I know I've been slacking a little on these posts, but it's been a pretty hectic week for me to say the least. But with all that has happened this past week, the highlight was when Billy Cundiff's field goal in overtime gave the Ravens a much-needed victory over the much hated Pittsburgh Steelers. I still smile as I think back to be leaning on my crutches in M&T Bank Stadium, watching hundreds of Steelers fans walk out of the stadium, trying to hide their "Terrible Towels". I had to sit through three games last year as the Steelers barely edged out the Ravens to sweep them and knock us out of the playoffs. Sunday night felt awesome. I feel like I had something to do with the victory, especially when I woke up Monday morning with a nice, hoarse voice after yelling so much the previous night.
However, even though the Ravens won, it wasn't the prettiest game, but they found a way to win. This is the mark of a good team. And I'm glad that for once this season, we were on the positive side of a close game. And I will give credit to where it is due.
Thank you Ray Rice for having a Pro Bowl caliber season; otherwise, we would be eliminated from the playoffs already.
Thank you Paul Kruger for finally making an impact on this team, and for making Dennis Dixon look like he has never started an NFL football games, even though it took until overtime for you to show up.
Thank you secondary, mainly Lardarius Webb and (I can't believe I am about to say his name) Chris Carr. They both played out of their minds to hold the Steelers wide receivers from absolutely destroying us.
And thank you Billy Cundiff for not being Steve Hauschka.
But it is a team game, and the Raven showed up and played a wonderful game. Now they can't loose again, at least in my opinion, if they want a chance to make it to the playoffs. There are too many teams bunched up right now, so the Ravens cannot afford a loss. The two toughest games we have are coming this Monday night, and then 20 days after that, as the Ravens travel to Green Bay and Pittsburgh. As long as they can pull these two off and take care of the Lions, Bears, and Raiders, I see no reason why the Ravens can't make another surge for the AFC Championship, and possibly their second Super Bowl appearance.
We all know what happened last time the Ravens made it to Super Sunday...
Showing posts with label Steelers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steelers. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Just Not Enough to Take Down the Undefeated Colts
The Baltimore Ravens had a hard fought game on Sunday afternoon against the AFC South leading Indianapolis Colts. The Colts came in as one of two remaining undefeated teams, joining only the New Orleans Saints. The Ravens knew that they were going to have to play extremely well to shut down Peyton Manning and his high powered offense, and for the most part, they did. The Ravens came up just short of pulling up a huge upset that would have drastically shaken up the AFC North.
The Ravens defense was able to hold the Colts offense to only 17 points, which in most games would seem like enough to pull off a win. However, once again, the Ravens offense struggled to finish their drives, and were only able to amass five Billy Cundiff field goals for 15 points. Cundiff made five of his six field goal attempts in his Ravens debut, with his only miss seemingly being the could have been game winner. But before people start pointing fingers at Cundiff, we may need to look at a few other situations that could have given the Ravens this must needed win.
With 12:08 left in the fourth quarter, the Ravens got a first and goal on the one yard line, ran the ball three times, and did not get into the end zone. With the Ravens offensive line, and running backs such as Le'Ron McClain, Ray Rice, and Willis McGahee, there is no excuse for not getting seven points out of that drive.
The other play game later in the fourth quarter, with 2:49 seconds left. Joe Flacco dropped back to pass, and threw an interception to Gary Brackett on the Indianapolis 13 yard line, well within Cundiff's range to add three points and give the Ravens the lead. No excuse for throwing a pick. It was a great defensive play by Brackett, but as the leader of the offense, Flacco should have been more careful with the ball.
It was an extremely disappointing loss for the Ravens, especially since both the Steelers and the Bengals lost on Sunday. So instead of staying in the same third place position, the Ravens could have moved up to be tied with the Steelers, and only one game back of the Bengals. But since that didn't happen, the Ravens probably can't afford to lose another game, especially one to the Steelers. And they will get their first crack at Pittsburgh come Sunday night when the Steelers visit Baltimore.
The Ravens defense was able to hold the Colts offense to only 17 points, which in most games would seem like enough to pull off a win. However, once again, the Ravens offense struggled to finish their drives, and were only able to amass five Billy Cundiff field goals for 15 points. Cundiff made five of his six field goal attempts in his Ravens debut, with his only miss seemingly being the could have been game winner. But before people start pointing fingers at Cundiff, we may need to look at a few other situations that could have given the Ravens this must needed win.
With 12:08 left in the fourth quarter, the Ravens got a first and goal on the one yard line, ran the ball three times, and did not get into the end zone. With the Ravens offensive line, and running backs such as Le'Ron McClain, Ray Rice, and Willis McGahee, there is no excuse for not getting seven points out of that drive.
The other play game later in the fourth quarter, with 2:49 seconds left. Joe Flacco dropped back to pass, and threw an interception to Gary Brackett on the Indianapolis 13 yard line, well within Cundiff's range to add three points and give the Ravens the lead. No excuse for throwing a pick. It was a great defensive play by Brackett, but as the leader of the offense, Flacco should have been more careful with the ball.
It was an extremely disappointing loss for the Ravens, especially since both the Steelers and the Bengals lost on Sunday. So instead of staying in the same third place position, the Ravens could have moved up to be tied with the Steelers, and only one game back of the Bengals. But since that didn't happen, the Ravens probably can't afford to lose another game, especially one to the Steelers. And they will get their first crack at Pittsburgh come Sunday night when the Steelers visit Baltimore.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Quick Trip Around the NFL
Vick is finally back!!! This is by far going to overshadow any other story this week in the NFL. After not stepping on the football field since Christmas Eve in 2006. What kind of impact can we expect a man who has been away from the game for over two and half years? And according to Andy Reid, we may not even see the former highest paid player in the history of the league this upcoming Sunday as the Eagles take on the Chiefs in Philadelphia. How is Vick going to perform when, or if, he gets the chance?
And now let's go to a highly debated topic within the same NFC East that some people may have overlooked, but is worth taking a look at. On Sunday night in the opening of the brand new $1 billion plus Cowboys Stadium, one play has many Giants fans upset at a certain Cowboys player. Who is this player? None other than 6'7", 340 pounder Flozell Adams, who decided to trip Giants defensive end Justin Tuck in the second quarter of Sunday night's game. Giants fans are outraged, and the $12,500 fine that Adams received wasn't enough for some Giants fans. It didn't seem to be completely intentional, but that's up for debate. Should a large man like Adams be fined for trying to block a quicker, more elusive pass rusher when the trip could have been accidental? Or did Adams not got fined enough for knocking out New York's top pass rusher from a year ago for at least one game, possibly two?
Now let's shift gears back to a story that is a little closer to home. I know a lot of you will love this story as I have a huge smile on my face typing it up. That's right... the huge win by the Chicago Bears over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Man, how sweet a victory this one was for the Bears. As a Ravens fan first, I was delighted to see the Steelers go down, seemingly not able to come up with that final drive to put away the Bears (much thanks goes here to Jeff Reed for missing two field goals in the Windy City). But it was even better since my second team, Da Bears, were able to pull off a huge upset, all while giving Chicago fans a chance to fall in love with the new franchise quarterback, Jay Cutler. There are a few questions that come out of this defensive battle.
1) Is the Bears defensive going to be ok without its leader, Brian Urlacher?
2) Is the Steelers defensive going to be ok without its leader, Troy Polamalu?
3) Is Jeff Reed going to be affected by these misses for the rest of the season?
4) Is Jay Cutler for real?
This should give you all food for thought for awhile.
And now let's go to a highly debated topic within the same NFC East that some people may have overlooked, but is worth taking a look at. On Sunday night in the opening of the brand new $1 billion plus Cowboys Stadium, one play has many Giants fans upset at a certain Cowboys player. Who is this player? None other than 6'7", 340 pounder Flozell Adams, who decided to trip Giants defensive end Justin Tuck in the second quarter of Sunday night's game. Giants fans are outraged, and the $12,500 fine that Adams received wasn't enough for some Giants fans. It didn't seem to be completely intentional, but that's up for debate. Should a large man like Adams be fined for trying to block a quicker, more elusive pass rusher when the trip could have been accidental? Or did Adams not got fined enough for knocking out New York's top pass rusher from a year ago for at least one game, possibly two?
Now let's shift gears back to a story that is a little closer to home. I know a lot of you will love this story as I have a huge smile on my face typing it up. That's right... the huge win by the Chicago Bears over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Man, how sweet a victory this one was for the Bears. As a Ravens fan first, I was delighted to see the Steelers go down, seemingly not able to come up with that final drive to put away the Bears (much thanks goes here to Jeff Reed for missing two field goals in the Windy City). But it was even better since my second team, Da Bears, were able to pull off a huge upset, all while giving Chicago fans a chance to fall in love with the new franchise quarterback, Jay Cutler. There are a few questions that come out of this defensive battle.
1) Is the Bears defensive going to be ok without its leader, Brian Urlacher?
2) Is the Steelers defensive going to be ok without its leader, Troy Polamalu?
3) Is Jeff Reed going to be affected by these misses for the rest of the season?
4) Is Jay Cutler for real?
This should give you all food for thought for awhile.
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