Week 8: Ravens vs. Broncos

Well its finally time for another game after the Ravens just finished their BYE week. This week the undefeated Denver Broncos come into town. The Ravens have their backs up against the wall and are losers of 3 straight games. Historically, the Ravens have always responded well under pressure and especially the week after a BYE. The Ravens are 7-2 in the last nine years after a BYE.

The Denver Broncos are definitely one of the biggest surprises this NFL season. After getting a new head coach and trading their franchise quarterback away, no one expected them to finish with more than 5 wins. They are now 6-0.

The Ravens this week have been focusing on improving their secondary, and rookie Ladarius Webb has been taking snaps with the first team this week. It'll be good to see some fresh players in our secondary because it is just plain awful this year.

I look to see the Ravens playing with a lot of fire and passion, as well as the fans rooting on their team hard. The last time the Broncos came into Baltimore and won was 1983 against the old Colts.

My prediction is Ravens 27 Broncos 17

A Much Needed Bye Week

So after starting the season off at a strong 3-0 and number one in many power rankings, the Ravens have fallen off course a little bit and are now losers of their past 3 games.

The first game was a real nail biter up in New England, where depending on whether or not Mark Clayton drops that final pass or not, the Ravens were in prime position to score the winning touchdown with time winding down. The offense let us down.

The second was a heart breaking loss to Cincinnati at home. Carson Palmer led an 80 yard game winning drive, and Ray Lewis committed an inexcusable personal foul. The defense failed us this time.

Then last week at Minnesota going up against a very strong and undefeated Vikings team, the Ravens offense rallied back to overcome a deficit and put us in position to win. After a very hard fought game, and a chance for new kicker Steve Hauschka to prove himself, Hauschka misses a 40 yard field goal to win the game. This time is was the special teams that let us down. A real gut wrenching loss.

Each loss in the past 3 weeks have been very similar in that they've come only within the last 30 seconds of the game, but also very different because each loss can be credited to a single unit of the team.

So now the Ravens are sitting at 3-3 in the Bye week with a lot of work to be done. Especially in our secondary. They cant cover anybody. The undefeated Denver Broncos come into town on Sunday and this will be a real test for them.

I honestly believe the Ravens get their act together this Sunday and put up an impressive victory at home and reminds everyone to not forget about the Ravens. We were at 3-3 this time last year as well so it's too early to panic now. Just take it one game at a time.

Ravens vs. Bengals Recap

RAVENS 14, BENGALS 17

Well to put it simply I'm stunned. I really thought the Ravens would be too physical for the Bengals to stand a chance, but the Bengals came out to play.

The Bengals might have had more in the intangibles because of the recent loss of their defensive coordinators wife.

The offense looked very out of sync. Derick Mason had zero catches which is ridiculous. Willis Mcgahee had only 2 total carries. It just seems like the Ravens lost touch with what they do best: smash mouth football. They need to find a way to regain their 3-headed monster running game.

Our defense did not play like a Ravens defense. They allowed a 100 yard rusher, the secondary continues to look depleted, and we're not getting any pressure on the quarterback. They really need to get back into their physical play if they want to be an elite team. The defense is still the cornerstone of this franchise.

The main factor in the Ravens loss Sunday were the penalties. Once again our game came down to penalties, but this time I think the Ravens weren't smart at all about. Ray Lewis' hit on Chad Ochocinco was out of character of him especially with the game on the line. The Bengals drove 80 yards to win the game. 30 of those yards came off of 3 defensive penalties.

Overall I am shocked and hope the Ravens can find their stride and oull out a tough win in Minnesota next week.

ORIOLES 2009 RECAP

Well the Orioles 2009 season has finally ended. It really ended back in July though. Once again the Orioles failed to finish with a winning record and the annual post all-star break skid was in full force. We say our ace Jeremy Guthrie have the most losses (15) in the league, as well as give up the most home runs (35). A positive though is that he finished with 200 innings pitched for the first time in his career.

Although pretty much everything went wrong in 2009, there was still a lot of success for out young players. Top prospect Matt Wieters made his MLB debut back in May and finished the season with over a 291. batting average and double digit home runs. I look for him to have a huge year next year.

Also our top pitching prospects Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz made their debuts and showed that brighter days are ahead for the Orioles pitching staff. If this pitching staff lives up to their potential then we'll have a good chance to contend. Rookie Brad Bergesen was the biggest surprise on the pitching surprise. It's too bad he got injured back in July to finish hes season early. He'll probably be the ace for next years staff.

Adam Jones' 2nd year was a huge success except for his season ending injury. Also rookie Nolan Reimold was a pleasant surprise and was in the running for rookie of the year for a while until he got injured.
The always reliable Brian Roberts had another huge year with over 50 doubles for the 3rd consecutive year. And Nick Markakis once again proved that he's a gold glove caliber right fielder with power.
Oh and farewell Melvin Mora. Baltimore will miss you greatly :'(

Overall, this was a very painful season to watch, despite the new uniforms and young talent. I'm really hoping our young talent gives us an opportunity to contend next year. I love the Orioles.

RAVENS vs. PATRIOTS

I have a feeling this weeks game is going to be one for the ages. The Ravens have never beat the Patriots in their short history but this year seems like everything is going the Ravens way. I'd like to say I'm really confident in a Ravens win this week, but Tom Brady at home is very hard to beat. If this game isn't a blowout by the Patriots from Tom Brady picking apart our secondary, then they'll probably win a close game. If the Ravens can pull out the upset here, they will establish themselves as the best team in football.
The Ravens gotta be hoping that Tom Brady isn't on his game this week. He's looked good, but he doesn't look as comfortable with his offense yet as he has earlier. I think a lot of it has to do with last seasons injury.
I was looking up old articles and video of the classic 2007 battle between the 2 teams, and it still hurts. This video I found mentions that game a little but gives you a good idea how Sundays game is going to play out. It also gives a VERY interesting stat comparing Joe Flacco and Tim Brady's 2nd years. They're very similar. Also ESPN has a good preview of the game found here.
Overall I think the Patriots will pull this one out, but the Ravens could definitely surprise the nation with an upset victory. GO RAVENS!