What We Learned: Bengals 17, Ravens 14

It was not a goo day for the state of Maryland. No matter where you went, the pain of football was evident, the Ravens lost, the Redskins lost, the Terps lost. In Baltimore this loss was very painful and now many people are in panic-mode. Obviously we are only five weeks in, but with the strength and depth of the AFC, things could be problematic for the Ravens soon, especially with Minnesota coming up.

Things We Learned:
The Reason the Ravens Lost: The Bengals Played Better
It was not the referees or anything like that; the referees were fine. Give all the credit in the world to the Cincinnati Bengals. Their defense stuffed the Ravens offense and allowed next to nothing except one somewhat-fluke Ray Rice touchdown pass. Joe Flacco was constantly being pressured and the running game was not enough to win. Then on the flip side, the Bengals offense was constantly on the attack and led an 80-yard drive to win it all. Had the defense been off the field a little more, then everything for the Ravens might have been fine, but Carson Palmer is too good to be kept down. The Bengals played a great game and legitimately beat the Ravens, no two ways about it.

Conservative Offense? With no McGahee?
Cam Cameron chose a strange time and way to put a conservative offense on the field. Ray Rice did fine, but Willis McGahee saw almost no time on the field, and the Ravens kept running at strange times. Before this, Joe Flacco kept airing the ball, and although the complaint was that he was throwing too much, at least that offense was effective. The offense was terrible, and the reason why the Ravens were in bad shape all game. We hope that Cameron didn't lost confidence in Flacco for the game.

Next Draft: Ravens Need a Cornerback
There is no two ways about it. The current cornerbacks cannot handle the air attacks on the top teams. So far Philip Rivers, Tom Brady, and Carson Palmer all ripped apart Dominique Foxworth and Co., and next Brett Favre may have the chance. Although the unit is not bad, it is clear the Ravens need a top-tier, tall cornerback to cover the most dangerous receiver.

Ravens Need to be Ready for Minnesota
The Ravens have a problem, they are 3-2 and a number of AFC teams look solid, including two others from the AFC North. 11-5 might not be enough to secure a wild card berth. Minnesota is a perfect 5-0 with a solid passing attack led by you know who. Plus, Adrian Peterson is one of the best backs in the game. The defense will need to be ready plus Joe Flacco will need to get out of the funk; the Vikings will not be generous.

Harbaugh's Ravens are Disciplined
Obviously we are disappointed with the field play plus some of the hits. But after the game, the Ravens were not complaining about the refs or anything like that. They focused on what they did wrong. They know they have to improve, which is a good quality for this team to have.

(Photo credit: Baltimore Sun)

Free Kicks: No Particular Edition (Edition)

Ravens preview to come later today, but I wanted to get back to Free Kicks this week as well. With a new football league kicking off, basketball and hockey getting warmed up, and the MLB playoffs going, it actually looks like the NFL might get unseated from its perch atop the sports consciousness for at least a couple days. Come Sunday I make no guarantees. Did y’all see Graham Gano in the UFL last night? Good for him. Let’s line up for the kick…

United Football League Great for Fans and the NFL
Call me an idiot (go ahead, you know you want to), but I will go ahead and buy into the UFL. Not, as some have suggested, because it will necessarily compete with the NFL, but because it can complement the NFL. Arena League Football was rather successful for most of its decade of existence, and came relatively close to breaking through as a long-term sustainable sport. The AFL competed with and was absorbed into the NFL to create the modern era of professional football. The USFL tried the same tactic and failed because they pushed too hard, too fast to put teams together and expand the league that their fan base couldn’t support it. And the XFL was WWE with pads. The UFL is following closer to the tactic of the USFL in drawing in marginal NFL talents and trying for real football, not gimmicky sub-sports or raw entertainment.

Unlike the USFL, the UFL isn’t moving too fast, either. With four teams spread across the country, low salaries, and with the clear goal to move players from their league to the NFL, the UFL is following the path of least resistance. They have designed the league to work with the NFL in allocating players’ rights to the AFC and NFC North, South, East, and West, depending on what team they play for. And don’t worry about the quality of play. These players have at least been in training camp before, and many were stars in college (Las Vegas quarterback J.P. Losman is better than at least half of the backup QBs in the NFL), so the product on the field should be solid. The UFL is being cautious and trying not to anger the beast that is the NFL, and it should pay dividends for the league and for fans. If this league can develop into a minor league or a feeder system for players to go to the NFL, it will be worth embracing.

MLS Would be a Boon for Baltimore
Our fair city is one of the few in the country to embrace lacrosse and soccer so completely- not of course to a level on par with football or baseball, but they are not so far down as they are in other parts of the country. People here get excited for how their soccer and lacrosse teams are doing in high school and in college. My friends at Maryland always brag about their soccer team, and I can’t usually remember how Michigan’s team is doing (apparently the men’s & women’s teams are ranked #6 and #8 in the country right now). The point is, if DC United fails to find a stadium agreement with a location close to Washington, Baltimore would be a prime location. I am not saying that the team would draw 30,000 fans a night to the stadium, but it would beat the 15K average for MLS teams (which is also about what DC United is getting right now). If this city has been able to support the Blast for 17 years, they should be able to accommodate an outdoor team.

Could Matt Holliday Be the Next Playoff Scapegoat?
The Dodgers, to my surprise, have outplayed the Cardinals in the first two games of this series, games that I thought the Cardinals would take. However, with Matt Holliday losing the ball in the lights as the Dodgers began a furious comeback, this could be another classic moment for St. Louis fans, frozen in time should they lose this series. It was one of those moments where you pause and wonder whether you have witnessed something that that fan base will be talking about for decades. ESPN would run it alongside Jeffrey Maier and Bartman, with Buckner and Don Denkinger, and profile it every time the Cards went to the playoffs. But it wouldn’t be fair and it wouldn’t be right. After Holliday’s miscue, St. Louis still had just one more out to get with a one run lead. James Loney could have just as easily gotten a double on his own; it was only chance that sent that ball straight at Matt Holliday.

Moreover, without Matt Holliday one can wonder whether this team would even be in the playoffs. He hit .353 in protection of Albert Puhols and provided the Cards with a bar when they needed it the most- and most nights he is far from a defensive liability. St. Louis was in a fight for the division when they got Matt Holliday. Since then, they buried the NL Central. Don’t blame Holliday if St. Louis is watching the playoffs from home on Sunday without giving him credit for the team being able to play yesterday.

Weekend Prediction: I have been going out on a limb week after week, and it hasn’t treated me well. I am 1-2 so far with my lone correct prediction being about baseball. So let me try that one again. Give me St. Louis on Saturday; they will turn things around and keep this series alive.

The "Cost" of Being a Fan

Okay, so as I have repeated innumerable times, I don’t actually live in Maryland anymore. Nor do I live anywhere close enough to catch the regional broadcasts or hear my local television personalities throw out some veteran player who is not-so-good in front of the camera to give me an analysis of the game. I am sure I’m not the only reader of this blog who has to deal with this; a big reason sports blogs have been so successful is their ability to convey information (and the fan’s voice) to other fans far away from their team’s home base. Newspapers simply do not give enough depth to their reporting to give the reader an accurate, holistic view of the team and the team websites have details but are far too rosy to be taken seriously. So what is a fan to do when they need to catch a flight to get in the same time zone as their team?

Well, there are cable/satellite packages, but these force you to buy an entire channel (or channels) devoted to that entire sport (for baseball this would be MLB Extra Innings). Sorry, I don’t want to pay for Pirates-Brewers, but thanks anyway. These can cost $200 a season at minimum and when you tally in all of the extra fees and programs to ensure you get something worthwhile it can reach almost $300. Now that may not be much for some, but when you are already paying a hefty price tag for cable or satellite service that can be just a bit more piling on. Additionally, these have so many blackout restrictions that you may not see your team if they play on a Saturday afternoon. In fact, in North Carolina MASN sports doesn’t have an agreement with Time Warner, meaning that if you are an O’s (or “Expos”) fan, you won’t see your team even if you have MLB Extra Innings. This service might be great for a fan of the sport or a true student of the game who doesn’t care what team he or she watches, but for a partisan like most of us, it matters.

Then there’s MLB TV from MLB.com. For a much reduced price you can watch games on your computer ($70 a season for premium, $50 a season for regular). Personally I don’t like staring at my computer that much, but I did do the regular for one season. It was grainy and I had to settle with the broadcast from whatever team was at home (which was painful to watch Red Sox or Yankees games). I can see myself perhaps doing the premium down the line, but only if I can handle staring at my laptop for three hours at a time. The TV, for whatever reason, is much easier.

Okay, so for the NFL, DirectTV has the exclusive rights to out-of-market games, which is great... for the NFL. The satellite provider allows individuals to buy the “Sunday Ticket” package to watch over the internet, but only if satellite is unavailable where you live. So Comcast users, you better suck it up. Moreover, if the price for Extra Innings didn’t turn you off this might. $300 for standard Sunday Ticket, and if you want that in HD better cough up an extra $100. They know fans love their teams and will do anything to get a better glimpse of them outside of box scores and recaps.

Why am I going through all this? Just to illustrate how hard it can be to follow your team from outside of your region. Most of us rely on ESPN for our sports news, but unless you follow the Yankees, Red Sox, Celtics, Lakers, Patriots, Cowboys, or the Brett Favre soap opera you are pretty much out of luck. I hold onto my blog news, mlb.com free highlights, the occasional radio broadcast and the ubiquitous bar scene where I can usually get them to change the channel to the Orioles game if they are playing a team in the AL Central. Finally, I fly home and see a game at least 4 or 5 times a season so that I can get a firsthand view of my team- and I'd take being in Baltimore those 5 times over paying for a gigantic sports tier. That way I have to put in a lot of effort but still get a strong idea of how the team is actually doing. We all know that being a Baltimore fan has a price- a dozen losing seasons for the Orioles, a sweep at the hands of the Steelers, but one should still be able to follow the team reliably. I am sure I will have to buy some package eventually, when visiting home isn't possible or I haven't gotten to see someone pitch and want to mention them in a post, but so far I have figured out that you don't necessarily need the sports packages to make that happen. Try to be wise in figuring out how much fandom needs to come out of your pocketbook.

Ravens Draft- The First Day

If there is one thing we should know about Ozzie Newsome by now, it is that he often does not have the flashy draft or the one that everyone expects, but that he often gets the job done. All Ravens fans expected a wide receiver to be taken with the Ravens first pick, but they traded up to take an offensive tackle. It was quite the interesting first day.

The picks:
--1st Round, 23rd overall (from the Patriots): Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss
--2nd Round, 57th overall, Paul Kruger, DE, Utah

The good:
Michael Oher is a wonderful story, coming from a family where his mother was a drug addict and he was at one point homeless. No one will ever question his character or his work ethic on the field because frankly he has been through tougher times. This pick was about giving Joe Flacco more protection on his line, a big 6'5'' 316 pound bulldozing lineman to protect him. Chances are he will have to play right tackle even though his natural position is at left, but Jared Gaither locks down the left side so Oher will have to switch to the other side. Paul Kruger to some is a steal at 57th, to others taken about where he should have been on the draft board. He is an athletic defensive end that has good speed, though not a lot of experience. The Ravens often like to get lineman, offensive or defensive, high on the draft board, and they got two good ones that should have an immediate impact.

The bad:
The Ravens have still not addressed their wide receiver needs. Newsome clearly was not targeting one of the bigger ones in the top-6, because the trade-up with New England was for Oher. Had the Ravens been looking for a wide receiver with the first pick, Kenny Britt and Hakeem Nicks were both available, and one of them would have likely fallen to 26th (in retrospect, both fell past 26th, but no telling what would have happened if picks were not traded). Plus the Ravens are not interested in Anquan Boldin right now, so it looks like the Ravens will be satisfied with the status quo unless someone gets moved.

The likely effects of the first day:
--With the drafting of Michael Oher, Willie Anderson will likely get cut soon. Anderson counts as about $4 million in salary, and the Ravens need to clear some cap room to sign draft picks. This may also lead to Trevor Pryce getting cut after the 2009 season.
--The Ravens have pretty much decided not to try for Anquan Boldin. Even if the Cardinals choose to once again lower the cost to get Boldin, the Ravens can not afford to pay him a new contract without serious issues down the line, so he will not come to Baltimore.
--A wide receiver is still a target. Players like Juaquin Iglesias from Oklahoma and Derrick Williams from Penn State are still around, and the Ravens may want to address that need with their third round pick.
--A few other targets could include a cornerback, a fullback, an outside linebacker, and a special teams returner.

The result:
Based on the picks, they are two solid players from the first day. Even though they did not address the primary needs of the team, Ozzie Newsome has shown himself to be a solid drafter, so I believe he did a nice job. They fill two positions currently occupied by veterans in their 30s and should address those positions for a good while if they pan out.

The Ravens have only four picks left in the 2009 draft, so they will need to choose wisely on the second day.

(Photo credit: Walter Football)

Ravens-Texans moved to November: no bye week?

Due to damages to the roof of Reliant Stadium due to Hurricane Ike, the NFL has chosen to move the Ravens-Texans game to November 9th.

Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun brings up an interesting question: Did the Ravens get their bye taken away by the NFL fairly? Baltimore had to practice to be ready for the Texans, and now they won't get a week off all season.

Sometimes the NFL has to make decisions that are difficult where someone is bound to lose. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Superdome was being used for housing people, the NFL moved the Saints first home game against the Giants to New York. Giants Stadium put "SAINTS" in the endzones to "support" them, but the crowd was clearly pro-New York. Though I would have preferred the game be played somewhere closer to Louisiana, no decision would have been good enough for everybody.

I'm not sure what the NFL could have done differently. The game can't be cancelled; there aren't enough games to do that. There isn't a backup week for NFL games before the playoffs. I don't like it that the Ravens won't get a week off at all during the season, but again, what was the NFL to do? Maybe in the future though they find a way to change these circumstances so that if a game had to be postponed, the bye week isn't used as a replacement.

(Photo credit: Boston Herald)