Ravens:
Well, after 11 straight wins, I guess Cleveland is entitled to win one. That aside, we weren’t meant to win that game. It was obvious from the (bad) late hit call for hitting a diving quarterback, that a win was not going to happen. Once again, we failed to run the ball, or pass with any consistency. We are not done yet, but a loss to Cincinnati on Sunday will pretty much kill us. Every game is a must win from here on out. No excuses.
If you look at the best defenses in the league, you will once again notice that the AFC North has 2 of the 5 best D’s in the league. But who authorized Cleveland and Cincinnati to occupy those spots? Probably the same bozo who authorized the inverted standings.
On another note, the Ravens officials who control M&T Bank stadium have started lobbing retaliation shots at the Orioles and the city of Baltimore for failing to move the Orioles game so the Ravens could open the season at home. While the NCAA is entertaining bids for Lacrosse final four locations over the next several years, M&T Bank stadium authorities have failed to submit a bid because, “They can’t be certain it won’t interfere with the Orioles Schedule.” This is just sour grapes, because if the NCAA Lacrosse Finals weekend is on the calendar now, the Orioles would have to work around that when forming their schedule. The Ravens need to get over it. The world does not revolve around the NFL.
Orioles:
Chris Davis is a finalist for AL MVP. As much as I would love to see him get it (MLB HR and RBI leader), it’s hard to compete against Miguel Cabrera and his super human batting average, near gold glove fielding and a trip to the playoffs this year. Mike Trout is the other finalist, but failing to lead any of the big 3 batting crown statistics will leave him in third place. Right now, I would put Davis’ odds at 50/50 with Cabrera.
Alouettes
The Als (8-10, 3rd) beat first place Toronto 23-20 in a meaningless game. They will travel to Hamilton for the first round of the playoffs on Sunday, with the winner going to Toronto for the Eastern Conference Title and a trip to the Grey Cup.
Blast:
2013-14 Schedule has been released. (Nothing new to report)
Chesapeake Bayhawks: (Home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium)
Supplemental Draftg to take place on December 4.
Charm:
Nothing to Report.
Capitals (See website for more details):
With a win tonight, the Caps move 1 game over .500 and into 2nd place (albeit temporarily) in the division.
Wizards (See website for more details):
The Wizards have started the season 0-3. I sure hope this gets better.
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
| 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 | L 23-20 |
| Su, Oct 6 | @Miami Dolphins | 5-5 Overall 3-4 Away |
1:00 PM | W 26-23 |
| Su, Oct 13 | Green Bay Packers | 1-3 Overall 1-0 Home |
1:00 PM | L 19-17 |
| Su, Oct 20 | @pittsburgh steelers | 15-22 Overall 7-12 Away |
4:25 PM | L 19-16 |
| Su, Nov 3 | @Cleveland Browns | 22-7 Overall 10-4 Away |
4:25 PM | L 24-18 |
| 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 | 15-23 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 9:
- Bengals over Fins (+2.5). Bengals are on a roll. Fins win on Safety in OT.
- Chiefs over Bills (+3.5), but take the points. This game is in Buffalo, where the Bills have done well, and after KC barely beat Cleveland, their undefeated record ain’t gonna last much longer. 10 point 4th quarter sunk Bills chances.
- Panthers over Atlanta (+7.5). Don’t look now, but the Panthers might actually be good. At 5-3, Panthers are the 6 seed!
- Cowboys over Vikings (+10.5), but take the points. Dallas giving up too many points already, without the help of the odds makers. Cowboys win in the final minute.
- Saints over Jets (+5.5), but take the points. Comes down to how well these teams play at home and on the road. Should be a closer game than one would think. Believe it or not, the Jets are also sitting in the 6 seed!
- Tennessee over Rams (+3.5), but take the points. Rams home field can be tough. Titans win by 7.
- Chargers over skins (+0.5). Chargers are actually in the #6 seed right now. Chargers should have won, but instead, Skins score TD on first possession of OT.
- Raiders over Eagles (+1.5). Eagles are out of QBs. Foles pitches 7 TDs to tie Peytons record in week 1.
- Seattle over Tampa (+16.5). Those points would have tempted me if the game was in Tampa. It took 4 quarters, but Hawks finally score enough to win… barely.
- Baltimore over Cleveland (+2.5), but take the points. I usually refrain from taking points less than a FG, but I don’t get a warm fuzzy on this one. Cleveland ends 11 game losing streak to the Ravens.
- pats over steelers (+6.5), but take the points. steelers still pack a little bit of a punch, and Brady has no real weapons. Patriots finally run up the score on someone. I guess it was a matter of time.
- Colts over Houston (+2.5). Houston to start Case Keenum (?) at QB on Sunday. Need I say more? Colts go down 21-3, but put in sold 2nd half for the win.
- Packers over Bears (+10.5). Packers average margin of victory at home over 3 games is 17 points. Rodgers out at least 3 weeks with fractured collarbone. I’d estimate he won’t be back until playoffs, if there is playoffs for the Pack this season.
- Last Week:: 7-6 Straight Up, and 5-8 Against the Spread
- Season:: 82-51 Straight Up, and 60-73 Against the Spread
- NFL Week 10:
- Skins over Vikings (+2.5). As much as I want to believe in Peterson at home, skins are finding ways to win lately.
- Bengals over Ravens (+1.5). Smile, we’re still defending champs until February.
- Seattle over Atlanta (+6.5). Seattle has #2 Defense in the league.
- Bears (+2.5) over Detroit. Most things being equal, I took the home team!
- Eagles (+2.5) over Pack. Line was 9.5 until Rodgers went out. I’ll go with the guy coming off a 7 TD performance.
- Colts over Rams (+9.5), but take the points. Colts tend to win by less than a score at home, but Rams tend to lose big on road.
- Giants over Raiders (+7.5). Giants are starting to come together after rough start.
- steelers over Bills (+3.5), but take the points. Don’t be surprised if Buffalo wins this game. They are better than their record indicates.
- Titans over Jags (+12.5). Jags still have worst Offense in NFL.
- Niners over Carolina (+6.5). SF is 6-1 as Favorite against the spread, while Carolina is 1-1 as the dog.
- Cards over Houston (+2.5). This could be an interesting game with Houston’s top D going against the 4th worst offense in the NFL.
- Denver over San Diego (+7.5), but take the points. Chargers are 5-0 as the dog this season, while Denver has failed to cover the points twice so far.
- Saints over Dallas (+6.5), but take the points. Good match-up, but NFC East hold 3 of the worst defenses in the NFL, including Dallas.
- Miami over Tampa (+2.5). Florida teams combine for a 4-20 record, which has absolutely nothing to do with this prediction! But no one is reading this anyway. Face it, you tuned out after the Ravens prediction (if you made it that far at all!)
- MLB (5-4)
- Cards over Sox in 6. They say offense wins games, but defense wins championships… well… St. Louis has a better defense (fielding and pitching). Sox win again.
Please send comments to Iggy at tealdragon.net