9/29/16

Wow! Last week turned out great for the Ravens, starting with our second road win of the season in Jacksonville. The Steelers, Bengals, and Browns all lost putting the Ravens in sole possession of first place in the AFC North with a 3-0 record. 10 of the 16 games last week went in the Ravens favor.

The defense and special teams have carried the team so far this season. Justin Tucker kicked the game winning 54 yard field goal. We blocked another field goal attempt. The defense held Jacksonville to only 48 yards rushing, had four sacks, three interceptions, and I could go on. The offense did what they needed to do to win the game including Joe running for a touchdown on his repaired knee. Last week was not pretty and what do we say?  I will take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day. so, we are an ugly undefeated team, which still means we are in first place.

The winning formula can stay the same this week. The Raiders strength is their rushing game which play right into our strength. Oakland likes to run up the middle but we’ll see what Brandon Williams, Michael Pierce, and Timmy Jernigan have to say about that. We get Dumervil back this week, which should help our pass rush. It will be good to see Dumervil and Suggs back on the field at the same time. The Raiders have one of the worst defenses in the NFL, so look for Joe and the receivers to have a good day as long as our O-line holds up. Our rushing game has been held back by the inability of the O-line to push off the ball and create holes for the running backs. Again, this should change this week against a Raider defense that gives up a lot of yards.

So, as long as we control the ball and we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot with dumb penalties, this should be another WIN!

Congrats to Joe Flacco and his family on the birth of his fourth child but first daughter. I feel for her already, having to grow up with three brothers. I hope Joe is getting his sleep. GO RAVENS!!

Disclaimer: Remember, don’t bet the farm on these picks–this is just how we want the games to go, not how they will actually be won or lost.

Thursday
8:25pm

Dolphins over Bengals
The Bengals are 1-2 putting them in third place in our division, two games behind the Ravens, just where we want them to be. This could be a high scoring game as the Dolphins defense is rated as one of the worst in the NFL. We are hoping that Andy Dalton has a bad night.

Sunday
9:30am

Jaguars over Colts
Set your alarm clocks and get up early-this is another gift from the football gods, we have football from 9am until midnight. Although these two teams are a combined 1-5, this could be a good evenly matched game. Both teams need a win. It could be the Jags defense that scores the winning points.

Sunday
1pm

RAVENS over Raiders
Interesting match up this week-the Ravens #2 defense playing against the Raiders #2 offense.  For the second week in a row the Raiders make the cross country trip to the East Coast. They won last week (like we predicted) but they will not hold up against defense. Look for Joe and the offense to have a breakout game at home with the Flock cheering them on. The Ravens go to 4-0 maintaining our first place spot in the AFC North.
GO RAVENS!!

Titans over Texans
The Texans got spanked by the Patriots last week with JJ Watt playing, now Watt is on injured reserve and, out for the season. Marcus Mariota and the Titans will take advantage of a team that is reeling from last week’s loss to the Patriots and won’t know what to do without JJ.

Redskins over Browns
The Redskins are coming off the high of last week’s divisional win on the road against the Giants. This week, Washington will ride the momentum at home in front of the Redskins faithful and beat the Browns for us. Kirk Cousins could have a career day against the 0-3 Browns.

Seahawks over Jets
NFC over AFC, even though the Jets are at home and the Seahawks are making the cross country trip. The Jets have no chance against the Seahawks #1 defense.

Bills over Patriots
How in the hell did the Patriots shut out the Texans with a third string quarterback? What is going through Tom Brady’s head? The Pats are 3-0 without Tom. Do they need him to come back? Has Bill Belichick made a pact with the Devil? No, No, No-I know what it is–the Patriots are CHEATING! I’m not sure how but there is no other way to explain it.

Panthers over Falcons
The Panthers are a much more balanced team than the Falcons who have the 1st ranked offense and the 30th ranked defense.

Bears over Lions
Rooting for the home team and I feel sorry for the 0-3 Bears

Sunday
4:05pm

Buccaneers over Broncos
NFC over AFC. We thank the Broncos for beating the Bengals last week, but it’s all about the Ravens so we are rooting against the 3-0 Broncos this week.

Cardinals over Rams
Both NFC Teams, rooting for the home team.

Saints over Chargers
NFC over AFC, Drew Brees will put up big numbers against the Chargers weak defense.

Cowboys over 49ers
This could be the Cowboys year even without Tony Romo. What do you think is going through Tony Romo’s head right now? Have we see the last of Tony Romo?

Sunday
8:30pm

Chiefs over Steelers
I just couldn’t stop smiling after seeing the Steelers get held to 3 points against the Eagles last week. Thank you, Eagles!

Monday
8:30pm

Giants over Vikings
Both NFC Teams and we just don’t like the Vikings.

Bye week: Packers, Eagles

Enjoy the games with an ice cold beer.

GO RAVENS!!

Just the View from Section 151