A stifling Ravens defense, a Ravens offense running the ball for almost two hundred yards, rushing for three touchdowns, and Lamar sitting on the bench with a big smile on his face, while Tyler Huntley closes out the game in victory formation. Now I know it’s true that I predicted this type of game the week before against the Colts, but we all knew the Ravens could dominate like this, it just took a extra week to show it’s self. Or maybe it was the addition of DeShon Elliott coming back from injury and Josh Bynes playing his best game of the season. The Ravens D held Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense to one touchdown with a missed extra point attempt that their kicker over compensated trying to avoid Calais Campbell who blocked a field goal attempt the week before against the Colts.

Great old school Ravens win!

On to week 7 where the Ravens play the Bengals in Baltimore. Besides that this is a AFC North divisional game where the outcome will have the winner in first place of the division, it really isn’t much different from last week. The Bengal’s QB Joe Burrow is very similar to Justin Herbert and some say Joe is not as good as Justin. The Bengals offense is average at best, it’s the Bengals defense that keeps them in games. The Bengals are 4-2 but let’s look at who they have beaten, Vikings, Steelers, Jaguars, and Lions. These teams have a combined record of 5-17, not exactly the powerhouses of the NFL. May I add that Cincinnati was beaten by the Bears week 2? I just don’t get all the hype around the Bengals. They just don’t impress or scare me.

GO RAVENS!!!

Thursday Night 8:00

Browns 17 Broncos 14
Not happy with this.

Sunday 1:00

5-1 RAVENS over 4-2 Bengals
The Bengals QB Joe Burrow has thrown seven interceptions and gets sacked a lot. Doesn’t that play nicely into our defense having a big stats day? This will be another Old School Ravens football game.

GO RAVENS!!!

1-5 Giants vs 3-3 Panthers
Both NFC. Rooting for the home team

1-4 Jets over 2-4 Patriots
Who could have imagined the Patriots would be out of it by week 7?

3-3 Chiefs over 4-2 Titans
We hold the tie breaker over the Chiefs.

5-1 Packers over 2-4 Washington
Washington needs to start thinking about next year’s draft, they need a QB.

2-3 Falcons over 1-5 Dolphins
NFC over AFC

Sunday 4:00

5-1 Rams over 0-6 Lions
Can you say the Lions are on the clock?

2-4 Eagles over 4-2 Raiders
Rooting against the only team who has beaten us.

6-0 Cardinals over 1-5 Texans
NFC over AFC

3-3 Bears over 5-1 Buccaneers
In thanks to the Bears for beating the Bengals.

Sunday Night 8:00

2-3 49ers over 2-4 Colts
NFC over AFC. Not much to watch here go to bed early.

Monday Night 8:00

2-4 Seahawks over 3-2 Saints
Both NFC teams rooting for the home team.

Bye week for 4-2 Bills, 5-1 Cowboys, 1-5 Jaguars, 4-2 Chargers (they need it after the ass kicking the Ravens gave them), 3-3 Vikings, 3-3 Steelers

Bye the way, did I mention the Ravens have the best record in the AFC? Enjoy the games knowing that despite all the injuries we have, the Ravens just keep on winning. So go ahead a give that son or daughter a hug knowing that despite all the flaws they still turned out pretty good.

And that’s just The View From 151.

GO RAVENS!!!

I know…I know before you say, what the hell is he talking about!? Why isn’t he leading with the spectacular performance of Lamar Jackson? Let me just say that the Colts got out coached, and we took full advantage of the Colts strategy of having their defense drop back into the secondary and dare Lamar to throw the ball. Well, they paid the price. With ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter and down by nineteen points, everyone knows you have to throw the ball. The Ravens knew it, the Colts knew it, everyone in M&T Bank stadium knew it, but there wasn’t a damn thing the Colts could do to stop Lamar. The only thing that could have stopped Lamar was Lamar himself. Lamar shook off the goal line fumble early in the game, heaved the entire Ravens team on his back and won the game in overtime. The Colts have a weak secondary and the Ravens exploited that weakness. The Colts tried to stop Lamar by not rushing the quarterback and dropping what seamed to be the entire defense into the secondary. It flat out did not work. That’s why I say the Colts got out coached, and out played, out hustled, out maneuvered, and in the end out scored by the arm of one Lamar Jackson (AFC offensive player of the week). Now, it did help that the Ravens receivers caught the ball, Mark Andrews, Hollywood Brown, Devin Duvernay, Freeman, Watkins, Proche, I could go on and on. In the end nine guys caught passes. The key word is caught, we aren’t talking about a dropped pass that cost us the game. Records were broken last Monday night and it wasn’t the one hundred yard rushing streak record we were looking for, it was passing recorders, like completion percentage, yards, points, and not just Ravens records but NFL records. WOW what a game!

Truth be told, last week’s fourth quarter may have been the best fourth quarter in the history of the Ravens, and I missed it. That’s right, I fell asleep and woke up just as the Ravens were about to score in overtime. I was so mad at myself for being weak and not staying awake even if we were down nineteen points in the fourth quarter. “The spirit was willing but the flesh was weak.” After that game I think I can get little biblical. That game and win were just that momentous. I may never forgive myself.

The question moving forward is can we keep the momentum going, or will we have a let down against a very good Chargers team that comes to Baltimore this Sunday at 1:00? These nail biting games are adding up and can take a told on the team. How can they keep getting up for these games? I know that the fans at M&T will be ready because the Ravens are going to need the home field advantage. The Chargers are led by a second year QB Justin Herbert who has, in the last three games, thrown eleven touchdowns and zero interceptions. Herbert carved up a good Browns defense last week with almost four hundred yards passing and four touchdowns. Our defense gets Ferguson back, we will see how much he plays and if he is be able to make a difference. The Raven’s D needs to get big this week.

GO RAVENS!!!

Remember don’t bet your beer money on my picks since they are who we want to win not who we think will win.

Thursday Night 8:00

2-3 Eagles over 4-1 Buccaneers
The Eagles at home need to step it up and beat the Bucs because I can’t handle another season of Tom Brady love fest.

Sunday Morning 9:30 AM

0-5 Jaguars over 1-4 Dolphins
No need to get up early for this one, but if you’re up this may put you right back to sleep.

Sunday 1:00

4-1 RAVENS over 4-1 Chargers
We start another rushing streak this week, the Charger’s run defense is dead last in the NFL. The Browns clashed the Chargers for 230 yards rushing last week, I’m not saying we have the running game that the Browns have, but the Browns don’t have Lamar. We are going to need another big game out of Lamar because it’s going to be a shootout against Herbert. Last week the Browns had big rushing numbers coming from a few long runs, allowing Herbert to stay on the field to score points. The Ravens don’t run like that, we pound the ball with shorted runs putting together clock burning drives, keeping Herbert off the field. That’s how we beat Mahomes and the Chiefs. If we need to, Lamar can repeat Monday night and win the game.

This may sound strange but our defense only needs to keep us in the game and let the offense do the rest. I never thought I would ever say that, but this season it’s true. Hold on to your beer this could be another wild one.

GO RAVENS!!!

0-5 Lion over 3-2 Bengals
This game is in Detroit. The Lions have been so close to winning, they breakthrough against the Bengals and get their first win of the season.

4-1 Packers over 3-2 Bears
The Packers need to win this divisional game, could be a good one to record and watch later. We will play both of these teams later in the season.

2-3 Washington over 2-3 Chiefs
Washington is another team that has been so close to winning and could beat the Chiefs in Largo this week.

1-4 Giants over 4-1 Rams
Both NFC teams, rooting for the home team.

1-4 Texans over 1-4 Colts
Colt are at home and lose another close one.

3-2 Panthers over 2-3 Vikings
Not sure how the Panthers are doing it, but they keep winning games.

Sunday 4:00

5-0 Cardinals over 3-2 Browns
The Cardinals QB Kyler Murray has been on fire and will blaze the Browns secondary to stay a perfect 6-0.

3-2 Broncos over 3-2 Raiders
We hold the tie breaker over the Broncos, the Raiders not so much. The Raiders head coach John Gruden resigned this week over some not so nice emails, the team won’t respond to this very well.

4-1 Cowboys over 2-3 Patriots
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott will have no problem against the Patriots defense.

Sunday Night 8:00

2-3 Seahawks over 2-3 Steelers
The Seahawks will play their backup QB Geno Smith, let’s see if he takes advantage of the opportunity while Russell Wilson is out with a finger injury. Plus we don’t want the Steelers to win…. ever.

Monday Night 8:00

4-1 Bills vs 3-2 Titans.
I went around and around, up and down and just could not pick a team, so let’s root for a tie.

Enjoy the games with a cold drink! ( I already used a cuss word and two beers above, so I couldn’t say beer and keep a “G” rating)

GO RAVENS!!!

And that’s just The view From 151.

The Ravens beat a 3-0 Broncos team that had not faced a strong opponent until they played the Ravens. Denver’s defense held the Ravens to just over one hundred rushing yards (I will discuss this later) but had no answer trying to stop Lamar and our hodgepodge receiving corp. That’s right we won the game by throwing the ball. Lamar had over three hundred yards passing, only the second time in his career. The first time was 2019 week one in Miami when he threw the two long touchdown passes in the first quarter going on to win 59-10. Last week’s game ended on what some have called a bush league play, I say I loved it! We kept alive a streak of 100-yard rushing games (43, tying the 1970s Steelers) by running the ball for five yards instead of taking a knee that would have gone down in the record rooms as a two yard loss ending our streak. Vic Fangio Denver’s head coach was whining about the last play on Monday saying something about player safety. If Fangio wants to talk about player safety let’s just replay the game film and see what his defense did, such as the face masking non-call on LeVeon Bell and several late hits on Lamar. The best part of keeping the streak alive is that this week against a below average Colts run defense we could take the record from the Steelers.

Speaking about late hits on Lamar, during the play were he hit Hollywood for a touchdown, not only did Lamar get hit late but it was a hit around his knees, either one should have been called a roughing the passer penalty but didn’t. Although Lamar’s reaction was great, at first he signaled with disgust to the referee, then seeing it was a touchdown he turned to the Bronco defender and said how about that! I loved it! (there was a lot to love about this game)

If the Ravens can keep the momentum going on offense with the double threat of running and passing we will be a tough team to beat.

This week in Baltimore we have another Monday night game against the Colts. I’m not complaining (well maybe) about another groggy Tuesday.

This week starts a string of four home games with the bye week stuck in there somewhere. Playing the Colts, Chargers, Bengals, and Vikings-none of them scare me. We could be 7-1 after this stretch of games.

GO RAVENS!!!

Programing note: The Jets / Falcons game is in London this week.

Remember don’t bet your British Pounds on my picks because they are who we want to win not who we think will win.

Thursday Night 8:00

2-2 Seahawks over 3-1 Rams
Both NFC teams rooting for the home team
(Rams won 26-17)

Sunday 9:30AM

1-3 Falcons over 1-3 Jets
What…. the Jets got a win? Yes they did, beating the Titans last week, but lightening doesn’t strike twice in the same place. The Falcons will win in London.

Sunday 1:00

3-1 Packers over 3-1 Bengals
We need some separation in our division and the Packers are just the team to help us get that separation.
GO PACK GO!

3-1 Broncos over 1-3 Steelers
We don’t need any help getting separated from the Steelers-they are doing a fine job all by them selves. If the Broncos are for real they should have no problem beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

2-2 Washington over 2-2 Saints
The Saints just aren’t the same without Drew Brees.

1-3 Texans over 1-3 Patriots
Rooting for the home team.

3-1 Buccaneers over 1-3 Dolphins
Not rooting for Tom Brady, but against the Dolphins.

0-4 Lions vs 1-3 vikings
Both lousy NFC teams you pick’em

1-3 Eagles over 3-1 Panthers
Rooting for our Eagle fan friends.

0-4 Jaguars over 2-2 Titans
Let’s see if the Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer can stay out of the tabloids long enough to come up with a game plan.

Sunday 4:00

3-1 Chargers over 3-1 Browns
Based on how poorly Baker Mayfield played last week (that makes me smile) the Chargers should have no problem getting us more of the separation we need.

2-2 Bears over 3-1 Raiders
NFC over AFC

4-0 Cardinals over 2-2 49ers
Rooting for the home team

3-1 Cowboys over 1-3 Giants
The blind squirrel theory was correct last week with the Giants getting a win over the Saints.

Sunday Night 8:00

2-2 Chiefs over 3-1 Bills
This was a tough choice, but we beat the Chiefs and hold the tie breaker.

Monday Night 8:00

3-1 RAVENS over 1-3 Colts
That’s right more lost sleep with another primetime game for the Ravens. I have no doubt we will win this game, but I have no clue how we will do it. Running? Passing? With all the injured players we have had and an offensive line that’s put together with shoe strings and bubble gum we just find away to win. The coaches have done a great job of putting whoever is healthy on the field, with a little smoke and mirrors manage to score more points than the other team. The Colts QB has two sprained ankles and will play the game. This could be a long day for Carson Wentz. With our blitzing defense and his inability to move out of the pocket this could get ugly. Have the stretcher ready. The Ravens are favored by 7, go ahead and bet your British Pounds on this one the Ravens will win by 20.

GO RAVENS!!!

Enjoy the games starting at 9:30 knowing that the neighbors haven’t started complaining about your leaves blowing into their yards yet.

And that’s just The View From 151.

Never before has any man, woman, or child witnessed such a feat as we were privileged to be alive (barely) for. Our very own Raven Justin Tucker kicked the longest regulation field goal ever kicked in the history of the world. From this day forward it will be known as “The Kick”. The Kick that defied physics, no ball that hits the goal post crossbar at that trajectory has ever gone through to be good. The Kick that beat the Lions with no time remaining in the game. The Kick that had Baltimorians, large and small dancing in their living rooms, Ravens caves, and watering holes across the country. The Kick that will surely make Justin Tucker a first ballet Hall of Famer. Congratulations to Justin and thanks for the win!

Last week in Detroit did not deliver the dominating win that we expected but it was a win and that’s all that matters.

I have hired a EMT to watch the game with me and be on standby just in case we have another heart stopping ending this week in Denver.

The Ravens go on the road again this week to play the undefeated Denver Broncos. At first glance you say a team that is undefeated must be a good team, but look at the teams they have beaten: the 0-3 Jets, the 0-3 Giants, and the 0-4 Jaguars. That being said, the Broncos are not the Lions and we can’t expect to win if we make the mistakes that were made last week. Dropped passes, interceptions, and penalties can not be part of our game this week if we want to beat the Broncos. The Raven’s defense will have Brandon Williams, Justin Houston, and Justin Madubuike back in the line up this week.

That’s the View from 151.

GO RAVENS!!!

Don’t bet the mortgage on my picks since they are who we want to win not who we think will win.

Thursday night 8:00

(3-1) Bengals 24 (0-4) Jaguars 21
Not what we wanted.

Sunday 1:00

(1-2) Vikings over (2-1) Browns
The Vikings have a chance of winning at home.

(0-3) Jets over (2-1) Titans
Rooting for the home team.

(1-2) Eagles over (1-2) Chiefs
NFC over AFC, Fly Eagles Fly!

(2-1) Cowboys over (3-0) Panthers
This should be a great game, rooting for the home team.

(2-1) Saints over (0-3) Giants
Are the Giant on the clock yet?

(1-2) Bears over (0-3) Lions
The Lions will give the Giants a fight for that first overall draft pick. I can’t believe I’m taking about draft picks on week four.

(1-2) Texans over (2-1) Bills
This won’t be easy, in Buffalo.

(1-2) Dolphins over (0-3) Colts
We play the Colts next week on Monday night in Baltimore, and we want them looking at that first draft pick.

(1-2) Washington over (1-2 Falcons
Both NFC teams rooting for our Washington fan friends.

Sunday 4:00

(2-1) Ravens over (3-0) Broncos.
If I can say healthy we are as healthy as we have been all season. Getting three of our defensive starters off the COVID list and back in the lineup will help put pressure on an untested Broncos Offense and their resurrected QB Teddy Bridgewater. The Broncos are trying to compare Bridgewater to Lamar and that’s not going to happen. Denver may be undefeated but they have not faced the likes of Lamar. Von Miller won’t get four sacks this week like he did last week against the Jets. The Ravens will show the league that the Broncos at 3-0 are not for real.

GO RAVENS!!!

(2-1) Packers over (1-2) Steelers
Ben looks old, really old. And that’s a good thing.

(1-2) Seahawks over (2-1) 49ers
Both NFC teams

(3-0) Cardinals vs (3-0) Rams
Both NFC teams, You pick’em

Sunday 8:00

(2-1) Buccaneers over (1-2) Patriots
NFC over AFC the only reason we are rooting for Tom Brady.

Monday 8:00

(2-1) Chargers over (3-0) Raiders
We need the Raiders to lose

Enjoy the games knowing you may witness history.

GO RAVENS!!!

Two heart stopping games in a row, I can’t take much more of this. What happened to the games where Lamar sat on the bench in the fourth quarter with a 20 point lead? Although this last game did have a much better outcome than the first, it still had me chew through the arm of my easy chair (don’t worry I blamed it on the dog).What a great game! Finally beating Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, in front of a football starved home crowd in Baltimore. The Sunday night TV ratings where 20% higher than the Rams vs Bears game the week before. This is why the Ravens play so many primetime games.

How do you begin to break this game down? Well, of course you start with Lamar- not only did he play spectacularly (less two INTs) he makes the rest of the team play better. He makes our backup running backs look good, he makes our receivers better with the threat of scrambling out of the pocket preventing the opposing defense from doubling any of our receivers. Lamar even makes our defense better by dominating the time of possession, keeping them rested, and Mahomes off the field. The O-line played much better with a game plan of pulling guards confusing the Chief’s defense and leading the way for our run game. I don’t thing we can keep rolling this game plan out every week, but lets do it until the other teams stop it. The Ravens defense held Mahomes and the Chiefs offense scoreless in the fourth quarter. When was the last time that happened? Then there is the fumble Oweh caused to stop the Chiefs on what was going to be a game winning drive. THEN WE WENT FOR IT ON FOURTH DOWN IN OUR OWN END OF THE FIELD! I was so fired up with this win there was no way I was going to get any sleep. But well worth it to watch the Ravens beat the Chiefs in such exciting fashion.

The Ravens go to Detroit this week to play the winless 0-2 Lions at 1:00. This should be a game to look for Lamar on the bench in the fourth quarter. But it’s way too early in the season to take anything for granted and start thinking you know who the other teams are. The Lions have scored a lot of points and given up a lot of points. We can say the same for the Ravens but who have we played, two of the better offenses in the league. So lets just say the Ravens are not looking past the Lions and will win a road game in Detroit.

GO RAVENS!!!

Remember don’t bet the beer money on my picks since they are who we want to win not who we think will win.

Thursday Night 8:00

2-0 Panthers over 1-1 Texans
The Panthers beat the Texans 24-9. Thanks Panthers for starting week 3 off right.

Sunday 1:00

RAVENS over Lions
Thank God is not a night game!
Do you want the bad news or the good news? I’ll start this the bad news, the Ravens placed nose tackle Brandon Williams, defensive tackle Justin Madubuike and edge rushers Justin Houston and Jaylon Ferguson on the reserve/COVID-19 list and will not play this week. The good news is, it doesn’t matter we don’t need them, we’re playing the Lions. Baltimore’s defense is ranked 30th in points allowed. Look for our defense to correct the points allowed stat this week by not allowing a touchdown. The Lions statistically are not bad at stopping the run but they haven’t faced the Ravens. Lamar and the offense will pound the run game to set up the pass. The over/under for this game is 50.5, go with the over because the Ravens could score most of that.

GO RAVENS!!!

0-2 Colts over 1-1 Titans
After only running for 58 yards in week 1, Derrick Henry showed up with 185 yards last week. We don’t want to face Derrick Henry in the playoffs.

0-2 Falcons vs 0-2 Giants
Both winless NFC teams you pick’em

1-1 Chiefs over 1-1 Chargers
I don’t want anyone saying the Chiefs are not a good team, taking away from our great win last week.

1-1 Bengals over 1-1 Steelers
Rooting against the Steelers at home. Nothing makes me smile more than seeing the Steeler fans cry when they lose in Pittsburgh.

1-1 Bears over 1-1 Browns
See the Browns fan cry after a loss is a regular occurrence.

1-1 Saints over 1-1 Patriots
NFC over AFC

2-0 Cardinals over 0-2 Jaguars
Even though the Cardinal’s QB Kyler Murray takes attention away from Lamar and we don’t want that. Still NFC over AFC.

1-1 Washington over 1-1 Bills
NFC over AFC, I know I am asking for a lot, wanting Washington to win two weeks in a row.

Sunday 4:00

0-2 Jets over 2-0 Broncos
Speaking of asking for a lot, is it to much to ask for the 0-2 Jets to beat the 2-0 Broncos in Denver. We play in Denver next week.

1-1 Dolphins over 2-0 Raiders
It won’t be a good thing if the Raiders go 3-0.

1-1 Seahawks over 0-2 Vikings
The View’s readership is down one this week. Bonnie was our Seahawk fan that we rooted for. Bonnie always had something nice to say and inspired me to do better each week. RIP Bonnie we will miss you.

2-0 Rams over 2-0 Buccaneers
Both 2-0 NFC teams with the deciding factor being, we are rooting against Tom Brady.

Sunday Night 8:00

1-1 Packers over 2-0 49ers
Both NFC teams, The Packers need a road win.

Monday Night 8:00

1-1 Eagles vs 1-1 Cowboys
My pick is for a good game.

Enjoy the games with a smile, because life is to short to do something on a Sunday that doesn’t make you happy.

And that’s just The View From 151.

GO RAVENS!!!

Last week in Vegas the stage was set for Monday Night Football that was expected to be exciting, close scoring, hard hitting, flashy, and it did live up to the billing. Opening night for Allegiant Stadium was quite a star-studded spectacle with all the lights and flash Las Vegas can offer. First of all the new stadium is spectacular. The Raider’s black space ship shaped stadium has the local nickname of the Death Star from Star Wars. Just as a comparison, our M&T Bank Stadium cost $220 million dollars versus Allegiant Stadium costing $2 billion dollars, so there is no real comparison between the two but I would never give up the Ravens home we have grown to love. Among the many celebrities in attendance was Terrell Suggs who was the only one I was interested in, I could not tell you any of the others except Ice Cube who performed at halftime. The sound system was clear, the big screens were sharp, and the lighting was bright. Which brings me to a complaint about how the Raiders handled the music, sounds, and lights between plays. It was very obvious while the Ravens were on offense the loud music would play much later than it should, up to the point we were to the line of scrimmage and Lamar was barking calls. The worst was, and I only saw this once, they turned the lights out so the whole place was dark then turned the lights back on again just as the Ravens offense was coming to the line trying to start the play. The lights were so bright that your eyes had to adjust to the intense brightness. This had to be distracting to our players. I talked to a Ravens official who works on the field at our home games and she said that the music running late and the distracting lights are against the rules and the Raiders should be fined for this happening. I could chalk this up the a new system that needs to be worked out but it was quite obvious that this only happened when the Ravens were on offense. All in all, but for the outcome of the game, we had a great time in Vegas. The Bmore Around Town Purple parties and tailgate were fun. The Raider fans were not as bad as Steeler fans. I broke even in the casinos (everyone who goes to Vegas says that) and I enjoyed how we painted the town purple with all the Ravens fans who traveled to see the game. We all knew by the end of the season the Ravens would lose a couple road games, but I just did not want it to be the first game of the season. I could point to so many single plays that turned this game. Lamar’s two fumbles, The PI penalties against our defense late in the game, but the play that stands out as the pivotal moment of the game was with less than a minute to go in regulation we had the ball, on third and 4 to go, the Raiders had no timeouts left and we just needed to make a first down and we win the game. Well we all know what happened. All we hear is that injuries are part of the game, and the next man up stuff, but you can help think if we had just one of our injured running backs play we would get that first down and win the game. So I don’t want to hear any more about working around the injuries, when one of the starters is out it effects how well the team plays.

GO RAVENS!!!

So I have started a Go Fund Me page because the mortgage is due, I took my own advice and bet on the Ravens last week and I lied about how well I did in the casinos.

This week please don’t bet on my picks since they are who we want to win not who we think will win.

Thursday Night 8:15

1-1 Washington over 0-2 Giants
I am happy for our Washington fan friends. Hail to the ……Washingtons?

Sunday 1:00

1-0 Raiders over 1-0 Steelers
With all the hype about Josh Allen and the Bills projected to go to the Super Bowl they couldn’t beat the Steelers for us.

0-1 Bears over 1-0 Bengals
One more reason not to like the Vikings, they didn’t beat the Bengals last week.

1-0 Texans over 0-1 Browns
The only true good thing that happened last week was the Browns losing.

0-1 Jets over 0-1 Patriots
Both AFC teams are 0-1 and that’s a good thing. Rooting against the Patriots.

0-1 Jaguars over 1-0 Broncos
Both AFC teams rooting against the Broncos and along with half the league that has a better record than we do.

0-1 Bills over 1-0 Dolphins
I would like to thank the Dolphins for beating the Patriots last week.

1-0 Eagles over 1-0 49ers
Both NFC teams rooting for our Eagle fan friends.

1-0 Rams over 0-1 Colts
NFC over AFC

1-0 Panthers over 1-0 Saints
Both NFC teams rooting for the home team
The Saints beat the Packers 38 to 3 last week, the shocker of the week. Not sure what that tells us but I can tell you the Packers on the road were not ready for that game.

Sunday 4:00

1-0 Cardinals over 0-1 Vikings
Rooting against the Vikings.

0-1 Falcons over 1-0 Buccaneers
Both NFC teams rooting against Tom Brady

1-0 Seahawks over 0-1 Titans
NFC over AFC Titans did not look like a playoff team to me.

0-1 Cowboys over 1-0 Chargers
The Cowboys played hard against the Bucs last week while the Chargers barely beat Washington. Cowboys get a road win against the Chargers.

Sunday Night 8:00

0-1 RAVENS over 1-0 Chiefs
I would like to acknowledge (not thank) the Chiefs for beating the Browns last week.
The Ravens are back in Baltimore this week to play the only team Lamar has not beaten. We are 0-3 against the Chiefs with Lamar as the starting QB. I am starting to dislike Patrick Mahomes more than I do Tom Brady. But the losing stops this week at home were the fans will be loud (and in the stands) despite the Ravens injury report being longer than the new Biden spending proposal. With a carousel of running backs, wide receivers questionable, and an offensive line in disarray Lamar seems like the only man left standing to carry the offensive load. That being said Lamar fumbled the ball three times losing it twice last week on plays were he was trying to get an extra yard rather than sliding or just going down. Lamar needs to learn that there are plays where taking the chance of turning the ball over is not worth an extra yard or two. Containing Patrick Mahomes is a whole other story. I think we need to use some of the Raider’s tactics and play the stadium music late into the Chiefs offensive plays to amp up the crowd and cause a distraction. If it works it would be well worth the fines. I would be willing to pitch in. We can win this week but we need for the ball to bounce our way. We need to limit our penalties, win the turnover battle, limit the Chiefs to field goals not touchdowns, and run the ball to control the clock. We can do this if the ball can bounce our way just a couple of times.

GO RAVENS!!!

Monday Night 8:00

0-1 Packers over 0-1 Lions
Both teams are in the NFC North were a 0-1 record puts you in both first and last place in the division since no team in the NFC North won last week. The Packers need a win this week to make up for the terrible loss last week.

Enjoy the games knowing that even if you are carrying a heavy load there is a team behind you to help along the way.

And that’s just The View From 151.

GO RAVENS!!!

We are all waiting for the NFL season to begin like school kids anticipating the end of the school day bell to ring only to find out you have detention and can’t leave for another two hours. The Ravens complete running back corps of three starters JK Dobbins, Justice Hill, and Gus Edwards, will most likely miss the entire season with injuries. Tom Brady is still playing and won the season kickoff game against the Cowboys. CB Marcus Peters is out for the season. Our number one pick WR Rashod Bateman is on injured reserve (don’t get me started talking about the Ravens curse on first round wide receiver picks). So many questions. I can cut and paste from the last five seasons “What will the offensive line be like”. Lamar has had a different starting center every year of his career. Bradley Bozeman will start at center for the Ravens this season. He has not started at the center position since college. I guess it cant be any worse than last year.

I can’t believe I am starting the season with this pissed off attitude, maybe it’s from dealing with COVID the last eighteen months.

I just need to shake off and ignore the negative vibes and move on.

The Ravens defense is going to be great this year! Even with Marcus Peters injured we have a very deep, talented secondary. The D-line will be the run stopper it has been, and the pass rush has gotten better with the addition of veteran Justin Houston and rookie Odafe Oweh. But Derek Wolfe has not practice all week NO NO NO stop with the negative thoughts. Our defense is filled with young talent like Justin Madubuike, Patrick Queen, and Jaylon Ferguson.

Lamar has some heavy lifting to do this year to earn that huge contract next year, and I am excited to see how he does it. (How’s that for positive!)

Ravens vs Raiders in Las Vegas on Monday Night Football to open the new Allegiant Stadium for the first time with fans. I regret to inform the Raider fans that it won’t go well for them. (it’s okay to be negative if we talk about the other team) The Ravens have won the last five week one games and out scored the opponents something like 135 to 23. John Harbaugh and the coaches do a great job preparing for the first game. Lamar and the offense may not be ready for primetime, but our special teams and defense will be. The Ravens will win this game on turnovers and field goals.

GO RAVENS!!!

WHO TO ROOT FOR

Remember, don’t bet on my picks…. wait-what am I saying-we are in Vegas go ahead and lay that money on my picks because we have a positive attitude.

Thursday Night 8:15 (5:15 Vegas time)

Cowboys over Buccaneers
I’m ignoring the results of last night’s game.

Sunday

1:00 (10:00 AM Vegas time)

Bills over Steelers
I can’t believe I am rooting for the team that beat us in the playoffs last season, but we are rooting against the Steelers.

Vikings over Bengals
We don’t normally root for the Vikings, but we want the Bengals to lose.

Texans over Jaguars
Both AFC teams, rooting against the Jaguars because I still remember the loss in London.

Washington over Chargers
NFC over AFC, Rooting for our Washington fan friends.

Seahawks over Colts
If I still remember London don’t you know I still remember the Colts moving from Baltimore.

Panthers over Jets
NFC over AFC

Cardinals over Titans
NFC over AFC

Lions over 49ers
Both NFC teams rooting for the home team.

Eagles over Falcons
Joe Flacco is playing or should I say collecting a paycheck for the Eagles. The Eagles will start their second years QB Jalen Hurts.

4:00 (1:00 Vegas time)

Browns over Chiefs
I truly struggled over this pick, to pick the Browns goes against every fiber of my being. We play the Chiefs next week in Baltimore and we want them doubting themselves with a loss against the Browns. We can beat the Browns twice to make up for rooting for them this week.

Packers over Saints
The Packers are looking good to make a run against the Buccaneers. Rooting for our Packer fan friends.

Giants over Broncos
NFC over AFC

Dolphins vs Patriots
You pick’em, Both teams could be very good or very bad this season. That’s why they play the game.

Sunday Night 8:20 (5:20 Vegas time)

Rams over Bears
Both NFC teams, rooting for the home team.

Monday Night 8:15 (5:15 Vegas time)

RAVENS over Raiders
Las Vegas is going to be painted purple this weekend! The OOOOs during the National Anthem will be off-the-chart LOUD. Look for the Ravens flag in the end zone seats it could be me holding it up. This game has a Super bowl feel to it. The perfect storm, new stadium, week 1, and Monday Night Football, it doesn’t get any better then that to start the season.

The Ravens defense will play like a Vegas Headliner and steal the show with a Carr crushing performance. Derrick Carr, the Raiders QB, will be running for his life, he may have survived COVID but he won’t survive the Ravens pass rush. Justin Tucker will be in mid-season form and be as dependable as ever with a game winning field goal. Let’s sit back and let Lamar and the offense dazzle us like a Vegas Showgirls. (That may be a little corny but I needed to stick with a theme). The Ravens will keep the steak going by opening the season with a win!

GO RAVENS!!!

Enjoy the games with the optimism that a new season brings.

And that’s just The View from 151.

GO RAVENS!!!

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!!!

Lamar was the MVP of the league last year, now it’s time to prove it. The Ravens are back in the playoffs for the third straight year, we need to show the league we belong here. After the last two losing playoff appearances Lamar and the Ravens need to show they have matured as a team and prove to the world we can beat a playoff caliber team like the Titans. It won’t be easy facing the Tennessee Titans who we have lost to the last two times we have played them including last seasons playoff game. When I say lost to the Titans, I mean lost to RB Derrick Henry who has run through the Ravens defense like a wrecking ball though a paper bag. So, the pressure is not only on Lamar but on our defense as well to show we are a better team than we were last year and even better than we were week eleven when the Titans barely beat us in overtime.

The Ravens front office has built this team to stop the Derrick Henrys of the League, with the addition of Derrick Wolfe and Calais Campbell to our defensive line along with long time Raven Brandon Williams who anchors the starting D-line. I am excited to see this match up our D-line against Derrick (so called king) Henry. I don’t care what you are the king of, you aren’t running anywhere with Wolfe, Campbell, and Williams hanging on your back.

So, here at the View From 151 we pulled out all the stops and our entire expert analytics staff of three (meaning me and the two dogs who slept on the floor next to me the whole time while I worked on this) do a deep dive into the rankings of all the playoffs teams, and guess who we can up with as the best ranked team. I will give you three chances. OK I will shorten the suspense THE RAVENS. We weeded out all the peripheral stats like 3rd down, red zone, who wears what color shoes, and can up with the most important stat, how many points do you score virus how many points do you allow the other team to score. Bottom line if you score more points than your opponent you win the game. I know… before you start saying “statistics can be maneuvered in any direction to make a point” we took no polls, we eliminated all opinion, we eliminated the fact the house is all lit up purple and a Ravens flags flies high in front of it, and only used the year end rankings and truly the Ravens came out on top with the best points for and point against rankings. The numbers don’t lie, the Ravens are going to win the Super Bowl. At this point I’m not sure why we are even playing the games, since we know the Ravens are going to win it all. Baltimore start planning the virtual, socially distant parade. Although, this may give the new Mayor of Baltimore Brandon Scott a heart attack even just thinking about it.

Because the Ravens are in the playoffs and it doesn’t matter who wins or loses any of the other games the analytics department based on the numbers projected the winner of each game. Instead of the teams win loss record we have included the teams ranking.

GO RAVENS!!!

So go ahead and bet the rent (just kidding) on our picks. The lower the number the better the team ranking based on year end stats.

Saturday 1:00

(9.5) Colts vs (9) Bills
This game is in Buffalo in front of limited fans for the first time this season, because Covid doesn’t spread during the playoffs. The Bills win.

Saturday 4:40

(12) Rams vs (11.5) Seahawks
No fans in the stadium to see the Seahawks win.

Saturday 8:15

(5.5) Buccaneers vs (14.5) Washington
Washington at home with no fans in the stadium not due to COVID, but because no Washington fan wanted to see them lose to Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. Bucs win.

Sunday 1:00

(4.5) RAVENS vs (14) Titans
The Titans have the worst ranked defense out of all the playoff teams, combine this with Lamar and the Ravens running game coming in on a hot streak, that adds up to a Ravens win. Third time’s a charm. Lamar is 0-2 in the playoffs and needs to get that losing monkey off his back. In the last two playoff games Lamar has looked overwhelmed by the moment. Lamar has a better team around him this time and I hope he knows it’s not all on him to win this game. The entire team needs to play mistake free to win this game. The Ravens defense keeps Derrick Henry under one hundred yards rushing and we win this game. J K Dobbins and Gus Edwards both run for over one hundred yards and we win this game. Lamar has under twenty five pass attempts and throws no interceptions we win this game. The numbers don’t lie the Baltimore Ravens win this game!

GO RAVENS!!!

Sunday 4:40

(18) Bears vs (5) Saints
The Bears have the worst ranking facing the second best team. Three thousand Saints fans in the Dome will see their team win. Saints win.

Sunday 8:15

(17) Browns vs (12.5) Steelers
Some how I wish neither of these teams would win, or possibly the game could go into quadruple overtime so whoever wins will be too exhausted to play next week. I can’t believe I have to say this Steelers win. Also who the heck decided this was a prime time game?

A special shout out of thanks to the analytics crew Guinness and Jameson for all their hard work. We will see how well the staff did with their picks and review it next week.

Enjoy the games knowing the playoffs only come once a year and the Ravens are in it again.

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

GO RAVENS!!!

As we all gladly say goodbye or even good riddance to 2020 and welcome a new year 2021 that brings hope of a better time, there is still a lot of hard work to be done. We cannot let our guard down and need to keep our eye on the prize. This week the Ravens go to Cincinnati to face a Bengals team that has nothing to play for but pride. The Ravens have been a victim of this pride before. In 2017 I sat in section 151 on New Years Eve night during the coldest game ever played at M&T Bank Stadium with the Ravens in the same “win and in” situation. With only forty four seconds to go in the game, Ravens up by three points, the ball on the Ravens forty nine yard line, fourth and twelve to go, Andy Dalton throws a pass to Tyler Boyd catching the ball directly in front of me for a game winning touchdown. The Ravens were on their couches watching the playoffs instead of playing in them. That is not going to happen this season. Andy Dalton doesn’t play for the Bengals any more but, Tyler Boyd still does, so our work is not done.

We needed help last week to have a chance of getting in the playoffs after not getting any help the week before. I waited all day for the last game on Saturday, eager to see Las Vegas beat Miami who we needed to lose to get our spot in the wildcard hunt. I stayed up way past my bedtime to see the Raiders go ahead with twenty seconds in the game. Even I, Mr. Sixty Minutes, started to think if we win on Sunday we have a spot in the wildcard games. But wait, not so fast, only the Raiders could give up a thirty five yard completion that everyone on this green earth knew the Dolphins were going to try and add on a roughing the passer personal foul fifteen yards setting up, in the Raiders case, a game losing field goal. Miami winning didn’t help us, so on to the Sunday games where we need the Browns or Colts to lose. Remember we needed to swallow our pride and root for the Steelers and pray for a Christmas miracle hoping the Jets can beat the Browns. Well, I chalk it up to clean living both the Colts and Browns lost. So we win and we are in and we did last week easily beating the Giants. I do have to confess it truly took me several long showers to wash the Steeler stink off me.

The scene is set for another week seventeen showdown with the Bengals for the Ravens to get into the playoffs. Throughout NFL history, there are stories of the team who may been counted out during the season only to get hot and go on to win the Super Bowl. Can I say the Ravens are that hot team? Lamar and the Ravens offense are playing better than they have all season and our defense may be as healthy as they have been since the beginning of the year. I’m just saying.

GO RAVENS!!!

Remember don’t bet the money you saved not going out New Year’s Eve on my picks because they are who we want to win to help the Ravens not who we think will win.

All the games are on Sunday

Sunday 1:00

(10-5) Ravens over (4-10-1) Bengals
Remove QB Andy Dalton and insert second string QB Brandon Allen, who we don’t know much about, but he did win last week in Houston. The Ravens run game is back in peak form with a number one ranking facing the twenty fifth ranked Bengals run stopping defense. On paper we should have no problem beating the Bengals, but we all know better them to look past them.

GO RAVENS!!!

(12-3) Steelers over (10-5) Browns
If the Ravens win we don’t care above the outcome of this game. I just think it would be hilarious if the Browns don’t make the playoffs after being up two games over the Ravens. Last week I was watching the local Browns TV broadcast and all they were doing was showing pictures of the last season the Browns were in the playoffs (2002) assuming they were going to beat the Jets. No shower necessary since we are not officially rooting for the Steelers.

(12-3) Bills over (10-5) Dolphins
Just hedging our bet by rooting against the Dolphins.

(10-5) Buccaneers over (4-11) Falcons
Keeping the high draft picks in the NFC.

(5-10) Giants over (6-9) Cowboys
I just want to see if it’s truly possible to have a (6-10) team in the playoffs with a home game.

(2-13) Jets over (6-9) Patriots
Thank you Jets for beating the Browns last week.

(6-9) Vikings over (5-10) Lions
All about the draft picks.

Sunday 4:00

(11-4) Seahawks over (6-9) 49ers
Draft picks.

(9-6) Rams over (8-9) Cardinals
Draft picks.

(1-14) Jaguars over (10-5) Colts
More bet hedging.

(10-5) Titans over (4-11) Texans
We want the Titans to win the AFC East.

(5-10) Broncos over (7-8) Raiders
Another draft pick choice.

(6-9) Chargers over (14-1) Chiefs
The Chiefs have clinched the AFC number one seed.

(12-3) Packers over (8-7) Bears
With a win the Packers will clinch the NFC number one seed.
GO PACK GO!

(11-4) Saints over (5-10) Panthers
Draft pick game.

Sunday 8:00

(4-10-1) Eagles over (6-9) Washington
If both the Cowboys and Washington lose Washington wins the NFC East and will have a home playoff game with a (6-10) record.

Enjoy the games knowing the new year brings hope of being back in stadiums and ball parks with fans of all kinds, excluding Steeler fans of course.

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

GO RAVENS!!!