Iggy’s Baltimore Sports Report – September 24, 2013
News & Commentary
News and Personal Thoughts:
News article today told story of a 24-year old Annapolis man who was hit by a truck bicycling to Miami to complete his 30 ballpark charity tour.
Ravens:
Another shaky offensive performance, but this time bolstered by a pick-6 and kick return TD. The Defense has not allowed a touchdown since Peyton Manning scorched them for 7 TDs in week 1, meanwhile the offensive struggles are centered around an inability to maintain a rhythm on offense. Penalties were a major issue on Sunday, but the Texans set a record of their own for penalties, so it might have been partially attributable to some early flag-happy referees. Pierce did OK substituting for the injured Ray Rice, but holes are not being opened.
I would put Rice at 50/50 for next weeks game against Buffalo. Jacoby “Sweet Pea” Jones is trying to recover his humility.
Orioles:
O’s are Dead. Mathematically still in it, but virtually dead. Losing 5 in a row this time of year is unforgivable. Machado is predicted to be ready for Spring Training.
Alouettes
The Als (4-8) took a 19-15 early 4th quarter lead and squandered it, giving up 13 straight points before finally getting back to the end zone with 30 seconds left. The Als next host Saskatchewan on Sunday.
Blast:
2013-14 Schedule has been released. (Nothing new to report)
Chesapeake Bayhawks: (Home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium)
Nothing to report.
Charm:
Nothing to Report.
Capitals (See website for more details):
Regular Season starts on October 1.
Wizards (See website for more details):
Wizards to host Knicks in Baltimore on October 17 for a preseason game. Individual game tickets now on sale… Wizards Restructure front office (A sure sign of a franchise without direction).
Mystics (See website for more details):
Mystics won the first game in a 3 game series against #2 Atlanta, but lost the next two… Head Coach Mike Thibault is named coach of the year.
D.C.United (See website for more details):
DC (3-20-6) lost to the Revolution 2-1 last week. Their next game in Saturday in Toronto. Mercifully, 6 games remain.
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 | |
| Su, Oct 6 | @Miami Dolphins | 5-5 Overall 3-4 Away |
1:00 PM | |
| Su, Oct 13 | Green Bay Packers | 1-3 Overall 1-0 Home |
1:00 PM | |
| Su, Oct 20 | @pittsburgh steelers | 15-22 Overall 7-12 Away |
4:25 PM | |
| Su, Nov 3 | @Cleveland Browns | 22-7 Overall 10-4 Away |
4:25 PM | |
| Su, Nov 10 | Cincinnati Bengals | 19-15 Overall 12-5 Home |
1:00 PM | |
| Su, Nov 17 | @Chicago Bears | 2-2 Overall 0-2 Away |
1:00 PM | |
| Su, Nov 24 | New York Jets | 7-1 Overall 5-0 Home |
1:00 PM | |
| Th, Nov 28 | pittsburgh steelers | 15-22 Overall 8-10 Home |
8:30 PM | |
| 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 | 19-15 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 3:
- Philadelphia over KC (+3.5), but take the points. Went with the home team. Hope I don’t regret that. KC is looking real this year.
- Houston over RAVENS (+2.5). Houston has yet to cover, but neither has our secondary (Cleveland doesn’t count). Offense still struggles, but D/ST score 2 TDs.
- Packers over Cincy (+2.5). Packers should win easily over a Bengals team that struggles to win, despite their talent. Bengals scored early, took a nap, and then scored late for the win.
- Giants (+1.5) over Carolina. Eli to bounce back from 0-2 start with a win. Giants are looking real small after this blowout.
- Dallas over Saint Louis (+3.5). Rams, Lambs… not much of a difference. Rams looks like lambs again.
- Minnesota over Cleveland (+5.5). Peterson to run all over them. Cleveland could have a QB controversy.
- Pats over Tampa (+7.5), but take the points. Pats have won 2 games by a combined 5 points so far. Pats finally put some separation in a win.
- Saints over Zona (+7.5), but take the points. Cards are 2-0 as the underdog this season. Brees single handedly wins game.
- Tennessee over San Diego (+3.5), but take the points. Tennessee and San Diego are both surprise teams this year. Look for a close game. Game decided by a FG.
- Skins over Lions (+1.5). Gut tells me to go the other way, but skins are home, and Lions collapsed last week. Should have went with the gut!
- Miami over Atlanta (+1.5). Fins are actually looking decent. Last minute win for fins.
- Buffalo (+2.5) over Jets. Jets have more issues. Apparently, Buffalo is worse off than I thought.
- Niners over Colts (+10.5), but take the points. Too many points for the Luck-y Colts. Niners embarassed at home.
- Seattle over Jacksonville (+19.5). History says to take almost 3 touchdowns, but what I have seen so far from the Jags indicates that it won’t be enough. Jags amaze with 17 points.
- stealers (+2.5) over Bears. In Chicago, I would have taken the Bears. Hehe… Oh so Glad to be wrong!
- Denver over Oakland (+14.5). Peyton is on a rampage. NFL record 12 Passing touchdowns in first 3 weeks.
- Last Week:: 7-9 Straight Up, and 7-9 Against the Spread (Not a good week for me… or you, if you listen to me.)
- Season:: 26-22 Straight Up, and 23-25 Against the Spread
- NFL Week 4:
- Niners over Rams (+3.5). Niners need to start recovering their season after being humiliated by Colts at Home.
- Ravens over Bills (+3.5), but take the points. Blowout of Houston was on the scoreboard, not the stat book.
- Bengals over Browns (+5.5). Cincinnati could be real this year… But real what?
- Bears (+2.5) over Lions. Bears have more going on than the Lions.
- Seattle over Houston (+2.5). Game is really a toss up, being in Houston.
- Indy over Jax (+8.5). Jags could give the Lions 0-16 a run for their money.
- Chiefs over Giants (+4.5). Nobody gets blown out by Carolina. Nobody.
- stealers over Vikings (+0.5) in London. Great international showcase! Two 0-3 teams!
- Arizona (+2.5) over Tampa. Cards will keep Tampa win-less.
- Tennessee over Jets (+3.5), but take the points. Tennessee should be better, but Jets are 2-0 as the Dog.
- Denver over Philly (+10.5). Come on… Only 10.5? Can’t even tease me a little with the points?
- Oakland (+3.5) over skins. West coming east, no problem. East going west… big problem.
- Chargers (+1.5) over Dallas. Cowboys are 2-1, but why? How?
- Atlanta over NE (+1.5). Pats are looking vulnerable so far this year.
- Saints over Fins (+6.5), but take the points. Miami could even win this game, but better yet: they will be on a short week to prepare for the RAVENS!!!
Please send comments to Iggy at tealdragon.net