Ravens:
In a wild and crazy Thanksgiving Day Game, the Ravens held on to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers despite the Steeler Head Coach Mike Tomlin interfering with Jacoby Jones in what could have been a game sealing touchdown. Furthermore, if the soon-to-be-demoted refereeing crew had flagged the incident, we could have been AWARDED a game sealing touchdown. But, alas, they missed another good game, and Mike Tomlin is set to endure a hefty fine from the league in what could be a major statement penalty by the league, looking to crack down on sideline interference problems. The Ravens red zone woes continued as the had to settle for 5 field goals, and Ray Rice’s temper got the best of him, almost costing us one of those FGs. All in all, a typical Ravens/Steelers game.
Now, with that win, the Ravens are poised to be the 6th and final seed in the playoffs. Unfortunately, there are 4 more regular season games left including the final 3 against division leaders. Every game is a must win from here on out, which actually started with the Jets game. Formula is simple: Win and we are in. Execution might be more complicated than that. First things first, the Ravens host the Vikings in what looks to be a dreary day with all sorts of precipitation possible. This game cannot be overlooked, nor can Adrian Peterson who can single handedly destroy any team.
Orioles:
Orioles continued tinkering with their lineup. The biggest news is the trade of Jim Johnson to Oakland for a minor league and a player to be named later. Johnson looked to score big in arbitration, and the move likely saved the club $10M on a player who lead the league in Blown Saves last year.
Alouettes
In a recent poll, 40% of Canadians surveyed said they do not want the NFL in Canada, while another 41% said they would only approve the NFL in Canada if it could operate side by side with the CFL. The CFL holds a slightly higher popularity than the NFL in Canada, with a substantial portion of the fan base in common.
Blast:
Blast next game is in Milwaukee on Saturday as they look to avenge their 8-0 loss to the wave on November 23.
Chesapeake Bayhawks: (Home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium)
2014 Schedule has been released… The Bayhawks have acquired MLL standout Joe Walters in a blockbuster trade with Florida Launch, Major League Lacrosse’s newest team. Florida will receive three-time MLL Champion Casey Powell. The Bayhawks also receive the 21st overall selection in
the 2014 Collegiate Draft, while the Launch get the 10th selection in the Collegiate Draft and the eighth pick in the 2014 Supplemental Draft.
Charm:
Nothing to Report.
Capitals (See website for more details):
The Caps have won 2 in a row to stay in 2nd place within the division, 7 points behind the evil penguins.
Wizards (See website for more details):
The Wizards (9-9), have won more in a row, which is now good enough for 2nd place in the division, and, ahem, 3rd best record in the conference!?!
Mystics (See website for more details):
Nothing to report.
D.C.United (See website for more details):
The United are facing another challenge in the city of DC, who is negotiating for a new 20,000 seat soccer stadium several blocks from the nationals stadium. The DC City council has missed 3 deadlines so far, and looks to default on a December 31st building plan date. Hopes to move the team to Baltimore were squashed when results of the Maryland Stadium Authority’s feasibility study failed to recommend a soccer complex south of Camden Yards which I was all in favor of, but nobody asked me.
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
| 2013 Preseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Time | Result | |
| Th, Aug 8 | @Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 7:30 PM | W 44-16 | |
| Th, Aug 15 | Atlanta Falcons | 7:30 PM | W 27-23 | |
| Th, Aug 22 | Carolina Panthers | 8:00 PM | L 34-27 | |
| Th, Aug 29 | @Saint Louis Rams | 8:00 PM | L 24-21 | |
| 2013 Regular Season | ||||
| Date | Opponent | Record | Time | Result |
| Th, Sep 5 | @Denver Broncos | 7-4 Overall 2-3 Away |
8:30 PM | L 49-27 |
| Su, Sep 15 | Cleveland Browns | 21-7 Overall 11-3 Home |
1:00 PM | W 14-6 |
| Su, Sep 22 | Houston Texans | 6-1 Overall 3-0 Home |
1:00 PM | W 30-9 |
| Su, Sep 29 | @Buffalo Bills | 3-2 Overall 0-1 Away |
1:00 PM | L 23-20 |
| Su, Oct 6 | @Miami Dolphins | 5-5 Overall 3-4 Away |
1:00 PM | W 26-23 |
| Su, Oct 13 | Green Bay Packers | 1-3 Overall 1-0 Home |
1:00 PM | L 19-17 |
| Su, Oct 20 | @pittsburgh steelers | 15-22 Overall 7-12 Away |
4:25 PM | L 19-16 |
| Su, Nov 3 | @Cleveland Browns | 22-7 Overall 10-4 Away |
4:25 PM | L 24-18 |
| Su, Nov 10 | Cincinnati Bengals | 19-15 Overall 12-5 Home |
1:00 PM | W 20-17 OT |
| Su, Nov 17 | @Chicago Bears | 2-2 Overall 0-2 Away |
1:00 PM | L 23-20 OT |
| Su, Nov 24 | New York Jets | 7-1 Overall 5-0 Home |
1:00 PM | W 19-3 |
| Th, Nov 28 | pittsburgh steelers | 15-23 Overall 8-10 Home |
8:30 PM | W 22-20 |
| Su, Dec 8 | Minnesota Vikings | 2-2 Overall 2-1 Home |
1:00 PM | |
| M, Dec 16 | @Detroit Lions | 2-1 Overall 0-1 Away |
8:40 PM | |
| Su, Dec 22 | New England Patriots | 3-7 Overall 1-2 Home |
8:30 PM | |
| Su, Dec 29 | @Cincinnati Bengals | 20-15 Overall 7-10 Away |
1:00 PM | |
Relevant Football Links
- NFL: Tie Breaking Procedures
- Johnny Road Trip NFL Schedules 2010-2017
- PrintYourBrackets.com Good source of printable team schedules
- NFL Rule Book
- Spotrac.com Awesome source of player contracts and impact on salary cap
Iggy’s Predictions
“Past performance does not guarantee future success, but it sure is the way to bet!”
- NFL Week 13:
- Lions over Packers (+6.5). Still staying away from Green Bay without Rodgers. Good move, as the Lions put up 40 points.
- Dallas over Oakland (+9.5), but take the points. Raiders have covered twice this season already, and that many points is begging for it to happen again. Oakland took an early lead, only to squander it.
- Baltimore over Pittsburgh (+3.5), but take the points. Almost every game is within a score. Despite a double digit lead, Ravens win on a failed 2-point conversion.
- Carolina over Tampa (+8.5), but take the points. Carolina has been shaky lately and Tampa is on a 3 game win streak. Carolina crushes Tampa; taking points against that defense was a bad idea.
- Cleveland over Jacksonville (+6.5), but take the points. Campbell left last game with concussion, and staring QB is up in the air right now. Cleveland loses QB again to injury; a 4th QB signed for next week
- Indianapolis over Tennessee (+4.5). Colts won by 3 points 2 weeks ago in Tennessee; should do better at home. Indy wins, but still struggles without Wayne.
- Pats over Houston (+7.5). Houston is now tied for worse record in NFL. Houston brings A game, but loses and accused NE of cheating.
- Chicago (+0.5) over Minnesota. Vikings are one dimensional. Minnesota went for a 2nd tie in a row, but posted the instead.
- Miami (+1.5) over Jets. After having played both teams, I think the Fins are the better team. Jets finally bench Geno Smith, but say he will start next week.
- Philadelphia over Arizona (+3.5), but take the points. Eagles struggle at home. Arizona stages late comeback, but not enough to win.
- Buffalo over Atlanta (+3.5). Falcons are going no where faster. A back and forth game went to OT. Nobody noticed.
- Niners over Rams (+8.5). Niners won 35-11 in Saint Louis earlier this season. SF wins easily by 10.
- Denver over KC (+3.5). Broncos will look to regain positioning after debacle in New England. Denver wins by 7 in tough divisional game, takes choke hold on AFC West.
- San Diego over Cincinnati (+1.5). West Coast twi-light zone. Cincinnati may not go into yearly collapse after all.
- Giants over Washington (+1.5). Road team seems to have edge in NFC East. Washington goes up by 14, and then blows it again.
- Seattle over Saints (+5.5). Although Seattle has failed to cover 3 times this season, but usually do really well at home. Seattle Stomps Saints.
- Last Week:: 12-4 Straight Up, and 11-5 Against the Spread
- Season:: 120-72 Straight Up, and 91-101 Against the Spread
- NFL Week 14:
- Houston over Jax (+3.5), but take the points. Houston is 0-6 as the favorite this season, but nobody will watch this game with no playoff implications.
- BALTIMORE over Vikings (+6.5), but take the points. Our games are rarely more than a score difference.
- Bengals over Colts (+5.5), but take the points. Colts are 3-1 as the dog this season, and the result could mean a lot for playoff positioning if current standings hold.
- Pats over Browns (+12.5). Browns hire 4th QB off the street to backup, and possibly start after 2nd QB is concussed in 2 weeks.
- Oakland (+2.5) over Jets. Jets can barely move the ball, let alone score.
- Packers over Falcons (+6.5), but take the points. I have no idea on this game really. Still waiting on weather Rodgers will play, so I went with the home team, but took the points assuming Rodgers is out.
- Detroit (+2.5) over Eagles. Eagles have 2 wins at home, and are 2-5 as the favorite.
- steelers over Fins (+3.5), but take the points. Both teams are hoping to steal a wild card spot, and the steelers are severly hurting on the front line after the Ravens Game.
- Buffalo (+2.5) over Tampa. Bills look to re-enter the playoff race.
- Chiefs over skins (+3.5). Chiefs to snap 3 game losing streak in a big way.
- Denver over Tennessee (+12.5). That’s a lot of points, but Denver should cover easily by halftime.
- Arizona over Rams (+6.5). Arizona is 4-0 as the Favorite, and the Rams are 3-6 as the underdog.
- San Diego over Giants (+3.5). Neither team is inspiring. I went with the home team with the Giants traveling to the West Coast Twi-light zone (of course that strategy didn’t work for me last week when Cincinnati visited).
- Seattle (+2.5) over Niners. Niners are 8-2 as the favorite, but the Hawks crushed them like a tin can in the first meeting.
- Carolina (+3.5) over Saints. Carolina has the D in this battle for the division lead.
- Dallas over Chicago (+0.5). Dallas is pushing for a division title, while Chicago is fading.
Please send comments to Iggy at tealdragon.net