WEEK 8 AND WE ARE 1-6 HOW CAN I PUT A POSITIVE SPIN ON THAT. IT’S NOT GOING TO BE EASY BUT I CAN.
It’s 11:30 last Monday night I have a 6:00 AM meeting in downtown Washington DC the next morning, the Ravens are 8 points down, first and goal on the 9 yard line with less than a minute to go in regulation. Well, you know what happens and I was so worked up I couldn’t get to sleep until after 2:00 AM. The Positive spin is that I did not go to bed at half time because the Ravens were in this game until the very end. The national predictions were the Ravens would be blown out by the Cardinals and that didn’t happen. The Ravens showed up with a banged up team of second stringers and played an entertaining game. We had several bad calls go against us. First, John Urschel reported in as an eligible receiver seen by everyone in the entire country but one person. the referee, who penalized us for illegal formation. (By the way, wasn’t that a great catch for a offensive lineman?) Next, Brandon Williams had stopped Chris Johnson of all forward progress and the refs let the play continue, which led to Johnson gaining another 25 yards. If a Raven had jumped into that pile while Williams had Johnson stopped, undoubtedly there would have been an unnecessary roughness flag thrown. But, as I always say, if you score enough points, you take the referees out of the game. We didn’t score enough points to win last week but we played a hell of a game on the road against a very good team.

Nobody wants to watch their team lose. Still, I can stand behind my Ravens and say that, while we may not be winning, we have been in every game. Not one player quit last week, and we played hard till the very end and that is worth losing sleep over. (If you were wondering, I had a very successful meeting Tuesday morning)

Week 8 already, the season is flying by. We play the Chargers at home this week. Half way through the season and we are only playing our third home game. How does that happen? The Chargers and Phillip Rivers travel cross country and bring the #1 pass offense in the NFL to challenge our secondary. That doesn’t sound good but, if you look at the Chargers’ record, they are only 2-5. They pass the ball a lot but can’t win games. The Chargers have one of the worst running games and that makes them one dimensional. This allows Elvis Dumervil and our defense to rush a quarterback who had his eighth child this week, so you know he needs sleep. Phillip Rivers now has eight kids. One more kid and he could run full offensive practice in his living room. The Ravens will stop the Chargers’ run game, allowing us to drop linebackers into pass coverage and get a couple of turnovers or even a pick 6. Joe and the offense will be able to run the ball and control the clock, keeping Phillip Rivers on the bench where he can catch up on this sleep. The Ravens will get their second win of the season to make the upcoming bye week a little nicer.

WEEK EIGHT RUNDOWN: Remember- this is what we want to happen to help the Ravens, not necessarily what we think will happen. So don’t bet the farm on my picks.

Thursday night
8:25

Dolphins over Patriots
We should be rooting for the Patriots but, I just couldn’t bring myself to say that. The Patriots are undefeated and have the second worst run offense in the league. But, they also have the second best pass offense – who said being one dimensional was a bad thing?

Sunday
9:30

Lions over Chiefs
NFC vs AFC Another London game, the leaves can wait until next week.
1:00

RAVENS over Chargers
The Ravens need a win at home and we need to help, so get behind our guys and show your Ravens spirit by getting loud and absolutely no booing! They are playing hard and deserve our support. It will be interesting to see what lineup John Harbaugh puts on the field. Look for the defense to step it up and stop Phillip Rivers. Have a great tailgate and enjoy the game.

Buccaneers over Falcons
The Falcons only scored 10 points last week and won their game. We score more points and Matt Ryan still looks like the hero, that’s just not fair.

Cardinals over Browns
We are still looking up at the Browns in the standings. The Cardinals should definitely win this game.

Rams over 49ers
Both NFC teams, so rooting for the home team.

Saints over Giants
Both NFC teams, so rooting for the home team. This will help our Cowboy and Eagle fan friends.

Bears over Vikings
Rooting against the Vikings. Rooting for the home team Bears and Kyle Fuller who went to Mt. Saint Joe High School.

Bengals over Steelers
Normally, this would be a hard call but not this year. The Bengals are so far ahead in the division. Realistically, we can’t catch them so, we are rooting against the Steelers. Now that’s not that hard to do is it?

Titans over Texans
The Texans have a better record than the Ravens but that includes most of the league. We have a shot at catching up with the Texans at 2-5.

4:05

Raiders over Jets
The Raiders at 3-3 and the Jets at 4-2 both have records we would love to have. We are rooting for the home team.

4:25

Cowboys over Seahawks
The Cowboys are missing Tony Romo and have not won without him. The Seahawks are struggling. Russell Wilson has not looked like a Super bowl quarterback. Rooting for the Cowboys and for our special intention in Seattle.

Sunday night
8:30

Packers over Broncos
NFC vs AFC, Both teams are undefeated. How can elderly Peyton Manning have one of the worst offenses in the league and still be undefeated? It’s not fair. But they will lose this week and it will be all downhill for the Broncos the rest of the season.
GO PACK GO!!!

Monday night
8:30

Panthers over Colts
Cam Newton is truly playing like Superman with a 6-0 record.

Bye week for
Bills, Jaguars, Eagles, Redskins

We really need to win this week!

And that’s just the view from151.

GO RAVENS!!!!