Breaking down the Ravens Schedule
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by com Marco Romanell, AFCNT.com writer Given the Orioles 2-12 start, many, if not all Baltimore sports fans have officially started looking ahead to football season. Tuesday night marked the unofficial start of the football season as the NFL announced the regular season schedule for the 2010 season leaving everyone out there starting their win/loss prognostications for the Ravens. Certainly it is far too early to “predict” how many games the Ravens will win, but there are some interesting games in the schedule. Here are my thoughts on the Ravens schedule: Most intriguing games(outside of the division games): Week 1 @ Jets, Monday Night: Rex Ryan welcomes his old team into his house for the first prime time game in the new stadium. Given the Ravens struggles on prime time and the fact that they are going to be playing the first Monday night game in a new stadium, it is tough to see them coming out with a win. The Jets won the off-season Super Bowl acquiring Santonio Holmes, Antonio Cromartie and Jason Taylor, but they will be without Holmes for the first four games of the season. Both teams are mirror images of each other, as they both have young quarterbacks, run the ball, play stout defense and believe they finally found a go to receiver. It will be important for the Ravens to get off to a good start, and it will be a tall order for them to go into New York and come out victorious. A win, could be the catalyst to a very special season. Week 6 @ Patriots: Last time the Ravens went to New England they dismantled the Patriots 34-7 leading some to single handedly credit them with the ending the Patriots dynasty. Say what you want to about how they finished last season, the Patriots will re-load via the draft, Tom Brady is a year healthier and Bill Belichick will take all of the talks of the Patriots no longer being one of the NFL’s elite. The Ravens exposed a lot of the Patriots’ weaknesses in their playoff beat down last season, but those weaknesses will surely be addressed prior to the season. There are only three teams that truly believe they can go into Gillette Stadium and win; one of those teams is the Ravens. They have the confidence, swagger and moxy to go into New England and beat down the Patriots again, however, I don’t see it being so easy. Few will expect the Ravens to come out victorious and that will be more than fine with them. Front loaded schedule: The first eight games of the Ravens schedule will go along way in determining if they are going to be in the upper echelon of the NFL or if they will be fighting for a Wild Card. With games at the Jets(week 1), Bengals (week 2), Steelers (week 4) and Patriots (week 6), the Ravens have what I believe to be their toughest road games and it is helpful that they are in the beginning of the season. The weather in New York, New England, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati will not be horrible because the games are being played in September and October and since it is the beginning of the season, the Ravens are likely to be at full health going into all these games. Whether Ben Roethlisberger is playing in week four or not, going into Pittsburgh and winning will not be easy. The second half of the schedule looks like it will be easier with road games at Houston, Carolina, Cleveland and Atlanta and getting the Steelers and Bengals at home The Saints come to Baltimore in December which is a huge advantage for the Ravens. If the Ravens come out of their first eight games with a mark of 6-2 or 7-1, then will all but likely lock up a playoff bye. No prime time love: The Ravens do have four prime time games this season, however, having to travel on the road for three of them is a bit of slap in the face. This was a playoff team last season that has to travel to Atlanta and to Houston to play in prime time. The Ravens did get a home a Sunday night game against the Steelers but I would have loved to have seen the week 15 match up against the Saints as a Monday night game instead of the game against the Texans. It is likely(although we won’t know anything until the season starts) that the Ravens are going to be better than the Texans and Falcons, but lesser teams always get jacked up to play at home in prime time, so these games become that much more difficult. They are both games that the Ravens should win but games that because of the location and when they are played, that the Ravens could lose, which could make the difference between a playoff appearance or missing the playoffs. That being said, it will be nice to watch the Ravens in prime time, I just wish it was at home. There is no easy game in the NFL, so going through the schedule now, in April, prognosticating wins and losses, and arriving at 11-5 record is just plain audacious. Lots of things can happen between now and the start of the season, and teams that were bad last year could be much improved this season. It is impossible to tell whether this will be a tough or an easy schedule for the Ravens but there are some intriguing games. The only thing that is certain from looking at the schedule is that the Ravens fate is in their own hands. Sweeping the division games and beating teams like the Patriots, Dolphins, Texans and Jets will land them in the playoffs and could end with a trip to Dallas for the Super Bowl. Okay, that may be getting ahead of myself a little bit, but it is okay to hope right? Can’t wait to shut Rex and Fireman Ed’s mouth Week 1
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