Iggy’s Raven’s Report – September 3, 2012

 

News & Commentary

 

News and Personal Thoughts:
Congratulations to the Bayhawks – Four time MLL champions!

Ravens:
Okay, preseason is over, and not soon enough. The last game is not much of a gauge on how things might be since they played virtually NO starters. The Ravens have signed a few additional veterans after the trade deadline to try and plug some holes, but the bottom line remains that the season starts Monday night, whether we are ready or not. Cincinnati will be a good test for this team, as some critics have pegged them as the pre-season favorites to win the division. Andy Dalton has shaped up to be a very good quarterback, and will exploit our weak pass rush, and holey secondary. On offense, the Ravens will unveil their hurry-up West Coast style offense, which can leads to lots of points… or lots of punts! GO RAVENS!

Iggy’s Raven’s Report – August 24, 2012

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News & Commentary

 

News and Personal Thoughts:
None.

Ravens:
In an atypical game, the Ravens ran up the score against the pathetic Jags. They failed to present any form of offense or defense to test our players, making tough decisions even tougher come Monday, since everyone seems to have shined. Cundiff appears to be done and rightfully so. Tucker is a gem, and any team will be lucky to have him. Special teams found it better to boot the ball through the end zone because our coverage teams SUCK. The offense line held long enough for the Ravens to run their version of the hurry up/West Coast offense, and this is actually a good thing. I think Joe works better when he has less time to think about the upcoming play. The defense still showed a lack of pass rush and weak secondary, when the Jags actually were about to throw the ball. If we can do the same to Cincy on opening night, I’ll start believing things are fixed, but the reality of it is that there are still problems.

Iggy’s Raven’s Report – August 18, 2012

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News & Commentary

 

News and Personal Thoughts:
None.

Ravens:
Second preseason game is in the books with 2 kick return touchdowns called back, 0 TD’s scored (offense, Defense and “un”special teams), no pass rush, a soft secondary, and a front line that hasn’t answered as many questions as it has been raising since game 1. Once again, the Ravens showed their quick hit no-huddle style offense, which I fear will only result in more opportunities for Sam Koch to punt, and with the blocked punt later in the game, may be we need to worry about that aspect now too. Game 3 is supposed to be when most bubbles get popped, and guys are pretty much in or out, but currently, I am not happy with any of the options. One competition I will way in on is the kicker challenge. Tucker seems to be a much more stable entity than Cundiff. After a few critical let downs last season, I say give the kid a chance to make it in the pro’s. He could very well be the next Stover for us.

Iggy’s Raven’s Report – August 10, 2012

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News & Commentary

 

News and Personal Thoughts:
None.

Ravens:
First preseason game is over with a win, however, that was primarily on the shoulders of the reserves and backups, especially Curtis Painter. Offense and defense looked like crap as the O-line failed to hold long enough for Joe to make a first down, and the defense was carved up like a thanksgiving turkey by Matt Ryan. I have no answers right now, but the team and coaches sure need to find some!

Iggy’s Raven’s Report – July 31, 2012

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News & Commentary

 

News and Personal Thoughts:
Baltimore’s own Michael Phelps now holds the records for the most medals in Olympic history.

Ravens:
Dennis Pitta to miss all preseason with hand injury… McKinnie finally shows at practice after racking up $90,000 in fines under the new collective bargaining agreement. He did not report due to a back injury, and did not practice after reporting… Flacco’s agent has been pushing for a contract extension before the season starts, and, according to one analyst could be close to a deal that might be in the neighborhood of 6 years/$100M… Lewis reported to camp lighter than ever before. Ray apparently is acknowledging that he can’t be as physical as he once was, and is focusing on speed to compensate… Reed has been bucking for a new contract too, but he is lower on the priority list, and could test the free agent market next off season… [BleacherReport] What the Ravens must do to repeat: Reestablish the Defense, and spread the offense around more so other’s can’t shut us down by shutting down rice, and make special teams more than “special ed.”

Iggy’s Raven’s Report – July 13, 2012

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News & Commentary

 

News and Personal Thoughts:
Nothing to report.

Ravens:
Flacco likely a franchise tag for 2013… Ed Reed still playing with, er, playing or retiring (again) — Iggy’s take is that
it’s his best way to get attention without getting in trouble… Rice will get worked out, but it might not be until a couple
weeks into camp.

Iggy’s Raven’s Report – 7 July 2012

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News & Commentary

 

News and Personal Thoughts:
Nothing to report.

Ravens:
Report on BleacherReport.com listed Cundiff and Ngata as the most overpaid Ravens (but also, the ONLY overpaid Ravens.
Pernell McPhee, Lardarius Webb, and Torrey Smith were also listed as most underpaid… Biggest off-season question that they
see is how long will Ray Rice (presently, our biggest asset) hold out. Other questions involve whether Paul Kruger continue
to improve as a pass-rusher and can Sergio Kindle finally emerge and become the player the Ravens believed they were drafting in 2010.
Overall preseason rating is that the Ravens, although
aging in some areas, are the most well rounded teams out there, which could poise them well for another run for a championship
this season… Current reports are that the Ravens are the closest ($606,858 under the limit) to the salary cap in the NFL, meaning
they have the least space available of any team presently… Suggs has reportedly ditched the protective boot, and started his
rehab process earlier than expected (advisable?)… Jaworski is on record saying that Flacco has NFL’s strongest arm…

Iggy’s Raven’s Report – 27 June 2012

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News & Commentary

 

News and Personal Thoughts:
Loyola University Maryland ranked 10th for the Capital One Men’s Cup, becoming the smallest school to finish in the top 10 ever.
The Captial One Cup is award annualy to each of the best men’s and women’s Division I college athletics program in the Country.
Points are based on final standings of NCAA Championships and final official coaches polls. The Greyhounds first ever Division I
Lacrosse title earned them a lot of those points, in addition to the success of their basketball and soccer programs.

Ravens:
Linebacker Terrell Suggs has been nominated for an ESPYS Award for best NFL player… ex-Raven and Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith
was released by the steelers. Apparently, they couldn’t get any more of the Ravens playbook off of him and gave up… Ravens still
need help ont he offensive line. Recent draft picks probably won’t be ready this season, but may be force in to the fire earlier
than planned in order to give Flacco the time to back his words about being the best QB in the NFL, because his numbers from last
season sure didn’t support that… Cundiff and the kicking game will remain a question. As good as Cundiff is, the missed FG in
last years championship game can be very haunting to the player (Kickers are very sensitive), and can foster distrust amongst
teammates and coaches… An early pre-season poll ranks Baltimore 2nd in the division behind the Bengals, and in line for a wild card
spot. Other division winners are the Pats, Houston, KC, Philly, Green Bay, Atlanta and San Francisco. Other wild cards are Denver
the Giants and Detroit… Rice is garnering top billing in early Fantasy league rankings… Ray Rice is also now on record claiming
that Flacco out-dueling Brady in last seasons finale, and I support that boast. Flacco was 22/36 for 306 yards, 2 TD (should have
been 3, thank you very much Mr. Lee Evans) and 1 INT for a 95.4 rating. Brady was also 22/36, but for 239 yards, 0 TDs and 2 INTs
for a 57.5 rating. Hey Ray! That was only 1 game, and all the stats in the world don’t mean squat when the other team has you beat
in the only category that counts — the score! … To follow up a question for last meeting, the Ravens have release dates, times and
places for 3 open practices: August 4 at 5 PM (M&T Bank Stadium), August 12 at 5 PM (Navy-Marine Corp Memorial Stadium), and
Auguest 19 at 3:30 PM (Mustang Stadium at Stevenson U.) [Dates are subject to change]… CBS and FOX have announced a slide in game times –
The 2nd game of the Sunday double header game will n ow start at 4:25 (instead of 4:15). The networks believe that this will reduce
overlap by about 66%. About 40 games will be impacted by this change. (Why couldn’t they just move back the 1 PM start time instead
of pushing up the later game?)…

Iggy’s Raven’s Report – 20 June 2012

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News & Commentary

 

News and Personal Thoughts:
Bumper Sticker seen on Rt 29 this week: “Go Back to Pennsylvania” conveniently in steeler black and gold.

Ravens:
SportsNation survey on which AFC North hold out will most likely be signed before the start of training camp has Mike Wallace in the lead, and Ray Rice 2nd. Joe Flacco comes in with a low percentage at 4th place… Forbes ranking of the richest athletes has Haloti Ngata at #12… The biggest question is how the Ravens will respond to the likelihood that Terrell Suggs will be gone for most (if not all) of the season. Most analyst indicate that this will cause the Ravens to fall short of last years success, making that dropped pass look more and more painful with each replay (real or visualized).

Now that the new Roost #4 website is up and running … we can bring back Scott “Iggy” Ichniowski’s Weekly Ravens Report!  Iggy is the Roost #4 Director of the Promotion of Ravens Football.  Please check-out Iggy’s weekly postings – they’re always informative and entertaining!

Iggy’s Ravens Report – June 14, 2012