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 Saints or Colts Go 16-0?

The answer is yes, and it is going to happen. But probably just to the Saints. I mean, did you see them play on Monday night? I loved to watch the Patriots lose. And not only lose, but give up. It was great to see Bill Belichick and Tom Brady standing side by side with five minutes left, knowing that they just got embarrassed on national television.

Also, the Saints have quite an easy schedule, playing the Redskins, Falcons, Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Panthers. The only tough game that people may see in those five games is the Cowboys, but then when you hear that it is a primetime game in the Superdome, there is no question that the Saints won't take care of business. Example A: Monday Night Football against the Patriots three days ago. And the Saints have pressure to keep winning, because if they want home field advantage throughout the playoffs, they probably can't lose with the Vikings hot on their heels at 10-1. However, the Vikings could easily lose another game, but you never know. The Vikings look pretty good as well, and just barely lost to the Steelers.

As for the Colts, well, they don't have much to play for now. I mean, they have already clinched their division. And without even trying, they can easily win two of their last five games against the likes of the Jets and Bills. However, their other three games are against the Titans, the Jaguars, and the Broncos, who all have a shot at making the playoffs. And they are up by three games over the closest teams, which include the Bengals and Chargers. They should have no problem clinching home field, forcing the AFC Championship to go through Indianapolis, if they win in the playoffs. Soon, they will most likely bench Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark to ensure that they are healthy for the playoff run.

So can one of these teams go undefeated? Absolutely. Can both of them? Unlikely, but possible. The Saints just seemed to dominate the so-called team of the decade, and besides one bad half against the Dolphins in week seven, no one has given them much of a challenge. The Colts on the other hand have come from behind time and time again to pull off last minute victories. I mean, Peyton Manning is probably the best quarterback that I will ever see play this game. But this year, Drew Brees is playing out of his mind. And Brees has a ton of weapons, where Manning has two big guns, Wayne and Clark. I could name the 12 different players that Brees has thrown to this year, but just take my word for it. (I mean, Manning has thrown to 11 different receivers, but still, you haven't heard of any of them).

But we'll see in the next five weeks if either one of them can be the second team to finish the season 16-0.

Can either Peyton Manning or Drew Brees lead their team to a perfect 16-0 regular season?