oldno82

These next 2 games with NO and the Cowboys will tell us a lot about the real capabilities of this team. Right now things look good but I'm not quite ready to jump on the bandwagon. Meanwhile the injury bug has bitten us. Several starters did not practice again today.

The situation at Center is interesting. The current guy is a very good run blocker but not so good as a pass blocker. Pocic is just the opposite. For right now, I'd stay with what we have as long as we're opening those holes for Henry and Lamar keeps using his pocket awareness like he did on Sunday.

Late word has Lane getting surgery on wrist and being out 4-6 weeks.

As long as our offense doesn't have a big head after the easy performance against the Colts, the Ravens should carry the day. The team will be buoyed for this game too because it's the home opener. Derrick Henry is just unbelieveable...a 32 year old power running back with speed. Will we ever see the likes of him again? I'm also looking for Sarratt and Tez to have some success. Bateman should have a good day. If he doesn't, I will begin to wonder why we have him on the team. Hopefully, our D will start off better than last week. I think it should be an easy win. But as you said, on any given Sunday.

Well I can't argue against those facts. I am surprised by the fact that offenses are ahead by so much though. Even our offense, which had so much problem handling our D in training camp, ripped the Colts. We'll have to see how long this trend lasts.

Yeah but why not give our young guys a chance?

Sounds about right. I want to see Sarratt get a chance to play at least some this week. Dez too if he's healthy. Moore and Bateman too. I'm not thinking it's time to pull the trigger and sign a FA. There ain't much left there.

Robinson is right. There is work to be done. I think every NFL team has things to work on partly because there is no preseason for the regulars. I get the thinking: if you don't play you don't get hurt, but practice and game experience are different. The Ravens actually looked pretty damned good after that first scary drive that led to the Colts 6-point lead. I'm looking forward to when Madds can play and collapse the pass protection from the inside while Hendrickson, et.al., blast in from the outside. Here's hoping Flowers and Lane come back sooner rather than later. One other thing: Tyler Loop came through with those 57-yard and 45-yard FGs. That was another revelation. Hope he keeps it up!

Our defense scared me a bit on that first drive when we couldn't seem to generate any pressure and Jones completed several passes, but they certainly settled down after that and harassed Jones for the rest of the game and pretty much forced them away from using Taylor too. In the end our defense was impressive. Our offense was explosive as promised. Zay was freaking unbelievable until his hammy acted up. A real shame about Lane as it looks like he has a fractured wrist. But we do have Tez and Sarratt we can activate and I think they can hold the fort until Zay and JaKobi get back. I'm not really sure we need to acquire a free agent receiver at this point. I'd rather our young guys get the chance. Bateman seemed to disappear. Special teams coverage is a problem but it is more a consistency issue, I think. I'm not worried about our secondary coverage which settled down nicely after the first drive.

Yeah, JJ and Nantz were almost as bad as the slugs we had. They need another Tony Romo (one who doesn't drink and drive) to go with Nantz.

I thought it was a good game with definitely some deficiencies noted. Penalties on O were a real problem. D-pass rush on first Indy series was non-existent but then accelerated thereafter. Indy has a good offensive and defensive line and they're a good team so have to give them some credit, especially for not folding. Zay had a stupendous game going until his injured hammy acted up. Anybody know how serious Lane's wrist injury is? Henry was magnificent! All in all, a good shakedown cruise against a decent team. The team will be learning things on offense and defense for at least the first 5-6 games because there was no competition for the 1's in pre-season. Fortunately, we now have the easiest schedule for those weeks coming up.

There has been an unusual amount of secrecy. Maybe it's because it was even quality of life beyond football that was at stake as well. For example, maybe they were afraid of paralysis if he took the wrong kind of hit. I get the impression that the surgery alleviated those concerns. For his sake I hope that's true.

True. We'll know a lot more on Sunday.

We'll need him if and when he can safely play at his pre-injury level.

From the Ravens' website: "Last season, Jones and the Colts scored 38 points in a win over the Chargers, whose defense was coached by now Ravens Head Coach Jesse Minter. It was the most points the Chargers allowed all season, and Indy was the only team to cross 400 yards of offense against Minter's unit."

Could be. Jet lag on a trip that long and in a timezone that different is a bitch. And with all that talent on defense and hype they've been getting, they might have also been overconfident.

Man, did you see what happened to the Rams last night? Just goes to show you how the pundits can be so wrong!

It may not, Tsyl. It's gonna be brand new and the first time on a road trip against a pretty damn good defense. I'm sure we'd like to come out smokin' hot but methinks we're going to have trouble running the ball. Saw a blurb today that Flowers is playing but haven't been able to confirm it.

Well, it all begins this Sunday though I don't think we're going to know all the answers until about 5-6 games in. Right now there's so many unknowns for us fans, we can only guess. That's what I consider my 11-12 victories to be: very much a guess for now.

I think if Lamar has a very good season, he'll want more than Mahomes. I'm thinking he'll go for $70mil. If he has a just decent season, probably about $60mil. Meanwhile, I'm looking at the Ravens winning 11 or 12 games this year, depending on injuries. If they can win that many, do you think they'll make it to the AFC championship game?

I said the game would be close---hopefully it doesn't come down to us having to make a FG.

I see a close game. We won't know if the O-line is fixed or better until we see it with our own eyes. It may be hard to run against the Colts who had the best run defense in the league last year. I also think Daniel Jones has turned the corner and the Colts have fleet receivers and Taylor as RB. I don't know how good/bad their O-line is though and our defense is solid. Close game. Lamar has to put the offense on his shoulders. Hendrickson and company close out the deal.

OK, everyone. Sunday is the start of a new NFL season for the Ravens. So, how do they stack up against the Colts, this week's opponent? And, what do you foresee: easy win, hard fought win, or a loss? And, any predictions for the record this season?

All I can say is that if I was a Western Michigan fan, I'd say we were snake-bit.

Yeah but I read where the Western Michigan defender may not have even touched the ball. Could you tell from the replay if he did or didn't? I did not see that game, unfortunately.