Ouch.

I had a post all written up about the Orioles and I was going to post it today, but with the recent developments with the Defensive Player of the Year, I just can’t go there right now.

With a torn achilles or partially torn achilles, Terrell Suggs is going to be out for some part of.. if not all of the season. A lot of people are exploding on facebook (especially the haters, but I’m not here to fuel the fire) about how our season is over and the window of Championship opportunity is closing rapidly.  Let’s think about that seriously for a minute.  Is it? Are we doomed?  Maybe. Suggs alone would have tied with the entire New Orleans Saints defense for sacks. He’d rank higher than 26 teams and he’s just one man! The Ravens have a tough first half of the season without Suggs. They’re playing the Bengals, Cowboys, Patriots, Texans, and Eagles.. so Dalton, Romo, Brady, Schaub, and Vick? All without Suggs? I’m not sure if that’s going to go well for us. Things were already rough for the D with Chuck Pagano leaving and Dean Pees taking over. At least we play the Steelers in December and not the beginning of the season.

But really, playing without Suggs? A man who was all over the field last year? I think we can. I’m not suggesting that his loss won’t hurt the team. It will and it could be huge.  But the Ravens are better than that. They are better than one player and they won’t have the collapse of the entire team on his shoulders (*cough* Peyton Manning *cough*). We’ve played without Ed and we’ve played without Ray and when these guys are gone for good, someone is going to have to step up and take over.  The D played quite well without Lewis last year, and I was impressed with how much the younger guys stepped up their game in his absence. The Ravens did draft a great OLB in Courtney Upshaw, but I wouldn’t expect him to fill Suggs’ shoes. He was expected to play alongside Suggs, not take his place.  Maybe Paul Kruger will take over? Sergio Kindle is really going to have to give it his all. He’s been a complete disappointment, and with a full offseason, he has no excuse to be unprepared to play. If the Ravens are truly a team supportive of the “next man up” philosophy, they will weather this storm (or hurricane).. however rough it may be.

Why Gisele Was Right.

The (to me, not-so) devastating loss to the Giants on Sunday really was like ripping the heart out of Bostonians.  All the people I know from Massachusetts were psyched for the game.  They saw this as not only redemption, but a way to shut everyone else up about how not-so-good their defense was and how they were not going to choke after last time.  Heck, the last time they played during the regular season the game came down to the wire.  My fiance was on the edge of his seat and then he decided to jump up and crouch about 2 feet on the floor from the TV.. as if it would bring him closer to the action or they could hear him a little better. The Boston/New York rivalry goes deep, and this game just kept making two really greedy cities even more selfish. It was huge, and if you didn’t see it on TV, hear it on the Radio, or read about it in a paper.. well now you know.

The first 3 quarters of the game, Brady looked unstoppable.  He completed 16 in a row (throughout both the 2nd and 3rd quarters – pretty impressive) to score a  2 TDs and put the Pats up 17-9.  The reality of the situation is that the Pats just couldn’t finish.  Their defense stinks. It was terrible on Sunday and their offense wasn’t much better in the final possessions of the game.  The offensive line looked tired and was getting pushed around like Matchbox cars and the defense they had on the field was left exposed. They didn’t have any luck their way this time (not like when our FG went wide left..) and they didn’t recover any fumbles or get any interceptions. It was like everything was stacked against them.  The clock was running out and Brady had the stage to himself during the final drive of the game. He always says he’d much rather have to bring his team back from being down to win the game, and this was his chance. He really could have put all the criticism of “best ever” to rest with a final TD drive to win the game. Wes Welker gets the first shot – a deep one right at him AND! He drops the ball.  Deion Branch and Aaron Hernandez also follow with two drops, showing the world one of the biggest offensive collapses in a Super Bowl.  It was embarrassing to watch (and I had to suffer through Lee Evans’ dropped TD) but I felt terrible.. at least as terrible as a Ravens fan could feel.

The Aftermath

The devastating loss from a week and a half ago is still ringing in my ears.

The State of the Team press conference is going on and it just seems like another step through the process of moving on.  It doesn’t do anything to ease the pain, to make listening to all the hype any better, or make living with such a big Pats fan any less obnoxious than it already is.

The hype living up to “THE REMATCH” is just getting old. It just stinks when you realize that your team was good enough to be there but isn’t.  I almost feel bad for Billy Cundiff. He’s never going to be able to play football in Baltimore again. Joe Flacco actually had me cheering on his side for a change. He played an amazing game and I give him full credit for playing at a higher level in that game than shoo-in for Hall of Famer Tom Brady.

Now, during the Super Bowl.. what am I going to do as a fan? Maybe watch the commercials? Check out the Puppy Bowl? I sure as heck can’t root for New England. And I won’t be caught dead rooting for the Giants.

When does the 2012 Season start again?

Looking Ahead

The Maryland Terrapins athletic department has had a rough year (to say the least).  Firing the head football coach and bringing in Randy Edsall was not the move that most people were expecting, but most of the alums and fans that I know warmed up to him by the beginning of the season.  A new coach coming in and cleaning up the program? Great.  First game was a nice win, but this season didn’t go according to plan.  With lots of kids getting suspended and threatening to leave the program, combined with losing to some pretty weak opponents, I’m sure financial backers are pretty p-o’ed. With a lot of big players leaving last year, the team was going to be rebuilding a bit anyway, but the extreme decline of the ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year was very unexpected. He’s played some terrible ball and looked lost in a few games.  Overrated as a freshman? Maybe. But it’s not fair to give Edsall this hard time. The guys that he’s using to play the game are guys that the Fridge recruited.

Floppity-Flop

Another big game played the week before taking on a team with a losing record. Another big win. Elation, pride, excitement.. all for nothing?

A loss to another losing team and another sad trip home. Along with almost all the other Ravens fans around, I’m disgusted in the play calling. I’m upset at the coaching staff. Angry with David Reid. But seriously? Another loss? Honestly, if I was placing a bet on the game I would have taken the Seahawks. Not that I’d admit that before the game, but our team just seems to go through the motions after they exhaust all their energy during a big win.  The only thing that could have made this game worse was having Dan Dierdorf as the commentator (and we did! HA!).

Scandal at Penn State

I think that anyone as a sports fan is disgusted by the allegations coming out of the Penn State football program. It’s one of the worst scandals in the history of sports, if not the worst (I think even worse than the Black Sox Scandal).

The problem with the entire situation lies with the responsibility of each individual to make sure police officials were notified of the incident. Apparently Jerry Sandusky had these accusations placed upon him even longer than people realized. The Second Mile foundation was founded in 1977 and Sandusky was involved up until a year ago.  He had a key to the locker room/gym until last week (he just couldn’t bring kids on campus – uhh, red flag much)! So far, nine victims dating back to 1994 have spoken out, but one can only imagine how many more there were before that. The entire athletic department should be ashamed of themselves.  Paterno was told by a grad student what he witnessed and did nothing else but report to administrators.  The entirety of the allegations are criminal actions, so why not go to police? Why not try to push the situation further JoePa? You’re one of the most recognizable figures in the entire state and you have a ton of influence, so why sit on your rear and watch this happen? Why allow yourself to be an unknowing accomplice to other children being abused? I just don’t get it.

I think that not only does JoePa need to step down (or they need to fire him), but the entire football department needs to be held responsible.  Clean everyone out that had been there during that tenure and start anew. The Athletic Director that knew about the accusation? He needs to be out. The University President? Even worse. JoePa thinking that telling the AD was washing his hands of the situation? Unreal. These guys are disgusting. I’m not sure how they can even look at themselves in the mirror after knowing what was going on inside the locker rooms at Penn State.

College football should not take precedence over the safety of young children.  These people think they are above the law, they think that it will be taken care of within the locker room or maybe because it’s “Penn State” it will just be swept under the rug.  The college sports empire needs a major reality check.  It’s all about.. well, if it happens to someone else then shame on them, it never will happen here *wink-wink*. Football, basketball, etc. This is pathetic.  Universities exist to provide education, they do not exist as vehicles for an athletic team to exist.  Worst case scenario, suspend all athletic activity and see how they like it.  They won’t.

To the Penn State alumni that are speaking out in favor of their school and how much they “Bleed Blue & White” – you need a serious evaluation of your priorities.  If you continue to donate and give money to your boosters, buy season tickets,  you’re just as guilty. I think as the masses, you need to speak out and let your University know how disgusted you are.  Let them know that you won’t stand for this kind of thing and that you want a change.. otherwise, that money you’re donating is going to pay for these turds’ legal fees.

I guess we’ll see how this ends up over the next few weeks.  Major rumors flying around that JoePa is planning on leaving his post as Head Coach. Wonder when that will be? Probably not soon enough.

Can someone get me a broom?

We need to clean up this sweep.

After going for 5 years without sweeping the Steelers (and losing in the playoffs to them thrice more) we finally did it. The amount of joy that I feel as a fan can’t even be put into words. It was a great game.  Lots of hard-hitting plays and some sloppy coverage at times, but we got it done.

Let me start off by saying I am still not a Joe Cool convert. That will come when he wins one in the postseason (and I’d like to get to the AFC Championship game this time). He played under tremendous pressure and should be applauded for his efforts. He needs to work on ball protection though ;another fumble that sets up a score for the opposing team doesn’t do us any favors.  I think his accuracy was pretty on-point and he was tearing it up in that final drive. I wouldn’t trust many QBs in the league to try and go 92 yards with 2:00 to go (maybe 3?) so he did a great job with clock management and keeping the guys in the game.  The game winning pass took a lot of guts to throw up to a guy who dropped the ball two times before.  The coaches and players must really trust Joe to get it done, and I’m glad he did.  Now, Torrey Smith needs to work on his hands! But he caught the game winning TD you say? So what?! He dropped 3 passes before that (at least) and we would have put the game in the bag long before :08 left if one or two of them had been caught.  The decision by Harbaugh to march downfield before halftime was a great one and it ended up being the difference in the scores.  I think that we needed some more pressure on Ben.. he looked way too comfortable in the pocket and he had too much time to scramble around and make throws. James Harrison really torched our O-Line. He wasn’t really stopped by anyone and had an awesome first game back since his injury.  Special teams needs to continue to get better each week. They’ve had some terrible play and missed tackles and really are one of the keys to turning a crappy game around.

Ray Lewis is likely to be fined for his hit on Hines Ward (a play that wasn’t flagged). And I’m not sure how it’s even right.  As a fan, did I think the hit was wrong? Yep. Helmet-to-helmet all the way. Should have drew a flag. BUT.  Penalizing plays that are flagged and that aren’t flagged just makes the NFL look lame.  Either throw the flag or don’t, but if there’s no flag, no penalty. Otherwise, why didn’t you throw the flag in the first place?!

The refs seem to make the game more of a mess than it really is. I almost wish we could play without them, just because it would keep the game going and what needs to be done will get done.  Overall, a great win.  I really hope that we don’t have to see the Steelers again in the playoffs, but if we do it would be a welcome part 3 to the never-ending battle between these guys. I really hope that the players focus up and get ready for the Seahawks on Sunday. We don’t want to lay another Tennesee or dare I say, Jacksonville? We can’t overlook these guys and I know the time change isn’t going to be easy on them. I’m hoping we hook Ray Rice up with some more rushes since he didn’t get much done on the ground Sunday Night after that TD (or both TDs) were called back. I know Seattle has a good run defense, but Ray is a tiny guy and he can fit into all kinds of holes and positions and just chug on through. Their QB seems to throw interceptions like it’s his job and they are penalized quite a bit, which could make for a good matchup for our guys. I can’t imagine that  they will want to be losers of 4-straight though, so they’re going to come out with guns blazing. These guys know exactly how much the win in Pittsburgh is to them, and to the fans. It will aid in controlling their destiny. If they come out and tear it up in the second half of the season, their opponent will more than likely have to face them in M&T during the playoffs (after a nice bye week).  If they come out and stink it up (Jacksonville part Deux) we could very well have to travel to Cincy or Pittsburgh at some point.. and we all know how that goes.

So let’s focus on the Seahawks. And then after that, Cincy in 2 weeks? For the lead in the division? Who would have guessed..?