dasweepa

The Steelers are boasting the top ranked overall defense in the league at the moment. It's a good thing they do. Big Ben and his offense has been......let's say........oh the hell with it, HORRIBLE! If it wasnt for the defense they would probably have at least 3 more losses (Ravens, Cowboys, Chargers) and the Ravens would be looking to clinch the Division. But, alas, this is not so. Besides a few hiccups (Colts, Giants) (Is it a Manning thing? What gives?) the Ravens have been great this year. Many would point to their schedula as indicator of why. I dont see them as having a week schedule. The beat the playoff hopefuls Eagles, Redskins, and Dolphins, pretty handedly while losing essentially on the last play against the Steelers and Titans. Besides the fact that they have the Steelers again this week and at Dallas next week, I would say the had a pretty tough schedule.

The Last time these 2 teams met Rookie running back Rashad Mendenhall said he would rush over 100 yds on a Ravens defense that has not allowed the such in over 2 years. He did get his hundred yards, 5 rushing and the other 95 on the back of the cart as he suffered a season ending injury. But hey, that counts doesnt it? This game will be a slugfest pure an simple. Each defense will lockdown the others offense. I believe the winner of this game will be the team with the most points off turnovers as I see it nearly impossible for either team to just run it down the feild.

PREDICTION - Ravens 16 - Steelers 14 , A Matt Stover FG wins it.

At this point last season the Ravens were down and out with nothing promising to look forward to in the up coming season. Their defense was aging, quarterback situation in utter ruin, and many devastating injuries to key playmakers on both offense and defense. There was nothing to cheer for, no playoff hopes, and no end in sight for a dismal offense and poor play calling. Their fate was altered in the offseason when the organization decided that a change in regime was needed from the old Baltimore football which had been strangling the very fan base that made them since 2001, to a relatively unknown coach with fresh ideas and tons of energy to boot. Of course there were nay-sayers, those few who supported Brian Billick 100%. You would have thought, and right fully so, that the Ravens could go shot for shot with any offense, I mean facts are facts, they had two coach’s running their offense (Brian Billick and Jim Fassel) who had faced each other a few years back when the Ravens defeated the Giants and were crowned Super Bowl Champions. It took a special teams coach from Philadelphia (John Harbaugh) and a coach (Cam Cameron) with a 1-15 record just a year earlier to turn this offense around. I know many fans circled this date on their calendars’ when the Ravens schedule was released simply because they were facing the Super Bowl Champions. Others, like I, looked to this game as a release, a release from the downward spiral the Ravens were thrown into after their Super Bowl XXXV victory of the Giants and a release from the tyrannical offense of once Giants Head Coach Jim Fassel.

The Baltimore Ravens (6 – 3) get the chance this week to exercise their demons as they head away from home to face the New York Giants (8 – 1). Both teams come into this game boasting two of the best defenses in the league as well as dominating rushing attacks. The Giants must contain Willis McGahee, Ray Rice, and Le'Ron McClain if they hope to beat the Ravens this week. The Ravens have contained numerous rushers throughout their streak of not allowing a 100 yd rusher and I don’t see Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, or Ahmad Bradshaw (Earth, Wind, & Fire) being able to end the streak. Joe Flacco had been nothing short of impressive in the past four games throwing for six touchdowns and no interceptions. Todd Heap as well as the offensive line has stepped up in a big way these past couple of weeks and have this offense clicking. The Giants defense has been suffocating as of late and leads the NFL in sacks. This is an ultimate test os strentghs with the Giants damging rushing offense against the unmovable force that is the Ravens rushing defense.

KEY MATCHUP – Ravens OFFENSIVE LINE vs. Giants DEFENSIVE LINE – The Ravens must control the battle up front to allow the running game to get going and give Flacco the time he needs to find his open receivers down field.

KEY PLAYER – Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs – It is almost a given that Eli Manning is going to make so poor throws, Lewis and Suggs need to be there to make him pay for it.

PREDICTION – Baltimore Ravens 21 – New York Giants 20

As some of my fellow Timberwolves fans may know I made a thread last week of my projections for Week 1. Lets just say it didn't go quite as planned. They were able to take care of the Sacramento Kings as I projected and lose to the Dallas Mavericks as I also projected. The Oklahoma City Thunder were another story. They were somehow able to handle business even with their young squad and lack of interior depth. Timberwolves record thus far - (1 - 2).

Now on to Week 2.

Wednesday, Nov. 5th - San Antonio Spurs @ Minnesota Timberwolves

The Spurs and Timberwolves both come into this game struggling mightily. The only difference being that the Spurs are Western Conference runner-ups from last year and the Timberwolves are in rebuilding mode. Jefferson will not have free reign in the post like he did last week. If the Timberwolves have any chance of winning this one they must get Mike Millerand Rashad McCants going early and often.

PREDICTION - San Antonio Spurs by 10

Friday, Nov. 7th - Minnesota Timberwolves @ Sacramento Kings

The Timberwolves only win this season is against the Kings. Kevin Love and Al Jefferson were able to bang inside for high percentage baskets as well as easy rebounds. I see basically the same thing happening here. With Brad Miller still out the Kings really have no one capable of containing our interior. The only way we lose the game is by careless turnovers and early foul trouble (two things that are plaguing us thus far).

PREDICTION - Minnesota Timberwolves by 6

Saturday, Nov. 8th - Minnesota Timberwolves @ Portland Trailblazers

It appears that Greg Oden will not be returning for this game which is good news for us. Aldridge vs. Jefferson will be the key matchup here. They should be fairly equal in the amount of points the produce but we must win the battle on the boards. Corey Brewer will have to step up big time as I expect that he will spend time one on one against Brandon Roy. If we can keep Roy under 20 points we will have a chance in this game. I am calling the upset!

PREDICTION - Minnesota Timberwolves by 1

WEEK 2 MVP - Mike Miller - 23 PPG, 5 APG, 3 RPG, 1 SPG, 43% FG, 92% FT - His shooting is key to our success this week with defenses focusing in on Jefferson he should have so decent looks.

PLAYER TO KEEP AN EYE ON - Kevin Love - He has played well through the first week of the season and I hope to see this continue against two of the top Western Conference teams. Our record after Week 2 - (3 - 3)

RECAP

Now that I got that out of the way lets get on to the game (or lack there of). So much for the Colt's defense not showing up. I think it was easy for everyone who watched to see that the Colt's controlled every aspect of the game. They were throwing at will, controlling the clock, and forcing turnovers. Flacco was responsible for most of the turnovers finishing the game with 3INT and 2 fumbles.Through five games Flacco has 2TD's and 8 TO. I have giving the benefit of the doubt to Flacco for the last couple of weeks and will continue to do so as long as he seems to be improving on a weekly basis. I believe the fault lies mostly with the atrocious play of the Offensive Line and questionable at best play-calling by Cam Cameron. The Ravens were getting beat down in the first half and what does Cam do offensively? He runs plays as if he is up by 10 with 3 minutes left in the game trying kill the clock.When your down by three scores late in the 3rd you don't continue to run the ball and use dump passes, let your quarterback air it out! The longest Ravens play (54 yd pass to Mason) came in the 4th quarter! All-Pro lineman Willie Anderson took over where Adam Terry left off by allowing the pass rush to get to Flacco almost all day. This has been the story of Flacco's rookie year thus far. Set, Hike, okay there 5 guy rushing me, coach says don't take the sack, running around like a mad man now, roll right, I CANT SEE DOWNFIELD!, INTERCEPTION! In turn, when Flacco did have some time he held onto the ball far to long. Oh, and another thing, was there ANYONE covering a Colt receiver? Marvin Harrison had his best game in over a year at the hands of what is supposedly the best defense in the league. I guess they really missed Fabian.

Ok, let me gain my composure. They were some bright spots through all of the idiocies. Flacco had over 60% completion percentage again this season. The defense still hasn't allowed a 100 yd rusher. The defense looked a whole lot better in the second half only allowing one TD. Ray Rice looked to be the best offensive player for the Ravens. He finished with 87 total yds (23 rush, 64 pass).

PREVIEW

This week the Ravens (2-3) head into Miami (2-3) to take on the surging Dolphins. Miami comes in determined after a heart breaking loss in the final seconds to the Houston Texans. With Ronnie Brown back to original form the Dolphins pose a much greater threat then many thought at the beginning of the season. Pennington has taking command of this offense and looks to bring his team back to .500. After an embarrassing lose at the hand of the Colt's we need to come out clicking on all cylinders. I think its clear to everyone what Miami likes to do on Offense. The Ravens must stay at home and not bite on the fakes. This Dolphin defense has been decent to say the least the last couple of weeks against some of the more potent offenses in the league. Cam Cameron MUST open the playbook and allow Flacco to air it out in this game. The only way they will establish there rushing offense is to establish some kind of passing offense.

Key Matchup: Ravens Linebackers vs. Miami Rushing Attack and TE's- We all know the main passing threats in the Miami offense are their TE's. Scott, Suggs, and Lewis will have the challenge of trying to lock up the Miami TE's and RB's. It wont be easy.

Key Player(s): Offensive Line- THEY must give Flacco some time and in turn he must get the ball out quicker.

Prediction: Dolphins 20 - Ravens 17