I know that I’m in the minority here, but I hope the Patriots thrash the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Call me old school, I don’t mind, but when the Ravens are NOT in the Super Bowl, the first thing I root for is a good game. The second thing I root for are my block pool numbers. And the third thing I root for is whoever is playing the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Not necessarily in that order.
The Steelers as we know are out thanks to the Jaguars. So, thanks for that Jalen Ramsey & Co. But that aside, there’s not much to like about this Jacksonville team. I don’t like their swagger. I don’t like their cockiness and I don’t think they’re as good as THEY think they are.
“We goin’ to the Super Bowl. AND we gon’ win that b—h”
— Jalen Ramsey to the crowd of Jaguars fans at EverBank Field pic.twitter.com/fE2jSx3Pj1
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 15, 2018
There’s been a lot of talk about how the Jaguars remind people of the 2000 Ravens. C’mon man! They aren’t even close. The Jags gave up 42 points to the Steelers in one Divisional Playoff contest. In 2000 the Ravens defense surrendered 23 points TOTAL over the course of FOUR playoff games and 7 of those points were the result of a kick return.
A nice fella name Eric Mack took exception to a Tweet of mine with a similar tenor. He suggested that the Ravens didn’t face the kind of offense during their 2000 playoff romp like the Jaguars did last week. Eric’s comment stoked my curiosity.
DID YOU KNOW?
That in the 2000 postseason the Ravens took on the Broncos who were the 2nd highest scoring team that season, averaging 30.3 points per game. The 2017 Steelers averaged 25.4. The 2000 Titans averaged 30 during the three games prior to playing the Ravens in the Divisional round; prior to the 2000 AFC Championship, the Raiders had just come off games scoring 27 and 52; and the Giants scored 44 against the Vikings two weeks prior to SB 35 in the NFCC game.
But back to this year’s AFC Championship Game.
I’m rooting for the Patriots because:
1. The Jaguars don’t deserve to be as cocky as they are. You send Cinotti turnovers to Ben Roethlisberger after he threw FIVE touchdown passes and racked up 469 passing yards? Really?
2. I don’t want to watch a Super Bowl with Blake Bortles as a starting quarterback.
3. If the Patriots win the Super Bowl, it will be their 6th championship, tying them with the Steelers. No longer will “six” mean as much when those Pennsyltucky Yinzers smack talk about their rings and trophies.
[cardoza_wp_poll id=”1595″]
Patriots 34, Jaguars 16
By the way, do you ever hear Yankees fans walking around chanting, “twenty-seven, twenty-seven”?
Career Postseason Starts for QBs in Conference Championships:
Tom Brady 35
Blake Bortles 2
Nick Foles 2
Case Keenum 1— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 18, 2018
RAVENS NEEDS
Pro Football Focus recently chimed in with what they believe are the most glaring needs of each of the league’s 32 teams. To no one’s surprise, wide receiver is a listed need of the Ravens. The other is at quarterback.
Quarterback
The great elephant in the room in Baltimore is the play of QB Joe Flacco, which is a problem and has been for some time now. Despite a late-season surge, Flacco’s PFF grade was just 76.7, which ranked 24th in the league and about in line with his previous two years. The Ravens need to start thinking about life after Flacco at quarterback.
Wide Receiver
As bad as Flacco has been, it hasn’t all been his fault, as the Ravens have very little in the way of impact receivers. This is an interesting year for receivers in free agency, and a player like Jacksonville’s Allen Robinson could help make Flacco look good if he can get back healthy. In the draft, Alabama’s Calvin Ridley has the speed to help make big plays happen, catching eight of 15 deep (20-plus air yards) targets this season for 361 yards and three touchdowns.
GANG GREEN SETS THE BAR
The Jets are lowering season-ticket prices by a weighted average of 11% compared with last season. https://t.co/DvaRmSaMQu
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 17, 2018
FREE AGENTS
ESPN released their list of the top 50 free agents set to hit the market in March. Among them are two Ravens: Ryan Jensen (27) and Mike Wallace (50). If Ozzie Newsome decides to improve the position of wide receiver via free agency here are a few ball catchers that made the list:
Jarvis Landry, Dolphins (11)
Allen Robinson, Jaguars (15)
Sammy Watkins, Rams (16)
Marqise Lee, Jaguars (28)
Paul Richardson, Seahawks (29)
Terrelle Pryor, Redskins (30)
Jordan Matthews, Bills (47)