Regarding your baseball column - The only real solution (maybe not realistic) is to have a minimum AND maximum salary cap. Giving money to "small markets" like KC & Pitt doesn't give then ANY incentive to win. There has been several articles talking about all of the money the Pirates owner has pocketed while the team continues to make little effort to win.

Until the majority of teams wise up and force the large market teams like NY, LA, etc. it will continue to be an embarrassment Since there are significantly more smaller market teams than large market teams I'm not sure why they don't change the playing field.

I know a large market team does not always win the World Series but they are significantly more competitive than the small market teams. The Yankees can afford several $20M mistakes and still compete. A small market team that makes a mistake like that (or if the player gets injured) cannot simply go out and get another star because their finances don't allow it.

And baseball isn't a business (except money wise) because in business the less competition you have the more money you can make but in sports how much are you going to make if you are down to 4 or 8 teams? I think the interest would vanish rather quickly and so would the money.

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Pete's reply: Rich, the owners' salary cap proposal in 1994 had a minimum payroll component also, but the players thought it was ridiculously low, and they were not going for a cap anyway.

I believe that the draft is important in building a solid NFL team; however Ozzie takes it to an extreme in my opinion. Why wait for the next Anquan Boldin or Brandon Marshall through the draft when you could already have them? Look at the Jarret Allen trade. If Minnesota waits to draft a "Jarret Allen" it might never happen, but because they made a trade, they're in a better position. Because the NFL season is so short, I would not make a trade; however there was plenty of moves to be made in the off-season that weren't made and plenty of moves that shouldn't have been made, but were made. Speaking of bad moves. Has L.J Smith played a down yet?

The Ravens are a very good football team without decent cornerbacks. Ed Reed is playing hit and miss lately. He hit on the Pick 6 against Cincy, but he seems dormant much of the time. Why not rotate him up to protect the corners?

Also, give Webb, Nakamura, and Zb-Kowski a chance--can't be any worse that Foxworth, Washington, and Frank W.

Just some thoughts.

P. S. What ever happened to the $60,000,000 kid? AKA
T-Sizzle.

P. S. Harbaugh--let Mattison go, and find Greg Williams.

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Pete's reply: I think it was a lot easier to be Ed Reed when he had a better supporting cast back there.

I agree... 6-3. They shape up heading out of the bye.

No matter what their record is, Cincy simply does not have the talent to keep up and still play BAL, Chi, SD Pitt, Minn and NJJ.
Pittstink is going 12-4,
Pats go 13-3,
Colts may go 16-0,
NJJ will finish near .500 and still play MIA, INDY, NE and ATL.
Texans are too inconsistent,
SD will Norv it up,
Miami faces the toughest schedule in the league and still plays Pitt, NE x's 2, NJJ, and NO

as usual the great oz dropped the ball again

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Pete's reply: So, you don't like Ray Rice, Joe Flacco and Michael Oher?

Rich-
Save the baseball comments for the baseball column. Seriously- why respond to that here. This is a football column- and quite honestly- when it comes to the Ravens right now- I'm high strung enough without you wanting your words to stand out so much you place them in the wrong response column!

Pacman Jones

Pete: Off what I saw Monday night, right now I wouldn't pick the Ravens over the Broncos unless you spotted me 7-10. So I figure 5-4 by Irsay-Time.

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Pete's reply: What did you see on Monday night to draw that conclusion? I'll give you this. If the Broncos return two kicks for touchdowns, they'll beat the Ravens pretty easily.

While baseball's trade deadline is more exciting (well not for the Orioles fans) than football's, the tradeoff is that the MLB's draft is a snore fest while the NFL draft day is almost Super Bowl proportions in terms of excitement.

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Pete's reply: This is true.

Pacman Jones.is the way to go now....the Ravens need someone in that "sorry secondary" who has a "Nasty Streak " in them

You don't look like the type to do drugs, but to think the Ravens will be 6-3 when the Colts get here onre would have to be on drugs!With this defense the Ravens will be lucky to go 500 for the season, and if anyone thinkd they are going to fix things because they have a bye week, they are sadly mistaken!

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Pete's reply: I did take some Advil yesterday. Does that count?

Pete: You can lump me in with the rest of the conspiracy theorists, but look at the schedules of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Pitt plays every tough game at home (except when they come here) they get Tenn (when the sched was made looked tough), San Diego, Minn, and Green Bay at home. They go to Denver (which looked easy when the schedule was made) and to Miami on Jan 3rd where the weather will not be a factor. And why does Cincy get to be home for an entire month in the middle of the season. They play 2 home games and then have their bye and out of the bye they have another home game. That's an entire month at home. Whereas we don't get 2 straight home games til wks 10 & 11 and those are vs Indy and Pitt AND the next week is on the road at GB. What's up with that?

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Pete's reply: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean the league isn't out to get the Ravens.

Hi Pete,

That is a very interesting prediction. Other than beer, I have never partaken in experimenting with serious controlled substances,however I would like to stop by and sample what you enjoyed just prior to starting this blog.

Ray can tame the PACMAN. WHY NOT???

Pacman sucked in Dallas. I like hearing people miss Samari Rolle. Same people who were calling for him to be cut over the past couple of years, that he couldn't cover or tackle, yada yada...

Can you imagine Pacman in Baltimore? The city, not the team... Makin' it rain at The Night Shift!!!

There is only room for 1 Adam Jones in this town and he plays centerfield for dem O's!

There are other reasons trades don't happen besides usually involving draft picks which baseball doesn't even allow. Each trade has salary cap implications. Since the salary cap has a floor as well as a ceiling, even the 1-5 and 0-6 teams aren't inclined to do a salary dump.

Also, if a parallel trade deadline were set up in baseball, it would happen after about 60 games -- say, May 31 rather than July 31 and conditionally on August 31.

Personally, I like football's set-up better. Baseball needs the later trading deadline even less given each team has multiple farm teams whereas football only has a practice squad with little protection even there. Baseball ends up having the New York's and Boston's of the world using other MLB teams as their in-season farm teams.

Sure, I would like to have seen an upgrade for the Ravens this year. This is better for the overall health of the league, however.

And in that vein, I find it interesting -- and encouraging -- teams (owners) haven't embarked on a spending spree using the uncapped year as a loophole. If they stay united in wanting to reinstitute the cap, even in a modified form, they are one step closer to keeping the NFL the best of the major sports. (The NFLPA may view it differently but they would be on their own trying to change things. I can't see anyone jumping to their defense.

David, forget the conspiracy.

The schedule is set up in a rotation. The Ravens, for example, play each AFC division once every three years. Every six years, the Ravens will have played each AFC team outside their division once at home and once on the road.

There are only two exceptions to that. Each team plays two additional games within their conference based on the results of the previous year. The Ravens play the AFC West this year. Therefore, they play the second place AFC East team from last year and the second place team from the AFC South from last year as well. That's because they finished second last year.

The other possible exception is if a game is scheduled for a neutral site.

Each AFC team rotates NFC divisions every four years such that after eight years the Ravens will have played the NFC teams once at home and once away.

Then, there are other factors. The Jets and Giants cannot be home on the same Sunday. The league tries to do the same thing for Baltimore and Washington, although it is not as critical. The NFL schedulers also try to avoid having a city host a game if their MLB team also has a home game.

With all of that going on, you have the networks clamoring for what they think are going to be prime late games (Sunday at 4:15), prime Sunday night games and Monday night games. Later in the year, add Thursday and Saturday games to the mix.

The league would love it if each team alternated home and away games. Sometimes, it just doesn't work out. Every year there is somebody who plays three straight away games. It's unfortunate but it's not a conspiracy.

4-5 before the Colts come and 4-6 after the Colts leave.

The Ravens are circling the drain.

Here's this week's rose-colored prediction: The Ravens will be 6-3 when the Colts get here on Nov. 22. Book it
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This "book" coming from the same guy who said the Ravens would beat the Vikings and the Bengals. Save your money folks.

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Pete's reply: Yeah, but don't you think the law of averages is now in my favor?

Quit with your predictions. You don't know what you're talking about.

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Pete's reply: Grouch.

The way there playing now its much more likely to be 4 & 5

Why is everyone all about the doom and gloom for the Ravens? So they lost three extremely close games, all against division leaders; and in each game they had a great chance to win. We could just as easily be 5-1 or even 6-0, even with our subpar secondary. It's not like ANYONE has blown us out yet. Give 'em a break!

Hey Pete got one for your column NEWS ITEM after the Ravens loss sunday John Harbaugh said his team played with the heart of a lion MY TAKE if we don't find somebody to cover an opposing teams recievers the Ravens will not only have the heart of a lion they will have the RECORD of a lion (a DETROIT LION)

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Pete's reply: Well said.

hey pete got one for your column NEWS ITEM after sundays loss John Harbaugh said "his team played with the heart of a lion" MY TAKE if we don't find somebody to cover an opposing teams receivers we will not only have the heart of a lion we wil have the RECORD of a lion (a DETROIT LION)