17 replies to this topic

[BSLGabeFerguson]

Ravens finish up the season against the struggling, but still dangerous Bengals. I'm sure they would love to put a damper on the Ravens playoff aspirations as there is no love lost between these division rivals. 

 

In the end I think the Ravens pull out the victory, but I expect it to be a close game.

 

http://baltimorespor...bengals-ravens/

[BSLRobShields]

https://www.google.c...aze-burfict-out

Looking more and more like Burfict misses the game.

[BSLRobShields]

The running game hasn’t been good the last few weeks and the front 7 hasn’t been great.

Would like to see that re-established this week.

[BSLGabeFerguson]

I put a brief snippet in the preview and perhaps it deserves a bit more attention. Buck Allen has been a far more effective runner than Collins the past 2 weeks. I'm not sure if there is anything real there, but I will be closely watching their snaps and touches in this game.

[BSLChrisStoner]

I'm excited by the idea of beating Cincinnati for the 2nd time, getting to 10 wins, and feeling good about entering the Wild Card round.

Agree with the comments above, there are some specific things you want to see this week.

 

A few months ago I thought I'd feel ambivalent if we got to this point, but that's not how I feel.

I'm liking the going back to the post-season, Baltimore vs. the World vibe.

[BSLSeanJester]

Really need to establish the run heading into the postseason. That's the only way we can win in the postseason IMO. Run the ball, keep the defense rested. Not going to win many shootouts.

[Ricker Says]

The team really has been playing a lot better, so I'm really looking forward to the playoff run. I think they will handily take care of business Sunday.

[bnickle]

They've looked better but they still have exactly zero wins against good teams this year

[Mackus]

The team really has been playing a lot better, so I'm really looking forward to the playoff run. I think they will handily take care of business Sunday.

 

Colts game tempered my enthusiasm a bit.  Or at least, it halted the gaining momentum.  52 guys played poorly and the coaching staff was atrocious. Joe played great.

 

I'm still way more optimistic about the wild card game than I was before the Lions game.  But it sticks in my craw a bit that we couldn't keep that going against a shitty Colts team.  I'll forgive some of that to the weather, especially if we bounce back strong against Cincinnati.  But a 3-6 point win against the Bengals (or worse, a loss) likely leads to me predicting a loss against KC/Jax.

[Ricker Says]

Colts game tempered my enthusiasm a bit.  Or at least, it halted the gaining momentum.  52 guys played poorly and the coaching staff was atrocious. Joe played great.

 

I'm still way more optimistic about the wild card game than I was before the Lions game.  But it sticks in my craw a bit that we couldn't keep that going against a shitty Colts team.  I'll forgive some of that to the weather, especially if we bounce back strong against Cincinnati.  But a 3-6 point win against the Bengals (or worse, a loss) likely leads to me predicting a loss against KC/Jax.

I guess I chalked it up to the weather, and it being a Saturday game. Guess we'll see, but I wasn't thrilled with how the defense played.

[BSLRobShields]

They've looked better but they still have exactly zero wins against good teams this year

To be fair, they have only played one good team since they have played better(I guess you could count Detroit too).

They should have won in Pitt but they didn’t.

But none of that really matters. If they win on Sunday, they end up with 10 wins, which a number you didn’t think they would reach.

They enter the playoffs playing well. They have a dangerous defense, although it’s probably not a defense that’s as good as the numbers suggest. The ST are legit.

Joe is playing at a high level.

No matter who they play, it will be a tough matchup. Rather play the Jags offense but rather play the KC defense.

They could lose and probably won’t be the favored team next week. If they lose, we can look at this season as a season where you didn’t really beat anyone good but you did win 10 games, lost a lot of your better players to injuries and got back to the playoffs.

I just wish Yanda and Smith were going to be there. I would feel really good about the team with those guys there.

[Ricker Says]

I wonder how the recovery is going for Yanda? He's at that point in his career, given all the wear and tear lineman take, that I'm preparing myself for a retirement announcement any year now from him. He's still dominant which eases those fears, but the injuries can mount up for these big men.

[Mackus]

Yanda seems to me like a guy that'll have to be dragged off the field.  I haven't thought about him retiring at all.  Certainly possible, but I expect he'll be back for next year and beyond.

[Miller192]

They've looked better but they still have exactly zero wins against good teams this year

 

This is where I'm at too.  Joe has certainly played better and has done it against some decent secondaries.

 

However, they've played shit teams.  We'll see what happens.

[BSLSeanJester]

For the most part they've blown out the bad teams they've played and hung with some of the good ones -- even when the offense was dogshit.

 

Only the losses @ JAX and vs PIT were blowouts, but I guess you could also argue we were never really in the @MIN game.

[BSLGabeFerguson]

For the most part they've blown out the bad teams they've played and hung with some of the good ones -- even when the offense was dogshit.

 

Only the losses @ JAX and vs PIT were blowouts, but I guess you could also argue we were never really in the @MIN game.

Minnesota game was 9-6 at half time. It was pretty close for most of it, but the Ravens were missing too many players in that one, especially on offense.

[BSLRobShields]

Sounds like Burfict is definitely out.

Also missing their starting LT.

[BSLRobShields]

Random tweet:

The Baltimore @Ravens have been in a ‘win and in’ situation in the final week of the regular season on four previous occasions. The Ravens won their Week 17 game all four times to make the playoffs (2001, 2003, 2008, 2009).