thundercleetz

Like I said, it doesn't matter what the play was announced as, it was a penalty any way you look at it. If it is not a helmet-to-helmet hit, it is a hit on a defenseless receiver. If it is not that, it is a blatant late hit. Any way you slice it, it is unneccessary roughness, 15-yards, automatice first down. It doesn't matter how the ref announced it, it was the right call.

Doesn't matter what it was announced as, there are rules that protect defenseless receivers. Either way, it was a clear unneccessary roughness penalty. The key word is "unneccessary" as the ball had already sailed past Johnson.

It was definitely late, no doubt about it. Plus, the call was unneccessary roughness on a defenseless receiver, which it clearly was. Dumb play by Ray, simply put. I thought the refs screwed us last week, but we did it to ourselves this week with dumb penalties. We deserved to lose this game.

I think it is unfair to write off Gooden and Ellerbe after one bad game. Ellerbe was very solid last week, and barely saw the field this week. Gooden on the other hand was getting pushed back into the secondary on a lot of those runs.

My point is you could pay Corey Ivey the vet minimum to come in here and do the same thing instead of giving $30 million to Foxworth.

That run game sure killed us today. Like I predicted, it was the key to the ball game. The Bengals got a big TD from running the ball, and were able to control ToP.

Get rid of Foxworth too while we are at it. The secondary has been trash this season.

I think they got Pryce for bull rushing the snapper. You are allowed to shoot the gaps on either side of the snapper, but not headup.

The Bengals will definitely be fired up, no doubt about that, max. But I guarantee that our guys are still angry about last week, our guys have plenty of motivation on their own. Both teams have a lot to play for, should be a good game.

DC, I know it is early, but what do you think the O's should do this off-season? Obviously the bullpen needs a make-over. Next, should we make a run at Lackey? Try and put together a package for big bat such as Gonzalez/Fielder? Recent quotes from McPhail seem to suggest that the rebuilding phase is over and it is time to compete. In my opinion, to at least be .500 in this division we need a big bat and a solid, veteran #1/2 pitcher (such as Lackey). We certainly have the prospects to add a bat such as Gonzalez or Fielder (guys like Erbe, Britton, Arrieta, Snyder, Avery, and Joseph are pieces we could use). Lackey might be difficult to add, for he should have plenty of suitors this off-season. In my opinion, adding a Gonzalez/Fielder, a few bullpen arms, and Lackey would definitely put us at .500. That next step to a playoff contender would depend on the progress of guys like Matusz, Tillman, Bergesen, Wieters, Pie, Jones, Reimold, and Bell. What do you think?

Isn't that what 1st Mariner Arena's replacement (which is currently on hold) going to provide? This soccer stadium would definitely be an outdoor stadium that would be ideal for soccer/lacrosse. Like I said, having a soccer specific stadium would attract so many opportunities such as international soccer games, All-Star games, United States qualifying games, lacrosse tournaments, and possibly the World Cup in the future. Both a stadium and an arena would add a lot of potential for the city.

I think this was pretty much debated last week. I was in the minority that agreed with Cam's play calling last week. There were plays to be made through the air, we just did not take advantage of all the opportunities (Joe under-throwing Mason on the long potential TD, the INT to Clayton which would have been a TD had Joe thrown the ball to the corner of the endzone, and the pass to Clayton in the endzone in which Clayton could not reel in the pass). If they are plays to be made, I do not mind taking shots. Cam is the one who watches the film, not us. He knows where he can attack.

Hue was the unsung hero last year as well. Quite simply, the guy should be an OC somewhere in this league. He is very talented and intelligent. Hue got screwed over by Bobby Petrino quitting on the Falcons. He never got a chance to call the plays as an OC with Petrino, then Petrino left him a team to call the plays for midway through the season with Chris Redman as the QB (and Jackson did a solid job as well). Jackson will get his chance again. Do not forget about Jim Hostler either, he has done a great job coaching the receivers. Remember, Hostler had the billing as a QB coach while Jackson was a WR coach, both guys work together interchangeably between the positions very well. Like max said, we are a stacked coaching staff.

Come on max, that hardly counts. We have Flacco now!

BallTMore pretty much sums up everything to look out for when buying a jersey on eBay. Another thing to look for is the little "c" on names such as McGahee, sometimes it can be the wrong font or in the wrong place (top instead of the bottom). Anyways, like granger said, they are not actually "authentic" jerseys, but they are copies of authentic ones (in other words, in Korea someone might have stolen the blueprint on the jersey and taken it to another factory to sell). So if you look hard enough, there are plenty of jerseys on eBay which you could buy for around $40 that you would not be able to tell the difference between an actual authentic jersey. Granger is right, it is really easy to spot fakes at M&T Bank, so make sure the fonts/colors are correct. Myself, I have a black Reed jersey from eBay which looks great, and I got my little brother a white Flacco jersey from eBay which looks like the real deal as well.

When was Tank Johnson every considered anything more than an average player? By no means do I think he constitutes a double team. Peko is the much better player.

Where's Mark Clayton in this discussion?

Completely agree with Crav. I believe this is our game to lose, we have to put this thing away if given the chance.

In other news, it looks like M&T Bank Stadium is going to be getting video boards similar to those in the Mets Citi Field:

If Ehrlich was still governor those slots would be up and running by now! :lol: As for the soccer stadium, I pretty much agree with everything dc said. Now is actually a good time for construction, just need to find some funding to get things kicked off. Maybe the firm that is funding the Westport Waterfront project would put forth some money for the soccer stadium. The Chelsea game at M&T Bank Stadium showed there is potential for soccer. Yes, that game sold out because top Euro clubs were playing, but the point is maybe a new stadium, especially a European soccer specific stadium, could attract more Euro teams to play in Baltimore, maybe even USA qualifier matches. And if the World Cup ever returned to the US, you better believe a soccer specific stadium in Baltimore would host a round. Remember, these MLS soccer teams often form partnerships with Euro teams that bring benefits to each team (exhibition, all-star games, possibly international investment in the team). By the way, building a soccer stadium is nowhere near as expensive as building a baseball/football stadium. The New York MLS team is building a soccer stadium that sits about 25K for $180-$200 million. The one in Baltimore would sit 17-20K, so it would probably be a little less. Yes, still expensive, but hardly the $500 million+ teams throw into baseball or football stadiums nowadays.

Um... where else would you expect the slots go?

I actually think it is quite the opposite, the key to beating the Bengals is containing Cedric Benson (the league's fourth leading rusher) who has been a catalyst for the Bengals offense. Take out the fourth quarter, and Palmer has been very pedestrian. In other words, if we stop Benson early and our offense continues to take advantage of scoring opportunities, Palmer will be forced into playing catch-up. Then we can really bring the pass rush (Palmer has been sacked nine times this season) and force Palmer into some bad throws (he has been making poor decision this season). But if we let the Bengals stick around, and they still have the run game at their disposal, then Palmer becomes dangerous spreading the field. Benson has been a huge part of that offense, he is averaging 4.4 YPC, but is leading the league in rushing attempts with 84 (so 21 attempts per contest). In other words, the Bengals have been able to play at their own pace on offense because of their ability to run the ball. Stop the run, and the Bengals no longer have that luxury. Keep in mind, Palmer is completing under 60% of his passes this season (57.7%), and has thrown five INTs to only six TDs. Also, we have held Palmer to an average of just 197.4 passing yards with four total touchdown passes and three INTs in the last five meetings (granted the Bengals won three out of those five meetings). The bottom line is do not let the Bengals hang around, because then we could be in trouble. As long as we play like we have been playing so far this season by dominating the line of scrimage, efficient passing, and dominant run defensive play, we should be fine (as long as we don't kill ourselves with penalties).

Which is exactly why PG County and D.C. bailed on stadium proposals with the team already. It is bad timing in the sense of the economy, but good timing in the sense of trying to lure the team in need of a stadium since no one else wants to give them one. But then again, no one cares about soccer in the U.S.!

Here is the difference from before, we now have a QB who has just as much ability to lead his team down the field at the end for the win as you do. So basically, if the game is close in the fourth, I believe whoever has the ball last will win. Me personally as a Ravens fan, I think this will be a decisive win by the Ravens. It will have its close moments, but the Bengals have shown this season that while they can play up to the level of their competition (e.g. Steelers, Packers), they can also play down to the level of competition (e.g. Browns, Broncos). Since Harbaugh has become coach, the Ravens have not played down to the level of the competition, for the most part, and have played excellent at home. So if the Bengals come out slow like they did in the Browns and Broncos games, it will get ugly. If the Bengals come out playing tough like the Steelers game, it will be very close. I have been impressed with your run defense at times (Maualuga, Rivers, Odom, and Roy Williams have been solid in the run game), but is the front seven as a whole (mainly the play of those defensive tackles) going to be able to be physical enough with our offensive line who have dominated every opponent thus far? I am not sure. On the offensive side of the ball, the league's #4 rusher goes up against the league's #1 run defense. This will be a good match-up and possibly the key to the game. Carson has been sacked nine times this season, this could be a big factor as far as the need to get the run game going. On the flip side, if Jared Gaither is not good to go, Odom and Gaithers could be a big factor in pressuring Flacco.

What I meant to say is a potentially great location. Have you seen the plans for the area? Anyways, the point is what do you think about DC United in Baltimore?