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!

WEEK 2 Recap

Well a very hard fought battle with the Chargers last Sunday. This game solidifies to the rest of the NFL that the Ravens are a force to be reckoned with. The Ravens have proved that they can go anywhere and win. Some promising things came out of Sundays win, but also our defense was exploited in the passing game. Phillip Rivers of the Chargers throw for over 430 passing yards. This concerns me and if the Ravens have any wish of going deep in the playoffs this year, they'll have to step up their secondary play.
Although the Ravens gave up a lot of big plays, the Defense was spectacular in the Red Zone. This is why we won the game. The Chargers drove down field but couldn't score touchdowns. Just field goals. Even though Rivers shined in the passing game, he still threw 2 interceptions. Ray Lewis was the real player of the game racking up 12 tackles including the game winner behind the line of scrimmage on 4th down. Definitely one of the greatest plays of Ray Lewis' hall of fame career.

WEEK 2

So the Ravens so far are pretty injury free and look to be in good health for the upcoming game in San Diego. Chargers linebacker and former University of Maryland star Shaun Merriman was talking saying he's 100% ready.
I like the Ravens chances in this game because the Chargers are coming off a short week and they got pretty beat up against Oakland last week. But the Chargers are not a team to look past. They can rack up 300 passing yards on any team. Let's hope our secondary can step it up this week. My prediction is 24-21 Ravens. This will be a very physical game.

WEEK 1. vs Kansas City

Today's game was great. The Ravens offense looked good for the most part. The running game came out very strong and Joe Flacco's passing was very strong . I got a little nervous when the Chiefs kept the score close but I never had a doubt about us winning. I thought Joe Flacco looked like he slowed down a bit in the second half but he came through when it mattered. The defense was spectacular. The defense allowed under 200 offensive yards and 50 of those was on one pass. Other than that the defense dominated. Next week will give me a better idea of what kind of team we'll be this year. San Diego will be very tough.