Iggy’s Ravens Report – December 4, 2012

Iggy’s Ravens Report – December 4, 2012


News & Commentary


News and Personal Thoughts:
Can’t think after Sunday.


Ravens:
In the worst loss of the season, the Ravens loss to third string quarterback Charlie Batch, failing to lock up a playoff spot, and, worse yet, failing to push the stealers out of the 6th playoff spot giving them renewed hope, after their demoralizing loss to Cleveland last week. As it has plagued us all season, the front line failed to open up holes and protect Flacco, the defensive front line failed to put sufficient pressure on the quarterback, which then exposed the holes in our secondary, which were more glaring on Sunday then they have been all season. Play calling was once again horrible, as we failed to leverage Rice when we needed him the most. On a nationally televised game, we not only showed the country we are not an elite team, but truly the benefactors of a soft early schedule. If you think this is bad, just wait. With RG3, and the Manning brothers on the schedule, we may be hard pressed to win the 2 more games required to clinch up the division, and a home playoff game, never mind the first round bye. Washington is a trap game, and we can’t get in to a shoot out with Griffin. Last time I checked, he was among the league leaders in completion percentage, and can really do a number on us if we are not prepared… and to add insult to injury, Suggs has a torn biceps, but plans to play through it, further neutralizing his effectiveness.

Orioles:
O’s are still looking for a heavy bat to add, with Josh Hamilton’s name still in the mix. But all has been quiet at the warehouse lately and winter meetings have started. With an excess of young pitching now, the O’s could even be trading away some of our young talent, which makes me nervous.

Alouettes
Nothing to report.

Blast:
The Blast were off this weekend, and will face Wichita at home on Friday.

Chesapeake Bayhawks: (Home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium)
MLL draft set for January 11 in Philadelphia at the US Lacrosse National Convention. Admission is free, and the keynote speaker before the draft is Dick Vermeil.

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

Capitals (See website for more details):
Players/Owners meeting to take place on Tuesday, but the consensus is that the sides are too far apart to reach an agreement, and most of the people in the know believe the 2012-13 season will be scrapped.

Wizards (See website for more details):
After 12 straight losses, the Wizards tried blowing a double digit lead against Portland, but miracuously held on for the win. They followed that up by getting pounded by the Knicks.

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

D.C.United (See website for more details):
LA defeats Houston, 3-1 for the MLS Cup.


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 W 13-10
Sunday, November 25, 2012 @San Diego Chargers 4-4 Overall, 2-4 Away 4:05 PM W 16-13 OT
Sunday, December 2, 2012 pittsburgh steelers 15-21 Overall, 8-9 Home 4:25 PM L 23-20
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 13:
    • Saints (+3.5) over Falcons. This may be in Atlanta, but I still say they are living on borrowed time. Saints got egged at the airport, and Brees never recovered from that trauma.
    • Bears over Seattle (+4.5). Bears D to dominate again as Seattle’s road woes continue. Seattle apparently is awesome against out of division foes… but 0-for the division so far
    • Houston over Tennessee (+5.5). 10 days off should be enough to recover from back-to-back OT games only 4 days apart. 24-10 was a respectable win. Not too flashy, but effective.
    • Pats over Miami (+7.5), but take the points. Pats won’t run up the score this week. Fins kick a 3 with a minute left, and hoped for the onside kick. Didn’t happen.
    • Buffalo over Jags (+6.5), but take the points. Two teams going nowhere should prove to be a close game. Bills destroyed Jags.
    • Indy (+4.5) over Detroit. Still haven’t figured out why they are favoring Detroit. Must be the Suh factor. Took a TD with no time left, but Colts still have Luck.
    • KC (+2.5) over Carolina. KC D to show itself, and maybe even produce some offense. Cam Newton has banner day, but KC does enough to win the game.
    • Packers over Minnesota (+8.5), but take the points. GB is sub-.500 against the spread this season. Looked like MN was going to cover, but GB got so separation late in the game.
    • Niners over Rams (+7.5), but take the points. These 2 tied only a few weeks ago, and this game is in StL. Rams use a safety and defensive TD to stay in the game, win in OT.
    • Jets over Zona (+4.5) but take the points. Would the real Arizona please stand up? Anyone? Beuller? Jets barely win, as Sanchez is benched.
    • Denver over Tampa (+6.5). This could actually be a very good game. It was one of my hardest calls of the week. Heads Denver, Tails Tampa… and once again for the points. Denver kept it close for a bit, but 2 TDs in less than a minute put Tampa in catchup mode.
    • Baltimore over stealers (+4.5), but take the points. It’s been a long time that these 2 teams haven’t finished a game with more than a score separating them regardless of whether or not Roethlisberger plays. %$*(#*(*&@%(^&*!%(^%
    • Bengals over Chargers (+1.5). I’ve seen what SD has to offer, and Cincy should be able to handle them. …and they did.
    • Cleveland (+0.5) over Oakland. Raiders are 0-3 as the favorite, and the Browns are 6-4 as the dog. Browns find a way to win on the left coast, holding off a late Raider comeback attempt.
    • Dallas over Philly (+8.5), but take the points. Too many points to give up in an NFC divisional matchup. Philly could have won… but then they returned to form.
    • Skins (+2.5) over Giants. Look for a shoot out as neither team is particularly strong on D.
    • This Week:: 0-0 Straight Up, and 0-0 Against the Spread
    • Season:: 114-62 Straight Up, and 93-83 Against the Spread
  • Week 14
    • Denver over Oakland (+10.5). Those points were tempting, but Oakland’s performance thus far is not.
    • Washington over Ravens (+2.5). Griffin makes me nervous, especially with the wide open guys the stealers got on us.
    • Cincy over Dallas (+2.5). Dallas is a pretender, and the Bengals are coming on strong, looking for a playoff spot.
    • Buffalo over Rams (+3.5), but take the points. Rams are 8-3 as the dog, and have covered 3 times so far, but it is in Buffalo…
    • Tampa over Philly (+7.5). Philly can’t even cover for the most part.
    • Atlanta over Carolina (+3.5). Could be close, but not that close.
    • Cleveland over KC (+5.5), but take the points. I predict a very close game.
    • stealers over Chargers (+4). Chargers are toast.
    • Indy over Tennessee (+5.5). Indy back at home, and looking for a playoff spot.
    • Jags (+2.5) over Jets. Will anyone pick the Jets after last week’s performance? This game is in Jacksonville.
    • Bears over Vikings (+2.5). Chicago is 6-3 as the Favorite and Minnesota is 3-4 as the dog.
    • Niners over Fins (+10.5), but take the points. Miami is 7-2 as the underdog this season, and has covered 3 times. 10+ points looks like another good opportunity to at least cover.
    • Seattle over Zona (+10.5), but take the points. Cards are 5-3 as the underdog, but this game is in Seattle.
    • Giants over Saints (+5.5), but take the points. Which Giant team will show up? Which Saints team will show up? I flipped a coin. Really!
    • Packers over Lions (+6.5). Green Bay is hunting for another division title, and the Lions just can’t seem to finish games.
    • Houston (+3.5) over NE. People keep underestimating Houston but they are the real deal.
  • MLS (3-6)
    • Knockout Round (1-1)
    • Conference Semifinals (1-3)
    • Conference Finals (1-1)
    • MLS Cup (0-1)
      • Houston over LA. Houston won the regular season matchup 2-1, and they are the hottest team in the playoffs, after sneaking in with the last seed. I think I should stick to forecasting Football…

Please send comments to Iggy at tealdragon.net