They won 5 games with an experienced head coach and coaching staff. The veterans are older, some are gone. You have a brand spanking new coach and coaching staff. They need a QB, and they had a hum-dum draft. It no suprise that Vegas or the media outside of Baltimore expects anything other than a building year.
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Capt.,
All that may be true ... although, hopefully they got a QB in the draft ... but Ravens fans aren't thinking in terms of rebuilding. It is interesting to see how the world outside views you. Vegas odds aren't driven by partisanship ... just the harsh reality of where they money is moving to or away from.
-- Bill O.

Captain Jack you must be high tonight.

I got 150-1 on winning the Super Bowl when I went to Vegas in January.
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Some might call that a value bet.
-- Bill O.

This does not suprise me based on natinal writers like Pete King and Pasquerelli always dissing the Ravens, but I intend to cash in on the lack of respect.

I know about the injury factor, particuarally to the TE and CB positions. The 3 rookie O line men, and the Trevor Pryce factor. Clayton and Williams both went down, but we had a lot of young guys get quality reps, and most of the guys are coming back.

5 games easily could have gone the other way last year anyway. NE was beat by the Ravens week 13 in every way but the officiating and final score.
The miracle FG and over turned call was the difference in one Clown game.

The Bills were beat if Billick had simply run the ball on any of the final plays of the last drive.

Both Bungle games were winable despite the 12 unforced fumbles.

We return 20 of 22 starters along with a lot of depth.

The #6 defense in the NFL despite all the injuries, turnovers and blown coverages by corners who will not be on the feild this year.

I am not ready to bet my house they win more than 6 games, but I am ready to cash in on the national disrespect.

Anyone who thinks the Bungles will win more games than the Ravens this season is just not paying attention.
They are going to Ocho Stinko with or without Chad.

Bill we had this conversation 2 weeks ago when they opened the line in vegas on the cinn game at pick.Bill outside of a new coach new system they still have the same players. They still haven't answered The offensive tackle position on this team. the receivers are the same one's that can't get any seperation. the tight end position is a disaster considering that you can't depend on todd heap , you have 2 old and injury prone corner backs. No Qb yet so i can see why we still get no respect.Check back later.
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Bob,
Much of what you say is true but there are many other teams with similar problems. When you combine the O-U with the odds, the Raiders and 49ers are getting much more respect than the Ravens -- from an odds point of view obviously. It's hugely interesting because I know many Ravens fans find that astounding.
-- Bill O.

Bill, we have an OL who is 22-25, that is so unexperienced, who is our QB? We have new coaches.. Well that might help us or not.

And our schedule is not like anything like Raiders and 49ers will face. We are only facing 3 teams with less than 8 victories.

Anyhow lets cash in.
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George,
I'm reading this at about 1 a.m., and it cracked me up. Thanks for the chuckle.
-- Bill O.

It's just reality Bill.....perspective based on the facts and the circumstances without hometown bipartisan optimism [meaning based on what you see and what you wish to be true]....alot of these fans get upset and want to curse me because I write reality..... but anything that deviates from reality is fantasy....that just further clouds and complicates the issue's...... to me that's not necessary to be a fan....only reality will win games..... not blind allegiance to whatever decision the team makes even if it's obviously not a wise one.... opinions based on unrealistic optimism....If you have a clear and plain deficiency and you fail to address it .....instead choosing to cater to the owner, the media and the fans who just want to fantasize about a dreamboat quarterback as opposed to strenghtening your team with needed, available, high quality youthfull reinforcement.......and then complicate matters by drafting guys with he potential to be great special teams players but long shots at actually being able to be competitve at their positions on the NFL level......then hey those who understand the actual game of football are going to call a spade a spade....its all about reality here..... atleast when it comes to betting...the quarterback is nice and may well turn out to be a keeper .....but in the context of this team thats not relevant to right now ....and if ever there was a team that had a pressing need to deal with right now it was this team whose identity is near its expiration date..
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Rob,
You're right this team, as it currently stands, is in a position where it needs to be competitive in 2008. And win or lose, Harbaugh is probably going to have to start replacing some familiar jersey numbers for 2009. I really do not see what they could have done to substantially improve at QB beyond what they did in the draft. A couple of years ago, Drew Brees was out there in free agency. Culpepper was a FA and people thought he'd be okay. McNair was available for cheap in a trade. But that '06 offseason was an anomaly. Last year, Cleveland got lucky with Anderson ... and honestly, they didn't even know what they had. If they did, they sure wouldn't have drafted Quinn. But as far as quarterbacks go, there was nada out there this year. The only thing they could do was cross their fingers on the two guys they have and make the best pick they could. I have great respect for those guys who put together those numbers in Vegas. I got the O-U and the odds up right away because I knew it would be interesting. And they also told a story that should be news in these parts, even if it is sobering. Hey, if one believes in the Ravens, it's a heck of a deal ... 100 clam shells to win 110 for seven wins. We'll see.
-- Bill O.

JJ, I am right there with you. Injuries KILLED us last year. I am very excited about this upcoming season. I mean when we had to play without Chris and Samari, it really changed some of the playcalling on D. We really had CBs on the field were young and not very good. But, on the flip side of that, adding Fabian Washington and Frank Walker really gives us pretty decent depth there if Chris and Samari are both healthy for a full 16 game season and maybe more(Hopefully). I might even go to say that Fabian Washington could make a run to start opposite Chris. I'm excited about Trevor's return and I really think that he HAS to stay healthy this year. He is a guy who not only rushes the passer, he is solid against the run as well. I know the line is young, and I'm worried that if JO retires then who will be our LT?? Terry is looking like a bust, Gaither is raw but he is a monster. I would think maybe playing Yanda over there and let the other 2 (Gaither,Terry) play on the right side. Just my .02. People are really sleeping on Baltimore this year. The AFC North is a tough div to play in, but I really think if things get settled and the team starts to build confidence in the new coaching staff we could very well make a playoff run. Again, just my .02. Thanks for reading.

JPerk

GO RAVENS
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JPerk,
Thanks for joining in the conversation.
-- Bill O.

Small wonder Vegas is so harsh on the Ravens. When you consider the Ravens are walking into the coming season with a Head Coach with no experience at that position in his life and a still unsettled QB situation, smart money says Vegas has nailed this one.
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Roderick,
It is sobering, is it not.
-- Bill O.

If you got 150 to 1 in January, you must have bet the farm, because I only got 40 to 1 in February.
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Well, guys, I'm looking at the LV Hilton's Super Bowl futures dated March 3 and it's 50-to-1, so they do move around a bit. But yeah, at 150-to-1, some money moved onto the the Ravens early. On my sheet, no one is more than 100-to-1.
-- Bill O.

i have a lot of faith in the vegas odds makers. they look at last season and determine this nonsense. pretty sure they had the patriots winning the superbowl. thats why the game are played on the field not on paper. a lot of teams look good on paper. i expect more then six wins. lets remember defense wins game, and last time i checked ravens have been ranked in the top ten last couple of seasons.

I agree, that number is a little low ... maybe it should be 6.5. Maybe.

Then again, their QB position is totally up in the air right now and their defense showed signs of slipping.

Nice blog, by the way.

Mike
nfl-rumormill.com
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Mike,
Thanks for the kind words. Yep, it's all about the QB and the head coach, I think. Vegas figures them for a slow start, I'm sure. And, you know, in two of the last three years when things went sour for these guys in the first half, the wheels really fell of down the stretch. If I'm the linemaker, I have to take that into consideration. On the other hand, the new coach is going to put the spurs to these guys right down to the wire as opposed to Brian Billick. And for readers, it's www.nfl-rumormill.com. Check it out.
-- Bill O.

Looking at the numbers it looks like the over and under is based largely on last year. Honestly, this doesnt mean anything. So, what odds makers dont respect us. The Ravens are a better football team when flying under the radar anyways. The average NFL fan knows nothing about the teams they are watching beyond their record and what ESPN tells them. "Disrespect" is to be expected when you go 5-11 and you dont have any big name offensive players that the media can hype up.

Do "moral-victories" (see New England 12/07) count?
If so, I'll take the over - otherwise, the raves have too many holes and too few fingers to plug them up.

AS THEY SHOULDN'T!

I was in Vegas on two diff sundays this past nfl season and guess what i got screwed because of our inept offense. You damn skippy they better change the spreads and make us more of an under dog.
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Artin,
Although I don't know when you were there, it could have been just about any Sunday. They were miserable against the spread last season, 3-13. Even worse than their regular record.
-- Bill O.

Someone mentioned earlier that "all" we changed was the coaching staff...let me remind everyone of the 2007 Green Bay Packers..."all" they added was a new head coach and whatdoyaknow...rags to riches - NFC championship game.

I like our chances if we can stay injury free...a Harbaugh/Cameron/Ryan staff can do A LOT more than a Billick/Neuhiesal/Ryan staff could ever imagine...just ask the players if they already feel a difference.