dc.

Pathetic. And Mr. Popular Greivis Vasquez not only missed his (and the team's) final 3 or 4 shots... but he also was called for basket interference on a foul shot by a Terp that would have tied the game. Goodness. No bad losses all season ... until this one. I still say the easy non-conference schedule will help us more than hurt us... the final W number counts more than who you win against (or so we have learned in previous years). But to lose... at home... to a 4 or 5 win Morgan State team??? Fuck that ... fuck that Gary... hell, fuck you Gary! Get these guys together.

I think we should all open a bank and then apply for some of the cash. We'll use it to produce loans... sure... just like all those other banks are... not.

I feel pretty confident about this game... but I don't make picks in games that really matter - not for money, not for fun. I think our D is on top of it's game and the Tenn offense has struggled recently. Their explosion against the Steelers was more defensive than offensive. Collins didn't top 250 and neither of their runners topped 100 yards. I think we can definitely handle their offense - and their "thunder and lightning" runners. Offensively, I think we are far better than we were in Week 5 or 6. Our OL was able to protect Flacco in that game and they have only gotten better. Flacco has improved. Our receivers have improved. Our running game is as strong as ever. And to top it off, two of the key pressure players for Tenn (Haynesworth and Van den Bosh) are both dealing with injuries. I hope to see us moving the ball far more effective than we did last time we met the Titans. If we move it the way we did against the Dolphins most of the game (almost always finding our way to their 40), I like our odds.

I agree, our 2000 defense would have struggled with some of the rule changes... namely the harsher enforcement of the chuck rule, more roughing calls, etc etc... That said... I still don't think there is a comparison. Adjustments have been made by this defense to many different things throughout the season... imagine the adjustments that had to be made in 2000 anyway.

I love how people have said that Ed is the benefactor of playing centerfield and just picking off whatever drops in no man's land... It has certainly happened, but it's certainly not always the case. And more importantly... every player gets a lucky break here and there. How many sacks are made not through individual effort, but through broken blocking schemes or massive blitzes? It's not like Harrison has made every sack through some amazing athleticism that only he possesses or is capable of this year.

Well if he's gonna imply that I might flunk out ... What I'm doing now? Long bit to tell... Another day...

Willis should continue to get his carries while he performs... but if the dropped passes, stuttering at the line, and pansy avoidance of tackles comes back... we know what to do. Willis gives us great flexibility. He should get some more carries. But that doesn't mean deviating from the plan of Le'Ron up the gut until the opposing defense dies on itself... McGahee has had much of his success in recent weeks after Le'Ron has pounded the D.** Doesn't mean I like the guy... but you put the ball in the hands of the guys that are succeeding. McGahee is better at getting outside and better at receiving than Le'Ron... so use him when we can. **Anyone catch that when Phil Simms was talking about Le'Ron liking to pound opposing defenses into submission that they showed Le'Ron lined up in the backfield, and, as if he could hear Simms and Nance, he just started to smile slowly... like "Yes, yes I do."

I graduated, max. Cum lauds. Two degrees. Honors citation. Good stuff. But it probably makes you feel old. It makes me feel old.

How many turnovers, Oggie?

Yesterday was three offensive teams and one defensive team. The defense won. And in Arizona it was the team that created turnovers that won. If it's about D, I like our odds.

Loved seeing the Colts lose. What I really loved more, though, was that they lost on 2 or 3 calls against their defense in the final minutes and on the final drive... with Manning over there watching. In my head I was saying, Dear Peyton and Tony, you guys are the reason those rules were added! You are the reason that holding was called against your CB. And now you're paying for it. PS - Peyton's go ahead TD was sch BULLSHIT! On the play prior, the Chargers were called for encroachment. But Peyton and the Colts were doing their usual pre-play bullshit, including Peyton jumping and stomping and moving his hands and faking the snap. THAT'S A FALSE START, LEAGUE REFS. You are only allowed to use your voice, not your body, to fake the count. So Peyton gets the off-side called in a bullshit manner... and then a player later, still amid the confusion, the Colts run a play while the Chargers aren't looking... which (if NBC had bothered to show a replay) might just show that the Colts hadn't even lined up properly!

I don't like it when you laugh at me, Dee.

Here we go again... First, the sample sizes on completion percentages and interceptions are not small. They are huge. That's why I told you to use those stats instead of the BS stats about "rookies losing games" and "Cameron never winning in the playoffs." Please. Follow your own advice. Read. I WANT to talk about good, real, football stats. And I am happy to. I am happy to dissect every reasonable angle of this game. Do you not see the difference between 6 rookie quarterbacks starting playoff games and a season with more than 300 pass attempts? Really? As for me using real stats... again... read. In my first post I said I was going to discuss a single point of your argument. And that I have. If and when I feel like it, in another thread perhaps, I'll try to talk real football with you. But reading these replies you have to others (and myself) that seems fairly impossible. Plus, I just don't feel like overtalking it. I've been writing for weeks about football and my brain hurts. I bet you know what I'm going to start with... READ. I never said there were tons of stats pointing to a Baltimore win. I said there were tons of stats pointing to why BOTH teams SHOULD lose. Again, this goes back to your meaningless stats about rookies and Cameron. But, since you asked... here are some quick reasons Miami "shouldn't" be able to win tomorrow... they fit right in with your kind of stats! Tony Sparano is 0-3 as an NFL coach in the playoffs! (2003, 2006, 2007 with Cowboys) Chad Pennington is only 2-3 career (he wins just 40% of his playoff games!) Teams Bill Parcells has been a part of haven't won a playoff game since 1998 (Jets) and Parcells hasn't won a Wild Card game sine 1985. So... just how much do these numbers mean? Nothing. Just like your numbers about rookies and Cameron and whatever else. They just don't mean anything. We could keep going back and forth... you could point out that Baltimore is 2-5 all time against Miami or that home teams win 65% of the time in the wild card round... and I could point out that in playoff re-matches, the team to win the previous game almost always wins the rematch... Talk REAL football. Not STUPID stats. With that, I am done. If a real thread opens up tomorrow about real football, I'll talk. Oh... and TOMORROW is spelled the way I just spelled it.

Oh wait... I just had too much fun with this one before, I had to do a bit more research... Dolphins: First 5 Games: 3 Turnovers (2-3) vs. Ravens: 1 Turnover (0-1, 2-4) Last 10 Games: 9 Turnovers (9-1, 11-5) So you guys are actually giving the ball up MORE often in your last 9 games than you did in your first 6... Is that what I'm seeing? So, tell me again about how your offense has GOTTEN BETTER since the Ravens game at not turning the ball over... Listen, the Dolphins are on a roll... I know that... but you have your weaknesses. Just like we have ours. So start talking football. Stop talking karma and odds.

By the way here... are you too dense to get how this fit in with the rest of my argument? Every team, every player, every coach has a stat or two that will tell you they will lose... We could talk about Pennington's sad record in the playoffs... or against the Ravens... we could talk about all kinds of reasons that the Fish shouldn't be able to win tomorrow... But none of it matters because there are reasons both teams "shouldn't" be able to win tomorrow. Tons of stats that say that about both teams. But what matter more are the stats from this season, about this season, actually put up by these teams.

First, I didn't minimize the sample sizes... they are what they are. The samples are small. And they aren't important. There have only been 8 years of the current playoff format. There have only been 6 rookie QBs to start in the playoffs in the last 42 years. (http://www.kansascity.com/sports/football/story/962746.html) That's not me making a sample small... that's a small sample and you trying to use it to your advantage. You picked four or five stats... none of which were special... and try to make a case. It's simply not relevant to what happens on the field. Second, even heading into the Ravens game in October, Miami was great at protecting the ball. You turned the ball over just 13 times all season... 3 times in your final two games... the Dolphins have been great at minimizing turnovers all season. And even so, it was turnovers against the Ravens that killed you. So how are you going to reverse that this time? Finally, I never said the Fins would have an offensive explosion. I never said you said that. So instead of telling me to read carefully and stop putting words in your mouth, do it yourself. I said that if the Fins go down 10-3... How are they going to make that up against the league's 2nd ranked rushing attack and its #1 possession offense? How is Pennington going to manage the game and win the game when he isn't on the field? The Fins have won the majority of their games in the last 10 weeks by small margins and in low scoring games... but they are playing one of the best teams in the league when it comes to low scores and clock management. Do you believe the Fins can outplay the Ravens at their own game?

Well, compared to Florida's public schools... sure... Maryland is loaded. But STL's point is that Baltimore City's public system is a disaster. Now, private, county public, whatever... they are great, sure. But Baltimore's schools means the city's public... and they are horrible.

Oggie, Cleetz and yourself are having enough fun... so I am not going to try dispute everything you say. But I do want to look at this little paragraph you threw out. The stats you are throwing out are based on such ridiculously small samples, they aren't worth much. How long has the 'current playoff format' been around? 8 years? So we're talking about 8 games? How many rookie QBs start playoff games? If 25% win, I'll take that. How many playoff games has Cameron coached as an offensive coordinator? 3 or 4? And as you point out... 0-2 against the East and 0-1 against the Dolphins. But again, not particularly scary given the teeny tiny numbers we're talking about. Football is filled with these kinds of numbers and ESPN loves to slam them down our throats... but that doesn't mean they are worth anything. They aren't balanced, reputable and large-sample stats. In other words, they aren't really worth everything. Every year, ESPN has a writer write down one reason why every team in the league can't win the Super Bowl. One thing they would have to do that has never been done before. The truth, though, is that there are millions of things that have never been done before or that are highly improbably (based on the 'stat books') that happen every season. So, you can talk all you want about your pass rush getting to Flacco or your run game actually stepping up ... and I will gladly listen ... but don't tell me the "odds are stacked against the Ravens" because of some meaningless stats about Cam Cameron. If I were you, I'd be more worried about some of the relevant game facts. How is your offense - which gives the ball away less than anyone in the league - going to handle the best takeaway defense in the league? Last time a pair of takeaways by the Ravens defense determined the game... how is Miami going to change that? How are you going to handle the Ravens rushing attack? Miami's defense gives up 100 yards a game already. Pennington can't manage a game from the sideline. The Ravens lead the league in possession. How are the Dolphins going to overcome a deficit if they face it? There are plenty of questions here to ask... plenty of concerns on both sides.. and Cam Cameron is WAY down the list.

.... at least when we're winning, right?

I still don't get this mentality. We are winning, so any discussion or criticism has to cease? We are in the playoffs, so we have to blindly follow and not think? That's never made sense to me. I mean, it's not like we're Yankee fans who are booing Alex Rodriguez for only hitting three home runs in the playoffs... only. We are discussing the value of a player to our organization. Do I want Willis McGahee to be successful as a Raven? Yes. I want every player on our team to be successful. Am I entitled to express a lack of confidence in him? A lack of happiness with his attitude and performance? Of course. BA, to steal from what you said in our 'marriage rights' discussion a ways back, stop giving me the standard lines... "We're in the playoffs, it doesn't matter." That doesn't mean I have to be happy with every last thing pertaining to this team. If we were spouting off about Corey Ivy or Frank Walker or Adam Terry... I am guessing that no one would have too much of a problem with it. A lot of people that are defending Willis would probably join in and take a few shots and say a few words about how their poor play and how disappointing it is, even though we are in the playoffs. But apparently Willis is off limits. -- Sidenotes: 1. Ray Lewis got plenty of crap on these boards for his attitude when it's come. And when it goes, it goes. Willis' attitude as come. If it goes, I'll let it go. 2. Having never played football, we're not supposed to talk. But I've played plenty of team sports, plenty of physical spots... I feel I'm pretty qualified to discuss 'team' 3. I don't know who got on Suggs about his comments, but I don't believe it was me. I said his comments were stupid - they were - but I never ripped Suggs a new one. I said he should shut it. He did. I think that's the bottom line. If they would shut it and play, we would shut it and watch. Instead, they talk at the worst possible times and say the stupidest possible things... and yes, I'm going to respond. Not all football fans are bright, but not all of them are thick either.

First, it's not about being pessimistic. It's about recognizing the player that McGahee is. He is the kind of player that I don't want starting. I don't want him influencing the rest of the team with that attitude. He's gonna be here next year? Fine. That's ok. But I'm not just going to blindly support him. I'm going to support him when he starts acting like the kind of player we want here. Until then, I'm going to continue to make sure that his attitude issues are well known so that we don't hear excuses about his poor play. Additionally... lots of things can cause you injuries. But unless you are trying your absolute hardest to avoid them, you cannot point fingers at others. As I said before, McGahee has always been injury prone... at Miami, in Buffalo, and now here. And most everyone will agree it has to do with his laziness in the offseason. So until he fixes his own routines and habits, I don't want anyone, especially him, blaming Harbaugh's training regiment. In other words... I'm still waiting for people to tell McGahee to sit down and shut up instead of telling ME to sit down a shut up.

I don't attack players without merit. And what I have said about McGahee, little of it is attack... but it is criticism. That said, I don't attack players without merit. I don't just go after Ray or Joe or anyone else on this team for the fun of it. Ok, I admit, one exception: Corey Ivy. Wait. I take it back. Corey Ivy's play merits attack. Willis is a professional football player. Professional. He does this for a living. So, like every other guy out there, he has opened himself up to criticism for his actions and words when they pertain to his on-field performance. Again, Colin... which of these traits about Willis do you tend to like... 1. His laziness and general lack of work ethic (long displayed here and in Buffalo) 2. His poor performance with this team this year 3. His poor attitude 4. The fact that he is one of only 2 or 3 players on this team to be calling out his coach publicly Seriously, though... how dare Willis claim his injuries are the result of Harbaugh's regiment. Willis has been injury prone his entire career. He came to Baltimore never really getting through a season healthy. Last year was the exception, not the rule. And now he has the nerve to say his injuries are someone else's fault?

Poor performance... poor attitude... poor work ethic... and now calling out his dislike of his coach's system (which we all knew he had, but why say it?) This is what I don't get... if those things... all together, even... aren't enough to send someone packing... then what is?

That doesn't mean it's not news or not worth mentioning when Willis goes out and flaunts about it. And flaunts about how his coach's system... the system that got them to 11-5 with a rookie QB and a FB/RB... Now I'm really gonna sound like a Schmuck lover... but first, it wasn't an article. It's his blog. His job is to mention these things when they come up so we all know about them. It's not the same as running onto the 5pm news with it. Second, if you know Schmuck, you know he embraces his name.

I mean, Huzzah is fine. But the eat shit? Why? Because we cheered for our own QB? Congrats. Ryan deserved it more. This year.