NFL 2024/25

^ Stay tuned and we'll see who makes the team. The competition is fierce this year. 

In other news, our 20-year old first round draft pick got injured during the first pre-season game. Which we lost in the final minute. Hardly any starters played, so not taking it too seriously.

Times sure have changed. In the old days ya never would have let a cheerleader feel ya up in the pre-season!

I guess it's because the Ravens won their match against the Falcons.

Our 37 year old backup QB Josh Johnson, who has been a member of 14 different NFL teams (the most in league history), started and played well. The rest of the guys were playing to stay on the roster. No injuries so it counts as a good day.

Season starts again this Thursday night with a rematch against Kansas City. Ravens look reasonably decent with the big question mark being the "new" Offensive line. Can they protect Lamar? Can they facilitate the running game? 

Barring season-ending injuries to major players, I'll predict a 12 and 5 season and another playoff spot in a tough division.

The bigger question is the schedule....can the team survive the NFL's greedy business model?

[...On top of that, there are some disturbing stretches in the second half of the season, including three games in 14 days and another three in 10.

“The idea of having guys that are 300-plus pounds out there pounding the hell out of each other and playing that many games over a short period of days, I don’t know how you recover,” Lopez said. “When you throw all the travel in on top of it and then you look at the Ravens’ schedule, you go, ‘Holy crap, it’s just crazy.’...

Everybody wants a piece of the pie, so you’re going to probably have a game every night of the week or every day of the week in the future.” It’s inevitable, and it’s all about the money while player safety has been put on the back shelf.]

good article / may be paywalled: https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/08/30/ravens-schedule-player-safety-nf...

Well they say it's a game of inches, and based on the last 5 seconds of the game, when the Ravens had a chance to possibly go on and win it with the help of a desperation touchdown pass, it was. Initially the pass was ruled a touchdown, but on review, a sliver of the receiver's toe was on the white line, enabling Kansas City to maintain it's 27 - 20 lead. By a toe.

Admittedly the Chiefs were the better team all night --- the Ravens ran a hodge podge of plays and never established a controlling personality. Lamar had to run way too much. And they shot themselves in the foot with a plethora of weird penalties and turnovers. Still, they almost pulled it off. Against any other team, they probably would have won. But Mahomes and his offense was just too quick for the Raven's defense. 

I hate these Thursday night games. 8:30 is too late for cooking and eating dinner and by 1100 ish I was getting tired already after a few drinks, with another hour still to go.

Why were all the refs spotted backstage at the recent Taylor Swift concert? Probably just a coincidence. 

>He had to run? <

Three of our offensive lineman were playing their first NFL game. The other two vets on the line were getting questionable penalty calls. So Lamar was getting lots of pressure. Our star tight ends were consigned to help with blocking. Lamar is not really great when it comes to long ball passing. So the only option was for him to scramble.

I agree that he can't run like that every game. 

"Sunday's Ravens-Raiders game at M&T Bank Stadium was paused for several minutes due to a scary incident when a member of the chain gang crew collapsed on the sideline. ...Players, coaches, and personnel took a knee on the field in prayer for the person, who was loaded onto a stretcher and taken off the field."

An unfortunate metaphor for the first home game. Ravens collapsed and gave it away to the Raiders (26-23) after having a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter.

Blame it on penalties, turnovers, or leaky offensive line, but honestly, the Ravens looked average throughout, at best. They are like a dull Swiss Army knife -- a lot of weapons but none dominant or effective. 

Ravens were on the verge of handing the Cowboys the game after another 4th quarter fiasco (they were leading 28-6 at end of third quarter), but Dallas couldn't capitalize. So the Ravens get their first win of the season 28-25. Yea! Penalties, soft play late in the game, and lousy special teams almost doomed Baltimore. Also, our league leading star kicker seems to have jumped the shark, which is a big concern. 

I was trying to keep up with the action while on a 500 mile drive home and had to rely on periodic updates on Sirius and that little animated graphic of a football field on the cell phone, so I didn't really get to enjoy the game. But I'll take the win.

If only we could play like this every game. Ravens played solid, physical football and dismantled Buffalo 35 -10. A much needed win.

It started with Derrick Henry sprinting 87 yards on the first play of the game for a touchdown, and most importantly Baltimore maintained the lead. They had the chance to fold in the second half but rebounded quickly and dominated until the end. The Bills even pulled Josh Allen in the fourth quarter because he was getting nowhere.

Equally important -- no major injuries and we're 2 and 2 and on the upswing as we go against Cinci next week.

Flying high at the moment!

Without watching some extended video it's hard to describe what went down in Cincinnati yesterday, but the NFL scribes are calling it the most exciting game of the season yet and it might be hard to beat. Talk about getting indigestion. 

A 10 touchdown game, 9 of them passing. (The other touchdown was a run on the Raven's opening drive.) A true duel between Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. Ravens win in overtime 41-38!  

The Ravens were down 38-28 with 8:54 to go in the fourth quarter and looked done for. But Lamar kept pulling rabbits outta his hat. (I seldom recommend that folks watch replays, but if ya like football, check out the clips of Lamar fumbling, recovering, evading, stiff-arming a defender, stiff-arming him again, running for broke and completing a pass into triple coverage -- all in one play. A sight to behold.)

A missed field goal in overtime (by the Bengals) gave Baltimore another last chance and they made theirs.

Ravens are now 3 and 2.

Ravens now at 4 and 2 after a win over the Washington Commanders (Redskins), 30-23, at M&T Bank Stadium Sunday. Battle of the Beltways.

A solid, steady Ravens offense controlled the game from start to finish. Nice change from all the recent nail-biters.

The duo of Lamar Jackson (323 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and Derrick Henry (24 carries, 132 yards, 2 TDs) cemented the win, along with the Ravens receivers who got open today and actually held on to the ball throughout the game. If the defense can improve, we will be playoff caliber.

Baltimore put on a pretty good show against Tampa Bay to win 41-31 on Monday Night Football. They are now 5 and 2 along with their division rivals, the Steelers.

After a rocky start the Raven's offense dominated the Buccaneers. Lamar's passing accuracy is improving each game and a wide variety of receivers are actually holding on to the ball. The running game, featuring Derrick Henry, is something to behold. It's a multi-threat offense.

However, the Raven's defense still proves leaky -- a few big plays saved the day. And the Ravens never seem too far off from losing the game in the last quarter. (The score was 34 - 10 Ravens in the third quarter and the Bucs scored three touchdowns in the fourth). It keeps games exciting for a spectator, that's for sure. 

But I could do without the constant nail-biters and look forward to a more well balanced showing.

Not a good week..... Ravens lose to last place Cleveland....gave the game away. It wasn't even raining and they played like the ball was slathered in butter. 

What I don't understand is how these guys can drop a ball thrown right to them when they've been catching footballs since first grade? AAAAGHHHH.

Baltimore cruised to a 41-10 victory over Denver. "When Baltimore's top-ranked offense plays like this, it's virtually unstoppable, even for a good defense" (the Broncos had the #3 ranked D before this game). The Ravens scored on seven straight drives. using their Swiss Army knife strategy -- Derrick Henry and Lamar set records....the rest of the receivers and other running back did great.. too. Even our fullback scored a touchdown.

And the Raven's still shaky defense redeemed themselves (today) -- a couple guys stepped up and made the crucial stops when needed.

This back-and-forth, up-and-down seesaw play is stressful. Exciting. Unpredictable. But quite stressful wondering just what version of the Ravens will show up this coming Thursday night against the Bengals.

Last Thursday seems so long ago, but it was another typical Ravens game in 2024 --- a shaky defense supported by the strength of the offense -- highlighted by a come-from-behind stellar performance by Lamar Jackson. 

It could have easily gone another way but the Ravens win 35 to 34 over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Seems impossible for the Ravens to fire on all cylinders at once. This time the defense did an adequate job, but the offense and special teams sputtered, resulting in an 18 to 16 loss to our longtime nemesis, the Pittsburg Steelers. Surprisingly, Baltimore's defense, the team's main weakness this season, did not allow a touchdown -- Pittsburg's 18 points came from 6 field goals.

Unfortunately, Baltimore's Justin Tucker, formerly the NFL's best kicker, seems to have lost his magic touch and squandered two "easy" field goals of his own. Add to that twelve penalties and three big turnovers, and the Ravens squandered the entire game. Too bad for them, as a win was within reach and would have left Baltimore in first place. The game was not even a usual cliffhanger -- it was boringly disappointing.

Thankfully, the food where I was was very satisfying. 

Just once I would like to see the Ravens bludgeon an opponent on national tv.

The Ravens beat the Chargers 30 - 23 in the Brother vs Brother Bowl and were clearly the better team out there, but overall their play seemed "average." Still too many penalties at inopportune times. 

But in the heart of the season I guess it's good to walk away from a win without any serious injuries.  Got some big games coming up.

Even though the final score was Philly 24 - Ravens 19, the Eagles (especially their defensive line) dominated and the Ravens basically sucked -- a lot more than the score indicates.

One of the best kickers in the history of the NFL, Baltimore's Justin Tucker, seems to be in a lot more than a rut, and missed three important kicks. First time in his career. Unheard of to a Ravens fan. We needed those 7 points. 

And Baltimore's offense always seemed like they were frantically struggling -- they didn't play deliberate, effective ball all day. Very scattered. No momentum. Plus, Lamar thinks he is Johnny Unitas now and loves to drop back in the pocket and throw into coverage. He looooooves to throw into coverage. And our guys don't' always catch it. Problem. 

We did cut down on our penalties. I guess that's good. Now we go into a bye week (finally) followed by 3 games in 10 days!  A Sunday > the following Sat > and then the next Wed.

Playoff contenders or playoff pretenders? This shaky play ain't gonna cut it.

^ article I read said:

105 penalties this year (13 games) for a total of 885 yards. Offense 53, Defense 40, Special Teams 12. 

How does this even happen with highly paid pro athletes that have been playing the game for years?  I don't even think it's all poor training / coaching.... I think these guys are often over-matched and impulsively doing it out of desperation. 

Or maybe they are paid to throw the games?

I've got my hands full following the AFC.

Who besides the Eagles should I worry about in NFC? Lion? Vikings? Packers? 

Are the 49ers toast?

Thanks for the info Lance... much appreciated.

The Ravens have 4 games left and by all accounts should sneak into the playoff picture with at least 2 wins.

But because of inconsistent play, the deterioration of out kicker, and continual self inflicted wounds, they are expected to blow it ---- again.

But ya never know. Hope springs eternal. 

A sloppy, expected but needed win --- Ravens 35 over the Giants 14. This is the first of 3 games in 11 days and the next opponents are a lot tougher. Especially division leader Pittsburgh this coming Saturday.

Coming off the recent bye week proved refreshing health-wise, but execution-wise we still had 12 penalties! We gave away over 100 yards. Really? That's not gonna fly with the Steelers and the Texans.

Our multi-pronged offense played well today (Lamar had 290 passing yards / 5 passing touchdowns plus 65 rushing yards) and there were some notable plays by defense and special teams, but the latter two squads remain inconsistent. Thankfully our questionable kicker didn't have to attempt any field goals and hopefully improved his confidence with some successful extra points.

The overall impression is that the Ravens currently play with a touch of desperation -- which can be useful in underdog situations -- but they seldom display the confidence and total game control that championship quality teams exhibit. And there's just no excuse for all those penalties.

Even during a winning game they have fans shaking their heads.

Well, the Ravens are in the playoffs again! They beat their arch-rival Pittsburgh 34 - 17 yesterday in a much needed win psychologically. They finally didn't beat themselves with penalties, bad clock management or stupid plays. And luckily, they recovered the turnovers that they did inflict upon themselves when things got dicey. 

It's now possible to take the division if the Steelers lose and we win in some combination. Which would give us home field advantage in some future game.

They didn't play an excellent game, but they played well-enough, plus. The run game was especially strong, our star kicker's one doink went in and he might have recovered his mojo (yet to be determined), and our defense played up to standard.

Our next game on XMas day, against Houston, is the third in 11 days and we seem to be peaking at the right time. If we can just avoid choking....

Overall, things are (like a strongman cheerleader) looking up.

Santa delivered the goods on XMas day as the Ravens smothered the Texans 31 - 2, bringing their record to 11-5 with one game left. (The only good thing about playing on a Wed is that they gain a few extra days to recuperate before they close the season against the last place Browns.)

If only Baltimore could perform like they did yesterday for the rest of their playoff run. Offense, defense and special teams all played playoff caliber ball. They weren't flawless, but were firing on all cylinders in their third decisive win in 11 days, outscoring opponents 100-33 in the span.  And during this Houston game Lamar surpassed Micheal Vick as the NFL’s all-time rushing leader among quarterbacks. Speaking of rushing, Derrick Henry proved once again he is a freaking human bulldozer. 

Most importantly, the Ravens are relatively injury-free at this point in the season compared to most other teams. 

Mr Claus and the rest of the Raven's fans are definitely eyeballing some more sweet treats in January.