2006-2007 NFL Season Discussion

Originally Posted by BucPride

Now with that over, its time for me to say something that seems to be on everyone's mind...

...the Ravens are going to DIE!

(Yeah right, we're gonna blow it this weekend. Simms'll throw a bunch of pics and we'll walk away with our tail between our legs.)

That last part is basically what the Ravens had to contend with all last year...Pure idiocy at QB. Now that Kyle Boller is the most experienced back-up in the league (in terms of starts) and Steve McNair is leading the charge, we can't* lose...

*But then again, McNair can't get away from everyone if the Ravens offensive line was as bad as it was last year. Michael Vick wouldn't have been able to evade some of those hits. :doggy:

Should be a good game.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

The Bucs basically looked like the Ravens have for the past 3 seasons. Interceptions, passes deflected, sacks...Not a fun day if you're on their side.

McNair was getting smacked around pretty good, but they were all late hits after he had gotten rid of the ball. Last three years, Boller would have either gotten hit or picked off, so now the problems with our offensive line aren't as glaring.

I never would have guessed 27-0 though. The Ravens either got their shit together or they're playing way over their heads. Steelers and Bengals both won, so only time will tell...

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Yeah, I saw the Eagles self-destruct in that 4th quarter. Now that TO isn't with them anymore, I'm not rooting against them anymore (since he originally gave the Ravens the shaft when he came from San Francisco...), so it was kind of a shame to see. I come from Baltimore, but I live in an area with all diehard Eagle's fans, so I expect to see a couple of scarred wrists tomorrow at work...I'll have to bring everyone some packs of batteries for when TO makes his return to Philly in a couple weeks (hopefully).

On that note...No touchdowns allowed, an insane amount of interceptions and forced turnovers, an offense that fucking WORKS for a change, a perfect record, no major injuries and a match next week against shitty-ass Cleveland...It's a good time to be a Ravens fan. Just hope we build to 9-0 and lock up a playoff spot before McNair gets hurt and Boller has to step in.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

McNair doesn't HAVE to be great. If he can get us 1 touchdown per game and keep the defense off the field (as opposed to the usual 3 and out routine of Kyle Boller, which kept the defense out there for 45 minutes a game), our defense can win the games. As is, he's still learning the offense and I expect him to improve big time by the time games against the Steelers and Bengals roll around (and we were 1-1 against the Steelers last year, with our crappy offense). Remember, Bilick is an offensive genius and he's never had a good quarterback to work with. He does now. (Thank you, Tennessee!)

On that note, Steelers better score some points...They're down 3-0 against JAX in the 4th quarter.

Edit: Beaten to the punch.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Heh, I still owe my co-worker a bagel from a Superbowl bet (he was a huge Steelers fan) I still give him hell about how Pittsburgh cheap-shotted Carson Palmer to win the Cincinnati game.

All in good fun. (but the AFC North is going to be a real dogfight...Browns aside, every division match is going to be a life or death struggle)

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Jacksonville for the upset. Bears for the win. New England gets vengence for last year's playoffs. Saints use Super Dome reopening momentum to dominate.

And most importantly, Ravens go to 3-0.

That's my scorecard for Sunday/Monday.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Holy...Ravens are indeed 3-0, but...Holy Sweet Drama FTW.

4th Quarter TD (makes the score 9-14). Miss the conversion. Stover Field Goal (12-14) Last second pick-off when Cleveland only has to kick a field goal to put things out of reach (play of the game). McNair gets team down the field somehow. McNair gets hurt. McNair NEARLY gets picked off. 52 YD Field Goal. WIN! 15-14.

We should've had an easier time VS Cleveland, but oh well...Still a hell of a win. Their QB and defense looked really good all game.

Steelers vs Bengals was a riot...I was rooting for the Steelers just because Cincy was also undefeated, but I kind of forgot once that punt was recovered by Cincy. Crazy shit.

FELIPE NO

Well to be fair...Ben didn't bumble the punt return and basically give Cincy a 50 yard gain on a punt (and later, a TD). Pittsburgh probably should have won that game otherwise.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

This is do or die week for the Ravens...As Ray Lewis put it, a win this week could prove we are the best team in the AFC. San Diego is a great team, but I have confidence our defense can dismantle them...The game will depend on how fast we can get into their heads.

Still...A win probably puts us in the playoffs. A loss only drops us to 3-1. I like that set-up myself.

Heh, my picks are just the opposite of Sonic's...The other games should be fairly close, but I like Chicago's defense vs an Alexander-less Seattle and Cincinnati would be my favorite team overall if they weren't in the Raven's division. They're firing on all cylinders right now and I don't think NE can knock them off right now.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

That was close...Didn't think we were going to pull it out. Then 12 yards rushing. Small completion. Mix in a penalty or two. HEAP! Sack. Win.

Guess...we're the best in the league now? According to Ray Lewis at least...

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Talk to Ray Lewis. He said it...

Actually, I remember last year we played the Colts in the season opener (SNF or MNF...one of the two) and could've won the game if we had been able to generate any offense (see: Kyle Boller was our QB). Our defense actually shut Manning down pretty well...They just ended up playing, like, 40 minutes and Indianapolis finally broke through. In hindsight, we've gotten a lot better and the Colts have gotten a bit worse. Would be a close game.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Sir VG

Plummer STILL can't seem to get a 0 under the INT line. But looks like McNair is the new Jake Plummer. 3 INTs? No wonder the Ravens didn't get anything done.

Meh, 1 was at the end of the game when it didn't matter and the one at the half was the fault of the receiver and Champ Bailey was just better there (I thought was a good gamble, since a TD right there would have been sweet). I'd call it all over again if I were Billick or McNair. The 4th quarter one was the ball buster though. That and that shitty punt. What was it...15 yards!?

I wouldn't read too much into this loss, since this was an extremely entertaining and tight game. With those weather conditions, anything could have happened. Carolina's next for us, so that will be an interesting test.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Agreed...The Bears are downright scary. They're like...the Ravens. Except they score oodles of points for added intimidation. I have them penciled in for the NFC Championship game (vs either Eagles or Seattle) and the Super Bowl.

Heh, I work in DE with a bunch of Eagles fans. I always replace the "Fly Eagles Fly" song with "Fly Ravens Fly"...Pisses people off (for real, I think) or catches them offguard. I have the altered lyrics hanging in my cubicle...I'm just waiting to come in and see a death threat scrawled over it.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I blame Kyle Boller for this loss. McNair's got no pressure to perform well with him behind him...If Boller were good, McNair would have stepped his game up to keep his starting job. Stupid Boller.

/rant

I kind of agree, but I want to think Jamal is (still) recovering from that really bad off season where he got busted. But both of his "replacements" have looked impressive when they were in there...No denying that.

Salary cap casualty in the making? I would think so...

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by bishop743

Big win for the Panthers. All in all it was a great game. McNair going down for the Ravens certainly didn't help their cause, but when Boller came into the game, he kept them in it. Ironicly enough, it wasn't losing McNair that cost them the game, it was their defense that lost it by allowing a couple big plays down the stretch, mainly that big touchdown score by Steve Smith after they had just closed the gap to 2 points.

This man speaks the truth...As much as I'd love to, Kyle Boller can't be blamed for the loss and this game could have been much worse.

Just glad Tampa finally decided to pull one out against Cincy, so we only lost a game against Pittsburgh going into our bye week.

There going to some uptight people at work, with the Eagles losing. People were talking on Thursday how they were going to walk all over the Saints.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by BucPride

Does anything else need to be said? :lolsign:

Except...Holy SHIT!!!!!

Cincy won, Steelers are...in the process of losing, but I'm still holding my breath. A Vick pick could turn things around real fast.

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Man, it's good to be a Ravens fan...Though I will openly say the Bengals got hosed on that 4th and 4 call, where it was clearly a hold on the guy with the long name. Oh well, it made up for that one spot, where Bilick was audibly calling out for a "goddamn measurement!" and we had to kick a field goal because the clock was running.

Definitely pulling for Denver here...A Pittsburgh loss makes a playoff spot all the more likely for the Ravens and renders this a two-team race (I was a Cincy fan before we got the Ravens, so I'm still rooting for them from a distance...Just not over the Ravens!)

And Chicago...WTFF happened there? I love the grapic: 28 points for Miami off turnovers and that was their total at the time.

And I'm picking Indianapolis FTW later on...

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by quazi

What happened during the last play in the last Ravens drive? I have to watch on NFL.com because Baltimore never gets shown here in Philadelphia, but I was more than a little surprised when I saw this line come up in play-by-play:



I'd have to guess that it was a botched field goal attempt, but even that doesn't make a great deal of sense.

They put Reed in on offense after the guy with the long name got the penalty and Cincy turned the ball over on downs. We got to 4th and couldn't run the clock down all the way and McNair threw it way out of bounds. Made no sense, since they were in field goal range. Anyway, Cincy got the ball back and threw their last interception after that. I was nervous those last few minutes, because it wouldn't have taken much for a quick pick-off and an 80 yard run to the house...Crazier shit has happened.

Speaking of the guy with the long name (taken from AP):

"We're just a better team than they are. We didn't win the game and I'm sure they'll get a laugh over that," he said. "But deep down, we know we're better than Baltimore and they know it. We've got better players than they do."

What a pathetic sore loser.

How ya doing, buddy?

I don't what's more sad: The Raiders offense, the fact the Seahawks are dominating without their two star players or the fact that the football game is far more entertaining than wrestling tonight.

Everytime I look up, something bad is happening to the Raiders. Props to ESPN for still hyping this sorry match-up. And Kornheiser's tirade on how bad the Raiders are...That was pretty funny. Tell it like it is!

Thumbs up to Michael Irvin for putting the Ravens #3 overall (behind Colts and Pats), despite taking heat from his cohorts.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

That was one of those games where I'm thinking, "Okay, IF they don't score anymore...IF we score some TD's, we have a chance." Lucky for us, they couldn't even muster a field goal in the second half. And McNair to Mason for the TD in Tennessee had to be sweet for both of those guys.

Hopefully now that we're in control of the division, they'll let Boller take some of the shots and rest McNair for the playoffs.

The Tennessee QB is good though...They might be contenders next year. They sure didn't look like a 2-7 team. Of course, the Ravens defense didn't look like a 7-2 defense in the first half either.

How ya doing, buddy?

Dunno about all that, but if Tony Romo plays as good as he did today, the Cowboys could make some noise. With the NFC in such wretched shape, they're as good as anyone. Except Chicago. ;p

Ravens=8-2=Only 3 playoff wins for Championship? Our remaining schedule isn't exactly difficult. We probably only need to go 2-6 (or even 1-5...maybe) to take the division. Of course, home field plus getting to sit out a round would be sweet.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I've never felt better about going into a VS Steelers game...If we lose, who cares. If we win, we're up 5 on them with 5 to play. Most intercepted QB vs defense with most interceptions...I like those odds.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I don't go into work until Thursday...I've got plenty of time to think of proper gloating methods for Steelers/Eagles/Giants fans. I wouldn't be surprised if my Ravens banner in my cubicle ends up desecrated by the end of the year...

Everyone I talk to (now) agrees: Colts vs Ravens in the AFC Championship game and it'll all come down to whether or not we can stop Peyton.

FELIPE NO

Wow, this is one of the more uplifting days of Baltimore football I've seen in awhile...Ravens win big by playing close through most of the game and both Pats and Colts look insanely vulnerable now, along with Denver looking worse by the week. Cincy wins a gimme and they're still 2 back with 3 to play. And we've beaten SD (the other current AFC powerhouse ATM) this year. My gloating rights are fully intact, it seems.

Although the Giants fans at work have right to be in high spirits as well...Beating Carolina was no easy task.

Congrats to Tomlinson for not only setting the record, but setting it with 3 games left to play! Insanity...

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by The Dopefish

Chargers gonna win it all...

Chargers are 0-1 against the Ravens. We know their secret and they're going down...again. I fear Denver much more because their defense is probably better than ours head-to-head. Champ Bailey gives me nightmares...

I'm still calling Colts vs Ravens for the AFC Championship (provided we don't meet earlier). Both Tomlinson and Jamal Lewis can make things hellacious for Indy if their weakness is as glaring as everyone thinks it is though...

Will definitely be a great January, regardless.

And tonight's game aside, I like Dallas for the Superbowl in the NFC. Chicago is almost too obvious a pick at this point, so I have to root for the team that has kept me entertained (for better or worse) for the whole season.

Jam it back in, in the dark.