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*****Official Baltimore Ravens Thread***** (1 Viewer)

Today's fun stat: Ravens are 2nd only to the 2007 Patriots in terms of Points Per Drive (3.37 to 3.31) and are on pace to become just the 5th team since 1993 to top 3.0 points per drive.

The more I start to think about it, the more I think the Ravens get back into stomping mode this weekend. Buffalo doesn't put up a lot of points and their Run D is very average. Weather looks good, which benefits the Ravens, because just like they are suddenly an offensive team, they are also suddenly not that great of a bad weather outfit.

I think Bills will struggle to score, Ravens continue to amass points, and slowly pull away to another convincing win, 34-13. 

 
The Bills game makes me nervous because Josh Allen is a lot like LJ, just lesser.  The Bill's D have seen this style of QB in practice all year so they may be the most prepared for it.  I don't see our O having trouble scoring but I'm a little skeptical if our D can stop their O consistently.

Also I'd way rather the Ravens play in good weather, LJ just seems all around more comfortable in good weather right now. 

 
The_Man said:
Today's fun stat: Ravens are 2nd only to the 2007 Patriots in terms of Points Per Drive (3.37 to 3.31) and are on pace to become just the 5th team since 1993 to top 3.0 points per drive.

The more I start to think about it, the more I think the Ravens get back into stomping mode this weekend. Buffalo doesn't put up a lot of points and their Run D is very average. Weather looks good, which benefits the Ravens, because just like they are suddenly an offensive team, they are also suddenly not that great of a bad weather outfit.

I think Bills will struggle to score, Ravens continue to amass points, and slowly pull away to another convincing win, 34-13. 
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Yikes. I'm seeing it much closer and think Buffalo has a really good chance to win. 

 
Uruk-Hai said:
Yikes. I'm seeing it much closer and think Buffalo has a really good chance to win. 
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Yeah, but you say that about every game LOL

I think the strengths of the Ravens - particularly their running attack - match up well vs the Bills' weaknesses. Defensively, I think they'll force Allen to beat them by making contested throws vs DBs playing man coverage. Maybe John Brown beats Peters on a double move for a big play but otherwise my expectation is the Bills will struggle to put points on the board. Any team that goes back-to-back possessions without putting points on the board can suddenly find themselves down 14 points to Baltimore with things threatening to get out of hand.

Vs SF the Ravens punted on their first possession of the game for the only time all season. Then they went TD-TD-FG on their next 3 possessions vs an outstanding defense that is clearly the best in the NFL this year, probably one of the best in recent years. And they were on their way to another score on their next possession when Lamar got stripped. Even as things bogged down in the rain, the Ravens finished with points on 4 of their 8 possessions in the game. 2 of the 4 non-scoring drives ended at the SF 17 (fumble) and SF 40 (downs), respectively.

That was an unusually low number of possessions. The NFL average is about 12 possessions per game. Because of all the running, let’s say the Ravens usually get about 10 per game this season.They’re scoring on well over half of them. So I don’t think it’s a stretch to expect 6 scoring drives Sunday – if you go 3 TDs and 3 FGs, that’s 30 points. And I honestly think that's probably a little on the low end.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
Yikes. I'm seeing it much closer and think Buffalo has a really good chance to win. 
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Neither of us are very good predicting Ravens' games. I went back through the thread and here's what I found:

YOU
Chiefs 34, Ravens 23
27-17 Pats
Ravens 41, Bengals 19 (BEST CALL)
Ravens 24, Texans 21
Rams 23, Ravens 20

ME
27-16 Patriots
Ravens 27, Bengals 13
"They'll put up 30+ on the Texans. if they play like I expect, they won't just win, they'll put a whipping on another divisional frontrunner and serve notice that they mean to be playing late into January" (BEST CALL)
Ravens 33, Rams 13 (later adjusted to 20-13)
Ravens 34, Bills 13

 
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The_Man said:
Yeah, but you say that about every game LOL

I think the strengths of the Ravens - particularly their running attack - match up well vs the Bills' weaknesses. Defensively, I think they'll force Allen to beat them by making contested throws vs DBs playing man coverage. Maybe John Brown beats Peters on a double move for a big play but otherwise my expectation is the Bills will struggle to put points on the board. Any team that goes back-to-back possessions without putting points on the board can suddenly find themselves down 14 points to Baltimore with things threatening to get out of hand.

Vs SF the Ravens punted on their first possession of the game for the only time all season. Then they went TD-TD-FG on their next 3 possessions vs an outstanding defense that is clearly the best in the NFL this year, probably one of the best in recent years. And they were on their way to another score on their next possession when Lamar got stripped. Even as things bogged down in the rain, the Ravens finished with points on 4 of their 8 possessions in the game. 2 of the 4 non-scoring drives ended at the SF 17 (fumble) and SF 40 (downs), respectively.

That was an unusually low number of possessions. The NFL average is about 12 possessions per game. Because of all the running, let’s say the Ravens usually get about 10 per game this season.They’re scoring on well over half of them. So I don’t think it’s a stretch to expect 6 scoring drives Sunday – if you go 3 TDs and 3 FGs, that’s 30 points. And I honestly think that's probably a little on the low end.
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I guess I'm not sold that they can keep being as efficient as they have been.

 
The man has plenty of time on his hands to research Ravens facts.

I agree.  This team is better than we've seen in a while and they've smacked around all but the 9'ers.  

I predict Ravens 31

Buffalo 20

 
So I’m the Plaza Ford caller of the week on 105.7 The Fan - which means I win a new car if my predicted score hits. 

Come on 34-13!

 
Game time forecast is 42 degrees, mostly cloudy, and winds SSW at 18 mph. That's a pretty stiff breeze, but I don't know how the winds work in that building.

 
Dream season continues. A couple of bad personal foul calls kept it close today. Ravens looking a little tired after 9-game win streak over opponents that include likely playoff teams:

SF, SEA, NE, HOU, BUF, PIT, plus Rams 

Need to take care of business Thursday vs Jets, then get 10 day rest. And with a win vs NY they would clinch #1 with a win vs CLE or PIT. This team should get plenty of time off before the divisional round and I think it will really help re-energize the offense 

 
The_Man said:
Dream season continues. A couple of bad personal foul calls kept it close today. Ravens looking a little tired after 9-game win streak over opponents that include likely playoff teams:

SF, SEA, NE, HOU, BUF, PIT, plus Rams 

Need to take care of business Thursday vs Jets, then get 10 day rest. And with a win vs NY they would clinch #1 with a win vs CLE or PIT. This team should get plenty of time off before the divisional round and I think it will really help re-energize the offense 
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Agree.  They’ve been all over the country the last few days, short rest, etc.  Although LJ plays best in good weather methinks, so hopefully it’s only cold in Baltimore.

 
Only 118 yards rushing yesterday, Ravens are now at 2612 on the season. They need 554 to break the all-time team rushing record - 184.7 per game. They're averaging 200.9 on the season.

I'm really looking forward to attending Thursday's game - though it's looking like a chilly one with current forecast for temps in the 30s. Can see Lamar set the QB season-single rushing record, and see the team clinch the AFC North. Jets have won 4 of last 5 but they’ve been vs Giants, Washington, Oakland and Miami (plus a loss at the previously winless Bengals). Only road win was at Washington. Hopefully on a short week, the Ravens come out at home with a lot of physicality and convince the Jets they don't want to play that hard. The NY offense is truly horrible.

If they can do that, then the 10-day rest before the next game (at Cleveland) will be huge. If they can win these next 2, then the #1 seed will be locked up before facing Pittsburgh in Week 17. I would be very happy to have Lamar be able to treat that game like a preseason game - come out for the first possession, work on some passing stuff and call it a day. The more I think about, the more I think this team could use some rest. 

They had the MNF game on the West Coast, got home after dawn on Tuesday, Nov. 26, had a short week coming off that trip that ended with the hugely physical and emotional game vs SF, then had to turn around and play another physical game on the road vs a team coming off a 10-day rest (since the Bills last played on Thanksgiving).

I also wonder if teams have figured out a good scheme vs Lamar, or if it’s just been back-to-back games against 2 of the NFL’s best defenses in tough weather conditions. Lamar doesn’t even try to throw outside the numbers at this point, so I guess that’s something he’ll just have to work on in the offseason.

Huge relief that Andrews isn’t seriously hurt. Hope they sit him during this short week and allow him to get rested up for the stretch run.

 
God, just win this game Thursday. I don't care if it's a score of 3-2. 

I think they'll beat the hell out of Cleveland in two weeks. @The_Man I probably just jinxed 'em, but I really think they smoke the Browns.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
God, just win this game Thursday. I don't care if it's a score of 3-2. 

I think they'll beat the hell out of Cleveland in two weeks. @The_Man I probably just jinxed 'em, but I really think they smoke the Browns.
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Yeah, I think this team will be ready to avenge that 40-25 debacle. Although more than half the defense will be different from that game - of the defenders who were Top 11 in snap counts during that loss, only 4 will be Top 11 in the rematch: Humphrey, Thomas and Judon, of course, and then Carr. But Carr played every snap at starting CB in Week 4. In Week 11, he'll be the dime back. Going from starting CBs of Humphrey, Carr and Canady (now a Jet) to Humphrey, Peters and Jimmy Smith is a huge upgrade. 

@Uruk-Hai you might remember the last time a Baltimore NFL team won 9 straight regular season games - 1975. The Colts won Week 1, lost 4 straight, then won their final 9 games of the season. Then they lost in the Divisional Round at Pittsburgh. The following year Bert Jones was the MVP and they again lost in the divisional round to Pittsburgh - but at home, as that was the night the plane crashed in the upper deck of Memorial Stadium. 

Will be interested to hear the injury news on Lamar today. I think he'll be fine - if this were a regular week, there wouldn't even be an injury report until Wednesday.

 
The_Man said:
@Uruk-Hai you might remember the last time a Baltimore NFL team won 9 straight regular season games - 1975. The Colts won Week 1, lost 4 straight, then won their final 9 games of the season. Then they lost in the Divisional Round at Pittsburgh. The following year Bert Jones was the MVP and they again lost in the divisional round to Pittsburgh - but at home, as that was the night the plane crashed in the upper deck of Memorial Stadium. 
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Oh, I remember 😢:

That version of the Colts was one of the great lost teams. They were loaded. They just didn't have 58 HOFers like Pittsburgh and Oakland did. Bert Jones, Lydell Mitchell, the Carr & Doughty Show, Ray Chester, really good D, pretty innovative offense for the time (other than running Lydell into the line a trillion times). 

Did you know Teddy Marchibroda's daughter lived in Harwood? Teddy would visit a lot. Their property was next to my grandparents'. 

 
Ravens practice starts at 3:30 today. Eagerly anticipating media tweets about Lamar's gait coming into the facility and how many first team snaps he takes.

 
The_Man said:
Ravens practice starts at 3:30 today. Eagerly anticipating media tweets about Lamar's gait coming into the facility and how many first team snaps he takes.
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Lamar at practice, as is Mark Andrews. From Twitter: 

RB Mark Ingram, LT Ronnie Stanley (concussion), DT Brandon Williams, S Earl Thomas, DB Anthony Levine (ankle) and LB Chris Board (concussion) weren't at the Ravens' open portion on practice today. 

Thomas and Williams are definitely getting a veterans' day. Hope Ingram is too. Levine and Board are special teams/depth - Stanley is the big concern. He's played at Pro Bowl level all year. They can make do with Hurst over there, but now you're looking at going down 2 OL starters in just a couple of weeks (with Skura out for the season at Center). A left side OL line-up of Hurst-Bozeman-Mekari isn't scaring anyone.

Praying the Ravens get through Thursday unscathed and with a win, and then can take 10 days to reboot and start to focus on the second season. 

 
Would love for the Ravens to be able to rest all starters against Pittsburgh for a full 2 weeks off.

And I agree that having 10 days off before the Cleveland game is much needed.  I think Lamar just doesn't feel completely comfortable throwing in bad weather but I hope he grows into it.

He's 22 freaking years old.  

 
So how's Ozzie final draft in 2018 looking now?

1-25: Hayden Hurst
1-32: Lamar Jackson
3-83: Orlando Brown
3-86: Mark Andrews
4-122: Kenny Young
4-132: Jaleel Scott
6-190: DeShon Elliott
6-215: Bradley Bozeman
Undrafted Free Agents: Gus Edwards and Kaare Vedvik
And they've now turned Kenny Young and the pick they got from Minnesota for Vedvik into a year of Marcus Peters.

That's five starters (plus a sixth if you count Peters) and a semi-starting RB from one year's draft resources. Kind of hoping that the long TD vs Buffalo was Hurst's coming out moment. His hands and speed are both elite, showing why he was their #1 pick last year, and has made some clutch first-down conversion catches. Now maybe he becomes a genuine offensive weapon similar to Andrews. I'd be fine with them being a slightly lesser version of Gronk and Aaron Hernandez.

Kind of amazing how well the Ravens are doing with a 6th Round second-year player at LG and a rookie Undrafted Free Agent at Center (replacing a third year Undrafted Free Agent who was on the practice squad for all of 2016).

Reminds me of the old days when they'd skimp on the interior OL with guys like Flynn. If there's any one place to save money in the salary cap era, I think interior OL is it. 

 
Very good article about how multiple the Ravens D is:

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-baltimore-ravens-defensive-changes-2019

It makes the point that they're moving in the direction of a "positionless" defense, where any guy is liable to fill any defensive role on any snap. I will say the big exception to that is the DL - particularly the DTs, Williams and Pierce. Their ability to almost single-handedly stifle the inside run game is what makes it possible for Martindale to play so much dime and even "quarter" (7 DBs) and be so unpredictable. But when you have Safetys like Thomas and Carr that almost cover like CBs, it means you can blitz the CBs, and guys like Clark and Levine can line up at Safety but then drop down and play LB (or vice versa). 

The Ravens' biggest vulnerability is when teams can run it enough - usually to the edge - to force them into their base D. That's where their lack of pass rush shows and then you've got pass catchers going up vs Bynes or Peanut. The Ravens would much rather have them going up vs their talented DBs.

Anyway, starting to get very fired up for tomorrow night. The Jets are tough vs the run and it looks like Stanley is out. But the Jets are even more banged up and they've been bad on the road. Meanwhile, the Ravens at home in Prime Time under Harbaugh are something like 9-1 and have won 8 straight. Plus it's a short week and I think the home team always has a big edge on Thursday. And the crowd should be rocking - Ravens wearing black, introducing the Offense, and handing out some kind of LED light stick for the pregame hype. That place is going to go ballistic when Lamar gets introduced.

I think the Jets struggle to move the ball at all, could see them pound it on the ground, trying to keep the ball and limit Lamar's possessions. Won't surprise me if it takes the O a quarter or two to really figure things out, but  - cold night, short week, physical opponent - the Jets gradually wear down as the Ravens pulls away.

Guess I'll go with 27-6. 

 
The_Man said:
Literally just now finally feeling like I’m over the hangover I incurred through my activities at Thursday’s game. Will post more later. Have to finish watching the game first since I can’t seem to recall anything post halftime 
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I don't want to spoil it, but Lamar did it again. 

 
The_Man said:
So how's Ozzie final draft in 2018 looking now?

1-25: Hayden Hurst
1-32: Lamar Jackson
3-83: Orlando Brown
3-86: Mark Andrews
4-122: Kenny Young
4-132: Jaleel Scott
6-190: DeShon Elliott
6-215: Bradley Bozeman
Undrafted Free Agents: Gus Edwards and Kaare Vedvik
And they've now turned Kenny Young and the pick they got from Minnesota for Vedvik into a year of Marcus Peters.

That's five starters (plus a sixth if you count Peters) and a semi-starting RB from one year's draft resources. Kind of hoping that the long TD vs Buffalo was Hurst's coming out moment. His hands and speed are both elite, showing why he was their #1 pick last year, and has made some clutch first-down conversion catches. Now maybe he becomes a genuine offensive weapon similar to Andrews. I'd be fine with them being a slightly lesser version of Gronk and Aaron Hernandez.

Kind of amazing how well the Ravens are doing with a 6th Round second-year player at LG and a rookie Undrafted Free Agent at Center (replacing a third year Undrafted Free Agent who was on the practice squad for all of 2016).

Reminds me of the old days when they'd skimp on the interior OL with guys like Flynn. If there's any one place to save money in the salary cap era, I think interior OL is it. 
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That's a pretty good haul. Recency bias and the fact that it's only two years in aside, is that Ozzie's most productive draft?

Little Zeus tanking the combine turned into a steal for Baltimore. I don't think he'll ever be a star, but he's good enough to plug him in and forget about it.

As for the interior line, I think it's easier to band-aid two of the spots when you have a HOFer at the other. Plus, the offensive scheme seems to me to mitigate what could have been a glaring weakness. It'll be interesting to see what happens when/if Yanda retires after this season. 

 
I think Ozzie's last few drafts before 2019, largely panned  have yielded pretty good results, particularly in the later rounds.

That said, I love how aggressive DeCosta has been at plugging weaknesses during the season, I don't remember Ozzie being quite so pro-active.

I love everything about this team and it's really reinvigorated my interest in them.  Something Flacco and the same style of play for the last few years had rendered dormant.

Who else would love to see Suggs end up back here?   Not going to happen but I'd love to see it.  I wonder if the Ravens could swing a late round pick to whichever team picks Suggs up?

 
I don't know the Ravens roster situation. I also don't want to see them mess up a D that has a really good thing going now.

Fantasizing, though.........

"Terrell, we want six plays a game out of you. Pretend every one, you're rushing Big Ben". 

 
James Daulton said:
I think Ozzie's last few drafts before 2019, largely panned  have yielded pretty good results, particularly in the later rounds.

That said, I love how aggressive DeCosta has been at plugging weaknesses during the season, I don't remember Ozzie being quite so pro-active.

I love everything about this team and it's really reinvigorated my interest in them.  Something Flacco and the same style of play for the last few years had rendered dormant.

Who else would love to see Suggs end up back here?   Not going to happen but I'd love to see it.  I wonder if the Ravens could swing a late round pick to whichever team picks Suggs up?
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Trade deadline has passed so they can’t trade for him. Sizzle been blowing some smoke about not reporting to whichever team claims him, if it’s not the Ravens.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
I thought he was released by Arizona?
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He was, and it sounds like he has made it clear that he wants to go back to Baltimore and may not report if any other team claims him.  Sounds like he wants on the bandwagon to try and get a second ring. 

Given that the Ravens are the favorite win it right now, it might be smart for a playoff team to claim Suggs, and then if he doesn't report, you owe him nothing, and the Ravens don't get him.  Assuming, of course, Suggs has anything left. 

 
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He was released but has to go through waivers. Have to believe the Patriots or someone will put in a claim to block Baltimore. I think he’s pretty done but this D’s biggest weakness is setting the edge vs the run and I bet Suggs can still get that done. But like I said, I bet he doesn’t get to Baltimore at #32

Fun facts today:

Orioles have lost a game more recently than the Ravens

Heisman winner will be older than NFL MVP this year

 
Ghost Rider said:
He was, and it sounds like he has made it clear that he wants to go back to Baltimore and may not report if any other team claims him.  Sounds like he wants on the bandwagon to try and get a second ring. 

Given that the Ravens are the favorite win it right now, it might be smart for a playoff team to claim Suggs, and then if he doesn't report, you owe him nothing, and the Ravens don't get him.  Assuming, of course, Suggs has anything left. 
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He doesn't, but NE or Pittsburgh signing him would make me puke

 
Felt pretty good about the effort at Buffalo at the time, feel even better now after their win at Pittsburgh. That is a very legitimate defense.

I think the Jets game showed that the Ravens are still playing really good football - was a little sloppy as befits a Thursday Night game, but they were up 35-7 before the Jets got a couple late TDs in garbage time. And the special teams breakdowns help Harbaugh keep the team's attention and make them understand they have to keep getting better. I also think the sloppiness comes from being a little worn out - it has been a wild ride for the last 2 months, and the SF and Buffalo games were both vs very strong defenses. I love that Harbaugh is giving them 4 days completely off to get recharged and refocused. 

The Ravens now have 2830 rushing yards - they need 168 per game to break the all-time team rushing record that has stood since 1978 (New England). I would love to see them get that record. It would definitely propel Yanda to the Hall of Fame. They have averaged 202.1 per game through 14 weeks.

Ravens move up to #5 on Football Outsiders' list of top teams since 1985 behind: 91 Washington, 07 New England, 85 Bears, 87 San Fran. Though there's a pretty big gap between them and 87 San Fran - they're currently closer to #12 on the list than they are to #4. This team does remind me of 91 Washington more than any other team, though that team was fueled by a dominant offensive line that let them thrive on huge downfield passing shots to their great WRs. I think Rypien was sacked only 8 or 9 times all year. 

Since the "Hell yeah lets's go for it coach" 4th down play in Seattle, Ravens have outscored opponents 275-104. Don't have time today to figure out Lamar's stats during that time, but will try to do that later this week. I can scarcely remember a time they've been stopped from scoring a TD in the red zone since that play.

 
The_Man said:
This team does remind me of 91 Washington more than any other team, though that team was fueled by a dominant offensive line that let them thrive on huge downfield passing shots to their great WRs. I think Rypien was sacked only 8 or 9 times all year. 
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Was it that many? I don't think they even had to launder Rypien's jersey all year.

In any case, that was a great team. And they've largely been forgotten. They had zero weaknesses anywhere.

 
Welp, Suggs claimed by Kansas City

To be honest, I think that's a big sigh of relief you're hearing from the Castle. If Suggs had cleared waivers, it would have been a huge story whether the Ravens claimed him or chose not to claim him. Now they can just say, "Moot point"

He's had 0.5 sacks in the last 6 games. Even when he was at his best, he tended to wear down and lose effectiveness as the season progressed. In recent close games vs SF and TB, with the Cards needing one stop to get the ball back, I watched Suggs and he never got near the QB. He could possibly have helped this team in its struggles on setting the edge vs RBs but that's about it.

I've talked earlier about how this is finally Harbaugh's team - no Ray, no Reed, no Flacco, no Suggs - big personalities that kind of undermined Harbaugh's rah rah stuff and utter focus on the team above any individual. Now he's got the MVP who (for now) buys into Harbaugh 100%, and that's setting the tone for everything else. Even if the front office determined Suggs could still contribute, I'm not sure Harbaugh wanted him back to potentially alter this team's incredible chemistry.

And I will say that this now gives Ravens fans a reason to hate KC if/when they come to Baltimore for the AFC Championship. It would be pretty fun if Suggs chooses not to report to KC and then the Ravens have him as honorary captain for that hypothetical AFC Championship game. 

 
Baltimore got 12 players selected to the Pro Bowl. Here's hoping all have to decline because they have a game the following week.

This week's awful prediction: Ravens 38, Browns 17

 
Uruk-Hai said:
Baltimore got 12 players selected to the Pro Bowl. Here's hoping all have to decline because they have a game the following week.

This week's awful prediction: Ravens 38, Browns 17
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12 is pretty amazing though I feel like Pro Bowl Long Snapper didn’t used to be a thing

I was thinking Ravens, 45-20

Hope they come off the mini-bye a lot sharper than they were Thursday Night 

 
The_Man said:
12 is pretty amazing though I feel like Pro Bowl Long Snapper didn’t used to be a thing

I was thinking Ravens, 45-20

Hope they come off the mini-bye a lot sharper than they were Thursday Night 
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Yeah, my analysis of long snappers is non-existent. Good for Cox, though, and I hope he had a bonus built-in for the selection.

I figured Jackson, Stanley, Yanda, and Humphrey were no-brainers. As was Tucker, though he seems a little shaky to me this season. But maybe that's just me comparing him vs other years, and not other PKs.

Judon just made himself even more money than he already had by his play.

 
Uruk-Hai
Chiefs 34, Ravens 23
27-17 Pats
Ravens 41, Bengals 19 (BEST CALL)
Ravens 24, Texans 21
Rams 23, Ravens 20
Ravens 27, Bills 20 (Wow, another good call)
Ravens 3, Jets 2 (not an official prediction)
Ravens 38, Browns 17

The_Man
27-16 Patriots
Ravens 27, Bengals 13
"They'll put up 30+ on the Texans. if they play like I expect, they won't just win, they'll put a whipping on another divisional frontrunner and serve notice that they mean to be playing late into January" (BEST CALL)
Ravens 33, Rams 13 (later adjusted to 20-13 in a moment of weakness)
Ravens 34, Bills 13
Ravens 27, Jets 6 (got the 21-point margin right, just way too low on scores)
Ravens 45, Browns 20

James Daulton
Ravens 31, Bills 20
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Updating this. Let me know if you're in for this week @James Daulton

Random thoughts

With 1,798 yards, Lamar is now #37 on the all-time rushing list for QBs. Last Thursday vs the Jets, he climbed 4 spots on the all-time list, passing:
Johnny Unitas (1,777 yards)
Blake Bortles (1766)
David Garrard (1746)
Warren Moon (1736)

With his next 55 yards, he’ll climb to #31, passing:
Jake Plummer
Ward Cuff (1930s)
Tyrod Taylor
Brett Favre
Joe Theismann
And then there’s a 100+ yard gap to Jeff Blake. It’s kind of amazing that in 22 games, he’s going to pass someone like Theismann who was regarded as a running QB over 125 NFL starts. One more year on his current trajectory and Lamar should be in the Top 15 by the end of 2020.

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There couldn't be a better opponent for this game than Cleveland. I think the Ravens' players are spitting bad over that 40-25 debacle back in Week 4 and will have no trouble bringing their max effort this Sunday to score a measure of payback. A narrow loss at KC is no shame, so getting trucked by an inferior divisional rival at home is the only true blemish on this season. Meanwhile Cleveland is looking to the off-season. Once the Ravens bring that heavy running game, the Browns could lose interest early. They gave up 220+ on the ground last week to an AZ team that had averaged 89 rushing yards per game over the previous 4 weeks. And I think playing 2 of the NFL's top defenses prior to the Jets game made us forget how potent this offense has been. Scoring 42 on an off-night last Thursday was a good reminder.

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Art Modell is a finalist for the expanded 100th year Hall of Fame class. I hope he doesn't get in and then this story goes away forever. I don't think he belongs in the Hall of Fame and I wish so many Baltimore fans didn't feel like they need to advocate for his induction. Modell did to Cleveland what Irsay did to Baltimore. It sucks that's what had to happen for Baltimore to get a team, and though I'm glad it did happen, I don't see Modell as anything other than an opportunist who took the best deal possible before anyone else could grab it. His ownership is almost 20 years in the rear view mirror and if he can't make it in this crazy year of bonus inductions, then he'll never make it and hopefully we can just move forward.

------------

Just a reminder that since the "Hell yeah, Coach, let's go for it" play in Seattle, which was the last Ravens play in the 3rd quarter of that game, the Ravens have played 29+ quarters (4th quarter vs Seattle and 7 games after). They have outscored opponents 275-104 during that time. Lamar's QB rating during that stretch is 130.96. The NFL season record is Aaron Rodgers with 122.5 in 2011. 

If you extrapolate the last 29 quarters (plus 1 play) over a full season, you get:
607 points (The 18-1 2007 Patriots hold the all-time record with 589 points)
Lamar rushing: 1,280 yards and 11 TDs
Lamar passing: 2,793 yards and 48 (!) TDs

Interesting that his extrapolated passing yards are less than his actual yards this year! Shows how much throwing they did early on. For example, he threw for 324 in Week 1 but threw for only 105 vs SF. 

I knew the numbers were good but no wonder it's felt so giddy for a couple of months now. The Ravens have been scoring points like the greatest offense of all-time for almost half a season.

 
The_Man said:
If you extrapolate the last 29 quarters (plus 1 play) over a full season, you get:
607 points (The 18-1 2007 Patriots hold the all-time record with 589 points)
Lamar rushing: 1,280 yards and 11 TDs
Lamar passing: 2,793 yards and 48 (!) TDs
Click to expand...
Thought experiment.........

I mean, if someone told me a QB was going to throw for 2,800 yards in a season I'd expect maybe 20 passing TDs (& maybe a seat on the bench). Conversely, if someone told me that a QB was going to throw for 48 TDs I'd expect well over 4,000 yds.

 
Another box checked. 

Who plays and how much this week? I got nervous when I saw Jackson, Smith, Ingram, and Andrews get hobbled at various points yesterday.

 
The more I think about this, the less I want RGIII playing much today. It's gonna be rainy, Yanda's already not playing, Stillers playing for their lives..... I know you can't bench everyone, but someone like Stanley or Little Zeus or Judon or Chuck Clark getting hurt would be painful.

 
Uruk-Hai said:
The more I think about this, the less I want RGIII playing much today. It's gonna be rainy, Yanda's already not playing, Stillers playing for their lives..... I know you can't bench everyone, but someone like Stanley or Little Zeus or Judon or Chuck Clark getting hurt would be painful.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah. Bench as many as you possibly can. I’m assuming there’s no way Stanley is playing. Judon should absolutely rest too.

 
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