Two-Minute Drill: Week 13
Week 12 in the NFL kicked off on Thanksgiving with a great match-up between the Lions and Vikes… only to be followed by a Chargers blowout of the Cowboys, and a Giants/Skins game that lulled us all deeper into a Tryptophan-induced coma.
Sunday offered a much better slate, and some great games to boot. A quick recap is in store for those who steered clear of football on Sunday, with the Ravens not playing until Monday night.
-The Cardinals (5-6) beat the Jags (7-4) and I’m not sure if I should be happy because, like “Ha! You lost to a bad team!” but also “Wait… the Cards can beat the Jags, but our Ravens can’t hold them under 40 points?”
Sigh….
-The previously shutout Packers (courtesy of Baltimore) went down to Pittsburgh and *almost* eeked out a win, losing 31-28, and I’m not sure if I should be happy because, like “Ha! Pittsburgh gave up 28 points to a bad team that the Ravens shutout!” but also “wait… the Steelers still won.”
Sigh again…
-The Titans beat the Colts, and I’m not sure if I should be happy because, like “Yes! the Colts really suck and we should beat them!” but also “Crap, we could’ve made up ground on Tennessee! Thanks Indy…”
Sigh some more…
-The Browns lost to the Bengals… and… yea, I’m not sure I care.
Nope. I don’t.
Last Week: Ravens 23 Texans 16
So the Ravens won last Monday on a national stage, improving their record to 6-5.
Splendid.
Except the game wasn’t exactly ideal for Baltimore. Sure, there’s going to be the crowd that lives and dies by the “Who cares?! The win is all that matters!” mantra. And to some extent they are right, as the Ravens moved back into the final playoff spot, and control their own destiny.
Don’t get me wrong – it wasn’t all bad! We did see a smattering of good things – mostly on defense – but we also saw some issues, some exploitation, and some concerns.
A quick run down will suffice:
–Jimmy Smith vs Deandre Hopkins: 4 catches on 4 targets for 90 yards.
-The two longest passes of the day for Baltimore: Joe Flacco to Mike Wallace for 24 yards, Sam Koch(!) to Chris Moore for 22 yards.
-2 longest runs of the day for Baltimore: Collins for 29 yards, Flacco(!) for 25 yards.
-Longest drive of the day for Baltimore: 50 yards. No other drive over 46 yards.
-Longest drive for Houston: 90 yards. 4 drives of 50+ yards for the Texans.
-Tackles for loss vs Ravens offense: 7
Ultimately, a lackluster offensive performance that worked out in the end for Baltimore, thanks in large part to an opportunistic defense providing great field position, sprinkled with a hint of trickery and a few good plays to boot (Koch’s fake punt/pass, pair of 4th down conversions, pitch to Collins for 29 just a few that come to mind).
THIS IS THE BASIC GAME PLAN OF RAVENS FOOTBALL IN 2017.
It’s the same way they won in Green Bay the week before, same way they barely lost to the Titans before the bye week, and likely what we can expect for the remainder of this season, as the offense shows no signs of improvement from week to week.
It simply is what it is.
This Week: Lions @ Ravens
Sunday 12/3 @ 1pm
On Sunday, the 6-5 Lions come to town to take on the 6-5 Ravens in a battle of polar opposites.
Seriously.
The Ravens have no pass offense (32nd)… the Lions have a very good one (10th).
The Ravens can run the ball (10th)… the Lions cannot (30th).
The Ravens pass defense is lock down (2nd)… the Lions pass defense is down trodden (23rd).
The Ravens run defense is suspect (22nd)… the Lions run defense is… worse (23rd)?
Huh… maybe Alex Collins can be the X-Factor….
So what gives on Sunday?
Which strength or weakness proves to be the deciding factor in this game? Will the Ravens rise up to a 7-5 record, gain momentum, and have fans pumped to bring on Pittsburgh in Week 14?
Or will they crumble to another NFC North foe (1-2 vs the NFCN this season), fall back to .500, all but assure Pittsburgh the AFC North title, and potentially cost themselves any shot at a playoff spot?
Prediction
The Ravens secondary finally gets a tough match-up, and probably the best passing attack they’ve seen all season, sans their 26-9 loss to the Steelers. Will they prove that they are truly a top-5 unit? Or will they prove the narrative of “blame the backup QBs” to be accurate?
Matt Stafford surely isn’t a backup QB, and will use his decision making, accuracy, and ability to read defenses to pick apart the Ravens secondary. You also have a Lions offense that can’t run the ball, so I expect a heavy dose of passing plays, and the Lions to force the Ravens into a shootout.
Unfortunately for Baltimore, a shootout is exactly what they don’t want, as their gimmick plays and reliance on the defensive turnovers is not exactly an ideal counter-punch in this game…
A shootout puts the game on the shoulders of Joe Flacco, who appears to be nothing more than a shell of a former Super Bowl MVP, and quite honestly the weakest link on offense right now (QB-WR-TE-OL-RB in that order). I expect a trio of picks from Flacco this week, forcing errant throws as the Ravens play most of the game from behind. Even when the offense manages to score, Stafford will march it back down the field on the defense, and M&T Bank Stadium will be half emptied out by the 4th quarter.
Well… it’s likely half empty at kickoff, so halve that.
Quarter-full. There ya go.
Flacco finishes with 220 yards, 1 TD (Danny Woodhead), 3 INT’s, while the Ravens will abandon the run playing from behind, leaving Alex Collins just shy of the 50 yard mark on the day, despite facing the 23rd ranked run defense.
The Ravens defense will have a pair of turnovers as well (Jimmy Smith interception, Matt Judon fumble recovery), but ultimately Stafford spends the day picking on Brandon Carr and the linebackers, and it’ll be too much to overcome.
BAL 13
DET 27
The Rest of the Slate
Some good games to keep an eye on this weekend in the NFL!
Colts @ Jags Sun 12/3 @ 1pm. Last week the Jags lost to the Cards, thus falling back to the 5th seed in the AFC. A loss to the Colts, coupled with a Ravens win, would give them teams matching 7-5 records (advantage Jags, but nevertheless a positive). On the flip side, if the Colts lose it just makes my soul feel better about the Ravens winning that game in Week 16.
Eagles @ Seahawks Sun 12/3 @ 8:30pm. The Eagles are favored by a field goal IN SEATTLE. 12th Man be damned! With that said, the 10-1 Eagles have yet to beat a team with a winning record – that’s right! They’ve played 10 games versus teams with a losing record (based on current records), with their only loss thus far to the Chiefs. The 7-4 Seahawks will pose a challenge for Carson Wentz & Co. No more cupcakes this week. Let’s see if they are for real in Philly…
Steelers @ Bengals Mon 12/4 @ 8:30pm. Very quietly, the Bengals have come within a single game of the Ravens & the 6th playoff spot in the AFC. Quite frankly I’m not sure who I want to lose more. Can never root for the Steelers, but also want some distance from the Bengals. Sooooo….. tie maybe?
Rank Em!
Earlier this week I griped about the music selection at the stadium, and how the music being piped through the speaker system doesn’t match the play on the field, nor does it hype the fans up for the game.
Instead of simply saying “it’s wrong,” let’s go ahead and offer some alternative song selections that actually match the play on the field!
Top-5 Songs We Need To Hear At Ravens Games!
5-“My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit– Played following every Joe Flacco interception. “It’s no surprise to me, I am my own worst enemy…”
4-“Sabotage” by Beastie Boys–Â Crank this jam every time the Ravens burn an early timeout, or Harbaugh challenges a blatantly obvious play that won’t be overturned.
3-“Jump On It” by Sir Mix a Lot– honestly, I just want to see the entire defense dancing to this during a TV timeout, and you know damn well Sizzle would get the boys going!
2-“Lemon” by N.E.R.D featuring Rhianna – 2 fold here: the intro by Pharrell for a dig at stubborn decision makers in the organization “The truth will set you free, but it will piss you off first.” But more so, this should be played following Alex Collins long runs through contact with a chorus “bouncin’ around, bouncin’ around, bouncin!'” on repeat.
1-“Bored To Death” by Blink 182– Following every 3 & out by the Ravens offense after a throw short of the sticks as the crowd yawns/boos. So, like 4 or 5 times a game.
Alas, I get it. My satirical song list will fall upon deaf ears, and instead, we’re stuck with Taylor Swift for the long run because [insert erroneous logic].
SO LET’S GO FOR A DOUBLE DOWN RANK ‘EM THIS WEEK!
Top-5 Taylor Swift Songs That Make More Sense At Ravens Games!
5-“Shake It Off” following a score by the opponent.
4-“Dear John” following a bad Harbaugh challenge/timeout.
3-“I Did Something Bad” following a Ravens penalty.
2-“Bad Blood” but only at Steelers or Pats games.
1-“Mean” when the DJ gets his feelings hurt by a blogger calling out his song selection…
Nah! Who are we kidding here?
NO Taylor Swift songs work at Ravens games!
