There Goes the Season

I’m usually not a pessimist, but after that performance that the Ravens just put on national television, it’s obvious. I cannot believe how that game turned out. I am so bitter right now, and to me, this season is over for the Ravens.

The Ravens are now 6-6, and if by some miracle they can put something together and win their last four and finish 10-6, they still need so much help. As much as it pains me to say it Baltimore, it’s over. I’ll still be attending the last two home games against the Lions and the Bears, but it’s just to show my support for the team for next year.

And the worst part about this season was the expectations that this city had for the Ravens, including myself. I mean, we lost in the AFC Championship for crying out loud. We should be well on our way back to there. Instead, we are playing for the slimmest of chances to sneak into the playoffs. I mean, we need the Jaguars, the Patriots, and the Broncos to lose a lot of games in the next four weeks. Well, at least two of the three of these teams. And that is only if we win out. It is disappointing to have the same record as the Dolphins and Jets. It’s hard to show my anger through these words without being completely inappropriate, but trust me: I have used all those words this evening.

When I was watching the game tonight, my one buddy started ripping on Joe Flacco. I believe his exact words were, “Why couldn’t we get a quarterback from a real college? He played against teams like Towson?” So obviously he lost hope in Flacco. I haven’t, but I think I have with our play calling. I mean, Flacco has the tools to be a quality quarterback in this league, but instead of progressing, he is quickly digressing in his development. And personally, I feel that they are trying to make him do too much. Once again, just like the Colts game, we had the ball first and goal on the one, and failed to score a touchdown, obviously as Flacco threw the pick in the end zone. Grant it, we did score on first and goal two possessions earlier, but do it again. RUN THE BALL THREE TIMES UP THE MIDDLE!!! It’s that simple. It you can’t score on first and goal from the one yard line in the NFL, you don’t deserve to be there. Instead, Flacco threw interceptions on back to back plays. And get the ball to Ray Rice. I like Willis McGahee, but it is indisputable that Rice is our go to back. Rice finished the game with 54 rushing yards and 17 receiving yards, and 21 of these yards came in garbage time after the game was already over.

But I’m done here. I just needed to vent and throw in my two cents after this poor performance. Hopefully the playoff gods are in our favor and everything happens just how we need it to, but I’m not banking on it. It’s time for me to go watch re-runs of Pawn Stars.

Can the Ravens get back on the winning track?

The Ravens welcome the undefeated Denver Broncos into Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium this upcoming Sunday. This is going to be a tough game, showing the Ravens if they deserve to be back in the discussion of one of the top teams in the AFC, and the NFL for that matter.

As has been the case all season, the Ravens secondary is going to be the focal point of the other team. The Broncos have some extremely talented wide receivers with the trio of Brandon Marshall, Brandon Stokely, and Eddie Royal, as well as tight end Tony Scheffler. The Broncos also have some familiar names at running back, such as Correll Buckhalter, Knowshon Moreno, and LaMont Jordan, but if I were the Ravens defense, I would be more worried about their talented receiver core. Can the Ravens secondary contain these receivers, or should we expect the same kind of defensive performance that the Ravens put up against the Vikings, the Bengals, and the Patriots?

And as for the Ravens offense, we have quite a test ahead of us on this side of the ball as well. The Broncos defense is number one in the NFL in points allowed, only surrendering 11 points per game, and the number two defense overall in the NFL in total yards allowed. Hopefully the Ravens offensive line can push back the Denver defensive line, allowing for some early success on the ground so that Joe Flacco can have less pressure on him in the pocket. If the Ravens can control the ball early, then they can allow our defense to rest, and keep the Broncos' high-powered offense off the field as well. The Ravens need to balance their attack by utilizing Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, and even Le'Ron McClain, our long lost fullback. By changing the pace at running back, hopefully we can keep the Broncos defense off balance.

This is going to be a tough game on both sides of the ball. I feel that the winner is going to be the team that does well in special teams and defense. If the Ravens can maintain good field position and at least finish drives with field goals instead of punts, then we should be in good shape. Otherwise, if we give someone like Eddie Royal a good chance at a return, he could burn our special teams, coming up with a big return that could send the Ravens packing with their fourth straight loss. Let's hope this doesn't happen. The Ravens have had two week to prepare for this game. Let's see what our coaching staff's game plan is this upcoming Sunday.

Brandon Marshall is the Broncos Pro Bowl wide receiver. Can the Ravens secondary stop him, or at least contain him?