Former Baltimore Sun columnist and current Ravens.com contributor John Eisenberg once published a monthly piece in The Sun called “Fact and Opinion”. It was always one of my favorite reads from Eisenberg, whom I considered the best columnist our city ever had — and we had some decent ones along the way, mind you.
So, operating from the vantage point of “don’t reinvent the wheel”, I bring you my own version of “Fact and Opinion”, Ravens style.
I hope you enjoy it. If you don’t, blame Eisenberg for not coming up with a better idea twenty years ago. 😉
FACT: The addition of Jeremy Zuttah has made a significant impact on the Ravens offensive line this year. Just like the noticeable downward drop-off from Birk to Gradkowski in 2013, so too is the obvious uptick from Gradkowski to Zuttah in 2014.
OPINION: Marshal Yanda is the second best offensive lineman in Ravens history. And the gap between 2nd and 3rd is pretty large, I’d say.
FACT: Joe Flacco has never missed a start in his 7-year NFL career. No sprained toe, hip pointer, bruised thumb, etc. He’s started every single game since 2008. An amazing stat.
OPINION: Wide receivers look like dorks when they spin the ball after a catch. Now, if they spun the ball after an incompletion or a drop, I might give them a pass.
FACT: Next season, the Ravens schedule includes home games with Seattle, St. Louis, Kansas City, San Diego and a team from the AFC South. On the road, they’re at Oakland, Denver, Arizona, San Francisco, plus an AFC East team.
OPINION: Given the right conditions — and admittedly they’d have to be perfect — I think Justin Tucker can kick a 70-yard field goal in a game. I do, really.
FACT: In the Harbaugh-Flacco era, they’ve lost two home games in a row one time. It happened in the 2012 season.
OPINION: Baltimore and Pittsburgh both win out and the Ravens finish as the #5 seed and face the Steelers in Pittsburgh to open the post-season.
FACT: The Ravens haven’t missed Ray Rice at all in 2014.
OPINION: The Ravens haven’t missed Ray Rice at all in 2014.
FACT: Since 2008, the Ravens have only lost two home games to AFC South teams, falling to the Titans and Colts.
OPINION: The MVP of this year’s Ravens team through 13 weeks of the season is…………Justin Forsett. Hard to believe, huh?
FACT: J.J. Watt is going to be the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Year, of course, but Elvis Dumervil should at least get a couple of “just because” votes.
OPINION: They both have one Super Bowl ring, but Russell Wilson is a better quarterback than Joe Flacco.
FACT: The Ravens are going to have to beat the Cleveland Browns on the final day of the regular season to make the playoffs.
OPINION: Johnny Manziel will get the start in that one and will have one game to create an off-season of discussion in Cleveland over who should start at QB in 2015. I get nervous when free-wheelers like Manziel get the chance to free wheel.
