I attended the Ravens-Browns game yesterday, which will become infamous for Phil Dawson's game-tieing field goal that landed in the endzone. A lot of people had already left the stadium after Matt Stover hit the go-ahead field goal with less than a minute left. Those who were still there had already started filing out of the stadium before most realized that the game might not be over. It was obvious from where I was on the opposing 30 yard line and hundreds of feet up, that the ball landed in the endzone. However, I began to realize without the help of replay that the ball must have hit the support and not the horizontal goal post. Word came back as people waited in the aisles, that the FG was good and the game was going to OT. Most Baltimorons were incredulous at this point, but I wasn't upset. The kick was good and the refs got the call right in the end. It sucked...but Ravens fans would have wanted it that way if the situation was flipped.
I've always hated the way the NFL plays overtime games. The idea that a team can lose a game in overtime without ever running an offensive play is ridiculous. Sudden death works in hockey or soccer when there is most likely to be multiple change of possessions before the deciding score. However, with football it is a failure. I would much rather see the alternating possession system that the NCAA uses. Each team's offense and defense atleast has an impact in overtime. If the NFL doesn't want to go that route...then let the game end in a tie. That would have been a much more deserving result to yesterday's game.
The game itself was entertaining in the 2nd half. Baltimore's 37 yards of offense in the 1st half was pitiful. However, they looked like a great team at times in the 2nd half. How a team can go from looking that bad to that good is astounding. Kyle Boller looked good throwing the ball down the field in the 2nd half. Of course he still overthrew the soft passes over the middle, and gave up a pick-6 when he got rocked in the red zone. The offensive line was absolutely horrible in pass protection. Boller was sacked six times, and was pressured into a lot of bad throws. For some reason it took the coaching staff a whole half to realize that the offense could be successful when Boller took a three step drop instead of five or seven.
In regards to the coaching...where was it on special teams? Josh Cribbs has been an individual highlight reel for the Browns lately, yet the Ravens kicked the ball off to him SEVEN TIMES! Matt Stover was able to squib one kickoff threw the endzone, but otherwise they tried nothing different. Cribbs had 245 yards on kickoffs alone! Cribbs fielded each kick to his left, and Cleveland ran the same return each time. Since Stover has a weak leg, why not squib it more than once. How about a sky kick to a blocker, or kicking it to Cribbs' right. Of all the miscues in this game, the kickoff team was the worst. On Cleveland's tieing drive and game winning drive in OT, they got the ball on their 43 and 41 yard lines. It was impressive that they came back to win that game, but the Ravens certainly made it easy at times.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Redskins Playoff Outlook
I feel decent about the Redskins because they have a winning record and still are barely on the outside of the playoffs. I hear the pessimists saying they should be 3-5, and the optimists saying they should be 7-2. Look! The reality is that they are slightly ahead of the middle in the NFC. 5-4 is perfectly reasonable for this team right now. They have had a fair amount of injuries to key guys, and are still keeping themselves in games. (Note...the Patriots game never actually happened). Injuries to Carlos Rogers and Sean Taylor will surely hurt the team's potential over the rest of the year, but that doesn't spell doom.
Currently the 'Skins are 7th in the NFC. That leaves them as the last team out of the playoffs. At 8-1, Green Bay and Dallas look to have spots wrapped up already. The Buccaneers and Seahawks, both at 5-4, are no better than the 'Skins on the field, but have the benefit of playing in crappy divisons. They or some other mediocre team will take those 2 divisonal slots. So that leaves the Lions and Giants, both 6-4, as the Redskins primary competition for one of the 2 Wild Card spots.
Detroit and NY play each other this week, which gives the Skins an opportunity to pick up a game on atleast one of them. However, the Burgundy and Gold also have to travel to Dallas for their first test against the Cowboys this year. A win in Big D would be huge for the 'Skins' playoff picture. However, even with a loss and a drop back to .500 they have a chance for the Wild Card.
The Giants have the best road ahead of these 3 teams. After the Lions they have Minnesota, Chicago, Philly, Washington, Buffalo, and New England. I see them getting 4 0r 5 wins out of that stretch, which would put them at 10-6 or 11-5 to finish the season. Thats a solid Wild Card team.
Detroit has a much tougher finish to their season. After their matchup with the Giants, they still have to face Green Bay twice and Dallas.(Likely outcome, 1-2) Its hard to predict wins for Jon Kitna during those weeks. While KC and Minnesota look to be struggling now, San Diego is a team that is hard to judge. That game is a toss up to predict. (Likely outcome 2-1). So I see Detroit going 3-3 after this weeks matchup. Three or four more wins would have them looking at 9-7 or 10-6.
Now I'm not up to date on all of my playoff tiebreakers for the NFL, but I would assume the Redskins beat the Lions for a playoff spot because of the Redskins win over Detroit during the regular season. So the 'Skins should be realistically aiming for a 10-6 finish. The Redskins schedule finishing up looks like this.
Dal - W/L
TB - W/L
Buf - W
Chi - W
NYG - W/L
Min - W
Dal - W/L
The three games with the W next to them are must wins for Washington. A loss to Buffalo, Chicago, or Minnesota could be a nail in the Skins' coffin. However, even with those 3 wins the team would still have just 8 victories. To get to 10-6 and to feel comfortable with a playoff spot, the Redskins would have to split their 4 games with likely playoff opponents. All but one of those games will be on the road.
It looks like the Giants will likely get one of the two Wild Card spots. Detroit and Washington both have a shaky road towards the end, but have the best shots of any other NFC teams. DC fans really need to cheer hard for anybody coming up against the Lions this year, and the 2 Dallas games for the Skins take on even more of a meaning this year with where the standings are now.
Currently the 'Skins are 7th in the NFC. That leaves them as the last team out of the playoffs. At 8-1, Green Bay and Dallas look to have spots wrapped up already. The Buccaneers and Seahawks, both at 5-4, are no better than the 'Skins on the field, but have the benefit of playing in crappy divisons. They or some other mediocre team will take those 2 divisonal slots. So that leaves the Lions and Giants, both 6-4, as the Redskins primary competition for one of the 2 Wild Card spots.
Detroit and NY play each other this week, which gives the Skins an opportunity to pick up a game on atleast one of them. However, the Burgundy and Gold also have to travel to Dallas for their first test against the Cowboys this year. A win in Big D would be huge for the 'Skins' playoff picture. However, even with a loss and a drop back to .500 they have a chance for the Wild Card.
The Giants have the best road ahead of these 3 teams. After the Lions they have Minnesota, Chicago, Philly, Washington, Buffalo, and New England. I see them getting 4 0r 5 wins out of that stretch, which would put them at 10-6 or 11-5 to finish the season. Thats a solid Wild Card team.
Detroit has a much tougher finish to their season. After their matchup with the Giants, they still have to face Green Bay twice and Dallas.(Likely outcome, 1-2) Its hard to predict wins for Jon Kitna during those weeks. While KC and Minnesota look to be struggling now, San Diego is a team that is hard to judge. That game is a toss up to predict. (Likely outcome 2-1). So I see Detroit going 3-3 after this weeks matchup. Three or four more wins would have them looking at 9-7 or 10-6.
Now I'm not up to date on all of my playoff tiebreakers for the NFL, but I would assume the Redskins beat the Lions for a playoff spot because of the Redskins win over Detroit during the regular season. So the 'Skins should be realistically aiming for a 10-6 finish. The Redskins schedule finishing up looks like this.
Dal - W/L
TB - W/L
Buf - W
Chi - W
NYG - W/L
Min - W
Dal - W/L
The three games with the W next to them are must wins for Washington. A loss to Buffalo, Chicago, or Minnesota could be a nail in the Skins' coffin. However, even with those 3 wins the team would still have just 8 victories. To get to 10-6 and to feel comfortable with a playoff spot, the Redskins would have to split their 4 games with likely playoff opponents. All but one of those games will be on the road.
It looks like the Giants will likely get one of the two Wild Card spots. Detroit and Washington both have a shaky road towards the end, but have the best shots of any other NFC teams. DC fans really need to cheer hard for anybody coming up against the Lions this year, and the 2 Dallas games for the Skins take on even more of a meaning this year with where the standings are now.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Ravens 22 - Rams 3
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
NFL Kicks Off
So the Colts are already 1-0, but the season really kicks off this afternoon. The Redskins face the Dolphins which should result in a W for Washington. If Miami pulls something off with Trent Green, then I'll be worried for this upcoming season. I have Miami as one of the bottom feeders in the league this season. I have confidence that Jason Campbell will have a decent start. He looked pretty good in his limited work in pre-season, and I think Santana Moss was excellent. Hopefully Portis and Betts are ready to roll and will show us something with the running game as well.
The D-line will continue to be a question mark until they start getting pressure with 4 rushing the QB. With Laron Landry replacing Adam Archuletta, I feel very confident about our secondary improving. I also think London Fletcher will hold things down at the MLB spot as well. Well...the results will be there for us in just over 3 hours.
As for the Ravens, they get a tough divisional game against Cincy on Monday night. I would love to see Chad Johnson held out of the endzone, so he can save his antics for another week. I'm also wanting to see Willis McGahee break out, because it looks like he was held back during the pre-season.
The D-line will continue to be a question mark until they start getting pressure with 4 rushing the QB. With Laron Landry replacing Adam Archuletta, I feel very confident about our secondary improving. I also think London Fletcher will hold things down at the MLB spot as well. Well...the results will be there for us in just over 3 hours.
As for the Ravens, they get a tough divisional game against Cincy on Monday night. I would love to see Chad Johnson held out of the endzone, so he can save his antics for another week. I'm also wanting to see Willis McGahee break out, because it looks like he was held back during the pre-season.
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