Iggy’s Ravens Report – January 14, 2013

Ravens:
Unbelievable! That’s the only word I can come up with. In the 4th longest game in NFL history, the Ravens enter the come 9+ points underdogs and beat the top seeded Broncos on their home frozen turf. In a game that the Broncos literally gave away by failing to take this game and the Ravens seriously, Flacco hit 3 homeruns, and Corey Graham picked off 2 Peyton Manning passes that are sure to give him nightmares for months to come. The 2nd rates Broncos defense dared Flacco to beat them on deep balls, and he did. With time outs left and Manning as their QB, the Broncos twice let the clock expire instead of trying to drive for points. Finally, in something that should NEVER happen, Jacoby Jones got behind the corners AND the safeties for a 70 yard touchdown with less then a minute left. How do you obtain a #1 seed, and make those kind of mistakes and errors? Simple: You didn’t take your opponent seriously. After all, you just pounded their rotting dead body in to their own home turf a month earlier. The path was paved, but they walked on the grass: The frozen grass.

Now, after excising the demons of Irsay and Elway, the Ravens find themselves 9+ points underdogs again, this time to nemesis New England, where we have to go deep into our souls to remove our own demons from last year: Lee Evans and Billy Cundiff. Their memory, and it will be brought up every day for the next week, is what stands in the way of our destiny. What will it be Ravens? You are where I never thought you would be all season long. Prove me wrong again and take us to the show!

PS – Who says Suggs is a gimp (2 sacks), and Ray Lewis (17 tackles) is washed up and should have retired well before this year? Keep calling them that, and you will find yourself gimpy and washed up… and, so help me, if Dan Dierdork is broadcasting the AFC Championship game… … … I better not finish that thought.

Orioles:
Orioles have resigned a few players to avoid arbitration, as is their custom, but still no splashes in the markets.

Alouettes
Placekicker William Dion of the University of Sherbrooke Vert et Or has signed a three-year contract with the Montreal Alouettes… The head coach is in the running for two NFL jobs, the GM is also said to be a candidate for another post south of the border and the assistant general manager has twice spoken to a new CFL entry… Montreal Alouettes defensive tackle J.P. Bekasiak announced his retirement on Friday after six seasons in the Canadian Football League, including the last four with Montreal… See http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/ for details.

Blast:
For the 2nd time this season, the Blast (12-4) dropped back to back road games to Chicago and Milwaukee, knocking them out of first place, half a game behind the Wave. Blast are on the road this week for 2 games in Syracuse, on Friday and Sunday.

Chesapeake Bayhawks: (Home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium)
The 2013 schedule has been released. The Hawks open on the Road in Rochester on April 27. See their website for full listings… The Blasts added five guys from the college ranks to their roster at Friday’s Collegiate draft, which included Jesse Bernhardt (D, Maryland), Kevin Cooper (M, Maryland), Dominic Sebastiani (M, Delaware), Adrian Sorichetti (A, Hofstra), and Jay Card (A, Hofstra).

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

Capitals (See website for more details):
Caps open shortened season at Tampa on Saturday.

Wizards (See website for more details):
In an unprecedented stroke of luck, the Wizards have won 3 in a row, but still boast the worst record in the league.

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

D.C.United (See website for more details):
DC to open at Houston on March 2 with their first home game a week later against Real Salt Lake. Game 3 will be in New York on March 16. Game times are TBD, and the rest of the schedule has yet to be released.


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 L 31-28 OT
Sunday, December 16, 2012 Denver Broncos 6-3 Overall, 5-0 Home 1:00 PM L 34-17
Sunday, December 23, 2012 New York Giants 3-1 Overall, 1-0 Home 4:25 PM W 33-14
Sunday, January 30, 2012 @Cincinnati Bengals 18-14 Overall, 7-9 Away 1:00 PM L 23-17
2012 Post Season
Date Opponent Record Time Result
Sunday, January 6 Indianapolis Colts 3-9 Overall, 3-4 Home 1:00 PM W 24-9
Saturday, January 12 @Denver Broncos 6-4 Overall, 1-3 Away 4:30 PM W 38-35 (2 OT)
Sunday, January 20 @New England Patriots 2-7 Overall, 1-5 Away 4:30 PM

Relevant Football Links


Iggy’s Predictions

  • Wild Card Weekend:
    • Denver over Baltimore (+8.5). Did you think things would get better playing on the road against a team that pounded us the first time around? Glad to be wrong again!
    • Niners over Packers (+3.5). SF beat them in GB to start the season; will do it again to end their season. Right on!
    • Seattle (+2.5) over Atlanta. Atlanta has fizzled to end the season, and Seattle is 7-1 as the underdog so far this year. Seattle should have, could have, and would have… if they just played an ounce more Defense, and had better clock management skills.
    • Pats over Houston (+9.5). Pats clubbed Houston like a baby seal during the regular season, but expect Houston to put up a bigger fight this time, but still lose. Houston died in December; we just found the body to prove it.
    • This Week:: 2-2 Straight Up, and 3-1 Against the Spread
    • Season:: 172-92 Straight Up, and 135-129 Against the Spread
  • Divisional Playoffs
    • Pats over Baltimore (+9.5), but take the points. Expect Ravens to put up a grand fight, but I am just not sure we can do this thing 2 weeks in a row.
    • SF over Atlanta (+3.5). Even Vegas put the fading Falcons as an underdog with the game in Atlanta!

Please send comments to Iggy at tealdragon.net