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?

No need to panic in Charm City

The Ravens didn't quite receive the result that they were looking for as they visited the Patriots in Foxborough on Sunday afternoon. After a hard fought game, the Patriots were able to hold off the Ravens last minute scoring attempts to pull off the victory. A lot of people are quick to place blame on different things, as am I, so let's take a look at what could be the problem.

The number one hindrance that the Ravens faced on Sunday was the referees. Every time it looked as if Baltimore's defense was halting a Patriots drive, a piece of yellow laundry would litter the field, giving Tom Brady an extra opportunity to pick on the Ravens' secondary. Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs both were called with roughing the passer penalties on third downs when they barely grazed Brady. On the Suggs "hit", Brady immediately turned around to look at head referee Ron Winter, who waited for Brady to yell at him until he started nodding and reached for his flag. If Tom Brady cries enough, he is going to get his way. This became obvious after this play, and this game for that matter. Even Coach John Harbaugh got in on the action, receiving an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty himself, showing his passion for defending his players. Joe Flacco got hit plenty of times after he had gotten rid of the ball, and only received one penalty flag, showing that the officials were being more biased toward New England. The most notable late hit that stands out in my mind is when both Flacco and Ravens left offensive tackle Jared Gaither got sandwiched by two Patriots defenders. Luckily, from what I've heard, Gaither was able to move his limbs and extremities after being carted off the field. If Gaither is out for a significant period of time, the Ravens' offensive line will definitely feel his absence.

A lot of people are quick to point to certain players, in particular, Mark Clayton. I know that he dropped a crucial pass at the end of the game on a fourth down that could have given the Ravens a first and goal. But give him a break; the ball hit him right between the 8 and the 9 on his jersey, and went right through his hands. It's not his fault. Ok, enough of the sarcasm. He should have got the damn ball, but he didn't, and if Derrick Mason would have caught the ball on the previous play, Clayton wouldn't be the scapegoat. But let's stop panicking. We are 3-1. We are in first place.

Besides the referees, I say we might have to look to our own sidelines and review some of our play calls. The Baltimore Ravens, who going into the games against the Patriots, were the fifth ranked rushing defense in the NFL. And they got off to a great rushing attack against New England, but then just stopped handing the ball off. The Ravens rushed for only 17 times, but for 116 yards, which is an average of 6.8 yards per carry. And with that being said, Willis McGahee, arguably our hottest running back, only had five carries. And our Pro Bowl fullback, Le'ron McClain and his 260-lb frame didn't touch the ball one time. Don't get me wrong, I am a Wacko for Flacco, and he can put the ball where it needs to be, but what was Cam Cameron thinking? We threw the ball 47 times and ran it only 17 times. I wonder why the Patriots defense was so successful. The Ravens offense became a little bit too predictable as the game progressed.

Once again, there is not one thing that lost us this game, but it once obviously a combination of things. Let's hope the boys practice hard out there at The Castle in Owings Mills this week and are prepared to take on the Cincinnati Bengals come Sunday.

Can the Ravens finally beat the Patriots?

After coming off of an impressive game against the basement dwelling Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens head into Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. In the Ravens' fourteen-year existence, they have never beaten the Patriots. The city of Baltimore will hope that their luck changes this upcoming Sunday as the Ravens try to remain at the top of the NFL as one of the only remaining undefeated teams. After this past Sunday, the AFC has 3 other undefeated teams, the Colts, the Jets, and the Broncos, and the NFC has 3 undefeated teams, the Giants, the Saints, and the Vikings.

Against the Browns, the Ravens only surrendered one field goal in the 34-3 victory. The Ravens only allowed 186 total yards while gaining an astounding 479 yards. These statistics are very promising as the Ravens prepare to take on one of the league's best offenses of this decade. In the Patriots victory this past Sunday, they were able to put up 26 points while accumulating 445 total yards against the Atlanta Falcons while virtually shutting down their offense, only allowing 10 points and 257 total yards. Something is going to have to give come this Sunday, let's all just hope that the Ravens defense is going to be able to get pressure on Tom Brady and that our secondary will be able to contain the formidable Randy Moss and, if he plays, the speedy little Wes Welker.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the unforgettable match-up in Baltimore on December 3, 2007 when a late roughing the passer penalty on Bart Scott prompted him to take the penalty flagand through it into the stands, showing the frustration both of that drive by the Patriots, but also of the disappointing season by the Ravens. The penalty on Scott was followed by a game winning touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Jabar Gaffney with 44 seconds left in the game. This win by the Patriots helped propell them to an undefeated regular season where they went on to loose to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
Needless to say, this match-up on Sunday is one of the most compelling ones of the weekend with many eyes watching every play of this game. With the Ravens remaining at the top spot on many NFL power rankings, the New England Patriots are not far behind at the number seven position. The main match-up within the game to look out for is the Ravens cornerbacks against the Patriots receivers. Another one that I plan on keeping a close eye on is the Ravens pass rush against the Patriots offensive line. If the Ravens can flush Brady out of the pocket and get to him a few times, they should be able to rattle him enough, making him make mistakes. Hopefully the Ravens will be able to do this with a three or four man rush, because the more people that are rushing Brady, the less people that the secondary will have helping them in coverage.

Let me know what you think Baltimore... Is it Sunday yet?