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December 20, 2009

Ravens: Big win

Not exactly sure what to make of the Ravens' lopsided victory, since the Bears did everything in their power to get themselves blown out, but back-to-back blowouts certain should make for a confident team heading into Pittsburgh next week.

The victory put the Ravens in very good position to claim one of the AFC wild card berths, though there still are a lot of teams still in range. Beating the Steelers again probably would lock it up.

Joe Flacco looked very confident from the moment he stepped onto the field, and coach John Harbaugh has to be happy with the way Demetrius Williams has stepped up with Mark Clayton and Kelley Washington inactive. Williams battled through two defenders to make the spectacular touchdown catch that put the Ravens in control of the game.

Throw in the big performances by Todd Heap and Ray Rice and the Ravens suddenly are on a very encouraging late-season roll.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:10 PM | | Comments (21)
Categories: Just football
        

Comments

Save Ferris

Who is the turd that didn't throw the Frank Walker Int. back at him? Good play, but you still cost us 15yds. I am SIAC guy, but you stink

Who is the turd that didn't throw the Frank Walker Int. back at him? Good play, but you still cost us 15yds. I am SIAC guy, but you stink.

Who is the turd that didn't throw the Frank Walker Int. back at him? Good play, but you still cost us 15yds. I am SIAC guy, but you stink.

I'll be more encouraged if Mr. Webb can play next week. Losing him would hurt a heck of a lot.

This win proves three things:

1) The Ravens can beat up on JV squads (Lions and Bears);

2) For Denver, it is the system that makes the players--just ask Jay Cutler, Clinton Portis, and Kyle Orton;

3) The Ravens better be prepared for Pittsburgh--Big Ben has a HOT hand--if the Steelers move the ball like the Bears were able to, Ben won't throw interceptions.

If we lose to Pittsburgh, what would have to happen for us to et into the playoffs

If we lose to Pittsburgh, what would have to happen for us to et into the playoffs

If we lose to Pittsburgh, what would have to happen for us to et into the playoffs

Peter-

Here is what really sucks.
When we lose to Pittsburgh next week, I think THEY become a playoff team.
So, we will go home, and THEY go on to the playoffs.
They lucked out again against the Packers.
All those games the Raven's lost on the final drives of the game, what, 4 games? Is gonna bite us in the stinker.

I think Conference Record is the next tie breaker right? Then Division record?
So we are 3-2 right now in the division.

The Steelers have at least 5 losses in the AFC, Us, KC, Oak, 2x Cincy, Cleveland. Thats 6.

Imagine if the Bengals lose at NE next week and then to Cleveland. WE could STILL win the AFC North. lol. I think..
At 9-7

The Broncos just did the Ravens a big favor by losing to Oakland and allowing the Ravens to move into the 5th playoff spot.

The Ravens are simply an amazing organization. No, they may not go deep in the postseason each year, but the fans always get their moneys worth. It's a joy to have an organization such as this, especially when the one across the parking lot defines losing.

By the way, even if Pitts beats the Ravens next week, they can not move ahead of them unless they win their final week and the Ravens lose to the Raiders.

If tied at the end of the season, the Ravens simply hold the tie breakers against Pitt....for what it's worth!

Not very optimistic with next week. Here's the deal. Webb was spotted on crutches after the game. MRI scheduled for tomorrow. His season could be over. The fact is he might actually be the MVP of the team. Why? Because when we played Indy and Cincy, as soon as he was in the line-up as a starting CB, both those teams only scored a combined 3 points in the 2nd half "COMBINED" against us. Also he is a beast everywhere on the field. Ray Rice is amazing, but he has two very worthy backups. Webb has no viable backups. What are you going to do, put Walker in for him? Here comes the yellow flags for holding calls next week. Roethlisberger is going to "tee-off" on our secondary next week. It's not going to be pretty. Gosh I hope I am wrong... Just one question: Why on earth didn't the Raven's coaches spot this talent earlier in the year and utilize him sooner & more? Wouldn't Webb with his closing speed still had been a better option as opposed to Walker even if it would have taken 5 or 6 games for Webb to learn the playbook, etc...? For a fan who appreciates good solid fundamentally sound defensive schemes and execution, Webb is so refreshing to watch.

Wayne is right, but the most important game will be Jax against NE @NE. If NE plays poorly and loses, we might be toast because I don't see us beating Pitt on the road (especially without Webb playing). So if Jax wins out and we lose to Pitt and beat Oakland, Jax gets in and we don't because of the tie breaker; meaning they have a better record in the Conference than what we have. So yes, winning out gets us in, but does anyone really see that happening? Yes I think we can score against Pitt, but Ben is going to kill our secondary with Walker in there holding on every play...

With Webb playing great at corner I questioned using him on special teams. Webb's loss is gonna hurt.

the ravens only wins , under 500 teams ,even pittsburgh, but they will beat the ravens just to get them out,oakland will beat the ravens ,.one person stands in front of the killer lewis in sd, they lose that game .new eng. is bad the refs saved brady and them twice aga. bills they look terrible,.realistic. san diego, colts ,even cinn. cant beat good teams 6-0 against under .500 teams , they wont be around much.Ise the colts ,and phil. or new orleans being top teams.pittsburgh reaaly wants to win against balto. it puts ravens out- steelers back in.

David, You're right, if all that happens, and Denver loses in Philly (which I believe they will), the Ravens would be good to go.....of course they'll still have to be Oakland.

Webb is done for the year. ):

The Sun is reporting that Ozzie would consider speaking to McAlister. Any thoughts here on how much of an impact he would have? Clearly he's an upgrade as compared to Walker, right???

Anybody have any idea why Flacco refuses to run with the ball? That play on 3rd and longish right before the missed field goal at the end of the first half, it looked to me like he at least had a shot at a first down, or a race to the marker anyway, with only 1 defender in front of him. But, he ran off to the left sideline. Cutler showed a couple of times what tucking the ball and motoring downhill can produce. Flacco had a similar play against the Lions, where he had a chance to make something happen and just danced along the line of scrimmage until they brought him down. Is he under some kind of orders to not rush with the ball, or something?

I'm thinking Flacco did the prudent thing, given the score at the time. go out of bounds, and eliminate the possibility of injury or turnover and get almost (oops) certain points on the board.

Sign Chris McCallister--and give him a short leash.

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About Peter Schmuck
Peter Schmuck wants you to know that, contrary to popular belief, he is more than just a bon vivant, raconteur and collector of blousy flowered shirts. He is a semi-respected journalist who has covered virtually every sport -- except luge, of course – and tackled issues that transcend the mere games people play. If that isn’t enough to qualify him to provide witty, wide-ranging commentary on the sports world ... and the rest of the world, for that matter ... he is an avid reader of history, biography and the classics, as well as a charming blowhard who pops off on both sports and politics on WBAL Radio. That means you can expect a little of everything in The Schmuck Stops Here, but the major focus will be keeping you up to the minute on Baltimore’s major sports teams and themes, whether it’s throwing up the Orioles lineup the minute it’s announced or updating you on the latest sprained ankle in Owings Mills. Oh, and by the way, that’s Mr. Schmuck to you.

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