Baltimore Ravens

There is no way that Pittsburgh rests their starters in preparation of the playoffs. The Steelers are currently the fourth seed and would host the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the playoffs January 5th or 6th. This would be the second time the Jags have visited Heinz Field this season, and the Steelers may not be saying it, but they'd much rather avoid another matchup if they could. However, the only way this happens is if they defeat the Ravens while San Diego loses at Oakland.

Even though the Chargers should easily defeat the Raiders, the Steelers won't know it as both teams games start at 4:15pm (ET). The Ravens-Steelers gametime was just changed this week by the NFL, most likely to prevent either team from scoreboard watching and having an advantage. Specifically, if the Chargers saw the Ravens leading the Steelers as they prepared to start their game against the Raiders, then coach Norv Turner might decide to rest his players. With both games now starting at the same time, they'll have to watch the scoreboards during the games and then make playing decisions on the fly.

However, this is also a division game and I highly doubt the Steelers will just roll over and give this one away to the struggling Ravens who have lost a league leading and franchise worst nine straight games. Besides, even if the Steelers play their second stringers, remember, they are still playing against many of the Ravens second or third stringers as well, mostly due to the devastating injuries the Ravens have suffered throughout this miserable season.

With rookie QB Troy Smith tabbed to start his second game in a row, the Ravens will also be without RB Willis McGahee, who broke two ribs early in last week's Seattle game. Filling in for McGahee will be Musa Smith, who should be backed up by little-used Mike Anderson. The Ravens injuries have decimated both sides of the ball, with 11 starters from the beginning of the season having spent considerable time on the sidelines, including six former Pro-Bowlers (McNair, Heap, Lewis, McAlister, Pryce, Rolle) currently out. Any team would also be in a similar position as the Ravens are, although the pathetic play of their reserves just make it that much more noticeable.

These two teams hate each other and although the Steelers put a beatdown on Baltimore the first time around on Monday Night Football, they still remember the Ravens slapping them around in Pittsburgh last season(37-7) and would love to embarrass them again in front of the home crowd. Expect the Steelers to play their starters and take an unsurmountable lead into halftime, allowing Pittsburgh to rest their starters and coasting to victory in the second half. The Steelers players to a man are saying they couldn't care less who they host in the first round, but we all know if their choice was the Jaguars, Titans or Browns, we all know they'd be rooting for the chance to knock off the Browns for the third time this season.

Unfortunately, they don't have a choice. That luxury belongs to the San Diego Chargers, who, if they win, face either the Titans or the Browns. Otherwise, the Chargers host the Jaguars in what would be a real tough game. Think the Chargers will play all out agains the Raiders? Duh!

Steelers 23-16

The result was pretty much expected and basically what I had predicted (30-13). The Seattle Seahawks totally dominated the Baltimore Ravens and are on their way to the playoffs as the third seed after winning 27-6 yesterday. The Seahawks looked like a team fine tuning itself to be a dangerous challenge to both Dallas and Green Bay, while the Ravens once again looked ill-prepared, confused, lackluster and every other synonym you can think of.

I understand that the injuries have decimated this team and yesterday only added to the pain. Losing Willis McGahee early on and not having Ray Lewis patroling the middle certainly didn't help. However, you still expect the others to play their best and with a typical rookie's enthusiasm, but I just didn't see it. This team's effort just confirms the title it earned last week as the NFL's worst team.

Even with the expected defeat, I still have the same frustration I've been filled with all season, and I still put most of the responsibility on the head coach. While I have to admit the Ravens were provided with what seemed to be poor field position all day long, I still saw the same plain vanilla offense that has been present since day one of the season. The gameplan and playcalling has not changed one iota (did I spell that right?). Don't give me that stuff about having to dummy-down the playbook for the rookie QB, as I'm sure Billick's playbook is pretty easy to digest (the opposition picks it up in just a quarter or so!). You could have easily pulled out Troy Smith and plugged in either Kyle Boller or Steve McNair (or Cullen Finnerty for that matter!) and the result wouldn't have been any different.

You would have thought that they would have taken better advantage of Smith's mobility yesterday with some roll outs, perhaps even a naked bootleg or gasp, a trick play (what have you got to lose at this point?). Trust me, when you saw Smith scrambling yesterday, it wasn't planned, as he was running for his life. The offensive line, including Jon Ogden, provided virtually no time for Smith to set up and find his receivers. While they seemed to run block more effectively, it hurt to lose McGahee with broken ribs early on in the game. At the same time, why was this team still sticking with the run late in the fourth quarter down by three touchdowns!? While I realize that the pass protection didn't allow Smith the time to set up, he did throw a nice TD pass late in the game to keep it from being a shutout (although I did have Seattle as my fantasy team defense!). However, I would have liked to see them stretch the field more earlier in the game. Smith could have rolled out and heaved it down the field for the same reasons I thought they could have tried a trick play.

Running the ball without McGahee was a waste of time, as all season his backups have proven ineffective. Musa Smith looked decent yesterday, but has been unimpressive all season long. Mike Anderson made a surprise appearance in the backfield, but fumbled, perhaps because he's barely had a chance to see what pigskin feels like all season. And the there's Le'Ron McClain. I can't understand what Billick and his coaches see in McClain. Where's the other fullback, Justin Green? McClain's blocking hasn't impressed me and in 7 carries, he's gained 16 yards, caught eight passes for 49 yards and fumbled twice. Yet, he gets up and dances like he's Ray Lewis when he scored his only touchdown this season late in the loss to San Diego a month ago.

Speaking of fumbles, the Ravens lost their 25th fumble of the season, easily tops in the league. In addition, their -19 turnover ratio is last in the NFL this season. Compared with last year's +17, which led the league, it represents the 2nd biggest swing in league history (god help whoever's #1)!

While the coaches aren't on the field running, catching, blocking, throwing and tackling, they are the ones charged with teaching, preparing and planning for the game, and herein the responsibility must reside. Billick seemed frustrated, angry and short-fused on the sidelines and I'm sure the refs certainly note this and act accordingly. The playcalling continues to be so poor and predictable that even the players must be frustrated (see Troy Smith last week with the Ravens on the six inch line with 12 seconds left in regulation). Yesterday, Billick chose to punt on a fourth and two from the Seattle 40 yard line late in the game down 21-0. I just don't get it. What are you looking to do - win the field position battle? You certainly don't get points for that! Of course Bill Koch punted it into the end zone (as he's done all season long in similar situations), giving the Seahawks the ball on the 20 yard line - great play!

The defense was in a bad positon from the beginning without both of its starting corners, facing a team that has turned it's offense from a run-first to a pass-happy machine. However, the replacements still look like they haven't made any progress since they began appearing earlier this season. Might I recommend the IT Technical School as an alternative after the season is over? The pass rush on Matt Hasselback was non-existent, as he had all day to sit in the pocket and pick apart the secondary. Shaun Alexander returned to past year's form as he broke through the line for huge gains.

Finally, my big question for the defense is that after the great years many individuals had last season, where have the following players gone?
Terrell Suggs (2007: 5 sacks, 2006: 9.5 sacks)
Bart Scott (2007: 1 sack, 0 int., 2006: 9.5 sacks, 2 int.)
Dawan Landry (2007: 1 sack, 0 int., 2006: 3 sacks, 5 int.)
They all had career years last season and Suggs is a free agent after this year and is reportedly looking for "Dwight Freeney" money! Yeah, what have you guys done for me lately?

My preview and pick of yesterday's game in Miami was right on target, from the comments to the score, except I just got the teams mixed up. If you traded names, then I hit the proverbial nail on the head. I predicted the score would be 23-13, while it ended up 22-16 (pretty close). I thought the Ravens were bad, but the Dolphins were the worst team in football, but I had that backwards as well. The Dolphins tried to give the Ravens the game, but we just didn't seem to want it as bad. So now, Miami has a one game winning streak, while the Ravens have the longest losing streak in the entire NFL, which makes it very clear. The Baltimore Ravens are now the obvious choice as the worst team in the NFL!

It hurts so much to say that, but there is no other way to look at it. If you can't beat the worst team in the league, then you must be not as good as them. The Ravens tried to win conservatively, and they almost pulled it out. Matt Stover's first ever miss of a field goal in overtime wasn't a gimme by any means. You have to give him a pass, as without him, the Ravens wouldn't have even won all four of the games they have this season. Besides, he's been our biggest offensive weapon since the Super Bowl season seven years ago. Without Stover, this game would have been over long before overtime began.

However, it should have ended without the necessity of an extra period of play. If Ravens coach Brian Billick had any balls, he would have gone for the win on 4th and six inches on the last play of the game. Despite what he and others on TV and radio may be saying, it's very simple. You're 4-9 on the season, with the game on the line. Your running back has had almost 100 yards so far and has run well most of the game, although the offense was virtually non-existent in the second half until rookie Troy Smith came in for the last two series. If your offensive line cannot allow your star running back to gain six inches when it needs it the most, then they deserve to lose to a winless team. I know the mantra of coaching is to play for the tie on the road, but these circumstances dictated otherwise. Once again, the coach choked on a crucial game changing call, consistent to what he's done all season long.

Since it's obvious that he's coming back in 2008, this team is in trouble as it is being led by a person whose leadership does not earn him the respect of his players, fans and media.The owner is giving him a pass, supposedly, because he blames the season on injuries and poor player performance. Meanwhile, everyone else seem to hold the coach culpable for the players poor performance, as well as his horrendous gameplan, playcalling and clock management. Too bad Arkansas didn't want him more than Bobby Petrino!

Anyway, for now the team has hit rock botton. You thought it was bad when they embarrassed themselves against the Steeelers on Monday Night Football? You thought losses at home to both Cincinnati and Cleveland was bad? You thought that after almost upsetting the Patriots on national television, they hit bottom when wiped off the field by the Indianapolis Colts? WRONG!!! This is rock bottom, as now they can proudly wear the title as "Worst Team in the NFL." Too bad they won't get the #1 pick, as that will still go to the Dolphins, and don't forget that the Patriots own the 49ers pick, which may be as high as #2 overall. No, the Ravens have won just enough to be picking anywhere from 7-12, although they really need all the picks from #7 through #12 to have any chance of respectability next season.

Two years ago, some Ravens fans cheered when Kyle Boller hurt his leg at home against the Colts, opening the way for replacement Anthony Wright (who?) to take over. I wonder how many fans were silently or openly cheering from their living rooms when he went down with a slight concussion late in yesterday's game. Rookie Troy Smith came into the game and after a difficult situation of starting inside his own five yard line, he engineered a near perfect drive at the end of regulation to allow Matt Stover to tie the game and send it into overtime. He then drove the team down the field behind the rushing attack and a few well thrown passes, putting them in position to win the game. Even with the loss that now puts this team firmly in last place in the AFC North, he still deserves the chance at starting the final two games to determine whether or not they should use their first round pick on a franchise QB in next year's draft. What else does Kyle Boller need to do to tell this team's brain trust that he is not the answer? He's proved it for five years now, and although signed through 2008, it should just be for insurance purposes, unles he pulls Grbac and retires (along w/ Billick)!

They say the coaches use a limited playbook to allow a rookie QB to get his feet wet in the NFL. If so, then Troy Smith is in the perfect offense, as Billick's playbook is probably only around 8 pages long. Run right, run left, run up the middle, short pass to the right...you get the picure? Trust me, I promise the Ohio State University's playbook is thicker than Baltimore's. If Smith can't master that, then he deserves to go home and get a job. Until then, give him the ball. However, if your coach doesn't have the gonads to go for the game winning TD that sits six inches away, then he'll never make a good decision like that, unless Boller's concussion is such that won't allow him to play next week and the choice is made for Billick.

Two more sure losses and this team finishes the season at 4-10 with a franchise record losing streak continuing. What a long, strange trip it's been!

A week ago, as the Ravens were preparing to play the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football, all I really wanted was for my Ravens to not embarrass themselves once again in front of a national TV audience. Once they played the way the fans had expected them to play all season long in that game, we thought perhaps this team was regaining its 2006 form and would play well the rest of the season. Therefore, when the hated Indianapolis Colts came to town, we drank the kool-aid and thought, hey, if we can come this close to beating the Pats and the Pats beat the Colts, then perhaps....

Yes, it's nice to dream, isn't it? And dream I did, after drinking the kool-aid all week long I actually picked the Ravens to upset the Colts last night. Unfortunately, I forgot to tell the Ravens, who must be like my dogs and hate playing in the rain! The game was over by the middle of the first quarter, as the Colts rolled to an easy 44-20 win, which was nowhere as close as the final score indicated. Peyton Manning and friends were enjoying a snack on the sidelines long before the final whistle blew, and the Ravens scored two meaningless touchdowns after only managing a kickoff return for a TD in the first half. At the same time, however meaningless the final TD was in the last minutes of the game, it meant a lot to a bunch of Ravens fans and especially one Ravens player.

Rookie Troy Smith received his first playing time of the season and responded by taking the Ravens on a scoring drive culminated by a six yard TD run for the first score of his career. He actually looked pretty decent, showed off a rocket arm, nice touch and ran the ball hard down at the goal line. Perhaps now that the season is long past salvaging and Kyle Boller has proven over and over again that he is not the answer for this franchise's future, Smith will get entended looks before the season's end.

Next week the Ravens head to Miami, where the winless Dolphins must be salivating while awaiting the free falling Ravens. This will be their final and best chance at a victory this season, as the Ravens always seem to find a way to lose on the road. Wouldn't that be the final dagger in this team's season, to lose to a winless team while almost beating an undefeated one!?

Ouch.

How else can you explain it? I admittedly predicted the outcome to be New England by a score of 44-10. Even ESPN's Jaws said the Ravens had no chance. But then to rip my heart out at the end of the game, with two 4th down conversions, a couple of penalties and an ill-chosen timeout, just took the life out of most Ravens fans who have had little to cheer about all season long. Before the game, every Ravens fan would have said all they'd like to see is the Ravens to at least keep it close and not embarrass themselves by being the recipient of a blowout. After the game ended, all of a sudden that just wasn't good enough.

Before this season's first game, Both teams probably looked at last night's game as a defining moment in the race to the playoffs. Unfortunately, the only defining moment came in the last minute as New England continues their quest of a perfect season. Even though the Pats game last week against the Eagles was a close one, it didn't compare to the scare the Ravens put into the Pats and their fans for 59 minutes and 15 seconds.

As Ravens cornerback, Chris McAlister said:

"It's hard to go out there and play the Patriots and the refs at the same time," McAlister complained. "They put the crown on top of them, they want them to win. They won."

However, rather than complain about the bogus penalties called on that last drive, the poor call for a timeout by Ravens defensive coordinator, Rex Ryan (how would he know that his defense would stuff Brady on the fourth down conversion attempt?), or the inability of the Ravens to convert a critical third down (with a short pass that would have given them a fresh set of downs to work the clock that was already down to three minutes left), I will choose to celebrate the incredible effort that left all ravens fans to wonder "what if...?"

This was the way everyone expected the Ravens to play all season long. Had last night's effort been the norm for 2007 rather than the exception, Baltimore would be fighting for a playoff spot and the hype of this game might have equaled the game itself. Unfortunately, based on the Ravens poor performance this season, it was just looked at a an expected blowout by the Patriots on their way to a perfect season (which I still believe will happen. I'm sure the Pats' fans were looking ahead to the Steelers game in Foxboro next week as a tougher matchup. However, Pittsburgh has rarely played good football away from the cozy, yet horribly poor field conditions of Heinz Field (I expect a Patriots blowout as a response to their "fall" from grace!).

Despite the experts comments that Ravens All-World middle linebacker Ray Lewis was past his prime and slowing down, he was all ove the field last night, as he has been all season and throughout his glorious career. The return of Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle at the two cornerback positions certainly helped the depth of the secondary. The stunting by the front seven put enough pressure on Brady to sack him a season high three times, but he still had gobs of time to look for the open receiver, although he easily had his worst (?) game of this incredible MVP season.

At the same time, you have to take your hat off to the Patriots. Great teams always seem to find a way to win, and Brady is up there with the best of them, including the three best at leading their teams on game winning drives (in no order): Elway, Montana and Unitas.

Further accolades should go to the Ravens Kyle Boller, who other than the poor throw/wind blown interception, had a great game in a tough situation, and also to Willis McGahee, whose 138 yards rushing was the top performance from any opposing RB the Pats have faced. The offensive line constantly blew the Patriots off the ball and opened gaping holes for McGahee to run through. Finally, the Ravens defense played with the emotion and urgency that led them to the Super Bowl in 2001 and had them ranked #1 last season.

It just makes you wonder "what if...?"