The Bengals have already beaten them in their own place,  and Baltimore has lost 3 out of their last 4 ballgames.  Generally speaking,  their defense has been a shell of it's former self.  And,  while their offense is improved,  it is far from one of the top offenses in the NFL.  I realize Marvin has a bad record after bye weeks,  but the Bengals are coming off a game in which they absolutely crushed what was at least an average,  if not better,  NFL team that beat the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the season.

I don't know why it ticks me off that Vegas seems to think Baltimore is going to waltz in here and eat their lunch.  It really means squat.  But,  it sure is annoying.

A win this week would evidently mean a lot to the odds makers,  despite the fact that the Ravens are an aging,  overrated team that the Bengals should be expected to beat in a home game.   Here's hoping the team is as disgusted with this ridiculous line as I am.

Bengals 31

Ravens 17

Because they thumped an undefeated team the week before and their defense looked like the old Ravens.  Thats it...

Also, take a look at where each team ranks in terms of offense, defense, points scored and points allowed.  Ravens are comparable or better than the Bengals in every category.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/g...bengals-preview

They score over 5 pts/game more than us while giving up only 1.3 more than us.  They also gain about 33 more yards per game than us while giving up 28 yards per game less than us. 

On an indivdual basis, Flacco is playing better than Palmer overall (intangibles not included).  Rice and McGahee combined have about as many yards, a better YPC, and more TDs than Benson and Scott.

Also add that while we lost Odom since the last game, they've gotten back Gaither.  That changes the complexion of the Trench battle when they're on offense.  On the other side of the ball, no one knows if Andre will add anything yet.

I have no proof of this, just a feeling and I'm too lazy to look it up.  Isn't the Bengals record after the BYE week really bad?

For some reason I'm not sold on a win this week and I have no reason why I think that way.  Guess I'm not totally  on the bandwaggon yet.

I learned this a long time ago being from Baltimore.  The only way to get respect in this league is to be the Colts, Patriots, Cowboys, Steelers, or Farve.  Everything else is irrelevant for smaller market teams like the Ravens and Bengals.  Here's to a great game and obviously, with either outcome from our game, a PovertyBurgh loss.

2003: Baltimore Ravens W 34-26
2004: Cleveland Browns L34-17
2005: Indianapolis Colts L 37-45
2006: Tampa Bay Bucs L 13-14
2007: Kansas City Chiefs L 20-27
2008: Philadelphia Eagles T 13-13

I certainly won't be surprised if the Ravens were able to get a win here.  But,  it would be very disappointing.  I am not buying the Broncos or the Ravens as elite teams,  after seeing both of them play quite a bit so far.  And,  neither are we at this point,  btw.  But,  this is a game the team should win,  especially at home.

BengalsRule85 wrote:

I have no proof of this, just a feeling and I'm too lazy to look it up.  Isn't the Bengals record after the BYE week really bad?

For some reason I'm not sold on a win this week and I have no reason why I think that way. Guess I'm not totally  on the bandwaggon yet.

Simple BR.  You are a Bengal fan and have been for a long, long time.  I feel the same way.  These next two games are make or break for this season, IMO, and I believe we at least need to win 1.  Both would be phenomenal for our chances the rest of the year.

birkshnart wrote:

 

BengalsRule85 wrote:

I have no proof of this, just a feeling and I'm too lazy to look it up.  Isn't the Bengals record after the BYE week really bad?

For some reason I'm not sold on a win this week and I have no reason why I think that way. Guess I'm not totally  on the bandwaggon yet.

Simple BR.  You are a Bengal fan and have been for a long, long time.  I feel the same way.  These next two games are make or break for this season, IMO, and I believe we at least need to win 1.  Both would be phenomenal for our chances the rest of the year.

We win both and playoffs are more than certain.  Lose them and the Doncos loss really hurt the wild card chances.  Lose 1 and win one...  We then will need help.

Why are they favored?

Easy, we are the Bengals. 

1)  vegas knows sports.

2)  It's the ravens.

3)  The U has not been removed from bUngals in the course of a half season by other than cincy fans ......

I want to be the underdog.

Who would have thought it ?  5-2 .................................................. .................................................. ...........................................!

Wouldn't want to try and tackle benson these days....

When did the D learn how to tackle?

Gotta love it! 

runHENrun wrote: Ravens overlooked the Bengals 1st game, hope it doesn't happen this Sunday. Ravens back's are against the wall, they have to win this game to have a shot at the playoffs. Ravens played a complete game last Sunday, firing on all cylinders, I liked what I saw.

Injury free game Sunday, great start for the bengals.

Overlooked thye Bengals... I didn't realize you were a psychologist for the team which gaives you a privileged view into each player's mind. What, do you give them an inkblot test before the game?

I'm expecting a battle of the running games for the first half. Once someone gets 10 points ahead, the trailing team will start airing it out and we'll see where that gets us.

Ryan is not in Baltimore anymore, and the new D coordinator, Mattison, plays a vanilla defense. Their stars are getting long in the tooth, and they no longer can boast a shutdown corner.The Ravens have a defense that is solid, but not spectacular. They still have a very effective front 7, but Mattison is not a creative blitzer. They'll stop the run, but the days of them swarming over QB's is past.

Mattison is only in his second year in the NFL, after being promoted from UF's coaching staff. He wasn't even a D Coord in college until 2006. Can I tell you how glad I am that we replaced him with Charlie Strong? He just plain wasn't that great of a Defensive guy. He had some great players that he inherited, and usually played against vastly inferior competition who were playing from 14 points down after the first 5 minutes. In only 2 years he coached 18 eventual NFL players, 7 drafted on the first day, 2 of those in the first round. He ran a 3-3-5 defense at Florida, has never coached the 3-4 scheme before. Last year he ran Ryan's plays while he got up to speed on the 3-4.

On the back end, Baltimore has a second rate secondary. They rank 22nd in the NFL is pass yards given up. Samari Rolle and Chris McAllister are gone, and Fabian Washington is just not a shut down guy. Carr and Foxworth have both been awful, and recently had Sidney Rice gouge them for 176 yards. (Ouch!)

Ed Reed is still going to make a big play every game, but he does that by gambling and gamblers eventually lose. If Coles can catch balls this time instead of dropping them, this won't even be close like it was last time. They'll leave the Z receiver open, and if you look back at the last game, Coles dropped 6-7 balls early. Convert those third downs, and we're marching on them the first half. If Coles is catching balls, then it becomes harder to double the Ocho, and he's starting to get free too.

I'm more worried about Rice and McGahee against our D than I am about our ability to score points against their D. If Brat's smart, he'll pepper them with short passes and runs until Reed starts cheating into the box and then start abusing them deep with Chad and Henry.

On D, you have to overload Oher's side a few times and try to get pressure. A rookie LT protecting a second year QB? You have to go at that. We'll play our usual fire zone cover three, bend but not break. We have to make them execute in the passing game to get first downs, we cannot let them move the ball on the ground. Easier said than done.

indianravenforever wrote: I have been a Ravens fan for 12 years and unlike most of your fan base i supported my team when they were struggling, shoot you guys are having trouble selling out when your team is at top of the division. When the Bengals collapse i bet half of the posters in here will become either Steelers fans or just give up football till you guys are somewhat decent. Bengals fans are pathetic and dont deserve a team, they should relocate where they can actually sell games out and attract a more loyal and passionate fan base.

Ooooh. A whopping 12 years! What does that make you, 14-15 years old then?

You know nothing about why the Bengals haven't sold out so go **** yourself.

indianravenforever wrote: I have been a Ravens fan for 12 years and unlike most of your fan base i supported my team when they were struggling, shoot you guys are having trouble selling out when your team is at top of the division. When the Bengals collapse i bet half of the posters in here will become either Steelers fans or just give up football till you guys are somewhat decent. Bengals fans are pathetic and dont deserve a team, they should relocate where they can actually sell games out and attract a more loyal and passionate fan base.

What nerve....  You come in here telling us what a great fan you are becasue you stuck through your Super Bowl winning team for 12 long hard years...  Cry me a river jackass...  You wanna play "who has the more loyal fan base"?  Do you really?  Try 20 years with one playoff appearance with too many losing season to count.

That's great that you aren't a bandwaggon fan, however to come in here and make the assumption that we are is laughable.  Out of any Bengals board on the Internet there is no group of people more dedicated to their team for such a long period of time.  I have been here since 2002 and many of the other here have as well.  If you haven't noticed...  The Bengals have sucked much more than they have been good, so no...  One loss to a team we almost never sweep will not be driving any of us away.