Baltimore Ravens Blogs

1. DT Vince Wilfork was in beast mode all afternoon. Six tackles and a sack doesn’t begin to explain his influence on the game. Wilfork had at three tackles for a loss and his share of pressure on QB Joe Flacco. It was a dominant performance by a team leader showing what it takes to get to a Super Bowl. It was arguably Wilfork’s best game in the biggest game of the year.

Continue reading "Pick Six: AFC Championship"

How many of you had to get an oxygen tank at some point today? These playoffs are been thrilling down to the wire in almost every game, and Conference Championship Sunday lived up to expectations. Both games went down to the wire and left us with two worthy Super Bowl contestants. Let’s break them down in The Final Drive!

Continue reading "The Final Drive: 2012 Conference ..."

It’s time to decide the Super Bowl contestants! With four teams left in the tournament, the Conference Championships take center stage on the best Sunday of football all year. Up first, the AFC title game!

Continue reading "The Opening Drive: 2012 AFC Championship"

After a playoff win over San Diego, several Patriots mocked then-Chargers LB Shawn Merriman’s “Lights Out” sack celebration right on the Chargers logo at midfield.

In a thorough dismantling of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship played in Pittsburgh, WR Deion Branch was caught on camera asking the fans, “Where’s your towels? Where’s your towels?”

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: AFC Championship"

It's hard to believe that the NFL season is already coming to an end.  It comes and goes so quickly that sometimes we forget to stop and smell the turf.  This season has been another exciting one  (despite the persistent failures of my Cowboys)  where teams that didn't have high expectations made a playoff run (49ers, Broncos, Bengals) and teams that were expected to contend fell flat on their faces (Eagles, Jets, Colts).  It was also a season in which a 27 year old passing record fell twice and a third QB threw for 5,000 yards for the first time in history. 

Continue reading "NFL Championship Chop-Up"

I have to say, I was skeptical that these four games could live up to the hype, especially after last weekend. But I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. I even gave myself a cushy lead for later poor postseason predictions. But I’ll tell you about that later. Right now it’s time for The Final Drive of the Divisional Round!

Continue reading "The Final Drive: 2012 Divisional Round"

Saturday’s NFL action started with a barn-burner and ended with a merciless slaughter. Sunday’s slate is going to have a hard time following it up, but that won’t stop me from writing another edition of The Opening Drive!

Continue reading "The Opening Drive: 2012 Divisional Sunday"

The 2011 NFL regular season ended with a bang with some great finishes and superb drama on Sunday. Records were set by a back-up QB, a team captain was benched for “quitting” and a fat-handed QB lost missed out on the post-season. The Final Drive must begin!

Continue reading "The Final Drive: Week 17, 2011-12"

I’ll bet you thought week 17 in the NFL was meaningless! Well I call shenanigans on that premise entirely, as I’m ready to touch on ELEVEN games going on New Year’s Day. How’s THAT for an Opening Drive?

Continue reading "The Opening Drive: Week 17, 2011-12"

I’m not sure what else you could have wanted from week 15 in the NFL. Two impressive streaks ended, the “Trap of the Week” proved to be true once again and one win never mattered as much as it did for Indianapolis. (And Candlestick Park was sans light… for a few second before auxiliary lighting come on. Not as much drama.) Many a-loser won on this day. Oddsmakers be damned! Get ready for The Final Drive!

Continue reading "The Final Drive: Week 15, 2011"

Week 15??? Really? Time goes by so fast! With the playoff races tight and Tebow versus Brady on the schedule, week 15 has everything you want. Let’s set-up for The Opening Drive!

Continue reading "The Opening Drive: Week 15, 2011"

It happens every year. Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, football and food comas. Unfortunately, you’ll want to pay attention to all three games today as they all feature teams with something to prove. It’s time for a breakdown of the holiday’s action!

Continue reading "Joe's 2011 Thanksgiving Day Preview"

Continue reading "Super Bowl XLV - The most watched ..."

Back in the NFL saddle for week two action! We saw a few shocker squads jump to a 2-0 start while one QB continued his insane stat-racking. The Final Drive starts now!

Continue reading "The Final Drive: Week 2, 2011"

Likely the roughest division in the NFL, the AFC North has long been the stomping ground for Big Ben and the Steelers. Last season the Ravens fell short of dethroning the eventual AFC Champs and are looking to finally make it over that yellow and black speed-bump. Cincinnati  has overhauled key positions and look to rebuild while the Browns are slowly regaining traction in the division. The AFC North takes center stage!

Continue reading "Joe's 2011 NFL Season Preview: The AFC North"

The Redskins have been incredibly active since free agency started, but not as active as most people were speculating.  Instead the Beagles went the way of the past Redskins and signed every old big-name player on the market. 

Continue reading "Redskins "cooling" off but still making moves"

Another busy day for the Redskins front office.  There is a new strategy in DC these days, steal away talent from your rivals.  Instead of looking all over the country for players, we looked at situations in our division and up 95 to shore up our roster.  Let's take a look at the recent moves.

Continue reading "Stealing Away Some Rival Talent"

So the Redskins were said to be making a huge "splash" in free agencey, which they haven't really done.  The main targets for the Redskins (WR Santonio Homes, OL Marshal Yanda, and OL Doug Free, CB Ike Taylor) all re-signed with their respective teams.  So, plan B.  They made some moves pretty quick although they weren't what was expected.

Continue reading "Redskins Free Agent Activity!!"

With a lock-out now imposed in the NFL, I decided to take a look back at the 2010-2011 season standings and see where I went right/wrong with my preseason picks. Starting with the AFC, here’s what I predicted… and then what really happened, along with a five-star scale of my correctitude.

Continue reading "How Much I Effed Up: The 2010 AFC Edition"

New York Jets DE Shawn Ellis said of New England QB Tom Brady, “He becomes a different quarterback when he doesn’t have wide-open guys and you hit him three or four times. He was skittish. I’ve never seen him like that. In the first half he was terrified.”

Continue reading "A Fueled Off-season"

 So that was a fun weekend, right? After some delicious divisional round fun, the stages are set for Conference Championship Sunday in the NFL. Before that, let's take a look at how this weekend's games went down.

Continue reading "Joe's 2011 NFL Final Drive: Divisional Round"

After the fantastic endings and upsets from the Wild Card round, the NFL playoffs are back with the Divisional round! We get two division rivalry rematches in the AFC while we get another pair of regular season rematches in the NFC. Let’s delve into some football!

Continue reading "Joe's 2011 NFL Opening Drive: Divisional Round"

The Patriots haven’t lost to the New York Jets in the playoffs. I did not know that. N.E. is 2-0 thanks to a 26-14 win back in 1985 and a 37-16 blasting in 2007. Naturally these results have no bearing on what happens on Sunday, but I find these facts interesting.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Divisionals"

The Baltimore Ravens shocked the world when they scored 33 points at Gillette Stadium in the Wild Card round of the playoffs last season when they upended the New England Patriots. As the 2010-11 playoffs are set to begin, a lot of pundits, Ravens fans and NFL spread betting experts might be just as shocked if the Ravens can anywhere near that total.

Continue reading "Can Ravens Offense Wake Up For Playoffs?"

Hm. That’s my general reaction to Wildcard Weekend in the NFL. The playoffs got started with what is unquestionably one of the biggest upsets in recent memory, which was followed up by a drama-filled finish in Indianapolis. Sunday saw a drilling in Kansas City and a comeback story ended early in Philly. Here’s the story behind the first round of the NFL playoffs.

Continue reading "Joe's 2011 NFL Final Drive: Wild Card Weekend"

After a completely outrageous and exciting Saturday to start the playoffs, two excellent games are coming our way today. Let's break it down!

Continue reading "Joe's 2010 NFL Opening Drive: Wildcard Sunday"

It’s kinda hard saying Baltimore, Indianapolis, or the New York Jets concern me considering the results from the regular season games. The Pats throttled the Jets in the second go-round. I don’t take any team led by QB Peyton Manning lightly, but the Colts have a lot of injuries and needed a furious comeback to make that game close. And the Ravens, with their suspect secondary, hasn’t seen this version of the Patriots.

Continue reading "Chief Concern out of the Wild Cards"

It’s the final week of the 2010 regular season and there are division match-ups everywhere you look! Who needs to win and who looks prime for a loss? Let’s get the Opening Drive going!

Continue reading "Joe's 2010 NFL Opening Drive: Week 17"

Quarterback drama is afoot in week 15 of the NFL season! One Heisman winner gets his first start while a former Super Bowl QB gets the nod ahead of a supposedly $78 million dollar man. Here’s the Opening Drive!

Continue reading "Joe's 2010 NFL Opening Drive: Week 15"

In week 13 of the NFL season, we’re getting some dynamite primetime games. The rest of the schedule? Meh. Still, time to break it down.

Continue reading "Joe's 2010 NFL Opening Drive: Week 13"

Are the Patriots the best team in the league?

Depends on who you ask. Some shout out yes from the highest mountaintop. Others say no, it’s the Atlanta Falcons. Power rankings might suggest. Bottom line is these opinions and polls are subjective.

Continue reading "Best In the League?"

In lieu of drafting an entire Opening Drive article that would surely need revising come Sunday morning anyway, I've decided to get bizay and create an entirely new article series! Welcome to the Quickie. I promise it will be good for you too. The first Thursday night game of the 2010 season might also be the best. Let's break it down!

Continue reading "Joe's 2010 NFL Thursday Night Quickie: Week 10"

It's that time football fans! After nine weeks of the 2010 season, the picture has become slightly clearer, but in the current NFL, no one team has stood out as head and shoulders above the rest. Here are my grades for all 32 NFL teams, based on a few different criteria, not merely their win/loss record. Meeting, surpassing, or falling short of expectations, staying competitive and showing improvement over the course of the season is all taken into account, specific to that team. (So don't go comparing grades for one team to another, they're graded on their own.) Everyone loves getting graded, right? Here are my breakdowns, including some cheerleader shots to spice it up.

Continue reading "Joe's 2010 NFL Mid-season Grades"

Let’s stop the whining and crying about how the National Football League is being to comforting of injured players, and too strict on head hunters. Yes, this goes out to Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and countless others.

Continue reading "Helmet Hits Warrant Fines, Suspensions"

It's week nine in the NFL season. Teams are beginning to fall from contender to pretender while other squads are starting to fight for postseason slotting. Let's kick off the Opening Drive!

Continue reading "Joe's 2010 NFL Opening Drive: Week 9"

I’m not quick to be sold on singular performances. I’ll applaud when a player or team does something good in a game, but I’ll take a wait and see approach, demanding they do it again before I buy what I’m seeing.

Continue reading "Stepping Up, Step Forward"

A not-really-forgotten superstar returned to be cheered by his home crowd, Tom Brady trash-talks and someone had to lose the Panic Bowl. Here are the highlights of week six in the NFL!

(3-2) Miami Dolphins 23

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 6"

Nice to meet you week six. Is that a Vikings-Cowboys game in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Oh, it's the former? Fine, whatever. I didn't like you anyway. ...Okay, that's a lie. I'm sorry. Let's just get to my analysis. 

Continue reading "Joe's 2010 NFL Opening Drive: Week 6"

I’ve heard that sometimes a great offense is a good defense. Well the inverse is true too: sometimes a great defense is a good offense. I think that’s partially what is in mind with the change of offensive philosophy.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 6"

Can anyone figure out this NFL season yet? The league's last undefeated team gets their biggest test, a winless team is is favored and the Jets' drama is actually overshadowed by their opponents'. NFL week four is on!

Continue reading "Joe's 2010 NFL Opening Drive: Week 5"

Continue reading "Joe's NFL Opening Drive: Week 2"

After an offseason of hold-outs, firings and signings, the NFL season is back in full force and so is my Opening Drive! Here are the games to watch for during this first weekend of football. (I'm not bothering to put their records down. They're all 0-0.)

Continue reading "Joe's NFL Opening Drive: Week 1"

What happens in preseason games doesn’t matter.

That’s garbage. Try telling that to a head coach after a piss-poor performance by his team as his hair goes gray during the post game press conference.

Continue reading "A Running Concern"

No division in football may be as physical as the AFC North. Even though the Steelers have the rings to back them up, QB woes leave the division in doubt. Can Baltimore claim the throne or Cincinnati repeat? Here's my take on each team's chances: 

Continue reading "Joe's NFL 2010 Season Preview: AFC North"

When CB Terrence Wheatley walked off the Gillette Stadium field last Thursday with a couple of trainers, it crossed my mind it would be for the last time as a Patriot for Wheatley. But his chance of sticking around went up with CB Leigh Bodden going down.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Preseason Four"

Genreally, horse racing fans make good NFL fans. Not only because NFL fantasy involves Math, which is the horse racing fan's forte, but also because both involve conditioning.

A look at 2010 NFL, and what looks to happen. I'll give some predictions, but fans know that close games, injuries, blown coverages, and psycological brekdowns occur any time.

Continue reading "NFL 2010 TO THE 2011 SPER BOWL ANALYSIS ..."

A theory:

  The NFL and its 32 teams knew before draft day what was going to transpire in Round one of the 2010 Draft.  The proof lies in the events that took place regarding college football golden boy Tim Tebow's draft.  Is it merely great predictions or coincidence that EVERY analyst on NFL network planted the seed that "perhaps" Tebow might "surprise" everyone by being taken in the first round and suddenly *gasp* he was?  It very well may be great predictions and a fantastically dramatic coincidence, but what if it wasn't?

Continue reading "Spontaneous Excitement in Round One ..."

Friends and Countrymen,

I know that you have missed me so much over the last month or so and I want to apologize for my extended absence.  I have several ready made excuses for why I haven’t been actively blogging and I am sure that you will accept all of them at face value.  For one thing, there hasn’t been anything going on in the world of sports.  I mean other than the NBA playoffs, the NHL playoffs, the start of the MLB season, the return of Tiger Woods, the transgressions and subsequent suspension of Ben Roethlisberger (I did it! I spelled the damn thing), etc. 

Continue reading "The NFL Rock Draft!"

I guess the Ravens used up all their karma. After everything went Baltimore's way last week against New England, they fell completely flat in Indianapolis Saturday night, missing every opportunity imaginable. Against a lesser foe, they could have mounted a comeback. Against Peyton Manning and the Colts, they had no chance.

Continue reading "Manning's Colts prove too much for ..."

In case you haven't heard, we're knee-deep in the NFL playoffs. Today kicks-off the best weekend of football all year. Eight teams remain in the Super Bowl hunt, with the top seeds in each conference joining in on the action. Let's not waste any time, here's the Opening Drive for Divisional Saturday in the NFL!

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Divisional Saturday"

The loss was the equivalent of a mugging. The Patriots didn’t see it coming, and before they knew it, New England was on the ground, wondering what happened.

There’s no sugar-coating this. They got whipped. Baltimore came out with a fury and the Pats had no answer for the rapid flurry of haymakers.

Continue reading "Pick Six: Wild Card"

Well that happened. 

From the very first play from scrimmage, it was obvious: These aren't your dad's Patriots. (If you dad was a Pats fan two years ago.) Ray Rice took the opening hand-off 83 yards to the endzone to put the Ravens up 7-0 en route to embarrassing Bill Belichick's Patriots 33-14.

Continue reading "WTF of Wild-Card Weekend: Ravens ..."

After the Cowboys and the Jets dominated their opponents to move onto the divisional round, we've got some great action on tap today with a physical match-up in New England and a (hopefully) high-flying contest in the Arizona desert. Here's the Opening Drive of Wild-Card Sunday!

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Wild-Card Sunday"

Don’t buy it when the Baltimore Ravens say they put the week 4 loss behind them. LB Ray Lewis avoided talking about it by saying it was in the past, but it’s on his mind.

Baltimore hasn’t forgotten the game that got away. DL Haloti Ngata has a picture of his contact with QB Tom Brady’s helmet. LB Terrell Suggs will have the time of his personal foul written on the tape on his wrist. WR Mark Clayton spent extra time catching passes so he won’t drop another fourth down pass.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Wild Card"

The linebackers have a big challenge on their hands. Baltimore’s offensive line is big and physical with a run first mentality. The ground game, led by RBs Ray Rice and Willis McGahee, averaged 137.5 yards per game at a 4.7 yards per gain clip.

Continue reading "Line of Defense"

With WR Wes Welker expected to be out for the playoffs, all the attention went to his replacement known as “Mini Wes” to some (I prefer Fat Welker), Julian Edelman.

Sunday Edelman had a Welker-like day as he caught 10 passes for 103 yards, including a 25-yard catch and run that would make Wes proud of Edelman.

Continue reading "Welker Remix"

It’s the kind of injury that believers in playing it safe use as an example. WR Wes Welker injured his knee when he planted his left foot to change direction, but the knee gave away. People believe he tore his ACL and MCL, ending Welker’s season just before the playoffs.

Continue reading "Pick Six: Week 17"

Though it means nothing, I am required by football law to point out I was 7-0 in my Opening Drive predictions for week 17. Woot. Multiple teams lost because they did not keep their starters in while one NFC East leader got railed on. Now, onto the last week of the regular season with this edition of the Final Drive! 

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 17"

Happy New Year everyone! The NFC is all about seeding this Sunday, with all of the players at the table. In the AFC, the two wildcard spots will be hotly contested with the Ravens and Jets owning the inside track. Let's not waste time, here's the Opening Drive of week 17 in the NFL! *sniffle* It goes by so fast!

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 17"

Holy idiotic decision Jim Caldwell! This week in the Final Drive features a barrel-full of storylines. The playoff contestants in the NFC were locked in while the AFC remains a dog-fight for the final two playoff spots. Let's wrap up week 16!

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 16"

In 2005, the Patriots “lost” the season finale to the Miami Dolphins. Because of that “loss,” the Pats hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card game instead of facing Pittsburgh.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 16"

By the end of the first quarter Bears QB Jay Cutler had already tossed two interceptions. The Baltimore Ravens had already exchanged those gifts for fourteen points. After six total turnovers and nary an offensive score to be found, the lesson was obvious. I already knew my Bears sucked. Now I know they suck, have given up on their coach and may not win another game this season.

Continue reading "What I learned from the Bears' 31-7 ..."

After much delay and a postponed game time thanks to an intense eastern snowstorm, the Chicago Bears finally landed in Baltimore last night. Now they have to deal with the snow AND the frothing Ravens, who are still fighting for their post-season lives. While a winnable affair, today's contest with the aggressive birds will surely leave the Bears battered and bruised. 

Continue reading "Joe's Gameday Preview: Chicago Bears ..."

After three quarters of a boring contest, we finally got some action late in Thursday's Miami v. Carolina game. To anyone who had Ricky Williams on their fantasy team, good job. Now, we look to the weekend in the week 11 edition of the Oepning Drive!

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 11"

The last two undefeated teams carried on their winning ways, the last winless team won, the Giants gave one away by kicking a field goal and the Broncos could not hang with the Super Bowl Champs. Let’s wrap up week nine with the Final Drive!

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 9"

A slew of division match-ups are highlighted in this week’s NFL schedule. First place is up for grabs in the NFC East and one team hopes to avoid falling further behind the Colts in the AFC South. What games should you be watching? Find out in the Opening Drive of week nine!

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 9"

Pro Bowl balloting is open to the public. Choose wisely.

This year New England fans will have a tough time rationalizing Patriot players worthy of being selected. The offense’s big three of QB Tom Brady and WRs Randy Moss and Wes Welker will get their share of votes. Beyond them…good luck.

Continue reading "Pro Bowl Ben?"

Alright, Tom Brady. The grace period is over. Now it’s time to be yourself again. That means the accurate surgeon capable of lighting up the scoreboard with few errors should finally be back. You’ve had enough time to work out the kinks. No more excuses.

Continue reading "The Real Tom Brady"

The Titans and Rams each found their first wins, another team fell from the undefeated ranks and both New York squads lost key division games. By the way, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning are pretty good. *cough*Favre won*cough* Let’s wrap the week eight in the NFL with the Final Drive!

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 8"

Hopefully RB Laurence Maroney doesn’t think he’s off the hook after rushing for 123 yards (7.7 average) and a score. If anything, the expectations have gone up. It’s nice to see you blow up in one game as the undisputed primary ball carrier. But can you do this week after week after week?

Continue reading "Staying On the Run"

Still love me some NFL. Josh McDaniels kicked Bill Belichick’s Patriots right out of Denver while Matt Ryan picked apart a supposedly stout San Francisco defense. Oh, and Peyton Manning is still awesome. I wrap up week five in the NFL in the Final Drive! 

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 5"

With some downright horrendous match-ups this weekend, this edition of the Opening Drive is shorter than usual. Just writing about Cleveland versus Buffalo would put me to sleep. Let’s get things going with the most anticipated games of week four! 

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 5"

I’ve been high on safety Brandon Merriweather since his second-year breakout season. He finished 2008 second on the team in tackles, led the team in interceptions with four, and forced two fumbles. What really stood out was the significance of the turnovers, as twice they were the difference in wins.

Continue reading "Killer B's"

After the last few years I’m beginning to wonder how many times I’ve thought to myself, “The Cowboys should have won that game.”  So many big games come to mind:

Continue reading "History Repeating: The Lost Inches"

Someone finally looked like a rookie quarterback; things are going south in Tennessee, and some guy named Brett Favre made headlines. I wrap up week four in the NFL with the Final Drive! 

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 4"

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, for nbenching WR Joey Galloway. While we may not know what Sam Aiken and Julian Edelman will contribute week to week, I’d take my chances with them over the 15-year veteran until Galloway learns the offense, if he ever does.

Continue reading "Pick Six"

Maybe the week two Jets game was like a flash forward of this game against Baltimore.

Obviously the Ravens’ defense will play much like Gang Green’s crew that kept the Patriots offense out of the endzone. Baltimore will rely on many of the principles taught by Cocky Green Giant, with a few twists naturally.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 4"

The New York Jets and their Head Coach Rex Ryan defeated the Tennessee Titans 24-17 Sunday in a rain-soaked contest at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (17-30, 171 yards) became the first rookie signal-caller in NFL history to lead his team to a 3-0 start.

Continue reading "Rex Ryan is Already The Best Coach in the NFL"

(I've also posted this on my blog at FanNation.com).

It's been an interesting NFL Sunday thus far, so I had the urge to get my two cents in on the day's events. First thing that comes to my mind, it's going right into this post...

Continue reading "NFL Week 3: Notes and Commentary"

The Patriots offense was virtually shut down by the New York Jets. QB Tom Brady was unable to get the offense into the endzone and was constantly rushed by a relentless New York blitz. It got people saying the Jets had the blueprint for beating the Patriots and with the rest of the league as witnesses, every opponent will follow suit.

Continue reading "The Blueprint"

Good morning fantasy friends!

Today is Saturday September 26, 2009 so you have a little more than 24 hours to get your fantasy act together or you may end up with that crucial week 3 L.  

Continue reading "Welcome to Fantasy Land!"

Well, I have neglected this blog all year, but I had some free time today, so I figured I'd add a new post.  The first two weeks of the NFL season have been pretty good, with the stupid Hail Mary from the Broncos to win week 1 (gosh I hate watching the highlights of that play) to the great game between Dallas and the NYG last week in the Texas palace.  But the thing that has me the most excited is the Bengals' defense.  They played hard all preseason, did really well agaianst Denver, minus that stupid Hail Mary, and recorded 6 sacks on Aaron Rodgers last week.  This defense finished 15th last year and I feel they are well on their way to being a top 10 unit.  With Odom healthy, it's easy to see why Cincy shelled out so much money for him last offseason.  He has 7 sacks on the season (which leads the NFL) and works really well on third downs with Geathers on one end, Michael Johnson on the other, and Odom inside.  This combo causes a lot of problems for the offenses and I feel that it will again this week against Pittsburgh.

Continue reading "Steelers are going down this Sunday"

The New York Jets bruised and bullied the New England Patriots to earn a 16-9 victory Sunday at the Meadowlands to maintain their standing atop of the AFC East.

Continue reading "The New York Jets Are Immediate Championship ..."

The New York Jets bruised and bullied the New England Patriots to earn a 16-9 victory Sunday at the Meadowlands to maintain their standing atop of the AFC East.

Continue reading ""

Great, another University of Michigan linebacker we will eventually put on IR.

OK, OK, that’s uncalled for and it’s unfair. I’m jaded by Shawn Crable because I had high hopes for him, but he never made the field in 2008 and will miss all of ’09 as well. Maybe it’s because his legs are too skinny to endure the stress from pro football.

Continue reading "Another Burgess"

The New York Jets bruised and bullied the New England Patriots to earn a 16-9 victory Sunday at the Meadowlands to maintain their standing atop of the AFC East.

The Jets (2-0), who have not surrendered a defensive touchdown to date, are slated to host the Tennessee Titans (0-2) Sunday afternoon.

Continue reading "The New York Jets Are Immediate Championship ..."

Week two had its fair share of upsets and surprises. (Not the least of which were my Bears!) Let’s take a look at the week that was in my Week 2 edition of the Final Drive!

(2-0) Atlanta Falcons       28

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 2"

Hello, and welcome to week one of the NFL season.

No, I haven’t been in a cave for the week. But like the Patriots, I’m forgetting about the season opener.

Was the home team that bad? No, not really. There were a couple of highlights (QB Tom Brady and the secondary), but everywhere else there was plenty of room for improvement: inability to gain first downs on short yardage runs, dropped passes, lack of a pass rush, etc.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 2"

With 16 games in the regular season, losing your first two isn’t a cause for panic, but it is a cause for concern. In the Week 2 edition of the Opening Drive, here are some teams who need to avoid an 0-2 start.

Continue reading "Joe's Opening Drive: Week 2"

Now that the preseason is over, let the countdown to the real games begin.

The Dallas Cowboys open their 2009 NFL season on the road Sunday, 12 noon, in Tampa, Florida.
The Cowboys’ organization improved the team’s chances of finishing the season stronger by the decisions they made during the off season.

Continue reading "Dallas Cowboys "Reel" 09 Season Begins Sunday"

For the past couple days, that's a question that baseball fans have been asking throughout the country. And what's the answer? Is there an answer? Is it OK for a baseball team to premeditate a celebration as over-the-top as Milwaukee's earlier this week?

Continue reading "Was Prince Fielder's Celebration OK?"

We'll get back to horse racing soon. This is a lull in the season. Now, even the horse players are focused on the NFL. Who will be better? Who will be worse.

 In this analysis, I simply take what the teams had, what they lost and gained, and weigh all the potentials. For example, 3 first and second round draft pick linebackers in their third year would translate into at least 2 successes.

Continue reading "NFL Forecast"

OK, now I’m sold.

Since the end of the regular season I’ve been waiting for the Patriots to get a rush linebacker I could believe in. Whether it was a rookie day one draft pick, a free agent, or by trade, I wanted someone that could get to the quarterback better than Mike Vrabel did in 2008. His trade to Kansas City made the need urgent.

Continue reading "A Burgess Believer"

                  I know, I'm crazy right? Well that's what the question mark is for. Could Big Ben be the Greatest Steeler of All Time at the age of 27? I'm just puttin it out there for us to think about. If not Ben, then who? Bradshaw, Bettis, Ward, Swann, Lambert, Harris, LLoyld, Woodson. Come on, who else? BIG BEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Continue reading "Ben Roethlisburger, The Greatest ..."

                  The 09' season is close. What do you think the Steelers will do with the schedule they have? Last season we had the hardest schedule in the league, went 12-4 and won the Bowl. This seasons' schedule is a little weaker. Let's go over the game's and make a good prediction ha guys.

Continue reading "Pittsburgh Steelers 2009 schedule, my predictions!"

The Baltimore Sun beat me to the punch on this topic, listing the Ravens top 5 options not currently on the roster for replacing the seemingly retired Mason:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bal-sp.mason15jul15,0,430

Continue reading "Replacing Derrick Mason: The Ravens ..."

So Derrick Mason may or may not be retiring. All right, let's suppose he does --- where does that leave the Ravens' passing game?

The first thing to ask is how good it was expected to be even WITH a healthy Mason catching passes in 2009. And I don't imagine too many fans were so drunk on the purple Kool-Aid as to expect our passing attack to have finished in the top half of the league. We're bringing back pretty much the same cast from last year, when we ranked 28th in the league with a mere 175.5 yards/game. Even accounting for the continued development of Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, and that young offensive line, that's a heckuva lot of ground to make up. Unless Demetrius Williams finally becomes the vertical threat this offense hasn't had in over a decade, you're not going to shoot up that many spots riding an aging possession receiver, I don't care how good he is.

Continue reading "Breaking Down the Ravens' Receivers"

I will follow up this brief post with a more extensive analysis of the Ravens current (and potential) receiving situation in the wake of Derrick Mason's bombshell announcement yesterday that he is retiring.  But first, a few quick points:

Continue reading "Derrick Mason Retires"

Is Tim Wakefield Destined For Cooperstown?

Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield was selected last week as an AL All-Star for the first time in his improbable 18-year career and the knuckleballer will participate in Major League Baseball’s

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Former Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Steve McNair was shot and killed Saturday night in his downtown Nashville condominium.

Nashville authorities have indicated that McNair, 36, may have been slain by his 20-year-old mistress, Sahel Kazemi, in a murder-suicide.

Continue reading "Steve McNair Was Not The Man We Thougt He Was"