Right Off Russell

We said at the beginning of the season that it would be possible for the Ravens to improve on last year and still have a worse record this year. Let’s face it, last years version of the Ravens was flawed much like this one. The Ravens were able to take some steps toward becoming a more complete offensive team, but surprisingly the defense has taken a major step backwards despite playing better at the end of this season. The Ravens have played a tougher schedule this season and have not caught near the number of breaks they as they did last season, that being said they did what they needed to do to get into the playoffs.

This game turned out to be what I expected. Oakland is a tougher opponent than it’s record indicates. They are strong against the pass, weak against the run, and inconsistent on offense. Well, that’s exactly what we saw on Sunday.

Joe Flacco had a miserable day. He was 11 for 19 for a whopping 102 yards passing and 0 TDs. While some say he avoided the big mistake, he did get sacked 4 times. This wasn’t exactly all Flacco’s fault. The pass blocking was weak at times and the receivers failed to create separation. Read more »

The Ravens will be playing at Foxboro versus the Pats at 1 PM on Sunday. Woo Hoo! That means we get another dose of Phil Simms and Jim Nantz.

Hopefully, this time the refs won’t coddle Tom Brady!

After wrapping up an 0-4 road trip record in Pittsburgh last week, I am thankful that Mark Brennan will not be accompanying the Ravens in Oakland this week. Although, Sunday represents the perfect opportunity to break the “Brennan Curse, ” I am glad fate is not being put to the test. In all seriousness the Ravens should have little trouble handling the Raiders in Oakland on Sunday. The Ravens have every reason to put forth max effort, while the Raiders have little to play for except for trying to knock the Ravens out of the play-offs. That was apparently enough motivation for the Raiders last season, but they Ravens are not the Tampa Bay Bucs and they outclass the Raiders in most phases and match-ups. Read more »

Zach, Weston, and Jeff Wolfson discuss Ravens, Ravens, and more Ravens. From their 23-20 loss to the Steelers, to the Pro Bowlers, and playoff picture. We hit it all this week on BOTW.

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What I love about 24×7 sports coverage is that you can have one of those days where there are the highs and lows of a crazy story.

So I get a text that the O’s made Holliday a 8 year- $130 million offer. I then head over to Camden Chat and see that Stacy has already picked up the story.

I’m thinking… Wow… that’s pretty sweet.

20 minutes ago I decide to catch up on Twitter only to find Daniel Moroz from Camden Crazies being thankful that the offer was only false rumor. Leave it to the numbers guy balking at getting Holliday!

So goes a fun day in the Orioles sports world.

We had a good idea that Le’Ron McClain, Ray Lewis, and Ed Reed were going to be voted into the Pro Bowler. What we weren’t sure about was the status of the other players, and it looks as if Haloti Ngata and Ray Rice were selected to be part of this all-star game.

I love to see players make it into the game, but I have a difficult time justifying Ed Reed. I guess popularity is popularity and good for him.

I think Ngata’s and Rice’s selections were well deserved. I hope there will be several more for these 2 guys in the future.

Also, it should be noted that Ben Grubbs was selected as a 1st alternate and will place in case of injury.

Were the any deserving Ravens that were not selected?

Thank God  for Twitter or how else would Troy Smith be making the news!

As many of you have already seen, Troy Smith’s Agent hopped on Twitter and posted this “Ravens QB Troy Smith, Ohio State alum, native + Heisman winner wants playing time. Ravens notified. Will seek trade after play offs, SB run.”

You gotta love it. Nice way to deal with it after a tough loss, but really who cares. Maybe this team needs a few distractions.

Troy is a restricted free agent after the season. I’m not sure why any team would trade for him when they could potentially sign him. I guess they would have to give some sort of compensatory pick which may be too much. I just think the concept of trading this guy is ludicrous. I can’t see there being a high demand for Troy as a starting QB especially when Mike Vick will likely be available next year. Read more »

For about 30 minutes, I was cursing the stars. Jim Caldwell decided to pull his starters and sacrifice a perfect season to the Jets. Around the same time, the Eagles decided to start letting the Broncos back into the game.

Fortunately enough for the Ravens, they live to play one more week. If they can beat Oakland, they are in the playoffs. The bad news is that now they are likely going in as the 6th seed and heading to play New England. That will not be pretty especially with Frank Walker allowed on the field. It is what it is.

I just don’t see a deep any playoff push from this team. I think we should feel fortunate if this team beats the Raiders. I’m still pissy about that game. Arrrrrghhhhh!

I can’t believe this. I can’t belive this.

How could this team lose this game like that?

Just an absolutely poorly played game. This team acted like a bunch of 5 year olds out there.

• Poor kick coverage
• Poor punting
• 100+ yards in penalties
• Crucial fumbles
• Horrendous blocking at the end of th game
• Dropped TD passes

Read more »

Two weeks ago the Steelers managed a mere six points on two field goals at Cleveland.  Five days ago they put up 37 points vs. a very solid Green Bay defense.  Ben Roethlisberger threw for 503 yards against a secondary that features possible defensive player of the year Charles Woodson.

Ed Reed just got back from Miami where his ailing hip was examined.  He was on the field at practice today although it’s not known how much work he actually did.  His status seems very much up in the air for Sunday.  Sadly, Lardarius Webb’s status is not in doubt.  Webb, whose play at CB was by far the best on the team, tore his ACL last week vs. Chicago and is out for the year.  Needless to say the secondary of the Ravens is going to play a major role in the outcome of the game at Heinz Field on Sunday.  On the flip side, the Steelers secondary, which has been torched as of late, will be the key if they are going to win as well. Read more »