VermontRaven

I just don't see Dixon being considered the Ravens rookie of the YEAR. I hope he has a great end of the season and helps us to a playoff run...he has definitely shown flashes...Time will tell. However, with limited production (albeit due to injury) in the first 11 games, I wouldn't consider him the Rookie of the YEAR unless he was absolutely spectacular the rest of the way...probably 100+ yards in every remaining game. Gotta be Stanley or Young. I lean towards Stanley because we have seen what the line looks without him. Obviously, if we are talking value based on draft position/UDFA status, you would have to give the edge to Young, Judon, and of course Pierce.

He certainly did the last time he played a former team: Week 9 vs. Steelers: 4 receptions, 124 yards, including a 95 yard TD http://www.baltimoreravens.com/gameday/game/2016/regular9 I'll take 2 more of those please...this Sunday and on Christmas!

I'm glad the schedule makers were smart enough to schedule 2 teams that played on Thanksgiving, so both teams have "normal" rest for a change for a Thursday night game. Some of those Thursday night games are pretty sloppy with teams on short rest.

It will be interesting to see what happens if Lewis is able to come back this season. Can Lewis play RG? Will Yanda's shoulder be healthy enough to go back to RG? Or is Lewis a backup at T and LG in case of injury? (with Jensen/Urshel backing up RG and C)

I'm hoping Hensley's early observations were off because later he said this (similar to Zrebiec) Jamison HensleyESPN Staff Writer It looks like Ravens CB Jimmy Smith is on the path to playing Sunday against Dolphins. He was a full participant in practice Wednesday. Smith has missed last two games with a back injury.

C'mon man! Jimmy missed 0 games last year and 2 this year. Far from being out more than he plays! http://www.nfl.com/player/jimmysmith/2508107/profile

jimmy was listed as full participant but Hensley's report definitely sounded like he was limited earlier this morning. Good sign that he was listed as full paricipant though 1h1 hour ago Jeff Zrebiec ‏@jeffzrebiecsun Ravens list CB Jimmy Smith (back) as full participant in today's practice. Bodes well for Sunday return assuming no setbacks. Jamison HensleyESPN Staff Writer Ravens CB Jimmy Smith (back) returned to practice after missing two games. He was limited in drills and didn't look at full strength she he ran.

One more update...from Zrebiec:

Early update from Hensley: Jamison Hensley ESPN Staff Writer Ravens CB Jimmy Smith (back) returned to practice after missing two games. He was limited in drills and didn't look at full strength she he ran. Jamison Hensley ESPN Staff Writer Ravens WR Steve Smith limped off to the side after crashing to the ground in one-on-one drills with Shareece Wright. Smith was looked at by trainers and continued drills.

I'm not overly fond of the idea of it either, but I don't see it going away anytime soon. It makes a lot of money for the NFL by expanding their fan base.

Well, that must have been a pretty darn easy decision for the people who give this award to make!

As much as I love Tucker and think it is a neat idea to reward kickers for splitting the uprights, I don't like the idea of it being worth a point because there is no defense for it. However, I like the idea of having the other team start at the 10 or 15 if it happens. That adds some excitement and theoretically improves player safety because 1) It makes teams more likely to kick deep for touchbacks, 2) If a penalty was called and the kickoff was moved to the 40, 45, or 50 yard line, it would give the kicking team incentive to try to split the uprights, rather than doing a "pooch kick" to try to pin them deep.

Yeah. This game is big! Tough games left so dropping this one leaves almost 0 margin for error + if we lose, any wild card chances are pretty much shot--wild cards would then most likely be 2 of 3 of KC, Miami, and Denver

Yeah. They should just go to an 8 team playoff. Power 5 champions get auto bid, the 3 at-larges--committe ranks them 1-8 Then conf. champions are guaranteed in and they can still put in the overrated/overhyped moneymaker teams and who' beat can be decided on the field. OR. Power 5 champions auto bid + top Group of 5 auto bid + 2 at-larges. This would be my preferred system because then EVERYONE has chance at beginning of season--The argument against would be that most likely this team is not "one of best 8 teams". My counterargument would ne that if that was the case, you reward the #1 team because the Group of 5 team would most likely be ranked #8 by committee. Plus it gives "little guys" a shot at the big guys and a slice of the big money the playoff makes teams!

I guess head to head means nothing to the selection committee. They say conference championships and head to head results are big factors in their seeding...yet they say Ohio State is way above Penn State....Even though Penn State won head to head and can win the Big10 if they beat Wisconsin in the Big10 champonship game. --Why don't they just say we'll put in the 4 most popular teams that generate the most money?

It's possible we could squeeze in as a wildcard at 9-7, but I still think it is unlikely. Too many teams have a decent chance to go 10-6...KC, Denver, Miami, Buffalo are the biggest contenders with long shots of Chargers, Titans, and Colts Now if we lose to Pitt as our only loss and go 10-6 (assuming Pitt wins out), I think we'd be in good shape for a wildcard.

Maxx is on IR

No 1) head to head 2) division record 3) record in common games http://www.nfl.com/standings/tiebreakingprocedures

I actually want no part of Jim. He's too much of a crybaby and likes to bring attention to himself. Like how he used his press conference after losing to ohio state to whine about refs (i hate ohio state and was hoping michigan would win-but that was not a classy move by Jim)

If you read the text in front of it, I believe he means if the Ravens win their remaining home games vs. Dolphins and Eagles, that would push their win total to 8....Granted, it definitely was a bit confusing how he worded it by sticking the parentheses in there stating we are favored by 3.5 over the Dolphins "The Ravens must become road warriors. Their November wins all came at home, where they’ll play the Miami Dolphins Sunday and the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 18. If the Ravens truly are playoff contenders, they’ll find a way to keep holding serve at home. (They’re favored by 3½ points Sunday against a Miami team on a six-game winning streak.) That would push their win total to eight, but they’ll need more, bringing into focus the importance of their remaining road contests at New England, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati – all tough spots. The Ravens have to win at least once and maybe twice, no easy feat for a team that is 10-19 on the road since the Super Bowl."

Good point. We were actually getting pretty "old" as a team, but did a nice job bringing in several young guys that have been productive this year (Stanley, Young, Dixon, Lewis, Judon, Pierce), and hopefully will continue to be for several more years as some of these older players enter the "back 9" of their careers. Hopefully, we can continue that trend with good drafts and UDFA the next few years.

Good point. I was thinking 2 "uncommon games" and not factoring the 2 we play vs. them and the 2 they play vs. us. So, you're right..if we both finish 9-7 (and Steelers beat us on Christmas), we would be 7-5 and the Steelers would be 6-6 in common games. Bottom line, beat Pitt OR CIncy and we hold the tiebreak vs. the Steelers.

This is where you are off. Ravens would be 8-6 in common games and Steelers would be 7-7. Easiest way to think about it is 14 of 16 games are common (2 uncommon) Ravens went 1-1 in "uncommon games-Win vs. Jacksonville, loss vs. Oakland) Steelers went 1-1 in "uncommon games-Wins vs. Colts and Chiefs). So bascially, if Baltimore beats Pitt or Cincy, we win any tiebreak over Steelers.

Huh? Check your facts before you post please. Pats have already beat Pitt. And we are guaranteed to win the division with 1 more loss, if that loss is not to the Steelers. Pitt has games left vs. Giants, @ Bills, @ Bengals, vs. Ravens, and vs. Browns http://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/pit/pittsburgh-steelers

Yeah, ESPN seems to be having a lot of trouble with theirs. When they first put it up, the still had last year's super bowl logo and it would say "loading playoff seeds" everytime you manually changed a game. It's disappointing because I really like how they allow you to pick a "starting criteria" like win% so you don't have to manually click every single game (especially games that look very lopsided)