The mountain of inferno

[curtis0360]

Moderaters might shout, but it doesn't matter.

 

The few games will make or break the ravens, first the 7-1 cowboys, then the team we have been struggling against for 2 years the Cincinnati bengals, then the up and coming Philadelphia eagles, and then finally at the peak of the mountain we have the new england patriots. These games are going to be T-O-U-G-H, im not joking here folks. This is going to be a wild ride of really tough football teams at a crucial point of the season. How many of these games are winnable?. Will we lose them all?, will we win them all?, will we win 1 out of 4?, or will we win 3 out of 4. This is excluding the dolphins of course, but in no way we should blow them off. What do you guys thing, your thoughts?.  

 

[reed20]

The Cowboys are tough. I'm not that worried about the Eagles and their rookie QB.

 

The Dolphins however could be a problem. Jay Ajayi is very, very good.

[Tornado700]

We are, at best, a mediocre team. Now we play with the big boys. This tells me just one thing. We ain;t going to no playoffs this year.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I actually think we match up very, very well with the Cowboys. Dont get me wrong, its not an easy win and theyre a very good team.

But we are incredible against the run this year. Theyre a different team when Zeke cant get going. Dak is a different QB when he cant us PA and set up the pass with the run. 

I think Jimmy matches up very well with Dez and Tavon with Cole Beasley. I also think our LBs/Weddle are good enough to blanket Witten.

Their Defense doesnt scare me. We should be able to keep the momentum going against them.

 

I think the match up of the game will be if our pass rush can get to Dak enough to force some rushed throws and create turnovers. If Suggs can beat Tyron Smith like he did Joe Thomas, i really like our chances.

 

Cinci - always going to be tough and its a monkey we need to get off our back. But theyre down this year, so if theres ever a time to do it, itd be now. Our D i think will fair really well against their offense with Jimmy finally healthy i think he does well on AJ Green. The question will be if our offense can do enough to win the game against their D which is still very talented and can play with anyone.

Miami has had a little resurgence because of their run game. Without Ajayi going off like he has the past 3 weeks i doubt theyre looking this formidable. I dont expect him to do much against us, especially since hes more of a bruiser and weve definitely got the beef up front to withstand that. They go as he goes, and since he wont against us i expect the W.

 

The Pats.... well theyre the Pats and they should be getting Dion Lewis back here. Hes a dangerous, dangerous weapon. This game will test our D to its limits. Our D actually looks like it could match up with their offense about as well as anyone. Weddle/Mosley/Orr against their TEs. Tavon on Edelman. Jimmy helping on the TEs or against Hogan. Our DL against Blount. LBs swarming and cleaning up against White and Lewis.

Again, this is one where our chances will depend heavily upon our ability to get to Brady and force him off his spot.

We've always given them problems. Even when they have far superior teams records (remember '07 folks) we play them tight. 

I'm not expecting a win there, but i do think it will be more competitive than a lot think. Joe always shows up against Brady. And Pees usually calls a good game against them.

 

So, i expect 2-2 over that stretch, with decent upside to go 3-1. I think we def beat Miami and pull one out of either Cinci or Dallas.

If we beat Dallas i really like our chances to take 3, because we have been known to get things clicking mid-season and go on surges. And confidence can be a powerful thing... especially if the offense carries their performance into dallas. we get that thing going and we might be the most balanced team between all 3 phases (notice i said balanced, not best).

[BmoreBird22]

7 hours ago, reed20 said:

The Cowboys are tough. I'm not that worried about the Eagles and their rookie QB.

 

The Dolphins however could be a problem. Jay Ajayi is very, very good.

Bell is very much better and he did what...?

[Rav'n Maniac]

I think how we go in these games come down to maybe 3 things defensively. Pass rush, how we control the run game and how we control the TE's. Of course we have to continue to control the clock and score on offense.

(1) We have to generate a pass rush like we did against the Browns. Our secondary is great with a decent pass rush and affects the turnovers.

(2) Our front seven has been outstanding against the run. We need to continue a strong showing especially going up against good Oline play.

(3) I feel the TE's we are going to face in Witten, Eifert and Gronk are going to be a huge undertaking. We won't shut them down but, if we can limit their effectiveness, we can come out with wins.

 

 

[RaineV1]

I really like Dak, but he hasn't really had to win games with his arm. They've done a great job of running the ball, and their defense keeps it close. If we continue shutting down opponents run game, we could out score the Cowboys.

[Inqui]

36 minutes ago, RaineV1 said:

I really like Dak, but he hasn't really had to win games with his arm. They've done a great job of running the ball, and their defense keeps it close. If we continue shutting down opponents run game, we could out score the Cowboys.

I could see our game plan being similar to the one we used against Tyrod and the Bills. I think we have a better chance than people give us credit for, especially if we can do to the Cowboys what we did to the Raiders (holding them to 3.3ypa despite being every bit as talented as the Cowboys), as you say.

21 hours ago, curtis0360 said:

The few games will make or break the ravens.  

How many times has that been said this season? I said after our three-game winning run to start the season that even if we lost to Washington, the Giants and the Jets and the Raiders that our season would be far from over despite the consensus being that that particular run of games would determine whether we'd make the playoffs. Yet here we are again with the season supposedly balanced on a knife edge. The reality is that there's still an awful lot of season left to play and I fully expect that us, the Steelers and the Bengals will all drop games at some stage.

[reed20]

17 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

Bell is very much better and he did what...?

That's debatable. Ajayi has just barely been unleashed like a bat out of hell.

[redrum52]

17 hours ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

I actually think we match up very, very well with the Cowboys. Dont get me wrong, its not an easy win and theyre a very good team.

But we are incredible against the run this year. Theyre a different team when Zeke cant get going. Dak is a different QB when he cant us PA and set up the pass with the run. 

I think Jimmy matches up very well with Dez and Tavon with Cole Beasley. I also think our LBs/Weddle are good enough to blanket Witten.

Their Defense doesnt scare me. We should be able to keep the momentum going against them.

 

I think the match up of the game will be if our pass rush can get to Dak enough to force some rushed throws and create turnovers. If Suggs can beat Tyron Smith like he did Joe Thomas, i really like our chances.

 

Cinci - always going to be tough and its a monkey we need to get off our back. But theyre down this year, so if theres ever a time to do it, itd be now. Our D i think will fair really well against their offense with Jimmy finally healthy i think he does well on AJ Green. The question will be if our offense can do enough to win the game against their D which is still very talented and can play with anyone.

Miami has had a little resurgence because of their run game. Without Ajayi going off like he has the past 3 weeks i doubt theyre looking this formidable. I dont expect him to do much against us, especially since hes more of a bruiser and weve definitely got the beef up front to withstand that. They go as he goes, and since he wont against us i expect the W.

 

The Pats.... well theyre the Pats and they should be getting Dion Lewis back here. Hes a dangerous, dangerous weapon. This game will test our D to its limits. Our D actually looks like it could match up with their offense about as well as anyone. Weddle/Mosley/Orr against their TEs. Tavon on Edelman. Jimmy helping on the TEs or against Hogan. Our DL against Blount. LBs swarming and cleaning up against White and Lewis.

Again, this is one where our chances will depend heavily upon our ability to get to Brady and force him off his spot.

We've always given them problems. Even when they have far superior teams records (remember '07 folks) we play them tight. 

I'm not expecting a win there, but i do think it will be more competitive than a lot think. Joe always shows up against Brady. And Pees usually calls a good game against them.

 

So, i expect 2-2 over that stretch, with decent upside to go 3-1. I think we def beat Miami and pull one out of either Cinci or Dallas.

If we beat Dallas i really like our chances to take 3, because we have been known to get things clicking mid-season and go on surges. And confidence can be a powerful thing... especially if the offense carries their performance into dallas. we get that thing going and we might be the most balanced team between all 3 phases (notice i said balanced, not best).

Offense just has to do their job vs Cowboys and I we could win convincingly.  as you stated we should handle their run game and I like how our dbs match up.

[RavensPunkXVX]

I'm confident we at least split with the Bengals. Their run game is very suspect (almost non existent) and we just happen to have one of the best if not the best run defense. And limit AJ Green. Recipe for success.

im looking forward to seeing what this run D can do against Elliot and Ajayi.

Edited November 12, 2016 by RavensPunkXVX

[BmoreBird22]

4 hours ago, reed20 said:

That's debatable. Ajayi has just barely been unleashed like a bat out of hell.

He's got a few good games against some bad run defenses and now he's better than the consensus best back in the league? Got it

[Jacquouille]

22 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

Bell is very much better and he did what...?

I think at this point our run D is absolute and no one is going to have a good game against us.

[BmoreBird22]

15 minutes ago, Jacquouille said:

I think at this point our run D is absolute and no one is going to have a good game against us.

I'd agree. The Ravens defense is lighting up any running back and I don't see Ajayi breaking that

[Willbacker]

The good for us against Dallas is we got a 10 day break before the game whereas Dallas will be on regular rest. We should be able to matchup well against their offense and continue to do blanket coverage against their best receiver(Bryant). Stopping the run game of course is a must and we have to force Dak to beat us with his arm. Imo we have to score at least 22 pts to win.

We have Cincy at home and to me this is a must win since our final 2 reg season games are on the road in Pitt and Cincy and in the minimum we need to go 5-1 in division play to safely reach the playoffs. Again pretty much the same blueprint as in Dallas game. You have to shut AJ Green down!!!

Miami game cannot be overlooked and the key to victory is not to play down to your opponent. This should be a 2 score win but you know how that goes....

The NE game is just where the players make sure they eat the biggest bowl of Wheaties they can and bring their total A game. There is no blanket coverage cuz Tom hits whoever is open. This game is going to hinge on our pass rush against their OLine and our OLine against their DLine and da da da da QB PLAY!!

[Purple_City39]

Miami is a team I'm simply not all that concerned about.  Their sudden surge is on the back of their run game and at this point, I have no reason to believe our run defense won't win that game.  Simply not worried about their passing game if our secondary is healthy

Dallas is a somewhat similar concept, but slightly different.  That Dallas o-line is ridiculous, so it'll come down to how well the LBs can fill any openings their line may get.  I don't think our d-line will lose all game long, but I expect them to lose on occasion.  In terms of their passing game, I'm actually pretty confident in Jimmy vs Dez overall.  2016 Jimmy Smith has already had his way with players of Bryant's size and caliber (Allen Robinson, Brandon Marshall) so whereas he certainly may give up a little more than his normal under 35 yards, I don't see him getting abused.  Hopefully 10 days of rest and scheming will continue to help improve the offense 

Cincy I'm a little on the fence about.  They look bad this season, but they have consistently managed to beat us.  It's been like seeing Peyton Manning on the schedule.  The team might not be great yet I have my concerns (I'm sure Pittsburgh fans feel this way about Baltimore by now).  If Jimmy can eliminate AJ Green like he did other WRs, we should be fine.  Of course their o-line has been a problem for us.  I think cincy limits Suggs, for example, better than any other team.  Either way, with the defense alone I can see us splitting these games

I agree with an above prediction that says we go at worst 2-2 in these game with a strong possibility of 3-1.  4-0 would essentially guarantee a division title

[reed20]

5 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

He's got a few good games against some bad run defenses and now he's better than the consensus best back in the league? Got it

What im saying is we don't know how good he truly is just yet. 529 yards rushing in 3 games is no fluke. That offensive line has been creating holes for him the size of canyons, too. It'd be our run D's biggest test after Dallas.

[BmoreBird22]

54 minutes ago, reed20 said:

What im saying is we don't know how good he truly is just yet. 529 yards rushing in 3 games is no fluke. That offensive line has been creating holes for him the size of canyons, too. It'd be our run D's biggest test after Dallas.

It may be a fluke when you look at the rest of his career. We just don't know yet.

[reed20]

7 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

It may be a fluke when you look at the rest of his career. We just don't know yet.

This is only his 2nd season and his first time as a starter was that 200 yard game. What about the rest of his career?

[BmoreBird22]

13 minutes ago, reed20 said:

This is only his 2nd season and his first time as a starter was that 200 yard game. What about the rest of his career?

He did next to nothing last year and did nothing for several weeks prior. 

If he can keep this up against the Chargers, Ravens, and Patriots this season, I'll say he may be a real force at RB, but so far we've only really seen two great games.

[reed20]

2 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

He did next to nothing last year and did nothing for several weeks prior. 

If he can keep this up against the Chargers, Ravens, and Patriots this season, I'll say he may be a real force at RB, but so far we've only really seen two great games.

That's because he wasn't starting. He had 49 carries last season! That's like saying Goff sucks he's not doing anything.

[BmoreBird22]

39 minutes ago, reed20 said:

That's because he wasn't starting. He had 49 carries last season! That's like saying Goff sucks he's not doing anything.

Goff is in a position where they don't want to play him because the offensive line could ruin him. 

Ajayi understandably didn't earn a ton of carries last year behind Miller, but this year he's had two good games. Let's wait and see more.

[reed20]

4 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

Goff is in a position where they don't want to play him because the offensive line could ruin him. 

Ajayi understandably didn't earn a ton of carries last year behind Miller, but this year he's had two good games. Let's wait and see more.

Three good games. His first 3 career starts.

Edited November 13, 2016 by reed20

[Jacquouille]

10 hours ago, reed20 said:

Three good games. His first 3 career starts.

Until he gets injured. 

[BmoreBird22]

18 hours ago, reed20 said:

Three good games. His first 3 career starts.

Kinda what I was referring to when I said wait until he faces a good run defense. Still a lot of game left, but this start wouldn't be encouraging to me if I were a Dolphins fan.