Ravens Week Discussion

[PittPatriot]

I guess I am in the minority here. I would rather play Baltimore later in the season when our offense is clicking....not now when we are already struggling with Moss,Welker, Mayo, and Wilfork hobbled.

Actually, teams like B'More and Pittsburgh always seem to leave you with a longer list on the following weeks' injury report. For that reason, I'd rather have them in the first half and get guys back in time for the playoffs (Like Dillon early in the 2004 season vs. Pittsburgh).

 

[Afterlifemobile-86]

You ever watch The Wire? I live in Columbia (30 minutes south of Bmore) and I avoid that city like the plague. I'd rather go 50 minutes down south to DC if I want to be in a city.

Baltimore ain't that bad. Canton, the Inner Harbor, Federal Hill, and Fells Point are all really neat to check out and safe.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

There is no better team I want to face this week to see how improved we are going to be than to meet the best defense in the NFL in the Ravens....This test we MUST PASS to graduate into the Elite status again.

 

[Patspsycho]

There is no better team I want to face this week to see how improved we are going to be than to meet the best defense in the NFL in the Ravens....This test we MUST PASS to graduate into the Elite status again.

I agree it's going to be a benchmark test for us as a team, on both sides of the ball.

Ravens are one of the most complete teams we'll be facing.

 

[timetohunt]

Not sure if you folks know this or not but the NFL Network is putting together a series of "greatest games ever played" and wala at 7pm on Friday they are featuring the 2007 Matchup of the Pats and Ravens. If I remember correctly that was the closest the Pats came to losing in the regular season that year. It was an extremely hard fought and brutally intense game. Perfect timing I guess.

For the guy who said go to DC....( I lived in Maryland for a number of years when I worked in Washington).....DC has some of the worst war torn neighborhoods I've ever seen. The bad parts of Baltimore are no worse than the bad parts of other major cities. And one of the best kept secrets in the NFL.... going to their (Ravens) stadium is a blast. One side of the stadium is flanked by a hoppin party in the streets kind of neighborhood with outdoor bars, markets, and restaurants. The other side is flanked by warehouses and parking lots but you can catch live bands playing often on the loading docks and a major party atmosphere abounds. In the middle you have regular tailgaiting lots and one unusual area thats underneath the interstate (a giant covered tailgating area if you will). I've been around the league and its one of the best NFL experieces as far as going to a game. I'll stop rambling but not before I tell you the worst stadium I've ever been too. Its also in Maryland. The redskins stadium is the worst sterile dump I've ever had to watch a football game. Its like a wasteland surrounded by nothing but parking lot, black top after black top. Place has Zero soul even though there are plenty of avid skins fans. Getting in and out was a misery. Never again. Even if the Pats came to play there.

edit: I went to Ravens stadium 5 times, all nosebleed seats, but still good view of field, and pretty nice panorama of the harbor and city. Its in my top 3 stadiums. The fans can be a might bit rough on other jerseys but not violent (excepting maybe steeler fans).

 

[Eugene Chung]

Baltimore ain't that bad. Canton, the Inner Harbor, Federal Hill, and Fells Point are all really neat to check out and safe.

Agreed. For someone that lived in Baltimore for 4 years, that city gets a bad rap. I loved it there.

And "The Wire" is fantastic.

 

[bigcountry75]

I live right outside Baltimore and have lived here for 20 years. I really like Baltimore even though I don't like there sports teams, but they have a good fan base. They just put up a brand new Hilton that overlooks Camden Yards and they look like they are cleaning it up a little. I have never had a problem in baltimore but that could attribute something to me being 6'7" 350lbs. haha I have been held up twice in D.C. though. I work as an engineer in D.C. for a construction company and I would have to say D.C. is definitely worse than Baltimore.

 

[Gwedd]

I live right outside Baltimore and have lived here for 20 years. I really like Baltimore even though I don't like there sports teams, but they have a good fan base. They just put up a brand new Hilton that overlooks Camden Yards and they look like they are cleaning it up a little. I have never had a problem in baltimore but that could attribute something to me being 6'7" 350lbs. haha I have been held up twice in D.C. though. I work as an engineer in D.C. for a construction company and I would have to say D.C. is definitely worse than Baltimore.

Agreed. I stayed in DC earlier this year at the Willard Hotel, an upscale place. I could look out my window and see a guy sleeping on the sidewalk, with bags of trash piled around. Driving into town, i passed through sections that were worse than anything I ever saw in Balmer, and more like what I'd expect in Detroit or Chicago.

Interesting enough, Washington DC, according to the 2007 FBI crime statistics, has a higher firearms death rate than Baghdad.

In fact, for a city that up until last year outright BANNED handguns, it had the highest fire-arms related crime rates in the nation.

just saying.

 

[timetohunt]

Anyway back to the game ahead. Talk about the cities as you wish as well. But this 4th game marks the 1st quarter of the season, and it really does have playoff and homefield implications (thats what is great about the NFL, every dang game is so important, some are just more important). This one is more important. The Pats are going to able to move the ball in the air for sure. The Raven secondary have the two fastest corners around now (Foxworth and Washington) but they don't have their communication down yet and are not gelled into what McAlister and Rolle once were with the safeties operating as a unit. That means Brady will get yards through the air. Maybe one good reason that WE ARE playing them now rather than later (and as someone said we will play them later, very good chance of that too, the question is WHERE they will meet again). Moss could have a huge game based on the fact that the small raven corners are having trouble against big targets and a big Brady-Moss day is due. No McAlister to physically play with Moss. Where is McAlister anyway? I think the Pats should look at that guy if hes available. I watched Champ Baily, and I watched Samuel, Mathis and Clements (Hall and Sheppard too). There are no perfect shutdown guys in the league except maybe Baily and since ole Dion Sanders. They all get burned during the coarse of a season here and there. But when McAlister was on, he could make top receivers dissapear for 60 minutes. ... going off topic. back on topic....

I have watched most of the AFC games so far this year. I think what it boils down to is how well the Pats stop the run. Even though Flacco has thrown for a couple 300 yard games, I think they are not going to let Flacco carry the gameplan. I believe the Ravens will come here and run. The competition and game situations have allowed for them to pass a lot. They didnt care if their defense was on the field against KC or Cleveland - they expected points from that. And don't get caught up in how the chiefs kept it close in the ravens opener, KC was outgained like 500 to 175 yards or something and the chiefs kept it close by luck. Here in Foxboro the ravens want clock and less time for Brady. If Welker gets back this week, Brady automatically improves by a good measure. Keep the ravens run game to under 110 or so ground yards and we got em. That might seem like a fair amount of ground yards but they will need 150+ to win this game. Keep that ground figure reasonable and the rest will fall in place. Close that it might be. Just my take, as its fun to guess how it unfolds.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

Flacco reminds me of Rivers in a lot of ways (not the way they carry themselves, the way they play).

The Baltimore and Atlanta games struck as really similar in terms of our chances. Both have pretty good to very good QBs, good running games, and a defense that is hit or miss.

I can't really gauge the Baltimore defense though. They did enough to win, but apart from the shellacking that took place yesterday, their defense hasn't been vintage.

For the love of anything holy, don't cite The Wire as a representation of the city. They have one of the most ridiculously Yuppytastic sections of any city I have ever seen.

 

[Obnoxio]

I'm concerned about the Patriots WR depth with Moss and Welker banged up it is a much bigger drop-off than the last couple years. I wish Gaffney and Kelley Washington were still with the Patriots. Edelman is getting better and Galloway is a maybe a 4th or 5th receiver at this point. I'm not sure why Greg Lewis was let go and Slater wasn't put on IR.

 

[Raveninorlando]

I have watched most of the AFC games so far this year. I think what it boils down to is how well the Pats stop the run. Even though Flacco has thrown for a couple 300 yard games, I think they are not going to let Flacco carry the gameplan. I believe the Ravens will come here and run. The competition and game situations have allowed for them to pass a lot. They didnt care if their defense was on the field against KC or Cleveland - they expected points from that. And don't get caught up in how the chiefs kept it close in the ravens opener, KC was outgained like 500 to 175 yards or something and the chiefs kept it close by luck. Here in Foxboro the ravens want clock and less time for Brady. If Welker gets back this week, Brady automatically improves by a good measure. Keep the ravens run game to under 110 or so ground yards and we got em. That might seem like a fair amount of ground yards but they will need 150+ to win this game. Keep that ground figure reasonable and the rest will fall in place. Close that it might be. Just my take, as its fun to guess how it unfolds.

This is a pretty fair take on the game. I agree that Cam won't put the game plan entirely into Flaccos hands. He will want to get the running game involved to take the pressure off. Flacco has done a magnificent job in distrubuting the ball as seven players have between six to 12 recpts so it will be almost fruitless of trying to take one or two particular receivers away.

Another key, IMHO, is the Pats offensive line. They need to keep Brady upright and also open some holes for F. Taylor to keep the Ravens D honest. They will try to pressure Brady but it won't be completely like the Jets did it with presnap movement and overloads.

It should be a fun game and a great test for the Ravens.

 

[PYPER]

Ravens 27 Patriots 21.

You will see just how good Joe Flacco really is. Not being a homer, it is just a fact.

BTW he is 7-2 in his last 9 road games, a better record than he has at home.

Oohhh...No....

We're

D O O M E D !!!

 

[condon84]

Baltimore ain't that bad. Canton, the Inner Harbor, Federal Hill, and Fells Point are all really neat to check out and safe.

There were some shootings in the Inner Harbor recently. That place is beautiful and is a great place to hang out as well as the other places you pointed out, unfortunately, there's some bad dudes that still live in and around Baltimore that's just down the street from the places you pointed out as safe. It's scary how The Wire's captured what Baltimore is really about.

 

[Ring 6]

The Raven defense has not impressed me at all this season.
They have faced possibly the 2 worst offenses in the NFL (Cleve, and KC with 0-forever Croyle at QB) and the Chargers who lit them up.
I know that the Ravens in past years have had good defenses, but they seem to have slipped quite a bit.

 

[condon84]

What scares me the most about the Ravens is that Flacco is the type of QB who'll make plays to keep drives going. Meaning he'll take the dumpoffs and short intermediate passes rather than make the dumb mistakes that some QBs make. The Ravens have had some long drives this season and with our defense's propensity to give up the middle of the field on third downs, I fear that our defense might be in for a long day if we can't generate much of a pass rush. Heap's been playing extremely well, and Flacco's spread the ball to WRs and RBs depending on who's open. It's gonna be a tough matchup specially since they finish their drives with TDs.

 

[Aßßynormal]

Redemption won't come until 11/22; however it has to be good for us to face "the same" defense again so quickly and then again in 7 weeks. We have to figure something out by then - don't we ?

Ravens play primarily a 4-3. It may be a hybrid but I was told by a Ratbird fan that it's an 'active' 4-3 this year.

 

[HarkDawg]

Expect the Ryan Defense and a small chaotic pocket blitzes will be coming all day for Brady. I just hope Brady passes better under the pass rush. Baltimore will be tough it is good that we are home.

- gotta establish the run game and a healthy Welker in the slot will gain alot of ground. Brady just needs to not get flustered. Look for that quick outlet pass.

 

[52decleetzu]

I am going to come back a little later and break down a few things you guys have brought up. Gotta go to the gym now but I will be back.

Keep bringing it!

Should be a great game either way.

 

[jmt57]

What they're saying in Baltimore:

Rigorous tests lie ahead for Ravens

All the signs point to this being a good, well-balanced team. Second-year quarterback Joe Flacco is playing well, and has taken control of the offense. He's spreading the ball around, and the Ravens have numerous weapons with an unselfish group of receivers, running backs and a young, aggressive offensive line.

The offense has been even more dominant than the Ravens' defense, long the strength of this team. The Ravens have incredible depth on the defensive line, and their linebackers give the Ravens one of the best front sevens in the NFL.

Even after Sunday's win against the Browns, there are still questions about the Ravens' pass rush, and whether the secondary is good enough to play against another group of quality receivers.

Injuries are starting to set in as linebackers Ray Lewis and Jarret Johnson played portions of Sunday's game with only one arm because of shoulder injuries. Reed has been slowed by recurring nerve impingement in his neck, an injury that requires day-to-day monitoring.

Questions, questions, questions.

And they are about to be severely tested.

New England has to answer some questions of its own about defense, but Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is exceptional at breaking down a defense. When healthy, there might not be a better trio of receivers in the league than Wes Welker, Randy Moss and Joey Galloway.

Plus, whether you like his personality or not, the Patriots' Bill Belichick is the best coach in the NFL, and he is excellent at taking away an opponent's strength.

Ravens-Browns report card
As might be expected after a 34-3 victory the grades were pretty high. Lowest grades went to QB Flacco and the linebackers, who each got a B.

Harbaugh vs. Belichick

John Harbaugh was nothing but complimentary about the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick during his afternoon news conference today, pointing out how the rest of the league wants to emulate the New England franchise, but also wants to roadblock it when the head-to-head opportunity arises.

"That's what the NFL is all about,'' he said on the Ravens' first day of preparation for this weekend's road showdown at Gillette Stadium.

But when he was asked whether, as a coach, he gets an extra charge out of facing a guy with three Super Bowl titles, he played it largely for laughs.

"The good thing about the game is that the coaches won't be lining up and teeing off on each other during the game,'' Harbaugh said. "I don't think anybody would pay to see that right now. I'd like to think I'd have the edge, though. If we were in a hamburger drill, I think I'd have the edge, but coach (Belichick) might not think that."

Edit; one more: Are the Ravens this good?
The comments after this column seem to give a good pulse of what Baltimore fans think of their team. Seems to be about evenly split between those that are catiously optimistic and not sold on the Ravens yet, and those that are convinced the Ravens will win Sunday.