Washington vs Baltimore

[tsylvester]

That is fight worthy

[tsylvester]

1;05 left, 1st down!

Game over

[tsylvester]

2 knees and it is over,

1, 2

30-23 Ravens! Woo Hoo!

[oldno82]

Good entertaining game. Impressed with how the o-line is coming together and Lamar's accuracy.

Henry is simply a beast. Hope he can hold up over the course of the long season.

[tsylvester]

The offensive line was quite impressive. The Comandos ran blitzed most of the game. They even sent 7 several times, yet each time, for the most part, Lamar had a clean pocket with plenty of time.

The way this game went, the only thing to stop the Ravens offense was themselves. A turnover, a bad decision on a zone read or two, then one of the few penalties called, holding on Likely.

Ive a feeling it wasn't the Ravens playing penalty free so much as the officiating allowimg them to just play. Several flags picked up which is not normal, a few obvious calls let go...

[papasmurfbell]

This run of wins has been against defenseless teams.  I want to see what they have against someone like gb.

[tsylvester]

I don't care how bad a defense is, 8, 9 men in the box all crashing, run blitzing, is hard to defend and the line did a phenomenal job in both pass and run blocking.

They will get another good test next week with Tampa, then the next with Cleveland. The Browns may not be able to score more than 15 pts, but that defense is still very good.

Tampa is one of the more complete teams in the NFC, but are they like the Lions and 9ers of last season?

[papasmurfbell]

Tampa is a test.  Cle is not as good as the past.

[papasmurfbell]

48 minutes ago, tsylvester said:

I don't care how bad a defense is, 8, 9 men in the box all crashing, run blitzing, is hard to defend and the line did a phenomenal job in both pass and run blocking.

They will get another good test next week with Tampa, then the next with Cleveland. The Browns may not be able to score more than 15 pts, but that defense is still very good.

Tampa is one of the more complete teams in the NFC, but are they like the Lions and 9ers of last season?

I hope he doesn’t revert to last yrs Watson against the ravens.

[tsylvester]

9 hours ago, papasmurfbell said:

I hope he doesn’t revert to last yrs Watson against the ravens.

Me too, but 6 games plus most of last year say he is done. Too many voices in his head with all of the lawsuits, etc whether they are true or not. That many people against you, it is very difficult to focus

[papasmurfbell]

I think it is being away from the game for to long.

[tsylvester]

Lamar, 20 of 26 for 323 yards against mostly tight man coverage.  Yes, some throws were to wide open receivers/ tightends, but most were not. Something some have said he could not do. Something some have said the receivers/ tightends could not get open.

1 punt, ONE! 2 drives of 90+ yards for touchdowns, quite rare, but yes it was against the Comandos, even so, he was point on.

Now repeat it, stack it as they say

[oldno82]

The offense was clicking on all cylinders. The defense not as dominant as last year's. All in all, the team is about the same quality as last year's team, which means they will have another shot at a Super Bowl if they, like you said, can just keep stacking wins.

Tampa will be a tougher test, especially as an away game.

[deeshopper]

1 minute ago, oldno82 said:

The offense was clicking on all cylinders. The defense not as dominant as last year's. All in all, the team is about the same quality as last year's team, which means they will have another shot at a Super Bowl if they, like you said, can just keep stacking wins.

Tampa will be a tougher test, especially as an away game.

Tampa will indeed be a test. Especially after they dropped 51 on the Saints.

[oldno82]

Yep, and they beat Detroit too.

They are no push-overs.

[papasmurfbell]

TB is a top7 team.

[tsylvester]

5 hours ago, papasmurfbell said:

TB is a top7 team.

That is a big question. Last year, San Fran, Detroit were thought to be top teams, Super Bowl fans.

Then they met the Ravens and were destroyed.

Now, this year the Ravens defense is not what it was last year, but this offense is much better.

So the question is, is Tampa really that good, or are they just a product of the teams that they play?

Saints and Falcons are meh, average teams, Broncos have a good defense, but a rookie qb, and they lost. I guess sort of like the Ravens lost to the Raiders; over looked.

They beat the Lions and Comandos, but at seasons start Iggles can't score on anyone.

I'm not sure we know how good or bad the Bucs are..

[papasmurfbell]

I think tb is real.  They spread that ball around nicely.  Not sure on the run game.  The d is solid.  I don’t know they are a sb team though.  Maybe in a yr.

SF has Shanahan.  I’ve seen enough.  He is not a finisher coach.  I had the det as the nfc rep.  After Hutchinson this is not their yr.  
 

as for us.  This offense has feasted on crap defenses.  Until they pull it off on a real d they are untested.   

[tsylvester]

True, but the run game is such that you have to commit 8 in the box. Linebackers have to step up in play fakes. This leaves the deep middle wide open, Lamar's wheel house..

If, a big if, the line keeps blocking as with this game, there is no stopping them, save a turnover forced or penalties, where the Ravens lead or are near the top of the league.

Henry/Hill are far more dangerous than Edwards/Dobins/Hill ever were. Henry, plus Lamar another of year in Todd's system, is better than last year, even better than the 2019 offense.

If they can fix the defense just a little, this team could be the best in the league.

[papasmurfbell]

I say beat me deep.  Lamar has to prove he is accurate.  I think he still rates as the worst long ball passer in the league.

[tsylvester]

Agreed, he has shown that the deep sidelines, even the deep corner routes he can't throw. Nor can he throw the back shoulder, a very difficult one to master. Not every qb, good or bad, can.

Dropping it in the bucket down field, a real dime pass, not the darts these idiot announcers claim are dimes. He has yet to show that type of touch.

Then again, he has not had the need nor the time in the pocket required, yet.

Even so, you saw what the Comandos tried, single high safety to make sure the deep shots were covered. Man to man, rush everyone else.

The issue is, this leaves the deep middle, under the safety behind the backers wide open for crossing routes, for tighends to roam.

Go zone and it is just waiting for the window, which he has gotten so much at doing.

Rush 8 and it gets blocked properly or even 1 gets through, if Lamar breaks the pocket, he is off on a 30 yard run.

That is the real threat, more so than a dime 50 yards down field. Flowers and Bateman showed, a 15 yard route in man, means make one man miss, you are 50 yards down field easily.

[papasmurfbell]

You have to have good run stuffers upfront.  Was does not have those guys.