News and Personal Thoughts:
The GoogleDoc ticket sharing status: Seats now available for Jax, StL, KC, Sea and Pit; Tickets wanted for SD, KC and @Mia. Check it out at Ravens Roost 4 Ticket Exchange.

Ravens:
My preseason fears have now materialized with Suggs out, no pass rush, and an exposed weak secondary. Problems are too many to count, and we could be looking at one of the worst starts in a very long time. 0-2 and heading home, but to face a Bengal team that thumped the Oakland team that carved us up like Swiss cheese, and then to pittsburgh on a short week. After seeing what the steelers did to San Fran, that might be a good night to go to bed early too. Unless answers are found on defense, we might have to outscore everyone, and we aren’t exactly built for that kind of high powered offense. Next 2 games are must win to re-establish hope.

News and Personal Thoughts:
The GoogleDoc ticket sharing status: Great seats for sale to Jax, StL, KC, Sea and Pit; Tickets Wanted to the SD, KC, and Miami (away) games. Check it out at Ravens Roost 4 Ticket Exchange.

Ravens:
Suggs gone for the season is a blow, but I believe we will perserve through that. The Defense showed a lot of character against Denver and Peyton Manning, but the offense was down right offensive. Mike Preston says we have no playmakers, and he is right. We need another “go to” receiver, or this team is doomed for ineptitude… Rumors are that the Ravens will sign an outstanding free agent veteran LB.

News and Personal Thoughts:
The GoogleDoc set up for ticket sharing has gotten some traffic. 4 posts for “tickets Wanted,” but I haven’t seen anyone posting for “Tickets for Sale” yet. In case you are selling, there are requests for Cleveland, San Diego and Kansas City home games. Check it out at Ravens Roost 4 Ticket Exchange.

Ravens:
Can’t tell much when 90% of the starters don’t even suit up, so I will stick with my original concern regarding the defensive penetration and soft secondary. On other notes, Sports Illustrated predicted the Ravens to win the Super Bowl, and also ran another article on OG John Urschel, who is making waves as a mathematician on the side. The Baltimore Sun, and USA Today have run pared down versions of the story.

Ravens:
Well, the offense started well, but then started sputtering, especially after Flacco left the game. I still have concerns in the running game, but I am most concerned about our Defense. We don’t seem to be able to get adequate pressure on the QB which exposes our porous secondary. It’s only preseason, so no panicking yet… yet…

Ravens:
In contrast to the first game where a lot of things went right, last night was the mirror opposite. Despite the Raven-focused flag centric officials, we failed to execute the basics, and let the flags affect our play in same cases, or lead to repeat offenders in others where we were convinced we weren’t doing anything wrong. The game demonstrated a failure in special teams, ineffective passing game, and continued our trend of insufficient pressure on the quarterback. On paper, they might be predicting great things for us this year, but we need to start living up to expectations. I know it is only preseason, but the sense of urgency needs to start now as they start reducing the team to its required size.

Ravens:
A recent study lists Baltimore as having the 4th best fans, behind the Cowboys, Pats and Giants (steelers came in 14th)… Safety Matt Elam to go on DL with Torn Biceps… Super Bowl Odds have the Ravens at 17-1, and steelers at 20-1. Green Bay and Seattle are the leading candidates at 11-2. Only Indy (8-1), NE (9-1) and Denver (15-1) are ahead of the Ravens in the AFC… With the season about a month a way, and 4 preseason games yet to go, experts seem to think that the Ravens did enough in the off season to win the division, and make a serious run at another Super Bowl title. Personally, I think we still need to demonstrate that we have overcome our flaws from last year with the off season acquisitions, and remain healthy. The preseason is long and arduous, so pray that the injury bug avoids us. With 5 of the first 7 games on the road, the Ravens will have to demonstrate their toughness before playing any real home games.