Thursday night opener - Ratbids @ Donkys

[dannydyn]

Definitely, but i think the Ravens are going to run into the situation that the vikings did last year.

The ravens have one receiver, and half a tight end at the moment. So load 8 in the box, give some safety help over torrey smith, and force ray rice to beat you on the ground.

Ray rice is not the power back that AP is, And i dont see Ray Ray carrying the team.

If flacco doesn't start completing more shorter passes its going to be a bad year for ratbirds.

Amen reverend

 

[belichick010405]

Definitely, but i think the Ravens are going to run into the situation that the vikings did last year.

The ravens have one receiver, and half a tight end at the moment. So load 8 in the box, give some safety help over torrey smith, and force ray rice to beat you on the ground.

Ray rice is not the power back that AP is, And i dont see Ray Ray carrying the team.

If flacco doesn't start completing more shorter passes its going to be a bad year for ratbirds.

Agreed - because if people are going to complain about the Patriots receiving corp (see Deus the Know It All) then the Ravens receiving corp is downright horrendous with all due respect to Torrey Smith and the infamous Marlon Moore.

 

[Deus Irae]

You ALWAYS have severe difficulties with reading comprehension.

Brady was blasted for running up the score even though he came out of a game in the third quarter. IN THE THIRD QUARTER!

I wrote that in my very post. Then I went out of the way to say that the Broncos were NOT running up the score.

Neither were the Patriots in the 3rd quarter. Yet Brady was criticized.

It doesn't surprise me that your reading comprehension is a problem--yet again.

I had no problem, at all, with reading comprehension. The problem here was that you wrote a really stupid post. Don't blame others for your piss-poor attempt at stirring up something that's not there.

 

[Deus Irae]

The Ravens were holding their own, but two things changed the game:

1.) Non-challenge on the Welker catch
2.) Jacoby Jones injury

People proclaiming their demise are being a bit premature, IMO.

 

[Kontradiction]

When I watched Denver last night, I see three major flaws that could bite them this season...

1. Undersized LB's that could easily be taken advantage of by two TE sets.

2. Total lack of a consistent pass rush without Von Miller.

3. O-Line that is somewhat shoddy in pass protection.

------------------

Number one speaks for itself since we've seen what our TE's can do to their LB's. That's a no contest there. The pass rush was very inconsistent and shaky without Miller. Flacco, at some points last night, had enough time to knit a sweater. Problem there is that Baltimore lost Jacoby Jones and Torrey Smith a here today, gone tomorrow WR. As for number three, I think that's the most important part. Manning did a good job of getting the ball out quickly to Welker and Thomas, but Baltimore was getting into their backfield with, what seemed at times, to be relative ease. The Broncos OL is definitely a question mark and could end their season if they're not careful.

All that being said, Denver looked very good on offense last night. Welker is fitting in there like a glove and his chemistry with Manning, sadly, will only get better. I thought Baltimore went about defending them the right way in spite of how the score turned out. They concentrated on limiting Decker and Demariyus Thomas first and gave the underneath receivers what they could get. If the tackling and coverage would have been better with Huff (who looked deathly afraid of contact) and Ihedigbo (who sucks), it would have been a closer game.

 

[JackBauer]

1. Undersized LB's that could easily be taken advantage of by two TE sets.

You obviously didn't watch the game, and missed how unbelievably elite they were in coverage.

 

[JackBauer]

2.) Jacoby Jones injury

People proclaiming their demise are being a bit premature, IMO.

Perhaps, but Jones/Smith/****son/Clark is nothing short of godawful.

 

[dannydyn]

When I watched Denver last night, I see three major flaws that could bite them this season...

1. Undersized LB's that could easily be taken advantage of by two TE sets.

2. Total lack of a consistent pass rush without Von Miller.

3. O-Line that is somewhat shoddy in pass protection.

I beg to differ on point 3.... Manning had enough time to down a sandwich AND take a dump in that pocket. Suggs and Dumervil barely touched him the whole night.

 

[FourierSeries]

Manning threw for 7 TDs? No problem, Brady will throw for 8 on Sunday.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

When I watched Denver last night, I see three major flaws that could bite them this season...

1. Undersized LB's that could easily be taken advantage of by two TE sets.

2. Total lack of a consistent pass rush without Von Miller.

3. O-Line that is somewhat shoddy in pass protection.

------------------

Number one speaks for itself since we've seen what our TE's can do to their LB's. That's a no contest there. The pass rush was very inconsistent and shaky without Miller. Flacco, at some points last night, had enough time to knit a sweater. Problem there is that Baltimore lost Jacoby Jones and Torrey Smith a here today, gone tomorrow WR. As for number three, I think that's the most important part. Manning did a good job of getting the ball out quickly to Welker and Thomas, but Baltimore was getting into their backfield with, what seemed at times, to be relative ease. The Broncos OL is definitely a question mark and could end their season if they're not careful.

All that being said, Denver looked very good on offense last night. Welker is fitting in there like a glove and his chemistry with Manning, sadly, will only get better. I thought Baltimore went about defending them the right way in spite of how the score turned out. They concentrated on limiting Decker and Demariyus Thomas first and gave the underneath receivers what they could get. If the tackling and coverage would have been better with Huff (who looked deathly afraid of contact) and Ihedigbo (who sucks), it would have been a closer game.

The best thing anout last night is that denver might be playing the best football they will have played all season. Champ bailey is too old and when he returns might be more of a liability. Von miller won't be the same unless he does more PEDs. Hopefully denver will peak way too early like a certain team from 2007.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Manning threw for 7 TDs? No problem, Brady will throw for 8 on Sunday.

We'd better hope manning doesn't continue to have too many 5 +TD games, otherwise brady's TD record is a goner.

 

[Kontradiction]

You obviously didn't watch the game, and missed how unbelievably elite they were in coverage.

Is this sarcasm, or were you impressed by what they did against the likes of nursing home candidate Dallas Clark and JAG Ed ****son. Gronk, when healthy, would eat them alive. I'm reserving judgment on Sudfeld until I see him in actual regular season action.

 

[dannydyn]

We'd better hope manning doesn't continue to have too many 5 +TD games, otherwise brady's TD record is a goner.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.... let's not forget that the way the Ravens' D played like last night, it might as well been the Jets...

I'd like to see Manning throw 7 TDs against the Giants, or against us. The Ravens' simply collapsed last night.

But of course, because it was Denver, they're making Manning the second coming of ************....

Had it been TFB.... the whole league would be b1tiching about running up the score, and about that dropped Welker pass, should have nullified the TD count toward the record tying result.

 

[Kontradiction]

I beg to differ on point 3.... Manning had enough time to down a sandwich AND take a dump in that pocket. Suggs and Dumervil barely touched him the whole night.

The sacks weren't there, but he was getting chased out of the pocket and was under quite a bit of pressure the whole night. You don't have to sack Manning. All you really have to do is move him off his spot somewhat consistently. That stomping that he does with his feet is timing with his receivers. He's counting. In a timing offense, if you can move an immobile quarterback off his spot, you slow them.

 

[FourierSeries]

We'd better hope manning doesn't continue to have too many 5 +TD games, otherwise brady's TD record is a goner.

I couldn't care less about Manning breaking Brady's TD record. Let him break the regular season record while Brady brings us another SB.

Peyton has always been, and always will be, a playoff choke artist. Even when he won the SB, he had a miserable playoff run with a TD/INT ratio of 3:7 and a 70.5 QB rating. Let's also not forget that he is tied for most playoff losses ever.

 

[Buchanty]

At least it was meaningful football...although I was hoping for a more evenly matched game, especially in the second half. I eventually switched off at the 2 minute warning since I presumed it would be over exaggerated appraisals for the men in orange and blue.

The game was reasonably competitive until the ground-assisted Welker catch that should have been challenged, and on a 3rd down no less. The Ravens seemed reluctant to come out to start the game and anxious to return to the locker room after that moment. It seemed as if all their last year's play-off and SB hubris deflated as soon as Peyton took the next snap. Credit to the Broncos though, they used it to stoke their own rising momentum.

As Rob0729 (liked all the points he made in his post match commentary) correctly stated neither team was as good or as bad as they appeared in this game. I hope the Oriole's win was worth the loss they forced upon their football team. But opening up in Denver after a pre-season where practices have been neutered by NFLPA negotiations (more of this later), was a killer. The hurry up offense had the Ravens D gassed before half time.

Best point of the evening was watching Suggs' mugs as he slowly realized his D's return to pedestrian effectiveness. Flacco, however, seemed unmoved by his re-acquaintance with ordinariness. I guess the $120million is all he needed to confirm he is elite.

Congrats to Manning, he made it look easy. No wait a minute, it really was easy. He didn't have to thread needles, or zip bullets with unerring accuracy. He just took advantage of what the D gave him. I would hope and expect TB to do the same given the same opportunities. With the Raiders and Chargers in the same division as PM this certainly wont be the last of his gift horses.

WW - he is still fun to watch, damn it. I think he may have put Decker's nose out of joint, as the latter didn't turn up to play. And I do hope he gets the 100 receptions this season for the record, but it is a bit like seeing a favorite ex-girlfriend going out with a dork.

Unfortunately I cant see the Donkeys coming back down to earth until week 5 earliest (when the travel to Dallas) but even their biggest challenge before meeting us (Redskins D) is being played at Sports Authority Field.

Finally I apologize for being OT, but I am very concerned about the reduction in pre-season practice activities. Teams are now less prepared than they should be for the full season. The answer is not less practice, which is what the NFLPA obtained, but more compensation (pay) for practice especially with full-pads. It is not as if anyone in the NFL is short of money, and it is in the players best interests to be as ready and prepared as possible for when the hits are meaningful.

 

[Rob0729]

The Ravens were holding their own, but two things changed the game:

1.) Non-challenge on the Welker catch
2.) Jacoby Jones injury

People proclaiming their demise are being a bit premature, IMO.

I think this offense is below average with or without Jones and said this long before last night, but I have qualified my opinions of last night as saying the first week can be deceiving. I can't speak for anyone else.

But the Ravens' offense was rather ordinary when Jones and Oher were in the game. They weren't the disaster it became after they went out. They benefited from a one yard TD drive off a Welker muffed punt return.

Assuming Jones and Oher are not out long, the Ravens' offense won't be the disaster we saw last night. But they will likely be in the bottom half or third in the league. Even our resident Ravens poster friend who posts here from time to time admits that their receiving corp is hot garbage. Clark and Stokely were desperation moves during the preseason when they knew they lost Pitta and had no depth whatsoever.

 

[JackBauer]

Is this sarcasm, or were you impressed by what they did against the likes of nursing home candidate Dallas Clark and JAG Ed ****son. Gronk, when healthy, would eat them alive. I'm reserving judgment on Sudfeld until I see him in actual regular season action.

I'm channeling my inner Collinsworth

 

[primetime]

Jacoby Jones is vastly overrated because of a good playoffs last year, but he fits the Ravens offense - good running game backed up by a middling big-armed QB who can throw it deep and pray for a catch or PI call - pretty well. Looks like there's a chance he may be done for the year, in which case they're really going to be struggling because the defense can stack the box, bracket Torrey Smith, and force Flacco to throw short and medium passes to guys like Marlon Moore or Dallas Clark, who can't close his dominant hand all the way due to nerve damage, which is far from Flacco's strength as a passer.

Oher may have escaped serious injury, though.

 

[Deus Irae]

...Assuming Jones and Oher are not out long, the Ravens' offense won't be the disaster we saw last night. But they will likely be in the bottom half or third in the league. Even our resident Ravens poster friend who posts here from time to time admits that their receiving corp is hot garbage. Clark and Stokely were desperation moves during the preseason when they knew they lost Pitta and had no depth whatsoever.

I think the Ravens gambled on Flacco actually becoming an elite QB, much as the Giants gambled on Eli actually becoming an elite QB. Both teams will lose those gambles, because what they have at QB are average/above average QBs who are capable of prolonged hot streaks, which is not the same thing. That's why the loss of a guy like Boldin, who wasn't great at separating, but was great at winning the '50/50' balls, is going to take time for Flacco to overcome if, indeed, he can. Having said that

Smith
Jones
Clark
****erson
Stokely
Rice
Pierce

isn't a dumpster fire like I wish it was, and Pitta's on the in-season IR, so it's not 100% impossible to think of him returning, just yet.

Just as a side note, Elam is eventually going to be ready to take over at safety for them. I've got to think that Pees is praying that happens closer to week 6 than week 16.