In football and in life adversity is inevitable, but injuries and COVID don’t have to keep us from achieving our intended goals. Even though we lost to the Steelers (and I say we lost to the Steelers because Steelers didn’t beat the Ravens), Ronnie Stanley is out for the remainder of the season with a broken ankle, and Marlon Humphrey tested positive for COVID putting himself along with seven other Ravens defensive players in quarantine, all that this adversity does is identify the challenge. As long as we know what we need to overcome, we can plan and conquer the adversity and achieve our goals.

I don’t mean to pile on, but we also lost Tyre Phillips for at least three weeks leaving the offensive line down two starters.

The goal remains the same: win the Super Bowl.

Next man up, or should I say next men up since we have several positions that will be or could be filled with players who have never started a NFL game. Except for Humphrey the other players in COVID protocol barring another positive test could play Sunday but will not have practiced all week. The coaching staff definitely didn’t get any sleep this week. The coaches need to have plans A through Z and maybe into the Greek alphabet (like the hurricane names) to be ready for the Colts on Sunday.

The Ravens go to Indianapolis to face the Colts defense that is ranked as one of the best in the NFL. But on the other hand, so were the Steelers defense and we saw how Gus and JK Dobbins ran all over them, and I might add even after our O-line lost Stanley and Phillips. This is a “gut check” game for Lamar after turning the ball over four times to the Steelers last week (again the Steelers didn’t beat the Ravens even with four turnovers they only won by four points) he needs to forget about last week and stick to the basics, protect the ball and control the clock. This should be plan “A”.

GO RAVENS!!!

Even though sports betting was approved in Maryland don’t bet on my picks, since they are for who we want to win to help the Ravens not who we think will win.

Thursday Night 8:00

Packers (6-2) 34 over 49ers (4-5) 17
No surprise here.

Sunday 1:00

RAVENS (5-2) over Colts (5-2)
In his first season with the Colts Phillip Rivers has found new life. Phillip Rivers is running a very good offense that benefits from the Colts even better good defense. This game comes down to how well Lamar bounces back from last week and how well the coaches have kept the Ravens players focused on the Colts and not all the distractions swirling around the team. As far as a prediction about this game you know I will always say the Ravens are going to win, but since we don’t have a clue about who is going to play and where they might line up, I say keep your Ravens team rooster handy because we are going to see jersey numbers we may not have seen before.

GO RAVENS!!!

Washington (2-5) over Giants (1-7)
Washington definitely needs this win for the country’s sake.

Bears (5-3) over Titans (5-2)
NFC over AFC
The Titans have the same record as the Ravens.

Lions (3-4) over Vikings (2-5)
Both NFC teams rooting against the Vikings.

Panthers (3-5) over Chiefs (7-1)
In 2020 anything is possible.

Texans (1-6) vs Jaguars (1-6)
You pick’em, both teams playing for a draft pick.

Seahawks (6-1) over Bills (6-2)
Bills have the same record as the Ravens.

Falcons (2-6) over Broncos (3-4)
NFC over AFC

Sunday 4:00

Chargers (2-5) over Raiders (4-3)
We could be competing against the Raiders for a wildcard playoff spot.

Cowboys (2-6) over Steelers (7-0)
I sure hope the Cowboys have a good plan.

Cardinals (5-2) over Dolphins (4-3)
NFC over AFC

Sunday Night 8:00

Saints (5-2) over Buccaneers (6-2)
Rooting against Tom Brady.

Monday night 8:00

Jets (0-8) over Patriots (2-5)
Interesting fact of the week: Both the 2-5 Chargers and 2-5 Patriots released long time quarterbacks Phillip Rivers and Tom Brady, while the teams they went to Colts and Buccaneers are 5-2 and 6-2. Just saying.

Bye week: Eagles, Rams, Browns, Bengals

With all the distractions in the world enjoy the games with focus and stick to the plan.

And that’s just The (virtual) View from 151.

GO RAVENS!!!