How the Ravens can make the playoffs
| 6
|
Coming out of the bye week, the Ravens have been caught with their pants around their ankles. Exiting the cupcake portion of their schedule, the team stands at a disappointing 4-3 and a date with the 5-2 Steelers is on the horizon.
The bye week has given the Ravens a much needed chance to get healthy. The most important return off the injured list for this team is the return of DT/DE Trevor Pryce. Initial reports are that he will be limited to passing situations (3 rd downs, long 2 nd downs, etc.) where his presence has been sorely missed. Also coming back are OT’s Jonathon Ogden and Adam Terry, C Mike Flynn, and QB Steve McNair. All are expected to start. As of Wednesday, the health of TE Todd Heap and DB Chris McAlister are still up in the air.
With most of the starting players back in the line-up, it’s time for the Ravens to get down to business, but they have dug themselves quite a hole. They need six more wins to get to that magic number of ten, which usually guarantees a playoff berth in the AFC. In the NFC, you may finish at 7-9 and make the playoffs; the difference in talent between the AFC and the NFC is just incomparable.
In order to achieve ten wins, the Ravens will have to win two out of the four toughest games that are coming up. They must win two of the following games: @ Pittsburgh, @ San Diego, vs. New England, and vs. Indianapolis. As daunting as it looks, that’s the reality of the situation with the Steelers, Jaguars, and Titans all sitting comfortably at 5-2. The Chiefs are also quietly sitting atop the AFC West with a 4-3 record, along with the Chargers.
After taking two games from the big four, that leaves one loss for wiggle room to reach ten wins. That loss could come at the hands of the Seahawks on December 23 rd or the Steelers at home on December 30 th. With that said, the Ravens need to take care of business against lesser foes on their schedule: the Browns, the Dolphins, and the Bengals. The Ravens are simply better than those teams and need to win those games. Why? Because year in and year out, playoff teams beat the teams that they should beat. It’s always the 9-7 teams that look back and say “man, if we took care of business in Buffalo or in Cleveland we’d be in great shape.” That’s true, but hindsight is always 20/20.
As far as predictions go, it’s hard to get the pulse of this team. With all of the injuries in the first half of the season, it would be easy to say that they can right the ship. But with what I have seen thus far from this team, I can’t confidently say that they’ll make the playoffs. A lot of teams have disappointing seasons, and unfortunately this looks like one of them for the Ravens. I originally predicted 11-5 for this team, and halfway through, I look at this schedule and say that this team will finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs. Where did those two wins go? They were abandoned in Cleveland and in Buffalo.
It’s gut check time for the boys in purple. If Brian Billick has a rabbit in his hat, now’s the time to pull it out against Pittsburgh.
