Iggy’s Baltimore Sports Report – December 7, 2016 (Pearl Harbor Day)

Ravens:
In the first “complete” game in almost 2 years, the Ravens demolished the Fins. It was quite clear that the scouting report on Miami indicated that the zone coverage schemes had lots of seams, and Flacco exploited them as we pushed the passing game hard, to set up the occasional run play. The hurry-up (relatively speaking) offense puts Joe in a more comfortable zone, and wore out the Miami defense throughout the game.

Bigger question, can this work Monday night against the Pats. Answer is Yes, it can, and it will have it. Running in unfamiliar territory, the Ravens will need to outpace the Patriots in a shoot out. Tom Brady (who is no Ryan Tannehill), will torch our secondary like there is no tomorrow, and they will carve out lunch chunks of real estate by dinky passes. This could be a long night, but with the extra preparation, we could make a decent game of it.

Looking at the playoff picture, the Ravens advertised “toughest remaining schedule in the NFL,” and we need to win 3 of the final 4 games to take the division, but 2 of those wins have to be against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. New England is currently a tie-breaker behind Oakland for top seed. This game means something to both teams, but hopefully it means more to us.

Orioles:
Rumors of Trumbo negotiations have yet to turn a deal. O’s seem to be ok with their 6 starting pitchers, and are talking about extending Tillman, who has 1 year left. Some rumors about alternative RF candidates are just that, while the pressure Trumbo to return. Catcher is the other spot open, and I still expect them to re-sign Matt Wieters to a 2 year deal. Chance Sisco is not ready for the MLB, and Caleb Joseph is a failure at the plate.

Alouettes
Nothing to report.

Blast (MASL):
Blast defeat Florida 5-1 and move to 3-1 on the season. 1.5 games up on the rest of the division, and 0.5 games behind the best records in the league.

Chesapeake Bayhawks: (Home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium)
Sacramento to Host 2017 MLL All-Star Game.

Capitals (See website for more details):
Caps (14-7-3) have dropped to 5th place, 4 points back.

Wizards (See website for more details):
Wizards (7-13) are now tied as the 8th worst record in the NBA. Wall scored 52 last game, and we still lost. Teamwork anyone?

D.C.United (See website for more details):
#3 Toronto outscored #5 Montreal (Eastern Conference) 5-2 in the 2nd leg, to take the series 7-5 and will face Seattle (Western) on December 10th 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!

Relevant Football Links

Iggy’s Predictions


“Past performance does not guarantee future success, but it sure is the way to bet!”

  • Week 13:
    • Dallas over @Vikings (+3.5). Dallas looks unstoppable these days. Dallas wins by 2.
    • @Ravens over Fins (+3.5), but take the points. You can kiss your fingernails goodbye. Win big, baby!
    • Denver over @Jaguars (+4.5). Jags are 4-6 as the underdog. Broncos win 20-10.
    • @Falcons over Chefs (+3.5), but take the points. Close game down to the end. KC scores pick-2 to swing the game in the final minutes.
    • @GB over Houston (+6.5), but take the points. Houston may be 0-3 as the underdog, but Green Bay has failed to cover 3x. Packers win by 8 and cover.
    • Eagles over @Bengals (+1.5). After what I saw, Eagles show roll them. Bengals got medieval on those birds.
    • @Saints over Lions (+5.5), but take the points. Lions are 4-1 as the underdog. Detroit wins by 2 scores.
    • Niners (+1.5) over @Bears. SF has covered 3 straight games. Niners given up.
    • @Pats over Rams (+13.5), but take the points. Pats have failed to cover 2 straight. NE wins by 16.
    • Bills (+3.5) over @Raiders. Oakland is 2-4 as the favorite, and Bills are 5-3 as the underdog. Raiders overcome big deficient, win by 14.
    • Bucs (+3.5) over @Chargers. Tampa on the rise. Bucs win by 7.
    • Skins (+2.5) over @Cards. Arizona is 3-5 as the favorite, while skins are 5-2 as the dog. Arizona takes it with the home field.
    • @Squealors over Midgets (+5.5), but take the points. “Them” are 6-3 as the favorite. Midgets let me down.
    • @Hawks over Panthers (+6.5), but take the points. Panthers to keep it close, but lose due to a bad kicker again. Seattle 3-6 as the favorite (failing to cover 3x) Seattle wins BIG.
    • Indy over @Jets (+1.5). Jets are 2-5 as the underdog. Jet failed to show, and it was a home game.
    • This Week: 9-6 SU, 5-10 ATS
    • This Season: 109-81-2 SU, 88-104 ATS
  • Week 14:
    • Raiders (+3.5) over @Chefs. Raiders are 5-0 as the underdog.
    • Denver (+0.5) over @Titans. Denver 3-1 as the underdog.
    • San Diego (+1.5) over @Carolina. Chargers are 5-2 as the dog, while Panthers are 3-7 as the favorite.
    • @Colts over Houston (+6.5). Despite losing 26-23 in Houston earlier this season, the Colts are 4-2 as the favorite and the Texans are 0-4 as the dog; and the Colts are coming off a huge momentum building win.
    • Bengals over @Browns (+5.5), but take the points. Bengals won by 2 scores earlier in the season, but Browns want to get that first win at home to avoid becoming the 2nd 0-16 team.
    • squealors over @Bills (+1.5). Squealers are 7-3 as the favorite, although both teams are fighting for playoff spots. Go Bills!
    • @Miami over Cards (+0.5). Despite their collapse last week, Fins are 5-1 at home, while Cards are 1-4 on the road.
    • @Lions over Bears (+7.5). Detroit is 4-2 as the favorite.
    • Vikings over @Jags (+3.5). Jags are 4-7 ATS.
    • Saints (+2.5) over @Tampa. Saints are 6-3, covering 3 times as the underdog, while Tampa is only 2-2 as the favorite.
    • Skins over @Eagles (+1.5). Eagles rapidly sinking in a division that used to have all 4 teams .500 or better.
    • @Niners over Jets (+2.5). With Jets 2-6 as the underdog, I am going with the home team in the cross country match-up.
    • @Hawks (+2.5) over Packers. Pack are 2-7 as the favorite, and Seattle is at home.
    • Falcons over Rams (+6.5), but take the points. This game could go either way with both teams doing poorly against the spread.
    • Boys over @Giants (+3.5). Dallas 5-2 ATS, compared to 1-2 for the Giants.
    • RAVENS (+7.5) over @Pats. Wishful thinking? Probably. Ravens are 0-3 when the underdog this season, while Pats are 6-4. I want to B’lieve, Hon!

Please send comments to Iggy at tealdragon.net