My dad is a Ravens season ticket holder, and I was able to meet up with him for my first Ravens game of the year yesterday. Its always great to see a win, but it would have been nice if the Rams showed up to play yesterday. After yesterday's game, it is obvious why they are at 0-6. Their offense is absolutely horrible. Obviously the Ravens are a tough defense to play against. However, Gus Frerotte's 5 interceptions were laughable. One was a dropped ball by a St. Louis receiver, but the others looked like he was just throwing things up in a crowd. Ol' Gus also suffered 4 sacks from the Ravens D. So this is a chicken or the egg scenario. Did the Ravens defense play that well, or were the Rams just that bad. Considering Frerotte threw 3 TDs and 3 INTs last week against the Cardinals, I would have to say a bit of both.
Offensively the Ravens were only slightly better than the Rams. Although the game was never in doubt, the Ravens didn't do much with the ball, and were actually outgained by the Rams. I think the Ravens are struggling offensively because of the general inexperience of their offensive line. Jason Brown had three key penalties in the game, and Chris Chester was flagged for holding on the one yard line. Kyle Boller started the game in place of Steve McNair, and did a good job with the offense. He did have an interception after Chester's penalty put the Ravens back off the goal line, but that pick was the result of Jared Gaither getting beat with a speed rush from Boller's blind side. Its great to see Matt Stover hit 5 field goals, but it would be a lot sweeter for the Ravens if they could manage a few more TDs from those situations.
At the end of the day the only thing that matters is a win. However, the usual frustration with the Ravens offense remains. Atleast Kyle Boller continues to play decently backing up Steve McNair.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
So Close!
Whats the only thing as good as a Redskins win?
Answer - A Cowboys loss.
For a good amount of time last night I thought I was going to witness both of those great things happen this weekend. However, the Tony "INT" Romo was able to pull things off in the last few minutes last night to give the Cowboys a victory they certainly shouldn't have had in Buffalo. How bad was that Bills loss? They were +5 in turnover ratio, with 3 returns for touchdowns and still lost the game. Even without scoring an offensive touchdown they could have won it, but the one mistake by Trent Edwards ended up costing them. The other thing that had me upset was Buffalo's effort on the onsides kick. They had 4 guys on the 40 yard line, and not one of them went for the ball. Behind those front line guys, there was only one player lined up to field the ball. Two other guys ran in from out of the picture to help him out, but that really didn't do any good. It looked like the Bills had never practiced for an onsides kick. That was embarassing.
So I'm disappointed that the Cowboys are still undefeated, but atleast the Redskins looked great on Sunday. Jason Campbell has impressed me all year, and he took another step forward with his 23-29, 2 TD performance against the Lions. He didn't make any mistakes all game, and he did that without probably his biggest weapon in Santana Moss. The whole Redskins team played great Sunday. Mike Sellers was an absolute beast. Cooley came through when needed. The Skins were able to rush the ball effectively. Now Clinton just needs to hold on to the ball better.
Defensively they were excellent. The D-line put a ton of pressure on Kitna. Hopefully this is a sign that they are coming around, and not a sign that Detroit is a pass happy team with no O-line. Carlos Rogers also stepped his game up after being criticized a lot early in the season. He and the rest of the secondary shut down all of Detroit's talented receivers. This was definitely one of the best Redskins' performances that I've seen in a while, and it gets me even more excited for the rest of the season.
Answer - A Cowboys loss.
For a good amount of time last night I thought I was going to witness both of those great things happen this weekend. However, the Tony "INT" Romo was able to pull things off in the last few minutes last night to give the Cowboys a victory they certainly shouldn't have had in Buffalo. How bad was that Bills loss? They were +5 in turnover ratio, with 3 returns for touchdowns and still lost the game. Even without scoring an offensive touchdown they could have won it, but the one mistake by Trent Edwards ended up costing them. The other thing that had me upset was Buffalo's effort on the onsides kick. They had 4 guys on the 40 yard line, and not one of them went for the ball. Behind those front line guys, there was only one player lined up to field the ball. Two other guys ran in from out of the picture to help him out, but that really didn't do any good. It looked like the Bills had never practiced for an onsides kick. That was embarassing.
So I'm disappointed that the Cowboys are still undefeated, but atleast the Redskins looked great on Sunday. Jason Campbell has impressed me all year, and he took another step forward with his 23-29, 2 TD performance against the Lions. He didn't make any mistakes all game, and he did that without probably his biggest weapon in Santana Moss. The whole Redskins team played great Sunday. Mike Sellers was an absolute beast. Cooley came through when needed. The Skins were able to rush the ball effectively. Now Clinton just needs to hold on to the ball better.
Defensively they were excellent. The D-line put a ton of pressure on Kitna. Hopefully this is a sign that they are coming around, and not a sign that Detroit is a pass happy team with no O-line. Carlos Rogers also stepped his game up after being criticized a lot early in the season. He and the rest of the secondary shut down all of Detroit's talented receivers. This was definitely one of the best Redskins' performances that I've seen in a while, and it gets me even more excited for the rest of the season.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Terps Win
Maryland needs to be thankful after Saturday that Georgia Tech wasn't lined up in the middle of the field on their last FG attempt. If GT's kicker had placed the ball just several feet to his left, then the Jackets end up with a win and hand the Terps another crushing ACC loss. Luckily though a W is all that matters at the end of the day.
The big deal coming into this week was how Chris Turner had led the Terps to victory over Rutgers, and the offense looked as good as it has all year with him at QB. Ralph Friedgen made statements during the week that Jordan Steffy will be back at starter if he is healthy, which obviously wasn't the case Saturday. I thought Turner looked good again on Saturday. He did have one crucial mistake, which was the fumble that GT returned for a TD before the half. That definitely gave the Jackets momentum and 7 points which kept it close down the stretch. However, he showed poise the rest of the game in the pocket, and made throws that I have never seen Steffy make.
I think the Fridge has a situation here that will be tough to resolve with his QBs. The traditional thinking is that players don't lose their jobs because of injury. However, do you rock the boat when things are going so well. Right now Turner has been at the helm for wins over 2 previously winning teams. If he is grading out at a high level, which I imagine he has to be, then I don't think you bring back Steffy yet. Jordan Steffy seems like a great guy and a great teammate. However, he doesn't look to me to be a great quarterback. He seems to have a Chad Pennington style of playing the position. He looks for the short easy pass and expects his receivers to do all the work. Turner is capable of making those passes, but also stretches the field. I think he makes a defense have to worry about more things than Steffy at this point.
Anyways...I don't make those decisions, and I'll support whoever the Terps have under center. Regardless of who has been playing at QB, the Terps running game has excelled, and deserves a lot of credit. Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball are a great 1-2 punch that don't get a ton of credit for how they play. Hopefully a few more wins in a row will get MD into the Top 25 and a little bit more national exposure.
The big deal coming into this week was how Chris Turner had led the Terps to victory over Rutgers, and the offense looked as good as it has all year with him at QB. Ralph Friedgen made statements during the week that Jordan Steffy will be back at starter if he is healthy, which obviously wasn't the case Saturday. I thought Turner looked good again on Saturday. He did have one crucial mistake, which was the fumble that GT returned for a TD before the half. That definitely gave the Jackets momentum and 7 points which kept it close down the stretch. However, he showed poise the rest of the game in the pocket, and made throws that I have never seen Steffy make.
I think the Fridge has a situation here that will be tough to resolve with his QBs. The traditional thinking is that players don't lose their jobs because of injury. However, do you rock the boat when things are going so well. Right now Turner has been at the helm for wins over 2 previously winning teams. If he is grading out at a high level, which I imagine he has to be, then I don't think you bring back Steffy yet. Jordan Steffy seems like a great guy and a great teammate. However, he doesn't look to me to be a great quarterback. He seems to have a Chad Pennington style of playing the position. He looks for the short easy pass and expects his receivers to do all the work. Turner is capable of making those passes, but also stretches the field. I think he makes a defense have to worry about more things than Steffy at this point.
Anyways...I don't make those decisions, and I'll support whoever the Terps have under center. Regardless of who has been playing at QB, the Terps running game has excelled, and deserves a lot of credit. Keon Lattimore and Lance Ball are a great 1-2 punch that don't get a ton of credit for how they play. Hopefully a few more wins in a row will get MD into the Top 25 and a little bit more national exposure.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Long Time No Post
So I had a pretty good rate of posting I thought over the summer, but with my work kicking back in and other personal things going on...I haven't been able to put my thoughts out that often. So here I go with a little bit of rambling about whats been going on lately.
The baseball season is over...well atleast locally. The Nats did a good job to finish above expectations in the NL East. It still isn't fun cheering for a loser though. There should be a lot more excitement with the opening of the new stadium next spring, and hopefully the team makes some moves to improve the club as well.
The Orioles had their usual 6 week collapse to end the regular season. After Erik Bedard went down with his injury, there really wasn't anything to get excited about. Their pitching was absolutely horrible over the last month, with guys who were signed just to get them through the rest of the season. The bright spot for the O's was Nick Markakis. He finished top 10 in RBI for the year, and improved upon his rookie year. The Orioles seem to finally have an up and coming star, and hopefully they can develop a few more players sooner rather than later.
Football is in full effect now. The Redskins got off to a great start at 2-0, and then blew their perfect start with a depressing 2nd half against the Giants. It seems like fans are waiting on the Detroit game this week to see if the Redskins' season will be heading up or down. I'm happy with where the team is right now, especially with how Jason Campbell has played. He hasn't been amazing, but he is consistent and has a great attitude when he is on the field. I like him as a leader for this team.
The Ravens have gone 2-2, and look to be struggling a bit more. Steve McNair is frustrating to watch, because he seems to be past his time. His nagging injuries won't keep him off of the field, but his passing ability isn't where it should be. The stats aren't awful, but the plays just aren't being made on the field when they should be. Meanwhile the defense is struggling. Adalius Thomas was obviously a big loss, however, the whole scheme seems to be off. Plays that used to be made in the backfield are happening 4 yards down the field, and thats what separates a middle of the pack defense from a top 5 D.
And finally Maryland football has my attention. Well I try to give it my attention, but its hard to see a live game on TV. Of course the die hards make it out to the stadium, but I'm not that lucky. Rutgers was the first game I was able to see live this year, and that was only because the Knights were somehow ranked 10th in the nation. Maryland played great to beat them, and would be in a nice spot right now if they hadn't dropped their game to Wake. I watched most of that game...on Comcast about 5 days later. The Terps truly gave away a game against an ACC opponent. That one hurts, but atleast the Terps bounced back well.
The baseball season is over...well atleast locally. The Nats did a good job to finish above expectations in the NL East. It still isn't fun cheering for a loser though. There should be a lot more excitement with the opening of the new stadium next spring, and hopefully the team makes some moves to improve the club as well.
The Orioles had their usual 6 week collapse to end the regular season. After Erik Bedard went down with his injury, there really wasn't anything to get excited about. Their pitching was absolutely horrible over the last month, with guys who were signed just to get them through the rest of the season. The bright spot for the O's was Nick Markakis. He finished top 10 in RBI for the year, and improved upon his rookie year. The Orioles seem to finally have an up and coming star, and hopefully they can develop a few more players sooner rather than later.
Football is in full effect now. The Redskins got off to a great start at 2-0, and then blew their perfect start with a depressing 2nd half against the Giants. It seems like fans are waiting on the Detroit game this week to see if the Redskins' season will be heading up or down. I'm happy with where the team is right now, especially with how Jason Campbell has played. He hasn't been amazing, but he is consistent and has a great attitude when he is on the field. I like him as a leader for this team.
The Ravens have gone 2-2, and look to be struggling a bit more. Steve McNair is frustrating to watch, because he seems to be past his time. His nagging injuries won't keep him off of the field, but his passing ability isn't where it should be. The stats aren't awful, but the plays just aren't being made on the field when they should be. Meanwhile the defense is struggling. Adalius Thomas was obviously a big loss, however, the whole scheme seems to be off. Plays that used to be made in the backfield are happening 4 yards down the field, and thats what separates a middle of the pack defense from a top 5 D.
And finally Maryland football has my attention. Well I try to give it my attention, but its hard to see a live game on TV. Of course the die hards make it out to the stadium, but I'm not that lucky. Rutgers was the first game I was able to see live this year, and that was only because the Knights were somehow ranked 10th in the nation. Maryland played great to beat them, and would be in a nice spot right now if they hadn't dropped their game to Wake. I watched most of that game...on Comcast about 5 days later. The Terps truly gave away a game against an ACC opponent. That one hurts, but atleast the Terps bounced back well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)