Iggy’s Ravens Report – December 11, 2012

Iggy’s Ravens Report – December 11, 2012


News & Commentary


News and Personal Thoughts:
I hate deadskin fans almost as much as stealer fans. Week 16 game against the Giants has been moved to 4:25.


Ravens:
In a gutsy, late season desperation(?) move, the Ravens finally parted ways with Cam Cameron, after several heated exchanges between Harbs and Cameron on the sidelines of the deadskin game. Marked by repeated inconsistency on offense, Cameron had lost the support of the players, and finally the Harbaugh and the owner to prompt his removal and the promotion of Jim Caldwell (no, not Bob) as the new offensive coordinator. Caldwell stays as Quarterbacks Coach, leaving open the speculation of whether or not this is a permanent change, a temporary fix, or a trial period. Some have speculated that an off-season move will be made to bring in Norv Turner (Offensive Genius, but head coaching flop) next season. With Cameron trying to force an offensive scheme on the Ravens, Caldwell (Peyton Mannings former mentor, and head coach) has already demonstrated his charismatic flair with the players, and appears poised to develop a game plan more around our assets, then around his own personal agenda. This will be Caldwell first job as an offensive coordinator. A revision of the playbook is not necessary, as Cameron is expected to revive the no huddle offense, and
leverage plays already on paper, but seldom used by his predecessor.

The Pats demolition of the Texans last night virtually assures the Ravens of NOT getting a first round bye. A playoff berth can only be denied via collusion between the stealers and Bengals by virtue of a Week 16 tie, which would otherwise be unlikely. The Ravens hold tie breakers over both teams, regardless of the final three games outcome. Of all the possible playoff scenarios, the simplest is that a win gives the Ravens the division title. This will be third straight week that such a scenario has been possible.

This week, we face a hot Broncos team that has finally gotten use to Manning as their QB. Suggs and Lewis are expected to be back on the field, and will desperately be needed in an attempt to end Peyton’s 8 game personal win streak over Baltimore. Without sufficient pressure on Peyton to make bad choices, he will carve us up like a Thanksgiving Turkey. All he has to do is watch how 2nd and 3rd string QB beat us the last two weeks, and they will have to give him a drool bucket. Despite all our short comings, the Ravens seem to find a way to stay in most games, but what is important now is finding a way to win games and regain some confidence. This is our house. Let that be known. Let that be heard.

Orioles:
O’s resigned Nate McLouth, but have yet to address the lack of hitting issue. An email went out this week stating that ticket prices will NOT be increased for 2013, which was a surprise to me. The Orioles have also switched ticketing agents from TicketBaster to Tickets.com, the official MLB ticketing resource. Hopefully this will reduce the ticketing fees, but only time will tell.

Alouettes
Nothing to report.

Blast:
The Blast (8-0) remained unbeaten with a 10-6 home victory over Wichita (2-5). They will host Missouri (5-3, 2nd place) on Saturday night at the Arena.

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 bailed after 20 hours of negotiations this week. It is estimated that 43% of the league schedule is now washed out as both sides are scrambling to meet again and salvage what’s left of the season.

Wizards (See website for more details):
Wizards upset Miami last week, but have since dropped games to Atlanta and Golden State. At 2-15, they boast one of the worst records in the league.

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

D.C.United (See website for more details):
Nothing to report.


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
Sunday, December 23, 2012 New York Giants 3-1 Overall, 1-0 Home 4:25 PM
Sunday, January 30, 2012 @Cincinnati Bengals 18-14 Overall, 7-9 Away 1:00 PM

Relevant Football Links

Iggy’s Predictions

  • Week 14:
    • Denver over Oakland (+10.5). Those points were tempting, but Oakland’s performance thus far is not. Raider hung in there, but in the end failed to cover.
    • Washington over Ravens (+2.5). Griffin makes me nervous, especially with the wide open guys the stealers got on us. …and it wasn’t Griffin that beat us!
    • Cincy over Dallas (+2.5). Dallas is a pretender, and the Bengals are coming on strong, looking for a playoff spot. An emotional Dallas pulls the last second win.
    • 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… Rams score a late TD to win.
    • Tampa over Philly (+7.5). Philly can’t even cover for the most part. Tampa was getting skunked…then was winning…then…
    • Atlanta over Carolina (+3.5). Could be close, but not that close. Is the real Atlanta finally here, or are they “resting”
    • Cleveland over KC (+5.5), but take the points. I predict a very close game. KC scored early, but then never again.
    • stealers over Chargers (+4). Chargers are toast. Charger post 1st victory in 15 franchise tries at pittsburgh
    • Indy over Tennessee (+5.5). Indy back at home, and looking for a playoff spot. Indy had to come from behind, but stays in the top wild card spot, and still has a chance at the division title.
    • Jags (+2.5) over Jets. Will anyone pick the Jets after last week’s performance? This game is in Jacksonville. Jets fabricate enough O to win.
    • Bears over Vikings (+2.5). Chicago is 6-3 as the Favorite and Minnesota is 3-4 as the dog. Bears are in worse shape that the Ravens.
    • 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. Fins almost covered.
    • Seattle over Zona (+10.5), but take the points. Cards are 5-3 as the underdog, but this game is in Seattle. maybe 10.5 points wasn’t quite enough…
    • 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! Giants ran away in the 4th quarter.
    • Packers over Lions (+6.5). Green Bay is hunting for another division title, and the Lions just can’t seem to finish games. Lions put up a fight, but GB is still looking good.
    • Houston (+3.5) over NE. People keep underestimating Houston but they are the real deal. U-G-L-Y, that was Ugly!
    • This Week:: 8-8 Straight Up, and 4-12 Against the Spread
    • Season:: 134-74 Straight Up, and 109-99 Against the Spread
  • Week 15
    • Cincinnati over Philly (+3.5). Bengals have looked the best in our division lately.
    • Denver over Baltimore (+2.5). As much as I want the Ravens to win this, the stats just aren’t in our favor: Manning versus a porous secondary.
    • Houston over Indy (+7.5), but take the points. With a little Luck, Indy could win this.
    • Miami over Jax (+7.5), but take the points. Fins have yet to cover as the favorite this season.
    • Washington (+0.5) over Cleveland. Line with 7.5 until it started to look likely that Griffin would play.
    • Rams over Vikings (+3.5). Neither team really inspires me, but the Rams are at home with an outside chance of playoffs.
    • Saints over Tampa (+3.5). Tampa has been so inconsistent lately.
    • Giants (+1.5) over Atlanta. Despite Atlanta being 1 of 2 teams undefeated at home (Seattle), I think the Giants have more momentum than Atlanta.
    • Packers over Chicago (+2.5). Chicago has no direction right now, unless you count going down as a direction.
    • Arizona (+6.5) over Detroit. Detroit is 2-5 as the favorite, and the Cards are at home, and should cover in the very least.
    • Seattle over Buffalo (+5.5), but take the points. Seattle is horrible on the road, but Buffalo can be tough at home. Seattle needs this to stay a driver in the playoff wild card hunt.
    • San Diego over Carolina (+3.5). East goes west… and crawls back East. It’s that darn twilight zone again.
    • Oakland over Kansas City (+2.5). Despite being 0-4 as the favorite, I am favoring Oakland at home in this matchup of draft positioning.
    • Dallas (+1.5) over pittsburgh. Part of me just wants this to happen, the other part sees the stealers are 3-6 as the favorite this season.
    • Pats over San Fran (+5.5). As good as San Fran’s Defense is, Brady is on a terror lately.
    • Jets (+1.5) over Tennessee. Will anyone care what happens in this game? Flip a coin. I did.

Please send comments to Iggy at tealdragon.net