I don’t ever want to live through that again!  Five weeks of preseason football was entirely way too long.  And what did it tell us was absolutely nothing.  Out of five games Joe Flacco and the starting offense played a total of 31 snaps.  While I applaud the attempt to keep the guys injury free (it worked) we have no clue how good we are.   But boy, on parer we look much better than we did last year and I am excited about this team.

So, for you those who are new to The View From 151 and for those who have been reading for a while but forgot our purpose because the off season is too damn long– The “View From 151.com” is a weekly blog of observations and thoughts through the eyes of a die hard Ravens fan who sits in section 151 at M&T Bank Stadium on Sundays and has Baltimore football roots going back to my Father who worked for the Baltimore Colts when their colors were green and gray.  This all started with a weekly email sent to my daughter away at college to give her Ravens updates and a list of teams to root for each week who could help the Ravens in the standings.  At one point, my daughter started forwarding the email to her friends and she soon became known as the girl who’s father writes the Ravens email.  As demand grow we went prime time a few years ago and started TheViewFrom151.com.  I hope you enjoy my lighthearted attempt at sports writing to help you become an informed Raven Maniac and enjoy the games just a little more.  GO RAVENS!!!

Back to the task at hand.  The Ravens play the Bills at M&T this Sunday.  FINALLY THE REGULAR SEASON IS HERE!  Where do I start, offense, defense or special teams?  They all looked good in preseason and so much has changed.  So lets start with the offense.  I am truly excited about the possibilities.  Along with Joe who is healthy and looks sharp for the first time in two years, we also have three new receivers who can catch the ball and a running back group that can run through other teams.  We have two backup quarterbacks for the first time in nine years, with one of them being a first round draft pick. If we just look at the quarterbacks, there’s Joe Flacco (Super Bowl MVP), Robert Griffin III (former Rookie of the year), and (Heisman trophy winner / Ravens first round draft pick) Lamar Jackson.  If that doesn’t turn your beer purple nothing will.  WOW!  The possibilities are endless on how we could put these guys on the field and maybe on the field at the same time.  WOW!  But, and there’s always a but, our offensive line is the only weak link we have on offense.  The offensive line needs to play well in order for any of the above to excel.  We are starting our third center in as many years.  Our O-line is young except for RG Yanda who is the old man of the group. We have RT Hurst opening the season as a starter for the first time,  LT Stanley, LG Lewis and Center Skura who were all rookies last year.  Lets hope this group comes together and plays like a Raven.

I am so pumped up this could go on forever, but I need to get to this week’s games. The defense will be next week.

GO RAVENS!!!

Remember,  my picks are for teams we want to win or lose to help the Ravens, not who I think will win or lose.  So don’t bet the rent on my picks!

Thursday night 

Eagles over Falcons 18-12
For this season only and in appreciation of the Eagles beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl, I will not mock  them in the weekly game breakdown. And we just don’t like Matt Ryan.

Sunday 1:00
RAVENS over Bills
The Ravens get a soft opening to this season with the Bills coming to Baltimore.  Our defense will have no problems against Bills’ QB Nate Peterman, who is known for throwing five interceptions in one half.  I can’t wait to see what Eric Weddle and the secondary can do.  Can you say “PICK 6”!?  Keep an eye on our O-line. If they show up we should have no trouble running the ball to set up the Pass.  Again I can’t wait to see the starting offense on the field .  This will be a big game for Joe.  Will Lamar or RGIII make an appearance? It’s going to be fun! Special teams will have an easy day. I predict all extra points and kick offs, no punts this week. I will not sleep Saturday night in anticipation of the game on Sunday.
GO RAVENS!!!

Browns over Steelers
Budweiser has placed ten electrically locked refrigerators full of free Bud Light around Cleveland set to open the second the Browns win a game. I think this is hilarious.  Three of those refrigerators are in the Brown stadium. Just imagine the Browns beating the Steelers and fifty thousand Browns fan rioting to get their hands on one of the free beers.

Colts over Bengals
I was in Indianapolis a few weeks ago and you know I am still not over the Colts leaving Baltimore but this week I am a Colts fan.

Jaguars vs Giants you PICK’EM
Both NFC teams doesn’t mean anything to the Ravens this early in the season.

Buccaneers over Saints
We play the NFC south this season so we will play both of these teams.  The Saints are the better team so we are rooting against them.

Texans over Patriots
Let’s stop all the Patriots undefeated season talk this week.

49ers over Vikings
Both NFC teams but we just don’t like the Vikings.

Titans over Dolphins
Both AFC teams, but we play the Titans week 6 and we can beat them that day.

4:00

Chargers over Chiefs
Both AFC teams that we play this year.  Rooting for the home team.

Seahawks over Broncos
NFC over AFC

Cowboys over Panthers
Both NFC teams but we play the Panthers week 8.

Redskins over Cardinals
We root for the Redskins when we can to support our friends to the south.

8:00

Packers over Bears
Rooting for our Packer friends

Monday Night (we have two Monday night games. Isn’t life great!)
7:10pm
Lion over Jets
NFC over AFC

10:20pm
Rams over Raiders
NFC over AFC

Enjoy the games with a cold beer and someone you love.

And that’s just The View From 151.

GO RAVENS!!!