How does this team get to 10 wins?

[RavenousD]

The Ravens don't win more than 8 games TOTAL. To win more they would have to get rid of the IDIOT - and they are not going to do that until early 2013.

So we should start thinking about who we will be drafting with the 18th overall pick.

you also predicted in your other thread Ravens would lose to the Browns, which made you lose all credibility, if you ever had any.

[Corey]

I think this thread will be pretty humorous when they end up 11-5 or 12-4. theres not a game on the schedule this team cannot beat.

Raiders
@ Steelers
@ SD
Steelers
@ Redskins
Broncos
Giants
@ Bengals

None of those teams you can say are playing lights out football right now. Dont let our own flaws blind you from seeing other teams.

Exactly. We have flaws but the only team in the NFL whose flaws haven't cost them yet is the Falcons.

[RedSkins Fury]

I'm real nervous here. The browns scored four times and had to settle for FGs. Any other team would have put up 4 TDs on us.

Flacco and Co seems lost out there.

I dont have faith in the offense especially when they abandon the run as much as they do.

The defense cant defend the run.

No Ray Lewis!

We wont have the same success as we've had in the past if things dont change quickly.

The losses will be piling up if we dont change this crap ASAP

That's crazy. They stuck with the run all game yesterday... Probably too much a couple times...They aren't going to run on 3rd and 10 and expect to pick up a first down. Overall, they've played better D since Ray has been out.

As far as the O struggling yesterday... they rely on a rhythm, when you don't pick anything on 1st down against a D who is getting fired up, you will struggle. That happened for about 30 minutes yesterday. I think handing the ball to Rice on every 1st down when they were struggling, was a mistake they made a couple times yesterday... Maybe a screen or dump off to Rice on 1st or 2nd down instead of 3rd and 10 would be a good idea at times.

[RedSkins Fury]

I also, don't see us losing to the Redskins.

I know they still play the game... but it sounds like they may have packed it in for the season already...
http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_r...SI&eref=fromSI

[StingerNLG]

I'm real nervous here. The browns scored four times and had to settle for FGs. Any other team would have put up 4 TDs on us.

Flacco and Co seems lost out there.

I dont have faith in the offense especially when they abandon the run as much as they do.

Yet when it mattered, the offense kicked back into gear and scored 11 points to put the game away. They found their footing and finished things off.

And they didn't abandon the run at all. The Browns adjusted and stopped the run. We were running on 1st down most of that game. It just took the offense a while to re-adjust to what the Browns were doing.

We are going to be 7-2 before we hit our tough stretch. That's likely going to be 2nd in the AFC as they are now, and still leading the division. So at the least, we should be playing for the division lead when we go to Pittsburgh.

[nickh0801]

Jesus, wtf is wrong with people? We won the damn game didn't we? It wasn't even close to as bad as you are implying. I mean how could we beat the New England Patriots at home? Oh wait we already did that....

that is just begging for the "with Lewis and Webb" responses...

[lovefootball]

I think this thread will be pretty humorous when they end up 11-5 or 12-4. theres not a game on the schedule this team cannot beat.

Raiders
@ Steelers
@ SD
Steelers
@ Redskins
Broncos
Giants
@ Bengals

None of those teams you can say are playing lights out football right now. Dont let our own flaws blind you from seeing other teams.

Thanks for posting this reponse. One game at a time, for those who know whats going to happen, please bet your house on it, I hope you win a lot.

[leachisabeast]

that is just begging for the "with Lewis and Webb" responses...

What does it matter when that defense gave up all those yards against Brady anyway, our offense single handily won us that game.

[Ravenous1]

Exactly. We have flaws but the only team in the NFL whose flaws haven't cost them yet is the Falcons.

Exactly. I agree 100%

Sorry but some of you should move to NY and become Yankee fans. You have that same entitled whiny obnoxious attitude they have. I cant believe some of the comments I have read.

This team lost its defensive leader, its best CB and is still having issues with playcalling and yet they managed to win a game on the road against a team that had won 2 of their past 3. We win a divisional road game and you all whine it was not a good enough win??? Seriously? We have the 2nd best record in the AFC despite all the injuries and other issues. What the hell else do you all expect. I am sorry maybe I am not being fair but if I did not know our record and came on here I would think we are 2-6 instead of 6-2. Get a grip.

It just stupid. If we lose to Oakland at home then start whining.

[RavensQB]

Yet when it mattered, the offense kicked back into gear and scored 11 points to put the game away. They found their footing and finished things off.

And they didn't abandon the run at all. The Browns adjusted and stopped the run. We were running on 1st down most of that game. It just took the offense a while to re-adjust to what the Browns were doing.

We are going to be 7-2 before we hit our tough stretch. That's likely going to be 2nd in the AFC as they are now, and still leading the division. So at the least, we should be playing for the division lead when we go to Pittsburgh.

They really did not stop the run. Play calls changed the point of attack.

Adjust 6 3 and outs?!?!?!?!??!?! WOW

Where was a slant?

Once again, run, run and wait for it, chuck it 30 yards down the field with a Oline that is swiss cheese. Fking BRILLIANT!

[lobachevsky]

Well, this is about what I expected when I started this thread--a storm surge of unsupported optimism spiked with snide "you're not really a fan" flotsam & jetsam, with the occasional voice of reason trying to be heard over the howling windbags...

Those of you who worked yourselves into a froth over criticism of the Ravens' play last Sunday are saying more about your infantile notions of fannishness than anything else. The main reason y'all want us to "just shut up" (or "go to NY & become Yankee fans") is because you know most of the criticism is warranted & you hope that by squeezing your eyes shut & sticking your fingers in your ears & shouting 6-2, 6-2, 6-2! at the top of your lungs you can keep the evil spirits away.

Good luck with that.

Getting back to the issues at hand:

1) Anyone who takes comfort in the D only giving up 5 FGs yesterday needs to recognize that Weeden was under no real pressure for most of the game but still made a passle of unforced errors--missing receivers, not noticing others who were wide open--& his pass-catchers didn't do much to help him out. Every one of the QBs the Ravens will face in the remainder of the season is better than Brandon Weeden. Every one of those teams has better receivers than the Browns.

2) Last Sunday the Ravens offense looked really good for a quarter, then awful for the next two quarters, & finally woke up to score the winning TD. (No credit for the last FG, gaining only 4 yards from where the Browns turned the ball over on downs.) What happened in the 2nd & 3rd quarters? Can this offense figure out a way to move the ball & score for 4 quarters, or even for 3?

Here are the justifications for optimism that I see:

• The defense clearly concentrated on stopping Richardson & forcing Weeden to win the game, which turned out well; no one on the remaing schedule has as good a RB, so the emphasis will shift to controlling the passing game
• Ellerbe & Corey Graham stepped up their games
• The OL played better, at least in the first quarter, & the O came up with big plays when it needed them
• Three of the toughest games left are at home, where the Ravens have been close to unbeatable
• The team plays up to top competition
• The O went into a shell because they didn't want to show anything to future opponents
• Even great QBs have off days, & anything can happen

Problem is, most of these "reasons" are wishful thinking. At best they rely on past performances that may or may not be applicable to the current state of the team.

Other than the first quarter last Sunday, this team has shown no significant improvement in scheme, technique, or level of play coming out of the bye. There is no reason to believe they'll be any better at stopping a quality offense even at home with a good QB than they were at holding down Brady or Romo. There is a little more reason to thinnk that the offense can put up points when it has to.

But frankly, I see no way for the Ravens to reach 10 or 11 wins that doesn't involve a large helping of luck. And luck cuts both ways--a lot of the "anything" that "can happen" is bad stuff. They could just as easily end up 8-8. Even 7-9.

The most distressing thing to me is that I don't think this coaching staff knows how to deal with current conditions. Harbaugh has always played things conservatively; his philosophy has been to minimize the role of chance & trust that his players are simply better than the opponent. It's pretty clear that isn't the case this year. If they want to make the dance, they're going to have to start taking chances in order to "steal" games that on paper they should lose. But they don't act as if they've gotten the message & I don't have much confidence they know how to act on it even when (if) they do.

(FTR, I would rather not see what I've described above; I have no grudge against anyone on the staff or roster [& have no patience with anyone who wishes them ill in the interest of carrying one out]; and I would infinitely prefer seeing them win than being able to say "I told you so.")

[JohnBKistler]

Other than the first quarter last Sunday, this team has shown no significant improvement in scheme, technique, or level of play coming out of the bye. There is no reason to believe they'll be any better at stopping a quality offense even at home with a good QB than they were at holding down Brady or Romo. There is a little more reason to thinnk that the offense can put up points when it has to.

So there is no reason to expect the Ravens to beat QBs like Brady and Romo, because they have? So there is "little" reason to expect the Ravens to score 4th quarter points when they need to, because they have (including in those 2 games)?

Huh?

[moose10101]

Yet when it mattered, the offense kicked back into gear and scored 11 points to put the game away.

It "matters" right from the opening kickoff. Points in Q2 and Q3 count just as much as points in the last 5 minutes of Q4. A team that goes 3 and out six consecutive times has serious issues. If this had been the first time we'd seen this, we'd chalk it up to just a bad day at the office. We've seen this too many times.

Relying on this offense to pull 4th quarter comebacks to win games is going to end in disaster.

[lobachevsky]

So there is no reason to expect the Ravens to beat QBs like Brady and Romo, because they have? So there is "little" reason to expect the Ravens to score 4th quarter points when they need to, because they have (including in those 2 games)?

Huh?

It "matters" right from the opening kickoff. Points in Q2 and Q3 count just as much as points in the last 5 minutes of Q4. A team that goes 3 and out six consecutive times has serious issues. If this had been the first time we'd seen this, we'd chalk it up to just a bad day at the office. We've seen this too many times.

Relying on this offense to pull 4th quarter comebacks to win games is going to end in disaster.

The second post answers the first quite nicely. The only thing worth adding is that this ain't baseball--you don't get 27 outs no matter how long that takes. What happens if the opponent is ahead on the scoreboard late in the game &, recognizing that the Ravens offense can be explosive, plays to run out the clock against a "bend-but-don't-break" defense?

(@StingerNLG: Are you really going to count the last FG as "the offense kick[ing] it into gear" when they gained a net 4 yards after Pat Short-Timer, 'scuse me, Shurmur, handed them the ball on the Cleveland 33?)

[crazyraven]

Yet when it mattered, the offense kicked back into gear and scored 11 points to put the game away. They found their footing and finished things off.

They did finish it off but against the Browns. As I stated before any other team drives 4 tds down our throats and we are scrabbling to put up more against a team that was holding us to a bunch of . We are in a good position and hopefully the coaching staff makes adjusts and game plans a little better so that we don't watch these games with our hearts in our stomachs.

We are going to be 7-2 before we hit our tough stretch. That's likely going to be 2nd in the AFC as they are now, and still leading the division. So at the least, we should be playing for the division lead when we go to Pittsburgh.

This is the the thing I am most worried about. Unfortunately I think the Steelers have the same aspirations and will take advantage of mistakes if we lay them at their feet.

[bensmotorcyclehelmt]

x1000

Holy shit guys. We went on the road and played a divisional foe that had won 2 out of it's last three and beat them by 2 scores while denying them a single TD.

I just don't know what people expect from an injury riddled team with a serious talent deficiency on both lines. They are playing well enough to win and that's all that counts. Once we make the playoffs it becomes 40% luck, 30% team health, and 30% talent. Just enjoy a fucking win without desperately looking for a way to piss on it.

Seriously.

The win in Cleveland was not overly impressive but it was an improvement. Keeping the browns out of the endzone was a good start and young guys are getting good game expereince. Once crunch time hits in Dec/Jan and Feb, it's all about the TOP talent you have, and who gets hot.

I like that we're getting young guys expereince AND winning at the same time.

Our top talent on both sides of the ball can get hot. Don't sleep on Rice, Boldin, Torrey Flacco, Suggs, Reed or Ngata. They can all single handedly propel a team to a win.

I truly think we will get to 10 wins and once in the playoffs, will let it hang out.

[bensmotorcyclehelmt]

I think this thread will be pretty humorous when they end up 11-5 or 12-4. theres not a game on the schedule this team cannot beat.

Raiders
@ Steelers
@ SD
Steelers
@ Redskins
Broncos
Giants
@ Bengals

None of those teams you can say are playing lights out football right now. Dont let our own flaws blind you from seeing other teams.

Aint that the truth.

Raiders just gave up 250 rushing yards to one dude. Really. One dude.
Steelers look like the best of the rest, but they just beat a totally unispired Giants team. And still lost to the Raiders AND Titans. And they don't have a RB.
Giants will be tough. But we're built similarly to the steelers who habnded them. And I'd say we matchup as favorabley as they do, possibly better. And we get then at home.
Skins are struggling as they couldn't beat Carolina. Really? Oh, and they just let Christian Ponder throw for 352 and 2 TDs.
Bengals will be tough in their place, but not impossible. Let me remind you they just lost their 4th in a row. One of which was to Cleveland.
San Diego will be tough with the trip west, but they aren't world beaters either. Old Man Peyton had that comeback AT SD...Oh, and they just lost to that lousy Cleveland team we swept too.

[srobert96]

Yet when it mattered, the offense kicked back into gear and scored 11 points to put the game away. They found their footing and finished things off.

And they didn't abandon the run at all. The Browns adjusted and stopped the run. We were running on 1st down most of that game. It just took the offense a while to re-adjust to what the Browns were doing.

We are going to be 7-2 before we hit our tough stretch. That's likely going to be 2nd in the AFC as they are now, and still leading the division. So at the least, we should be playing for the division lead when we go to Pittsburgh.

On the series where they kicked it into gear the play calling was better. It was more creative. They opened up with good pickup on a pass to the middle of the field to Boldin. That set the tone for the drive. From there they were able to mix in passes and runs with success. During the previous 6 drives that stalled they would run the ball on first down for little gain or they tried the deep pass to Smith. Their first down plays are what is killing the team.

[leachisabeast]

On the series where they kicked it into gear the play calling was better. It was more creative. They opened up with good pickup on a pass to the middle of the field to Boldin. That set the tone for the drive. From there they were able to mix in passes and runs with success. During the previous 6 drives that stalled they would run the ball on first down for little gain or they tried the deep pass to Smith. Their first down plays are what is killing the team.

I just do not get why we can't have those kind of throws to Boldin more consistently, why the fuck does it take until the 4th quarter to get that play when we needed it, and why did we literally fall off a cliff after that first quarter where our offense looked the best it's been all year?

[Terpsfan82]

I just do not get why we can't have those kind of throws to Boldin more consistently, why the fuck does it take until the 4th quarter to get that play when we needed it, and why did we literally fall off a cliff after that first quarter where our offense looked the best it's been all year?

Cleveland adjusted by putting an extra dlineman in the game, effectively running a 4-4-3. Cam never countered that move. That is, until the 4th quarter. This man's stubborness never ceases to amaze me.