Quarter Pole Thoughts

[vmax]

Here's my thoughts and I'd love to hear yours.

 

All of us saw the schedule when it came out. Very, very tough. 4 games in 17 days. Top tier competition all the way through. I loved it because so many excellent opponents will be comming here and that if the Ravens survive this schedule and make the playoffs, then they will be totally battle tested and ready for anybody they meet. It's the kind of schedule that will either break you or make you a champion.

Yanda set the tone for the team with his "Embrace the Grind" statement and everybody has bought in. This is "The Grind" season.

Then Art passes away. Then Torrey's brother who is being burried today. Life...adversity...it's not pulling apart or distracting this team. They are finding themselves...finding a brotherhood and strength that is making them very tight.

 

First 4 games Recap:

 

I couldn't be happier with a 3-1 start to the 2012 season.

The opening MNF divisional win over the Bengals was huge. 'In Division' games are the most important and believe me, the Bengals wanted this one.The Bengals had a good draft, filled holes, had another years experience and this was going to be their statement game.

Not.

 

The loss to Ron Mexico by a point hurts because of the way the Ravens played in the second half. The only silver lining is that if you are going to lose a game, then do it 'out of Conference.'

 

The Sunday night win over the Patriots chalks up another Conference win. It got the regular season dominance by the Pats monkey off the Ravens back. Comeback game winning drive for Joe and a game winning kick for Tucker under his belt. It was the second most fun home game that I've ever been too. Thank You Baltimore Ravens.

 

Another Divisional win over the Browns. Take care of business. That's all that matters at this point.

 

At the moment the Ravens are in the drivers seat in the Division. I know Stealer fans are nervous. They have good reason to be.Thei Bengals defense is worse than the Ravens...next to last in the NFL in points surrendered. Starting week 7 they enter 'Murderers Row' till the end of the year. I don't see this as their year at the Quarter Pole point.

 

The Tourch Has Passed:

 

I've surrendered to the fact that this 2012 Defensive unit will not be dominant like we are used to seeing. I love solid defense. I loved having a great D because that meant that no matter who the Ravens played or where, that they would always be in the game with a good chance to win. Look....these guys can't get off the field. They do make crucial stops. They are still stingy in the redzone and that's all a Great Offense needs to win.....(there...I said it)... a great offense like the 2012 Ravens.

 

The defense will get better as the season wears on. There's still too much talent on it and Suggs will be back. He may not be in Pro Bowl form, but he will be bringing valuable pressure in December as he gets back in game shape. Peas has 3 quarterer's of the season left to get his D close to what the Texans and Falcons have or no Super Bowl. I think he can do it. I really do.

One last thing on the D. This will be Ray's last year. Enjoy it. Yes...his game has really dropped off but his courage, intensity and determination to give everything he has inspires me. The heart of a Lion still roars.

We are very fortunate fans to have been able to watch so many great players in a Ravens uniform over the last decade and a half. Guess what...there's a whole new bunch blossoming on the team right now. The Ozzie train keeps rolling.

 

But the touch has passed.

 

The Offense is the dominant unit. They have so many weapons it's insane. Joe has taken that next step. They are so exciting and explosive. They have 587 ways to destroy a defense. I can take this 'tourch passing' thing for awhile because it is so much fun to see something I haven't seen...which is... scary good offense in a Ravens uniform.

 

Finalyy....A vastly improved Special Teams unit will be an integral part of the overall game winning strategy of the 2012 Ravens. You know what a difference that made in 2000. Expect the same.

 

"Sharing the same dressing room with the cheerleaders was what held our deal up."

[cravnravn]

Should have been 4-0, no doubt in my mind, week 2 was definately a let down to all of us. We had a big lead, and we relied on the D, well guess what, Aints no more Ravens dominant D, which is fine because we now have an elite QB with an elite Offence, we dont need the D to come up huge series after series, Im perfectly fine the way we came thru against NE..99% of us thought that with 8 min left and Brady with the ball and a 9 point lead, we were DONE..But the D stepped up, made the key stops, and gave Joe the opportunity to win the game..

 

 

Its a changing of the guard, lets get used to it.

[cravnravn]

For the next 1/4 anything less than 4-0 is a letdown, Houston aint shit!!!

[oldno82]

Geez, Max and Crav, I can't find a thing to disagree with. The offense is prolific and the defense is pretty damn bad but we've been able to overcome it. Among the guys who have really impressed me the most are: Flacco (of course), Torrey Smith (potential super-star). Can't say enough good things about those two guys. Justin Tucker was impressive early on but he looks a bit shakey, or more human, of late. The defense has major issues and Pees hasn't yet, and may not be able to, change it yet. We need Suggs back but realistically we can't expect him to just drop back in like he never left. I'd feel much better about our Super Bowl chances if we had even a top 15 defense.

 

Still, I think its been a great and entertaining season so far and when you think about it isn't entertainment what its mostly about?