Ravens @ Bengals

[Npane171]

[quote name='ravensdfan' timestamp='1324777117' post='921836']
Well. Wow. Just wow.

We've lost on the road this season to teams under .500. The Bengals do not meet that criteria.

Last time I checked, if the playoffs ended today we are 5-0 versus the teams in the playoffs. Steelers on the other hand (who everyone keeps saying are playing with more "fire" than us) are 1-4 versus the same.

Most likely Ben does not play next week. Browns nearly beat the Steelers with Ben playing @ the ketchup field. This game is @the Browns and IMO Wallace is a better overall QB than McCoy. That is not a gimme game for the Steelers by any stretch. Plus they also took some injuries today.

So yeah, it seems we play down to our opponents but we sure do know how to match the intensity when we play those teams of playoff caliber.

We are 8-0 at home for the first time ever in our franchise history. Another marker reached.

I don't mean to rant or sound preachy but really, all the gloom and doom around here when we are 11-4, control our own destiny, made a benchmark in our franchise history today and were clearly missing Boldin badly in this game, is just so far over the top at this point.
[/quote]

I have to disagree, but in a respectful way. I really didn't feel like we were missing Boldin. Really, what has he done the last couple of weeks for us? He really hasn't been getting the separation we need him to get, either. We might as well have put Lee Evan in there...wait, we did...and look, the same results. Covered the whole game with barely any receptions. Boldin has had a TON of dropped passes this year as well. Which brings me to another point: dropped passes by ALL the receivers. What the hell is going on?

Plus, Carry Williams is out with a concussion. Yanda is out with bruised ribs. We all know what happens when there is a change in the secondary (San Diego and Jimmy Smith; Today when Carr came in the Browns almost come back on us). We all know what happens when a change on the line happens. Sack-o Flacco. On top of that, we go to the Bengals next week with the second seed on the line. Not only just the second seed but a week of rest that we clearly need so very badly right now.

Probably the amount of doom and gloom is over-rated, yes. However, we certainly have reason to be a bit concerned right now. Injuries, deflation in the way the defense is playing, sporadic offensive play calling again, and a WR that can't get open (Evans). I mean, are we going to check it down to Rice through the playoffs on into the superbowl? We've got some work to do before next week, I think.

[wayne]

[quote name='Ravens<3' timestamp='1324782807' post='921982']

Im pretty sure hes talking about schedule next year
[/quote]

Oh, my fault, thought every comment on this particulat thread would be about NOW b/c seriously, I could care less about next seasons schedule right now.

[JO_75]

[quote name='wayne' timestamp='1324781825' post='921960']
Umm...... not understanding what you are saying? If we win next week and Pats lose, we got homefield throughout the playoffs. If we get the #2 seed meaning the Pats win as well as we win, only team we won't be at home against is the Pats.

Anyway, let Jimmy stick AJ and keep a safety over the top for the most part. Greisham and Benson could burn us too as well as Simpson but I think we will do fine on Greisham and Benson but Simpson and AJ, got to focus in on them.
[/quote]

Yeah I know it's early to talk about next year's schedule but that's what I'm talking about. If Ravens finish 1st in their division, and we know Patriots and Texans have won their division and they finished 1st in their standings, we play them. If Ravens finish second, since Jets and Titans are locked in at second in their division we would play them.

It's just something to think about heading into next week.

[PuRock]

[quote name='BenDufusberger' timestamp='1324782669' post='921979']
If the Jets and Titans both lose their 1PM games , the Bengals will get the wild card regardless of the outcome of the game with the Ravens. The only thing they would then get by beating us is giving the #2 seed to Pitt , assuming they beat the Browns.
[/quote]

That's positive. Was hoping the Bengals would be either eliminated or sealed into a spot by our game. Now they have a shot.

But I don't know how hard the Texans will be playing. They are locked in at the 3rd spot. Nothing can happen to unseed them from that spot. So how much do they want to play Foster, their O-Line or star defenders.

Jets. Well they suck. haha.

[BenDufusberger]

[quote name='PuRock' timestamp='1324783140' post='921995']

That's positive. Was hoping the Bengals would be either eliminated or sealed into a spot by our game. Now they have a shot.

But I don't know how hard the Texans will be playing. They are locked in at the 3rd spot. Nothing can happen to unseed them from that spot. So how much do they want to play Foster, their O-Line or star defenders.

Jets. Well they suck. haha.
[/quote]

If the Patriots lose their 1 PM game , then only the Jets would have to lose for the Bengals to be locked in. The Titans game would be immaterial. Then a Bengals victory over the Ravens would bump us from the #1 seed down to #5 , again assuming Pitt wins.

It could boil down to whether the Bengals want to rest their starters vs. making us fight with Pitt for a bye seed.

[ravensfan2424]

Hypothetically thinking, what if the Bengals clinch by our game, and they choose to let us win by resting their starters just because they hate Pit more? A man can only dream...

[ravensdfan]

Wait, was the Pitt game re-scheduled as well?

I didn't see that, I thought that one was still at 1 pm meaning that if they lost we'd know about them and NE and whether we could rest people or not.

[BenDufusberger]

Disregard what I said above. Oakland can still finish 9-7 and I didn't plug them into the mix , so to me it's looking like the Cincy game will most likely be one they have to win.

[FerrariFan87]

All I know is that it's gonna be a loooong day.

[LouieDaLug]

90% the Ravens lose this one.....lots of talent on the Ravens but weak link Harbaugh hasn't gotten that talent to perform with any consistency. Ravens play hard when they feel like it....we are not a well coached team.

[B.A.B.]

Hey, Bengals fan here. Just giving you guys some insight onto what we have to do to make the playoffs.

Firstly, there is no way we'd clinch the playoffs before we play you guys. Regardless if the Jets lose. If the Bengals lose, and end up with a tie breaker with the Broncos and Raiders, Bengals lose. Bengals lose pretty much most of the tie breaker situations.

For the Bengals to make the playoffs if the Jets lose, either the Raiders or Broncos have to lose. Here's a little thing that a poster from my message board put together that explains it fairly well.

[quote]
CIN clinch with
1. Win, or
2. NYJ loss + either OAK loss or DEN loss

NYJ clinch with
1. Win + CIN loss + TEN loss + either OAK loss or DEN loss

OAK clinch division with
1. Win + DEN loss

OAK clinch wildcard with
1. Win + DEN win + CIN loss + either TEN woss or NYJ win

TEN clinch with
1. Win + CIN loss + either NYJ win or OAK win BUT NOT BOTH!

If every game were a coin-flip, we've got a 68.75% (11-in-16) chance of being the wildcard. The other teams' chances are: NYJ 9.375% (3-in-32), OAK 9.375% (3-in-32), TEN 12.5% (1-in-8)

In OTHER other words, of the 32 different ways the games that matter could play out, we own 22 of them, the Titans own 4, the Jets and Raiders own 3 each.



[/quote]

Any situation where its a tiebreaker, the Bengals lose. So...team will be going all out Sunday. New Years Day. Will be perfect to catch a 4PM game after the lingering effects of the night before.

[BenDufusberger]

The Cincy game is shaping up to be just the kind of game the schedule makers hoped it would be. That's why it got flexed to the later air time , more eyes for advertisers and more excitement for the fans.

The way I look at it , the Ravens will get what they deserve on Sunday , win or lose. If they win , they get a bye , and maybe a #1 seed if the Pats should happen to lose. If they lose , they'll probably end up as a wild card , since Pitt should beat the Browns. If they can't get fired up for this game , something's wrong.

[1/28/01]

[quote name='BenDufusberger' timestamp='1324791372' post='922109']
The Cincy game is shaping up to be just the kind of game the schedule makers hoped it would be. That's why it got flexed to the later air time , more eyes for advertisers and more excitement for the fans.

The way I look at it , the Ravens will get what they deserve on Sunday , win or lose. If they win , they get a bye , and maybe a #1 seed if the Pats should happen to lose. If they lose , they'll probably end up as a wild card , since Pitt should beat the Browns. If they can't get fired up for this game , something's wrong.
[/quote]
Agreed! After todays continued showing of failed offense on every level, Im scared as hell about this one. [B]In[/b] Cincy? Ugh!!!

[OUravensfan]

[quote name='Npane171' timestamp='1324782368' post='921975']

How can you have a team beat in the first half?[/quote]

I should have worded it better, I meant that their d was doing great, setting their offense up with drives starting at the 40. The o never returned the favor and in turn gave Pitt good field position. If the rams could move the ball and score they win that game, Pitt didn't have much going on offense except for a few broken plays (in typical Pitt fashion)

[flynismo]

How awesome would it be to go undefeated at home, and sweep the division in the same year? That just might happen for us next week.

Merry Xmas everyone!

[BenDufusberger]

[quote name='B.A.B.' timestamp='1324790624' post='922102']
Hey, Bengals fan here. Just giving you guys some insight onto what we have to do to make the playoffs.

Firstly, there is no way we'd clinch the playoffs before we play you guys. Regardless if the Jets lose. If the Bengals lose, and end up with a tie breaker with the Broncos and Raiders, Bengals lose. Bengals lose pretty much most of the tie breaker situations.

For the Bengals to make the playoffs if the Jets lose, either the Raiders or Broncos have to lose. Here's a little thing that a poster from my message board put together that explains it fairly well.



Any situation where its a tiebreaker, the Bengals lose. So...team will be going all out Sunday. New Years Day. Will be perfect to catch a 4PM game after the lingering effects of the night before.
[/quote]

Here's what ESPN says Cincy needs to clinch a wild card spot , along with all the other teams' prospects :

[url="http://sports.espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/50854/nfl-playoff-scenarios"]http://sports.espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/50854/nfl-playoff-scenarios[/url]

Cincinnati clinches playoff spot with:
1) CIN win or tie OR
2) TEN win + NYJ loss or tie + OAK loss or tie

Since the Oakland game is a late game on Sunday , Cincy's game against the Ravens will be considered a must-win by the Bengals at game time , no matter what happened earlier in the day.

[Militant X 1]

[quote name='1/28/01' timestamp='1324791480' post='922111']
Agreed! [u][b]After todays continued showing of failed offense on every level, Im scared as hell about this one[/b][/u]. [b]In[/b] Cincy? Ugh!!!
[/quote]

ain't that the truth?

while i am glad that we got the win vs the browns yesterday...i stated before that with that last lost that the Ravens suffered at the hands of the chargers....it took the wind out of my sails concerning our Ravens. and after that b.s. 2nd half performance by our offense they have to go into Cinci and "try" to pull out a win on the road? where they have played horribly? wow! the ONLY thing that makes me feel good at this point is that they don't have to travel too far this game and should be fresh and ready to play!

~Mili

[BenDufusberger]

If the Ravens need any more incentive to beat the Bengals , they only have to think about who they'd be playing in week one of the playoffs if they fail to hold on to the bye. As #5 seed , they'd face either Denver or Oakland , an away game in either case. Now , think about how crummy we looked in Seattle and San Diego this year.

Talk about a great formula for a one-and-done......

Beat the dang Bengals !

[tctony]

Very nervous about this game.

Ravens [i]should[/i]win, [i]if[/i] they play Raven's football. There is definitely a lot on the line. Hopefully they come out with a fire in their belly.

[reediddy]

[quote name='Militant X 1' timestamp='1324798523' post='922205']

ain't that the truth?

while i am glad that we got the win vs the browns yesterday...i stated before that with that last lost that the Ravens suffered at the hands of the chargers....it took the wind out of my sails concerning our Ravens. and after that b.s. 2nd half performance by our offense they have to go into Cinci and "try" to pull out a win on the road? where they have played horribly? wow! the ONLY thing that makes me feel good at this point is that they don't have to travel too for this game and should be fresh and ready to play!

~Mili
[/quote]

I can see our guys being up for this game. You HAVE to think that a team led by Ray Lewis knows what's at stake and will be treating this game like a playoff game. That being said, you could have said the same thing about the Chargers game...

One thing's for sure. We are going to get Cincy's absolute best. This is a playoff game for them

[Gordo52]

How awesome would it be if we beat the steelers and bengals 3 times this year. Theres a chance we could play both of them in playoffs

[ravensdfan]

[quote name='Ravens<3' timestamp='1324819238' post='922275']
How awesome would it be if we beat the steelers and bengals 3 times this year. Theres a chance we could play both of them in playoffs
[/quote]

Right now I'm more concerned about us beating the Bengals for the 2nd time given the performance of our receiving corps vs the Browns. Not to mention our secondary didn't do too well with injuries. Ugh.

[Gordo52]

[quote name='ravensdfan' timestamp='1324819762' post='922285']

Right now I'm more concerned about us beating the Bengals for the 2nd time given the performance of our receiving corps vs the Browns. Not to mention our secondary didn't do too well with injuries. Ugh.
[/quote]
Eh, Im not too worry about this game, I think our D will deff show up

[FerrariFan87]

Suggs has been pretty invisible the past few weeks and he's never done well against Whitworth... he really needs to step up if we want to win this game.

[jdynamite]

Hopefully Yanda and C.Williams are available for this game.

If we had completed what began to look like a beat down in the first half of Browns game then this Bengal Game wouldn't bother me as much. We are more than capable of beating the bengals at their place, but players have to step up across the board....
Suggs has to bring the pressure early and often, we need to shut down Benson. On offense the word is consistency we need WRs and TEs to hold on to passes, get Ray Rice established early work some play-action passes in.

[PurpleDrink]

[quote name='Npane171' timestamp='1324782869' post='921986']


I have to disagree, but in a respectful way. I really didn't feel like we were missing Boldin. Really, what has he done the last couple of weeks for us? He really hasn't been getting the separation we need him to get, either. We might as well have put Lee Evan in there...wait, we did...and look, the same results. Covered the whole game with barely any receptions. Boldin has had a TON of dropped passes this year as well. Which brings me to another point: dropped passes by ALL the receivers. What the hell is going on?

Plus, Carry Williams is out with a concussion. Yanda is out with bruised ribs. We all know what happens when there is a change in the secondary (San Diego and Jimmy Smith; Today when Carr came in the Browns almost come back on us). We all know what happens when a change on the line happens. Sack-o Flacco. On top of that, we go to the Bengals next week with the second seed on the line. Not only just the second seed but a week of rest that we clearly need so very badly right now.

Probably the amount of doom and gloom is over-rated, yes. However, we certainly have reason to be a bit concerned right now. Injuries, deflation in the way the defense is playing, sporadic offensive play calling again, and a WR that can't get open (Evans). I mean, are we going to check it down to Rice through the playoffs on into the superbowl? We've got some work to do before next week, I think.
[/quote]


I watched the same game and saw Flacco over and under throw him so why would you say he never was open????? Forgot alot of y'll lie to yourselves to feel better about Flaccos preformance.

[Mr. GM]

Lets look at next weeks finale with open eyes everyone. Of course as a Ravens we want to the perfect scenario to happen: Patriots lose, Ravens win, Broncos lose, Texans lose, steelers lose. BUT such as life this will not happen that way. In actuality the Bengals have more on the line the Ravens do. If the Bengals lose than the Titans or Jets can get that final playoff spot. I see Bengals playing their hearts out for Coach Lewis(spectacular catch/flip/td by jerome simpson) more so than the inconsistency the Ravens have shown all year(Evans non effort last night, Dickson dropping passes/etc). Historically the Ravens have always had trouble covering tall wr's, always! Plaxico Burress gave McCalister fits for years, last week against the Chargers, and the Bengals wide receiver core has always been the hardest/best core the Ravens have faced for the last 6 years(OchoCinco, Housmanzadeh, Caldwell, simpson). It was always one of them that delivered the final death blow that beat us. Now the Bengals will have A.J. Green added to that.

[Mr. GM]

Keys to victory:

1. Flacco use all your weapons(not just Rice on some 2yd dump off on 3rd and 15)
2. DC Pagano do not play zone defense on 3rd and long, heck dont play zone defense at all! Dalton is good enough to throw to the hole in any zone.
3. OC Cameron called different plays like you did so well in the first half of the Brown's game.

[JO_75]

Just read this on Rotoworld, Yanda is not expected to play next Sunday against the Bengals. Luckily we have Gurode who can play Right Guard. Now we really need the Bye, because hopefully if we get the Bye, it's going to be long enough where we can have him back for the Divisional Round.

[OUravensfan]

I'm going to this game, anyone else?

Yanda being out really sucks, bengals d line is already good enough without us having injuries. Ed reed needs to reacquaint himself with Dalton. Actually, he needs to reacquaint himself with the football, lol. If pagano dials up the right game plan to confuse Dalton then we should be good. He played good against us last time despite the 3 tos. Hopefully our dbs try to avoid embarrassment again. Flacco and the receivers make some plays please, the bengals secondary is the point of attack for there d. Don't expect rice to break a 50 yrd run this time around. Give some help to smith over the top on green, greshm is a solid te that is more of a receiver really. Suggs, now would be the time to have one of those games you have, last time (besides the final 3 plays) Dalton had Tom Brady time to throw, that can't happen again.