In the post game press conference after the Ravens crushed the Dolphins, Lamar Jackson was asked what he thought about his performance. He smiled and said “Not bad for a running back”.  All of the preseason talk about Lamar asked, “Can he throw the ball?” Well, I think he answered that question with five touchdowns in less than three quarters (only because he was pulled from the game late in the third quarter).  Although I also think someone forgot to tell Miami that the regular season has started, you can’t take away from the all-around great game the Ravens played.  Receivers caught the passes which were perfectly thrown by Lamar.  The O-Line gave Lamar enough time to have a cup of coffee. Mark Ingram looked like he is worth every penny of his free agent contract.  No turn overs by the Ravens.  The defense had one interception and a fumble recovery. The Dolphins were held to twenty one rushing yards and only two hundred total yards.  Our defense played less than twenty minutes.  The bottom line is every Ravens player had a great day.  Did I mention we won 59 to 10??

Now that’s how you start a season!  But (and you know there is always a but), we have been here before. In the past, after winning the first game with a bang, we lay an egg in the second game.  Last year- Week One we beat the Bills 47 to 3, but Week Two we lost to the Bengals 34 to 23.  So let’s not get too excited. No… I take that back let’s get excited!  We could be witnessing something special.

So the test doesn’t get much harder this week when Terrell Suggs and the Arizona Cardinals come to Baltimore.  Last week, the Cardinals defense gave up almost five hundred yards in a game that ended in a tie with the Lions.  Arizona will start a rookie quarterback Kyler Murray who, at a respectable height of 5’5″, may be the smallest starting QB in the league.  This kid is going to be lying awake at night just thinking about our Ravens defense, I don’t know how he gets out of bed in the morning.  If Murray watches the tape from last week he might want to just pull the covers over his head and call out sick on Sunday.  One player who definitely won’t call out sick is Terrell Suggs who comes into M&T Bank stadium wearing a red uniform and will sit on the visitor’s sideline after spending 16 seasons on the Ravens sideline. Suggs had 2.5 sacks last week, so the challenge for the Ravens is to keep him out of Lamar’s backfield, but, if he does get close, I think Lamar knows what to do.  It will be good to see Suggs again but just not in the our backfield.

Can the Ravens carry the momentum into the home opener on Sunday and can they get better?  Although it’s hard to improve on perfection, the improvement will come with better opponents.  This week the Cardinals, next week the Chiefs.  We can’t look past the Cardinals, well maybe we can, but as long as the players and coaches don’t we will remain in first place in the AFC North.  Oh, I forgot to mention the Browns and Steelers both got their butts kick last week, so much for them leading the AFC north.  The Bengals also lost, putting our Ravens in sole possession of first place.

GO RAVENS!!!

Don’t forget my picks are for who we want to win not who we think will win.  So save your money and go out and buy a Lamar Jackson “Not bad for a Running Back” tee shirt.  I just have to smile every time I say that.

Thursday Night

Panthers over Buccaneers
Cam Newton is already a little banged up, but a hobbling Cam Newton will always be better than healthy Jameis Winston, who has not been the franchise QB he was drafted to be.  Both teams are in the NFC so this game doesn’t really mean anything for the Ravens.  Enjoy the start of week two.

Sunday

1:00

RAVENS over Cardinals
Last week, none of the so called experts had the Ravens scoring more than 29 points. This week, everyone has them scoring 30 points or more.  Look for the defense to be an outright blitz machine to go after the rookie QB.  Kyler Murray had one interception last week look for at least three this week. This poor kid just won’t know how to handle the Ravens blitz.  Lamar and company will put on another show that will keep the country watching with the Steelers, Browns, and Bengals shaking in their boots.  I can’t wait to see this live on Sunday!

GO RAVENS!!! 

Redskins over Cowboys
Just down the road at FEDEX Field there’s going to be a blood bath and this time it will be the Cowboys creaming the Redskins.  As much as I am rooting for our Redskin fan friends and customers, it just ain’t going to happen.  Better luck next year.

Colts over Titans
Both AFC teams and the Titans have a 1-0 record.

Seahawks over Steelers
OF COURSE,  the Steelers looked bad last week without Antonio Brown and that’s the way we like it!  This game is in Pittsburgh, so just think how depressed the Steelers fans will be when they go 0-2. (I’m smiling at the thought)

Giants over Bills
NFC over AFC
Eli Manning should be sitting next to his brother Peyton eating pizza and watching this game, not playing in it.

49ers over Bengals
NFC over AFC
The Bengals did not disgrace themselves last week like the Browns and Steelers did.

Lions over Chargers
NFC over AFC
Rooting for the home town.

Packers over Vikings
The winner will be in first place in the NFC North.
GO PACK GO!

Texans over Jaguars
Both teams lost last week so this was almost a you pick’em game, but I still can’t get over the Jaguars beating the Ravens in London.

Dolphins over Patriots.
Wouldn’t that show the league…

4:00

Chiefs over Raiders
Just don’t want the Chiefs pissed off when we play them next week.

Saints vs Rams
Both AFC teams who won last week so you pick’em.

Bears over Broncos
Both teams lost last week.  We are rooting for the NFC over AFC.  Joe looked like Joe last week.  No disrespect to Joe, but I am sure glad we have Lamar. Sorry, Joe.

8:00

Eagles over Falcons
Fly Eagles fly!  And we still don’t like Matt Ryan.

Monday Night

8:00

Jets over Browns
After last week I thought the Jets had a good chance of beating the Browns, but not now.  The Jets QB Sam Darnold has Mononucleosis and will be out for at least a month.  So let’s hope the Browns are the true train wreck we think they are.

Enjoy the games with a first responder,  remembering 9/11.

I gotta get me one of those tee shirts!

And that’s just The View From 151

GO RAVENS!!!