.
I’m not sure I understand.
We’re talking about a Titans team with a proven veteran quarterback (even if he is older), a coach that might end up in the Hall of Fame, and two highly skilled running backs that complement each other very well. Their defense ranked seventh in the NFL in yards-per-game during the regular season, and in doing so actually allowed ten fewer points (234) than the Ravens (244).
This is also the same Titans squad that absolutely manhandled Pittsburgh, 31-14, when the two teams played at Tennessee in week 16.
They’re now well-rested and, no doubt, hungry to prove the skeptics wrong.
The Vegas line is TItans by three, meaning it’s considered a basically even game (figuring a field-goal advantage for the home team). This will be no walk, no easy match. The Titans are not the Dolphins. It’s going to be a serious battle, and the Ravens will have to both make the kind of big plays they made at Miami (at least on defense) and get a little bit lucky.
That potential AFC championship game rematch against the Steelers is indeed a juicy prospect. Now is not the time to consider it. Nobody’s going down easy this weekend, and that includes the Chargers.
It’s been a hell of a run for the Ravens this year. All I’m saying is: don’t be too surprised if they come up a play or two short.
this has driven me crazy all week. instead of going in as the team with something to prove they go in as the favorite?
i believe the ravens can win – there’s no doubt they can. but this bullshit is going to light a fire under the titans asses and they’re going to want blood on sunday – much more than they would have if the media all over the country hadn’t overreacted to the ravens win at miami.
thank GOD brian billick is no longer coaching them – i couldn’t imagine the swollen heads they would possess by kickoff.
seriously – my prediction is something along the lines of:
ravens 13-9
or
titans 36-7
@Big Ben’s Motorcycle – I agree up until the end. I hate that we’re the trendy pick. I could easily seeing us losing. I don’t think we will, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we did. That said. I would be SHOCKED if we get blown out. All the stats that Neal put in the post are true. Titans are good. They just blew out the Steelers. They’re rested. That said, I think they peaked earlier in the season and I think they were a better team when we played them than they are now. I think we’re peaking now. I think Flacco is head and shoulders above where he was when we played them. Ed Reed is playing out of his mind right now, and he wasn’t when we last played them. Maybe a close game, wouldn’t be surprised if they edge us out, but again would be SHOCKED if they blow us out.
i just feel that the titans defense is pretty nasty and proud themselves and i don’t see it out of the realm of possibility that one big play early by them could set the tone in a playoff game.
seriously that defense must want to murder the ravens right now.
obviously it’s improbable that the they will blow us out – i’m just saying that if (for instance) that defense were to score a touchdown early, it could snowball quickly in a playoff atmosphere on the road where a whole team and fan-base feels disrespected.
anyone remember the giants game? yeah that was the last truly good opponent we faced.
but conversely, if the ravens win and back up all of that hype, i just might believe this is their year.
A blowout either way is pretty hard to imagine, but BBM is right on. The Ravens offense has a tall task ahead of them, and weirdly enough it’s not about scoring or big plays. It’s about remaining steady, methodical, and mistake-free in the face of what will no doubt be a pretty punishing attack. I think if they can do that, they’ll be in good shape. It’s gong to be very tough.
Take me to another place
Take me to another land
Make me forget all that hurts me
Let me understand your plan
Mr. Wendal, yeahhhh
This is gonna be a low scoring,slug it out type game with both coaches having very conservative game plans because one mistake could be the difference.I still like the ravens though,its another GREAT matchup on both sides of the ball,and despite losing(allegedly) in Baltimore if you look at the stats we straight up dominated that game.Joe wont be rolling out and throwing gifts to them this time,and just how are the Titans gonna score on us?? White will be a non factor,they gave him the ball about 4 times last game because they knew a big back like him had no shot with the speed we have on defense,and Johnson will get his 50 yds like every other back does and will also be a non factor.
Then we go to the passing game.The way teams beat us is with their WR’s and TE,which the Titans have neither.They have a fat old Algae Crumpler and Justin Gage,who had all of 650 yds this year….and not much behind that depth wise.It again is a perfect matchup and we couldnt have asked for anything more.
Now go to the Ravens side,the Titans claim how great their defense is and you would say “its a wash” but if you look at last game it was NOT a wash and we ran for over 130 yds on them.Passing was about the same but you have to grade Flacco on a rookie curve.Also you can bet that Kerry Collins is gonna play it extremely close to the vest on deep passes with Reed on an absolute tear back there.Look for him to hold the ball that split secong longer making sure Reed isnt in the vicinity and for us to get afew sacks because of it.
I havent even mentioned the banged up guys they have on the Dline,they got ZERO sacks last time healthy and it will be more of the same this week.They also will be playing with an inexperienced center going against 3 monsters on our Dline,and going against a scheme that loves bringing blitzes right up the middle.
Ravens 19
Titans 10
it’s now january 9th and i’m pretty sure the ravens are going to win. this is how it goes with me.
I hope like hell the Ravens win on Saturday.
If they lose, baseball season starts on Sunday.
The Titans are good and are being “disrespected” by the media. They will use that in the locker room and will come out on fire. Titans 17 – Ravens 13 (repeating from my other comment) It does not suit the Ravens to be the favorite.
Well, I guess they aren’t technically the favorite according to the Vegas line, but you know what I mean.
I don’t understand. So if the Ravens are favored in the media, the Titans get fired up and play better, while the Ravens sit back on their haunches and say “Fuck it, we’re winning anyway, we don’t have to try?”. When have we ever seen the John Harbaugh Ravens ever come out with this mentality? We were favored in Miami, too. That sure didn’t stop the defense from crushing the Dolphins.
Are we all really saying that the Titans would only try hard to win in the playoffs if they get disrespected? And that the Ravens only try hard to win in the playoffs if they are also disrespected?
I do not buy this at all. If you’re picking a winner based on things like who is being respected in the media the most then you are stretching for reasons. Ravens 20 Titans 10.
I see Ravens offense choking. Titans win 14-3.
No one is saying the Titans would only play hard if… Or the Ravens would say fuck it and not play hard if… I’m not that stupid. (At least I’d like to think I’m not.) But don’t ignore that the perceived disrespect could be a factor, especially for a team playing at home. But that’s just one of the factors. Really it’s just two good teams playing in the playoffs, and I pick the home team. But what do I know? I really have no idea. These teams are extremely evenly matched. Just got a feeling…
Ed Reed had never won a playoff game before last week. Isn’t that weird?
@sci – Ok, I didn’t mean you were that stupid. But I’m looking around, and people are making their picks based on whose going to be more pumped up tomorrow. It’s the playoffs. I assume both teams will show up pumped up. I have a tough time picturing the Ravens not bringing the intensity against a team that “beat” them earlier in the year.
It’s all good Andrew. I just decided that if the Ravens lose tomorrow I’m hoping for a Cardinals-Chargers Super Bowl. Now THAT would be amazing.
Almost all of the ESPN guys picked the Titans. Maybe the Ravens pick isn’t as trendy as we were all thinking.
As PDiddy said, I think that having an inexperienced center is really going to hurt the titans picking up our different schemes. Especially if we can get to Collins early and rattle him. Get him thinking about that hit instead of looking for different packages on our defense. I hope someone puts him on his back REALLY early in the game just to tell him he won’t be marching the ball 80 yards on us again.
I have gotten 0 work done this week because of my excitement for this game. I might as well just take vacation time if they win and the Steelers win. I won’t be able to sit still in my chair next week.
Just throwing this out there, but watching the games last week with my girlfriend, and she was most impressed that the Ravens, unlike every single other team, seemed to just want to go in there and do their thing without getting too crazy about it. Ed Reed has a pick-six and he just walks back to the bench without the overly-amped up celebrations.
I was thinking about that a lot this week, and how I think it shows the mentality the Ravens have: they want to go in and there and do their thing and get this done. It’s a winning approach that will do them a load of good tomorrow and beyond, I think.
@Andrew in Rochester – Your comment reminded me of a observation made by the ESPN AFC North blogger. This is from right after we beat the Jags to get to the playoffs. Here it is:
The Baltimore Ravens are a confident bunch, but they’re also a professional bunch. There was not a lot of celebration in the locker room following Sunday’s 27-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars that clinched the wild-card berth. In fact, I was surprised with how little celebration there was. It was as though the Ravens expected to be in the playoffs all along and merely took care of business Sunday. It also shows the mindset that Baltimore feels there is more work to be done, starting with next week’s playoff game against the Miami Dolphins.
I don’t think enough can be said about the effects Harbaugh has had on this team. Just unbelievable.