Iggy’s Ravens Report – November 13, 2012

Iggy’s Ravens Report – November 13, 2012


News & Commentary


News and Personal Thoughts:
College basketball has started with Maryland losing on the road to defending national champion Kentucky. Maryland started slow, but came out strong in the second half, and even took a brief lead late in the game, before losing by 3. Although a loss, it shows good potential to start the season.


Ravens:
In an effort to show we don’t always play down to the level of our opponents, the Ravens came out strong and kept pushing the envelope all game as they stretched the field, and proved opportunistic on special teams. Defense played tough, but still showed holes in the secondary. Despite the team record 55 points, the 3 take aways (to our 1 give away) plus the excess of Oakland penalties helped set the tone for the game. Unfortunately, an analysis of the stats showed that Oakland out-gained the Ravens, matched them in first downs, and won the time of possession battle. Rushing yards was very low against a team that allowed a rookie to gain 251 yards the week before. Although a lot can be said for a convincing win, the real second half of the season starts this Sunday night in pittsburgh (prime time, per usual) where a win will create a 2 game buffer in the division, and a loss will drop us to 2nd place. This must win game starts a nasty stretch of games that can make or break this season, despite our present #2 conference standing… all this drama, and THEY might not have Brainlessberger!

Orioles:
Rumors have associated Josh Hamilton with the Orioles and Mariners, but no real words there.

Alouettes
Both home teams (Toronto and Calgary) won this week, setting up the Division final of Toronto (10-9) at Montreal (11-7) and Calgary (13-6) at BC (13-5) for this Sunday, with the winners meeting in the Grey Cup on Sunday, November 25.

Blast:
The Blast defeated Chicago (1-3), 17-9 and Syracuse (1-2), 10-4, this weekend to move to 3-0 (tied with Missouri for league lead) with the final game of the home stand coming up on Friday night against nemesis Milwaukee (1-1). The Blast will follow that up with a trip to Rochester (1-1) on Saturday night.

Chesapeake Bayhawks: (Home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium)
Nothing to Report.

Charm:
The Charm will open the 2013 season at Jacksonville on May 25.

Capitals (See website for more details):
No progress has been made and no future meetings have been planned.

Wizards (See website for more details):
With a loss to Indiana on Saturday, the Wizards have moved to 0-5 on the season. Only Detroit (0-7) has a worse record presently.

Mystics (See website for more details):
Nothing to report.

D.C.United (See website for more details):
United (18-11-9) defeated New York (16-10-10) in the 2 game aggregate series, 2-1, but dropped the opener against Houston (16-10-11), 3-1. DC plays Houston on Sunday for the 2nd leg of the 2 game aggregate series, and must win by at least 2 goals to advance.


What do you want to see in the Ravens report? What should be scrapped? Actually, never mind. No one is reading this anyway so you probably won’t know the difference. Send an email to iggy at tealdragon.net. Thanks!

Schedule

2012 Preseason
Date Opponent Time Result
Thursday, August 9, 2012 @Atlanta Falcons 7:30 PM W 31-17
Friday, August 17, 2012 Detroit Lions 8:00 PM L 27-12
Thursday, August 23, 2012 Jacksonville Jaguars 7:30 PM W 48-17
Thursday, August 30, 2012 @Saint Louis Rams 8:00 PM L 31-17
2012 Regular Season
Date Opponent Record Time Result
Monday, September 10, 2012 Cincinnati Bengals 18-14 Overall, 11-6 Home 7:00 PM W 44-13
Sunday, September 16, 2012 @Philadelphia Eagles 1-1-1 Overall, 1-0-1 Away 1:00 PM L 24-23
Sunday, September 23, 2012 New England Patriots 1-7 Overall, 0-2 Home 8:20 PM W 31-30
Thursday, September 27, 2012 Cleveland Browns 19-7 Overall, 10-3 Home 8:20 PM W 23-16
Sunday, October 7, 2012 @Kansas City Chiefs 3-3 Overall, 2-0 Away 1:00 PM W 9-6
Sunday, October 14, 2012 Dallas Cowboys 3-0 Overall, 2-0 Home 1:00 PM W 31-29
Sunday, October 21, 2012 @Houston Texans 6-0 Overall, 3-0 Away 1:00 PM L 43-13
Sunday, November 4, 2012 @Cleveland Browns 19-7 Overall, 9-4 Away 1:00 PM W 25-15
Sunday, November 11, 2012 Oakland Raiders 6-1 Overall, 4-0 Home 1:00 PM W 55-20
Sunday, November 18, 2012 @pittsburgh steelers 14-21 Overall, 6-12 Away 8:20 PM
Sunday, November 25, 2012 @San Diego Chargers 4-4 Overall, 2-4 Away 4:05 PM
Sunday, December 2, 2012 pittsburgh steelers 14-21 Overall, 8-9 Home 4:25 PM
Sunday, December 9, 2012 @Washington Redskins 3-1 Overall, 2-1 Away 1:00 PM
Sunday, December 16, 2012 Denver Broncos 6-3 Overall, 5-0 Home 1:00 PM
Sunday, December 23, 2012 New York Giants 3-1 Overall, 1-0 Home 1:00 PM
Sunday, January 30, 2012 @Cincinnati Bengals 18-14 Overall, 7-9 Away 1:00 PM

Relevant Football Links

Iggy’s Predictions

  • Week 10:
    • Colts over Jags (+2.5). Colts appear to have Luck. Colts roll woeful Jags
    • Ravens over Raiders (+7.5), but take the points. I am still not sure that we have found ourselves. For 1 week, Ravens show what they can do. Now repeat.
    • Tampa over San Diego (+2.5). Tampa is the real deal this year, while San Diego is… well… San Diego. In doubt early, Tampa leverages turnovers for win.
    • Miami over Tennessee (+5.5). Fins have their own Rookie QB to brag about. Fins Flopped.
    • Pats over Bills (+10.5). Pats ran up the score in the first meeting, and that was in Buffalo. Bills were seconds away from a win, before the INT.
    • Broncos over Carolina (+3.5). Something tells me I should take Carolina again, but I’ll stick to the more reliable Manning. Manning clubbed them like a baby panther.
    • Giants over Cincinnati (+4.5). Giants may have struggled against pittsburgh, but they will find themselves this week against another Bengal team that has failed to meet expectations. Giants like mighty small these days.
    • Minnesota (+2.5) over Detroit. Minnesota will look to find that something special that had them off to a great start that has since fizzled, plus they are at home. Vikings are tops of the mediocre teams.
    • Falcons over Saints (+2.5). I also get the feeling that this could be their first loss of the season. Should have gone with the gut.
    • Seattle over Jets (+6.5), but take the points. This was a difficult pick with the erratic Jets, but at least I am sure that Seattle will win at home. Jets spent all fuel getting to Seattle… then were sleepless.
    • Dallas over Philly (+1.5). Two teams going no where. Flip a coin. I did. Vick out with concussion, but that didn’t really matter, now did it?
    • Niners over Rams (+11.5), but take the points. Niners might cover that spread, but Rams are 5-3 ATS, with 2 overturns. The rare tie creates confusion.
    • Houston (+1.5) over Bears. Texans have 12th ranks Offense and 3rd ranked Defense. Bears have 25th offense and 6th rank defense. Your call: Who’d you pick? Texans are best in the NFL, methinks!
    • squealers over KC (+12.5). Squealer fans always say that the Ravens fans whine about the refs, but I heard from at least 2 squealer fans last week about the horrible officiating. Can we make them whine some more, please? It made me feel good. A missed opportunity for KC.
    • This Week:: 10-4 Straight Up, and 7-7 Against the Spread
    • Season:: 92-54 Straight Up, and 74-72 Against the Spread
  • Week 11
    • Miami (+1.5) over Buffalo. Don’t care if this is in Buffalo, Miami will rebound from last week’s debacle.
    • Green Bay over Detroit (+3.5). Rogers is back, and Detroit still stinks.
    • Falcons over Arizona (+9.5), but take the points. Atlanta hasn’t really blown out anyone this season.
    • Tampa over Carolina (+1.5). In Carolina gave me pause, but Tampa has consistently done better and 1.5 points is not enough to sway me.
    • Dallas over Cleveland (+7.5), but take the points. Cleveland is turning a corner, but what lies ahead remains to be seen.
    • Washington over Philadelphia (+3.5). Philly in a world of hurt.
    • Rams over Jets (+3.5). Greatest show on Turf? Not this year, but Jets may make them look that way.
    • Cincinnati over KC (+3.5). KC kills themselves, and their opponents clean up the scraps.
    • Houston over Jax (+15.5). Houston won by 20 in Jax earlier this season. At home… this could get real ugly.
    • Saints over Raiders (+4.5). I usually favor the West Coast team in this kind of match-up, but I saw Oakland play last weekend.
    • Pats over Colts (+9.5), but take the points. Colts are 4-2 as the underdog this season, and Pats aren’t invincible.
    • Denver over SD (+7.5), but take the points. Gut-shot pick of the week.
    • stealers over Ravens (+3.5), but take the points. This is almost always a dangerously close game, and this will be no different.
    • Niners over Bears (+4.5), but take the points. Tough call, and SF can really capitalize on a weak Bears Offense. Flip a coin for the ATS pick, but straight up, it’s all SF.
  • MLS
    • Knockout Round (1-1)
    • Conference Semifinals (1-3)
      • KC over Houston. KC had the best record in the conference for a reason, although Houston won the regular season match-ups, 1-0-2. Houston loses 2nd game, but wins the series.
      • DC over NY. Season series was tied 1-1-1. DC has the home field for game 2. DC Wins game 2, and the series
      • SJ over LA. San Jose had the best record in the league, and won the season series 2-0-1. LA wins game 2 by 2 to win the series.
      • Salt Lake over Seattle. Real Salt Lake won the season series 1-0-2. Seattle wins game two to take the series.
    • Conference Finals
      • Houston over DC. Houston won 2 of 3 regular season match-ups, and despite their 5th seed in the playoffs, they are the hottest team right now.
      • Seattle over LA. Seattle also won 2 of 3 regular season match-ups.

Please send comments to Iggy at tealdragon.net