Car. Panthers @ Balt. Ravens - Any thoughts?

[Ravens 03 0]

Looks like it could be a pretty good game. I'll be there.

 

Low scoring of course with the Bal DE and OF.

 

 

Thoughts?

[wreckingballz 0]

This will be a hard fought win for either team. Our offense is starting to come around a little now that Steve Smith is back in the lineup. I am however, a little worried about our run game vs Baltimore D. If we can manage to to rush for 80+ yds I like the Panthers chances. Our LB's are the weak point of the D, Heap could get some yardage in the middle. I like the Panthers in a close one.

[Guest ramrock11]

Man if the Ravens can't show some type of offence this week it's will be time for me to get rid of Mason and Heap.

If I remember correctly K.boller at the end of the season last year was a better FANTASY Qb than Mcnair has been his year.

[woodchuck312 0]

Man if the Ravens can't show some type of offence this week it's will be time for me to get rid of Mason and Heap.

If I remember correctly K.boller at the end of the season last year was a better FANTASY Qb than Mcnair has been his year.

 

 

I'm in Baltimore and I have been calling the Ravens over rated from the start, and usually getting critzized for it. People around here thought McNair was the second coming of christ lol. He's no better than Boller was, had they not had a string of luck they would be at 2-3 right now and not 4-1. They are a 2-3 team, i pick Carolina to win this game. the Ravens offense is no better than it was last year. Jamal Lewis is past his prime and so is Steve McNair.

[Guest ramrock11]

Sure is nice hearing the truth.

Now i'll lay some truth also, if the Rams don't start stopping the run they will end up being 8-8 and miss the playoffs

[JT 137]

I'm in Baltimore and I have been calling the Ravens over rated from the start, and usually getting critzized for it. People around here thought McNair was the second coming of christ lol. He's no better than Boller was, had they not had a string of luck they would be at 2-3 right now and not 4-1. They are a 2-3 team, i pick Carolina to win this game. the Ravens offense is no better than it was last year. Jamal Lewis is past his prime and so is Steve McNair.

 

McNair isn't the second coming, but he's a far better QB for that team than Boller. I don't think any realistic football fan expected him to be a whole lot more than what he's been so far: a caretaker, making good decisions, giving the defense a rest, managing the game. He had a bad game, on the road at the toughest stadium for visiting teams to win at, in lousy weather, vs a very good defensive team.

 

The coaches and players have no confidence in Boller, and rightly so. He's a star in games that mean nothing, but has consistently failed when given the opportunity to deliver under pressure.

 

I'll agree that Lewis appears done. The thing that set him apart was the burst that he had through the line. It's not there, and the running game appears much more efficient with Mike Anderson in there.

 

The Ravens run defense isn't as dominant as it appeared in their first few games, but it's plenty good enough to handle Foster. They've got enough in the secondary to control Smith. He may be the MVP of the league; I don't know if there's a team more dependent on a single guy to excel every week. Delhomme is a QB that can be baited into mistakes, and there are few defenses better at that than Baltimores.

 

Close game, but home field makes it a Ravens win.

[woodchuck312 0]

McNair isn't the second coming, but he's a far better QB for that team than Boller. He had a bad game, on the road, in lousy weather, vs a very good defensive team. Additionally, I don't know if you've ever played a road game at high altitude, but the 4th quarter is a killer.

 

The coaches and players have no confidence in Boller, and rightly so. He's a star in games that mean nothing, but has consistently failed when given the opportunity to deliver under pressure.

 

I'll agree that Lewis appears done. The thing that set him apart was the burst that he had through the line. It's not there, and the running game appears much more efficient with Mike Anderson in there.

 

 

UH so in 5 games when has McNair really showed anything more than being an older version of Kyle Boller, aside from maybe 2 minutes of a 60 minute game? And no i've never played professional football against the Denver Broncos, apparently you have???

[Ravens 03 0]

McNair isn't the second coming, but he's a far better QB for that team than Boller. I don't think any realistic football fan expected him to be a whole lot more than what he's been so far: a caretaker, making good decisions, giving the defense a rest, managing the game. He had a bad game, on the road at the toughest stadium for visiting teams to win at, in lousy weather, vs a very good defensive team.

 

The coaches and players have no confidence in Boller, and rightly so. He's a star in games that mean nothing, but has consistently failed when given the opportunity to deliver under pressure.

 

I'll agree that Lewis appears done. The thing that set him apart was the burst that he had through the line. It's not there, and the running game appears much more efficient with Mike Anderson in there.

 

The Ravens run defense isn't as dominant as it appeared in their first few games, but it's plenty good enough to handle Foster. They've got enough in the secondary to control Smith. He may be the MVP of the league; I don't know if there's a team more dependent on a single guy to excel every week. Delhomme is a QB that can be baited into mistakes, and there are few defenses better at that than Baltimores.

 

Close game, but home field makes it a Ravens win.

 

Good analysis - I agree.

[ggroovy17 0]

I just look at the other RB's that played against Balt. (LT, TBell) and see them being better than Foster, but in the SD game, it wasn't the Ravens that beat the Chargers, it was Marty Schottenheimer. If he would of let Rivers throw the ball instead of handcuffing him that game would not of been close.

 

The only reason the Denver-Balt. game was as close as it was is because the weather played into Baltimore's favor or else that game wouldn't of been close. You saw what happened when Plummer started throwing the ball, their offense was moving. If the weather was good, Denver would of handled the Ravens.

 

As an owner of the Ravens defense last year, it will be the same song for owners this year. THE DEFENSE WILL BE ON THE FIELD TOO MUCH BECAUSE THE OFFENSE SUCKS BAD!!! So look for teams to beat the Ravens in the 4th quarter because they'll be too tired.

[deadrebel 0]

Baltimore defense is going to pissed off and nasty after getting showed up by Denver on MNF.

 

Playing at home, the Ravens are going to be highly motivated. Not a good situation for an opposing team to deal with but Carolina is also a very tough, physical team. I believe that if the Panthers can survive the first quarter or so they will ultimately win this game with the Delhomme to Smith connection and strong defensive play, probably an INT or two.

[JT 137]

UH so in 5 games when has McNair really showed anything more than being an older version of Kyle Boller, aside from maybe 2 minutes of a 60 minute game? And no i've never played professional football against the Denver Broncos, apparently you have???

 

Two last minute drives to win ball games are fairly significant. I don't recall Boller executing two 2:00 drills in all his games as the starter. Like I said earlier, he shines when there's no pressure. McNair managed the game (keeping it close enough that a score would win) and executed when he had to. A definite notch above what Boller brings to the table

 

As for playing football vs the Broncos, WTF are you talking about? If you're referring to my earlier comment about playing a sport in altitude, I was talking about D1 basketball. And I'll stand behind my comment that the 4th quarter was miserably tough.

[JT 137]

I just look at the other RB's that played against Balt. (LT, TBell) and see them being better than Foster, but in the SD game, it wasn't the Ravens that beat the Chargers, it was Marty Schottenheimer. If he would of let Rivers throw the ball instead of handcuffing him that game would not of been close.

 

The only reason the Denver-Balt. game was as close as it was is because the weather played into Baltimore's favor or else that game wouldn't of been close. You saw what happened when Plummer started throwing the ball, their offense was moving. If the weather was good, Denver would of handled the Ravens.

 

As an owner of the Ravens defense last year, it will be the same song for owners this year. THE DEFENSE WILL BE ON THE FIELD TOO MUCH BECAUSE THE OFFENSE SUCKS BAD!!! So look for teams to beat the Ravens in the 4th quarter because they'll be too tired.

 

I don't know why you're so certain that Denver would have racked up big points on Balt. The Broncos offense hasn't exactly been a juggernaut this season.

 

Either way, this is a game that Denver is supposed to win. I think people are putting far too much weight on McNair's performance in one game, and not really attempting to understand what his role is on this team.

 

As for the Ravens defense being let down by the offense, Baltimore has won the time of possession in every game they've played except San Diego. They even had the ball more than the Broncos the other night (31:38 - 28:22). That's what I mean by managing the game, and it's exactly why McNair is the better answer for them. If the defense can't hold up playing less than half the game, it isn't the offenses fault.

 

Granted, McNair made a horrible play on the INT to end the half. Suppose for a minute that he had completed that pass. All of a sudden the Ravens come out with momentum and a lead, knowing that the score and weather are going to force Denver to take chances. What ended up happening was just the opposite: Denver knew Balt had to take chances, something they're not designed to do, especially in those conditions.

[Ravens 03 0]

Any game-day input?

[Turf CamelToe 1]

Musa Smith coming out Party

[woodchuck312 0]

Two last minute drives to win ball games are fairly significant. I don't recall Boller executing two 2:00 drills in all his games as the starter. Like I said earlier, he shines when there's no pressure. McNair managed the game (keeping it close enough that a score would win) and executed when he had to. A definite notch above what Boller brings to the table

 

Well I guess if you call this managing the game then he is doing a great job:

QB a c % yards td int

67.0 93 165 56.4 911 5 6

 

Wow a 67 QB Rating, what a great game manager.

 

Oh and one a 58 QB rating against OAKLAND. nice job McNair so much better than Kyle Boller. A lot of you Baltimore people have you head in the clouds thinking he is so much better than what we had last year.

 

Boller had a 72 QB rating last year with 11 tds 12 int in 9 games, looks like McNair is on pace to match Boller.

[Ravens 03 0]

Well I guess if you call this managing the game then he is doing a great job:

QB a c % yards td int

67.0 93 165 56.4 911 5 6

 

Wow a 67 QB Rating, what a great game manager.

 

Oh and one a 58 QB rating against OAKLAND. nice job McNair so much better than Kyle Boller. A lot of you Baltimore people have you head in the clouds thinking he is so much better than what we had last year.

 

Boller had a 72 QB rating last year with 11 tds 12 int in 9 games, looks like McNair is on pace to match Boller.

 

Boller's numbers were put up in meaningless games and once games were out of reach.

 

I've watched this guy and he sucks!

[gmeyers01 0]

Todd Heap for two score today!!!

[JT 137]

Well I guess if you call this managing the game then he is doing a great job:

QB a c % yards td int

67.0 93 165 56.4 911 5 6

 

Wow a 67 QB Rating, what a great game manager.

 

Oh and one a 58 QB rating against OAKLAND. nice job McNair so much better than Kyle Boller. A lot of you Baltimore people have you head in the clouds thinking he is so much better than what we had last year.

 

Boller had a 72 QB rating last year with 11 tds 12 int in 9 games, looks like McNair is on pace to match Boller.

 

A 4-1 start with the same personnel that went 6-10 last year is more indicative of his meaning to the team and the reason they brought him in.

 

Last year, Baltimore lost the time of possession battle in 10 of 16 games. The common thinking was that their defense, though getting a bit older, had not dropped that far. They simply were on the field too much. McNair's management of the offense (winning TOP in 4 of 5 games) is an obvious key to keeping them rested.

 

You keep trotting out individual stats, but simply repeating the same wrong notion doesn't eventually make it right. They didn't bring in McNair to post individual stats. Of course, we all know that individual #'s at QB are what wins championships (see: Manning, Peyton). I'm not even saying this team is a championship caliber team. Do they have a far better shot with McNair than Boller? That should be obvious to anyone that watched this team last year and this year.

 

Is McNair still a great NFL QB? Probably not. But given Baltimore's approach to the game, makeup of their team, and salary constraints, I don't know who would have been a better fit. IMO, Boller has proven time and again that he isn't. You can have QB ratings. For some reason the Ravens appear to have chosen wins instead.