It worked! Adding Campbell and Wolfe along side Williams to the Ravens defensive line made King Henry look like the court jester, holding him to a total of forty yards on eighteen carries. After spotting the Titans ten points in the first quarter our Ravens defense only allowed another three points the remainder of the game. Lamar and the Ravens offense took the game over with a spectacular run for a touchdown, it was a thing of beauty. Lamar got the monkey off his back and replaced it with the entire Ravens offense. Lamar was the reason we got our first playoff win in seven years.

On to Buffalo to play the Bills Saturday night with the possibility of snow in the forecast. Lamar said this week he has never played in the snow, I hope he picks the correct cleats to wear. But something tells me that a little snow is going to be the least of our worries. The Bills QB Josh Allen could be a blizzard of a problem. Allen has become a much better quarterback than when we faced him last year and sacked him six times. The Bills have the number two scoring offense in the league and have done it by throwing the ball. Unlike last week when we needed to stop the Titan running game this week we need to stop the Bills passing game. The combination of QB Allen throwing to WR Stefon Diggs (hometown Gaithersburg, MD) could be the best in the NFL and will test our secondary. There has been a lot of talk about how much the Ravens blitz and how well Allen passes against the blitz. The reason our defense blitzes so much is because they are really good at it. Josh Allen may like to pass against a blitz but he won’t have much success against the Ravens blitz. While Josh Allen is running away from the blitz, Lamar will be running into the playoff record books. No quarterback has ever run for over one hundred yards in consecutive playoff games. Lamar ran for one hundred and thirty six yards last week and will top one hundred yards this week.

GO RAVENS!!!

It worked! The new game rating system worked I was 4-2 with my picks last week, I should have gone to Vegas. This week I am going to a hybrid new and old system of picking the winning teams. I will elaborate later. So keep your betting money in your pocket. I am still using the same scale to rate the teams. The lower the number the better the team rating.

Saturday 4:35

(7) Packers over (12) Rams
Lambeau field is a far cry from the sunny LA domed stadium the Rams are use to playing in. The NFC West is LA, Seattle, Phoenix, San Francisco, not exactly the frozen tundra of Green Bay. The Rams will need to replace their beach towels for parkas because it’s going to be 33 degrees at game time. The Packers are rested after their bye week and are healthy, the Rams are not. Rams QB Jared Goff had steel pins surgically implanted to repair the broken thumb on his throwing hand less than three weeks ago. That’s going to feel great with temperatures below freezing, also Goff has never won a game when the temperature is that cold. LA’s defensive star LB Aaron Donald has rib injuries and is slated to play. 33 degrees is nothing for the Packers they are happy that they don’t have to break ice off the pool so they can go swimming. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers will need to play aggressive against the best defense of all the playoff teams.

Saturday 8:15

(4.5) Ravens over (9) Bills
The Ravens defensive front line was tested last week and passed with flying colors, the secondary will be tested this week against the Bills high powered passing attack and will do the same. The Bills will have no running game since they lost their starting running back to a knee injury last week. So the entire Ravens defense will be focused on stopping the Bills passing game. The pundits are all talking about Josh Allen’s ability to pass against a blitz and how the Ravens are the number one blitzing defense in the league and how this favors Allen. The Ravens defense will contain the Bills rushing game and make them one dimensional allowing our secondary to go on the hunt for interceptions. Just like last week, we shutdown King Henry we will shutdown Josh Allen. Lamar and the offense will run the ball, run the ball, and run the ball even more to control the clock and keep the Bills offense off the field.

GO RAVENS!!!

Sunday 3:05

(17) Browns over (8.5) Chiefs
So this is were I am deviating from the new system and back to who we want to win. If the Browns beat the Chiefs (highly unlikely) and the Ravens beat the Bills (a sure thing) the Ravens and Browns would play in Baltimore for the AFC Championship. Go Browns!

Sunday 6:40

(5) Saints over (5.5) Buccaneers
AKA geezer bowl. Drew Brees vs Tom Brady who are both over forty years old. This very well could be Brees’s last game, but Brady could play for another ten years since he truly could be an alien.

I am pumped to see what the Ravens coaching staff has schemed up against the Bills.

Enjoy the games knowing we are playing in a game two week longer than most of the league.

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

GO RAVENS!!!