Hear, hear! I realized Monday morning that while it sucked, the Steelers loss didn't matter in the overall context of the season. I was very definitely one of the "four wins" guys, so even if we wind up winning "only" nine games, I think this season is a huge success.

Your analysis on this one is spot on Mr. Schmuck. Going into the season, I had thought the Ravens would be lucky to win 4 to 5 games. Gratefully, the team proved me wrong and gave us a hell of a ride this season. Flacco has emerged as one of the top rookie QB's in recent years and when he's given ANY kind of serious help at WR (BOLDIN), this offense, when healthy, will become virtually unstoppable. The parts are in place, but they need a big, stud WR. Help at tight end would also be a plus. I think Heap's vertical jump this year is in the range of 7-8 inches. That's not good enough to win my son's 3rd grade playday. Matchup this week against the Cowboys does not look good. Short week, travel off of a physical contest and facing a team with big receivers. If the Ravens can't get to or harass Romo, it could be a long night. We can only hope for a Carrie Underwood-Jessica Simpson catfight in one of the skyboxes to throw Romo off his game. R.I.P. Bobby Pickering. What a character!

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Pete's reply: Thanks for the note, and yes, Bobby was a great guy.

Well said Pete. From a season with little hope we have had a great ride. What ever happens now we owe this team a debt of gratitude for providing something to feel good about in a time when it is difficult to feel good about anything

Very well said, I could not agree with you more, what a great season considering the circumsatnces! The only shame of it is that with such a great effort this year they will probably be 10-6 ana not make the palyoffs, There will be teams posibly at 8-8 in the playoffs and this should never happen. Forget the divisions and put the best records in the playoffs . This also goes for the Patriots, they could concievably be 11-5 and not make it, how ridiculous is that? But with that said, cngratulations John Harbaugh and his staff and all of the Ravens players , and let's not forget Ozzie and Bisciotti for putting the right people in the right place ! GO RAVENS,BEAT DALLAS!!!!!

I agree Pete. It has been great fun watching the Ravens offense play creatively. The three back running game, the unbalanaced line, two quarterbacks in the backfield, wow! Sometimes I had to blink once or twice to ensure tha it was really the Ravens offense that was making those plays. I couldn't beleive it. I thought I was dreaming.
It will take luck and a perfect Ravens game (and maybe some timely turnovers in our favor) for them to beat the 'boys today. Crazier things have happened. If they don't, they have still have had a great year and promise better things to come.

I'm seeing another game much like the one we had in Indy or here last week. Cam is going to have to use two tackles to handle Ware and that means there's going to be a whole lot of "#78 is eligible" again and a whole lot of conservative play.

I know a lot of the gadgets don't work against the better teams, but we haven't even tried any. We've been very conservative and run oriented in all our big games and I'd at least like to see Cam break the Suggs Package or the Wildcat or some wrinkle out again and an unbalanced line isn't it.

As for the Ravens, I want the record to shot that I called them at 10-6 in after week 2, and though I had us beating The Steelers last week and losing to Cleveland at Cleveland I've had every game right so far... which doesn't look good for my playoff hopes for this team tonight...

Pete , you're so right . I will be dissapointed if the Ravens lose tonight yes , but given the circumstances the Ravens have far exceeded anyones expectations . We've shown we're not quite ready for the big boys yet (Sqeelers, Colts) anyway . Maybe next year . If we do make the play-offs , unfortunately it may be a quick exit anyway . Now about Mark Teix.......

Pete,

I agree, this will be a successful season for the Ravens regardless. It would be nice to see them run the table against two decent teams.

The Ravens can win tonight if they just remember to do one thing: Mug T.O.! If they can neutralize Owens, the Cowboys only good--not great--offensively.

Switching gears, I know what I'm about to write isn't going to get much love on this blog, but the way Peyton Manning took apart Jacksonville's defense Thursday night was something to behold, reminiscent of Johnny Unitas in his prime. I love watching Manning play, only regretting it isn't for the Baltimore Colts, as we all know it should be.

Manning is a big Unitas fan, by the way, and wanted to wear high top shoes as a tribute after hearing of John's death, but the No Fun League threatened him with a fine.

This is what I don't understand...how did the Ravens' schedule turn out so difficult?
They had a poor record last season - would have figured they would have gotten a break....

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Pete's reply: I thought so, too, but they caught the NFC East in the rotation.

You speak the truth!!

I was one of the 6-7 wins if all the stars lined up. Such a good year, cannot be anything but happy.

Losing to Pittsburgh Twice (our real rival) should keep the firing burning for the vets next year.

A miracle tonight would be nice, but a long shot. Dallas may distracted early and we can give them a scare.

Maybe we see some more trick plays used or reused, we basically have nothing to lose. Let it all go!

Ray Rice Playing? I think we missed him more than you might think during the Pitt game. (been wraped up in work and Tex, may have missed Ray Rice news)

Amen Schmuck. You couldn't have said it better.

No Schmucking way. That is Bungle brained thinking. If you had lower expectations, you were WRONG. WRONG, WRONG. The Ravens still had the core players that went 13-3 and should have beat the SB champs in the playoffs.
Last season, injury, bad coaching, bad luck and a lot of bad calls all conspired to derail us like SD this season or the Saints or Bears, or Eagles. The FNL is a rollercoaster, but unless you have a very bad GM, there is hope for every season until it runs out, usually around week 16 or 17 for all the good to "elite" teams with a few issues.

The Ravens have very few issues. The rookie QB had a very bad game, but we still should have beat the "best" team in the NFL right now. All we need is for Joe to play OK, and we can win any game. That is not all most teams have to do, but here, great defense and a power run game are a standard taken for granted at times.

A good thing about tonight's game is that EVERYONE has picked the Cowboys to win after they knocked off the Giants and being that it's the last game in that stadium, but I don't think that's going to be their reason of beating us. It'll be that their weapons are too much for us to handle with our lack of depth at cornerback. Also Fabian Washington may not play with a hamstring injury. We'll have to see, they very well may just beat the crap out of us. Then, we may quietly surprise, we just have to see what happens. It's been a great season though. I remember a dumb lady on Mike and Mike in the Morning saying the Ravens were going to be the worst team in the league. So even if we go 10-6 and just miss because the Dolphins and Patriots have the most easiest schedule in the league, not to mention an overrated Colts team, I'll be happy that we actually earned it. We already know the Dolphins suck and would get blown out of the water by the Broncos or Jets. The Patriots are not what they used to be and are also crap. The only thing we can hope is that they lose to Arizona this week and that the Dolphins lose to either the Chiefs or the Jets. But Flacco has impressed me. He's so close to just letting loose, he has the arm, but we need to go get a huge, physical, fast receiver that can make plays. Then will be unstoppable. Expect Harbaugh to make a lot of moves in the offseason, it'll be exciting. McGahee could be going, I mean the guy's getting paid 40 million dollars to gain like 40 yards a game when McClain is a beast and Ray Rice will be with Chris Johnson and Steve Slaton as the top three best running backs out of this class, with Jonathan Stewart in the mix as well. Ray Rice will have a similar career to Brian Westbrook, small, swift, good moves, great at catching the ball, and a team player. On behalf of the 2008 season, great job Ravens and the coaching staff, specifically John Harbaugh. He's going to be a great coach.

I am thoroughly confused. The team went 13-3 after a 6-10 season and it was a disappointment, now they go 10-6 after a 5-10 season with a good (albeit young) quarterback and many of the same players that went 13-3, and we are told to be happy. I was happy then and I am now. Has the coaching really been the difference or are we just better than expected because Flacco is better than expected (considering he is a rookie)?

Great comments!!!!!! Right on!!! I laugh when I hear the talking heads emphasizing the fact that Joe Flacco is a "rookie" and is leading the Ravens. What they fail to say is that he was also our third &*#&@ string QB! That and a rookie head coach is huge when you consider what the team has accomplished. I can't wait for the off sesason. We now have a purpose and Harbaugh will give us marching orders. Newsome will fill the bill for us. YIKES!!!! This is exiciting!!!!!
Thanks,
Allen

I have to say I disagree with you pete. The Ravens have given us a good season and gone over expectation but if the opportunity is there you've got to take it. Last season was just a wash with Billick at the helm, anyone knows we weren't really a 5-11 team.

Try telling any one of those players they should be happy with just a winning season...

This has been an unexpected season for sure. While I was one of the Raven fans thinking that we would be drafting in the top 10 in the 2009 draft, after a 4-12 season, I was of the thinking that one of those 4 wins would come against the Steelers. I am not greedy. I AM BALTIMORE!

WRONG. losing tonight would be a big disappointment. successful teams (and people) don't sit back and say "look how well we did" before it's all over. your sentiment will be fine to think about later, but it just sounds like an excuse if we lose tonight. now is the time to push the envelope, not to be satisfied with just winning 9 or 10 games and missing the playoffs, believe we got screwed against the steelers and titans and that we were better, and prove that we belong against dallas. save it for the offseason pete. tonight i want to WIN.

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Pete's reply: Of course you want to win. Everybody wants to win, but if you don't win and you act like the team is a failure, then you've lost perspective.

The Steelers beat the Ravens and the Cowboys the last two weeks. This must be the "loser's bracket" game. Believe me, the Cowboys were much tougher than the Ravens. Dr. Steeler says the Ravens will lose.

I just hope Romo spent the night with Carrie and Jessica both and they wore him out...........
The league is sending the Ravens in as sacrificial lambs in a homecoming game , sometimes the lamb wins.............

Unless they win the Super Bowl, there are plenty of fans who will be mad. Ravens fans were plenty mad after the 13-3 season and they will be plenty mad if this team goes 9-7, 10-6 or 11-5 w/o winning the Super Bowl.

No matter what they say, this town still views the Ravens thru the lens of the Unitas era-Colts. Billick's biggest mistake was winning the Super Bowl too quickly. It reinforced the Colt- like expectations and those won't go away until Ray Lewis retires or they win the thing.

Actually, I can be disappointed in this season. Anyone who was getting down on this team was an ignorant fool (cough cough, ESPN). That team that went 5-11 last season was decimated. DECIMATED! by injuries. Playing with Corey Ivy as our 1st string CB!? Of course we got burned!!! And it doesn't help losing Trevor Pryce, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed plus the offensive players like Boller, Heap and Ogden.
No, I came into this season expecting playoffs, and I'm not ashamed to say I would have been disappointed if we didn't make it, and I still will. Call me a homer, but I really did think we had a shot from the start because this team starts with defense, is controlled by the defense, and it ends with the running game plus more defense. As long as we didn't get hit with more injuries, we would be in the race. 'Lo and behold! We've even been hit with injuries (McAlister, Rolle, Landry, Gregg, Reed, McGahee, Yanda, Terry, Gaither, Mason, Boller), but we're not just treading water, we're hanging with the front-runners.

Ok, this isn't Dallas vs. Detroit. Everyone seems to have written off this game but the guys playing it.

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Pete's reply: Well, everybody, imcluding me, is eating crow.

Pete,

An awesome season just got more Awesome!!!

No doubt .. we have a TEAM. Win or lose we have a TEAM!!!!.

Pete

Believe man. Believe. Jags first, then the Jets. Post season is a reality!

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Pete's reply: They still can't afford to get ahead of themselves. The Jags nearly beat the Colts on Thursday night.

No offense Pete, but everyone but The Ravens nearly beat The Colts.

They beat Minnesota on a last minute field goal.

They beat Houston on a last minute TD.

They beat Pitt with a TD with just a few minutes remaining.

They beat San Diego with a last minute field goal.

They beat The Browns with that pick six/fumble six whatever by DA.

They did the same to the Jags.

The Colts are a very lucky team, and the Jags are a very poor one who will have little to play for in a very harsh environment.

That said the Ravens still have to keep focus, especially since there's still a chance they won't be playing NY, but let's not give The Jags any undo credit for their performance Thursday. It was a home division game for them and they blew it.

"Pete's reply: Of course you want to win. Everybody wants to win, but if you don't win and you act like the team is a failure, then you've lost perspective."

there's a difference between acting like the team is a failure if we lose and assuming we'll lose and trying to celebrate the big picture before the game even starts. "we had a nice season, even if we lose" talk has no place here. you've gotta believe, no matter what the obstacles are.

How 'bout them Cow...uh...RAVENS!?!