Tag Archive: Baltimore Ravens

2020 NFC Divisional Round Playoff Predictions!

January 11, 2020 Adam Thomas

Man, how sweet are the graphics Randy’s been cooking up lately? You should just stop reading the column now and scroll back up to bask in their glory.

Appreciating the Star Wars graphics is an apt way to start the blog as last week, while I went 1-1 in my picks, I totally whiffed on my Star Wars analogy. Here I thought Titans coach Mike Vrabel was young Anakin to Belichick’s older and wiser Kenobi–the implication being that the young Padawan would eventually be chopped to pieces on Mustafar. I should’ve known that it was more like Vrabel being Anakin to Belichick’s Palpatine! Of course it would be Anakin (aka Darth Vader) who ended up destroying Palpatine and the evil Empire  by chucking the old man’s lightning scared body down a Death Star II reactor shaft, just like it was Vrabel who ended the Patriots empire by, well, winning a football game. Not quite as dramatic but alas, good riddance.

While the Titans beating the Patriots last week (hooray!) was no doubt surprising, I’ve got to think that the Vikings beating the Saints was arguably the bigger upset. I thought the Saints were the team to beat this year and had them going to the Super Bowl to represent the NFC.

So what can we surmise from last week? That every team has a chance to win it all. I am basing my picks solely on the assumption that we are most likely NOT going to get a 1-2 match up in both the NFC and AFC. One of these underdogs has to get through and I think the lower seeds in the NFC are stronger than those in the AFC. So it has to be one of these teams. The hard part is picking which one that will be…

Minnesota Vikings (+7) @ San Francisco 49ers

Looks whose all grownsed up!  Kirk Cousins showed up last week and ‘You like that’-ed all over the Saints! What a thing to behold. Add that to sentences that I never thought I’d find myself typing.

This week, he will try to catch lightning in the bottle again on the road against the 49ers. I am so very tempted to take the Vikings here—mainly because of Dalvin Cook and the Minnesota run game against the 49ers weak run defense. But I just can’t. I think the niners get the job done at home, though the Vikings cover.

49ers 27 Vikings 21

Seattle Seahawks (+4) @ Green Bay Packers

It’d be really cool to see the 49ers play the Packers in the NFC Championship—a throw-back to the mid-90s where the two teams faced off in the playoffs in 1995, 96, 97 and 98—but here’s where I think the upset happens. Russell Wilson in the post-season is no joke and I think he makes just enough plays with his legs to ultimately win a cold, low scoring game.

Though the Packers have Aaron Jones, who has been a beast this year, I think Aaron Rodgers makes one big boneheaded play—like a red zone INT or a strip sack fumble late—and the Seahawks prevail.

Seahawks 20 Packers 16

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2020 AFC Divisional Round Playoff Predictions!

January 10, 2020 Randy Neil

Ok. So. Last week didn’t really pan out how I projected and I put up a mighty goose-egg for the wild card round.  Who would have guessed that Kirk Cousins would finally emerge from his cocoon into a beautiful butterfly? Not me.  And definitely not you. But I digress!

We decided to switch it up this week and exchange conferences. I will be doing the AFC and Adam will be coming later with the NFC picks.  Sounds like the Headrush crew is dialed in exactly where we need to be in order to come up with some frothy Divisional Round predictions!

Tennessee Titans (+9.5) @ Baltimore Ravens

There are a lot of things at play here.  The Ravens have won 12 straight games going into the playoffs and were blowing the doors off of people while they were at it.  Strangely, their last loss came to the Cleveland Browns in late September.  They lost by 15.  How silly is that?

The Ravens did end up playing, and beating, the Browns more recently, so it’s not like we can attribute that anomaly to anything — but it does show that almost everything hinges on Lamar Jackson (super obvious).  He threw 2 picks in their loss to Cleveland and only threw for 247 yards.  If anyone has played fantasy against someone starting Lamar Jackson, you and I both know, that’s a mediocre day for him.

Pair that thought with the memory of Jackson’s only playoff appearance where he had 25 passing yards in the first 3 quarters and there were calls to have him get benched for…. JOE FLACCO.  Man, things change so much over the course of a year.

Now that I’m done playing devil’s advocate, I will note that Jackson ended up with 169 yards and 2 TDs in the 4th quarter of that game and nearly led a come back over the Chargers for his first playoff win. He was literally transforming in that game into an elite talent and I expect a whole bunch of the same.

The Ravens will win, but the nearly 10-point spread is what makes this pick hard.  If the Ravens get ahead early, the Titans are likely to abandon their best weapon, Derrick Henry, and sink further into a hole.  The patience and game-planning of Mike Vrabel will dictate how close of a game this is.  My gut tells me that anyone capable of irritating and out-coaching Bill Belichick has some wits about them to keep the game close.  Just watch that video and relish in his anger.

Ravens 31, Titans 24

Houston Texans (+9.5) @ Kansas City Chiefs

Is it possible for two underdogs to cover?  Well… maybe.  The Texans did play and beat the Chiefs earlier in the season, but a lot has changed since the week 6 matchup.

For starters, the defensive line and linebackers for the Chiefs looked much different.  They had a plethora of defensive players out due to injury and the Texans ran for 192 yards! Almost everyone hurt in that game is back and they have added another veteran in Terrell Suggs now.

Patrick Mahomes was recovering/playing-through his ankle injury.  Sammy Watkins did not play in their earlier game and Tyreek Hill had just returned from his injury.

Add all of those players at their prime — combined with a bye week to rest, Damien Williams healthy, and Andy Reid’s record when coming off of a bye.  AND they’re at home.

I don’t think there’s much Deshaun Watson can do to bail out the Texans in this game.  I think the Chiefs will more than cover.

Chiefs 35, Texans 17

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Random Thoughts: Post First Round Edition

April 29, 2011 Adam Thomas

This draft seemed like it was one of the crappiest in recent memory.  Who are these guys?  They all look like they are 13 years old and none of them look particularly dominant in the high light videos that they showed.

Case in point: The ATL Falcons traded next years first and a bunch of other picks to trade up and grab Julio Jones.  After they did, the first video ESPN showed was Julio Jones dropping a ton of easy passes.  Then this morning, a Yahoo columnist declares the Falcons winners for taking him.  Wait…what?

The Falcons did a stupid thing.  Can you imagine if the Raiders made that trade?  Good God all mighty, everyone would be ripping them to shreds!  So to the Falcons, I bestow them with my dumbest move of the draft (DMOD) award.

1.) DUMBEST MOVE OF THE DRAFT: Falcons

2.) SECOND DUMBEST MOVE OF THE DRAFT: Panthers.  We’ve seen this movie before.  We know how it’s gonna end.  Did you see Cam Newton’s dad?  He looked like and spoke like a crooked Jesse Jackson. “I don’t…care if he’s…Mr. Irrelevant.  GOD IS GOOD!  GOD IS GOOD!”  What Cam’s dad was obviously trying to say was “CHA-CHING!  CHA-CHING!”  Sad day for the Panthers, they just won’t realize it until 2013.  Cam Newton acts like an entitled prick and he is gonna hold out for millions and then suck up the joint when he gets his chance to start.

3.) THIRD DUMBEST MOVE OF THE DRAFT: Broncos.  Yesterday I wrote that Von Miller was going to be the bust of the draft, so I was delighted to hear the pre-draft rumors that the Broncos were gonna draft him.  Then, when they did draft him and he started to cry, my dad looked at me and said, “He’s soft.”  So thank you, Broncos!  You made my day last year by drafting Tebow and you made it again this year by grabbing Miller!

(Note: If the Broncos trounce the Raiders on Monday Night Football with Tebow going off for 300 yds passing, 150 yads rushing and 4 tds and Miller gets 3 sacks, feel free to come on here and rip me a new one, cause really, I’m just trying to stir the pot.  That’s what all us bloggers do, ya know?)

4.) FOURTH DUMBEST MOVE OF THE DRAFT: The Bears.  So, let me get this straight, they wanted to trade with the Ravens but didn’t confirm it with the league, which made the Ravens lose their spot to the Chiefs.  Who in the world is running the Bears?  If that happened in a fantasy football draft, holy balls people would be at each others throats!  I can only imagine what was being said in the Ravens war room.  But at least they got that CB who is addicted to codein syrup.  Nothing bad has ever come from a little syzzzurp, right?

 

Best Moves of the draft:

1.) Lions grabbing Fairley, the DT from Auburn.  I’ve always wondered why more teams don’t just build on their strengths.  The Lions have a great DT already, why not make him even better by pairing him with the guy who was projected to go number one just a month ago?

2.) Chiefs.  Good Lord, that was a nice pick getting that WR from Pitt.  The Chiefs are winning the AFC West again next year.

3.) Saints getting Mark Ingram.  Fourth round fantasy pick anybody?

4.) Cardinals getting Patrick Peterson.  He was the best player in the draft.  Why don’t teams at number one go with the best player?  The QB thing works out once out of every 30000 picks.  It makes no sense to me.  For every Peyton Manning there are 30 JaMarcus’s.

Ah well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.  Rounds two and three are tonight.  Enjoy!

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Adam v. Randy v. Brendan Playoff Rd. 2

January 14, 2011 Randy Neil
Alright, so last week, I went 1 for 4 (ouch), Adam was 2 for 4, and Brendan, somehow, managed to win with 3 of 4. In retrospect, I have no idea how I picked Kansas City +3.

I’d still like to see a perfect 4 for 4, but I think we’ll leave those percentages to when there is 2 games to pick from. Somehow without any prior knowledge, once again, we have all selected differently. There can only be 1. 1 highlander. Here we go:

Adam
Steelers -3 over Bmore

Packers +2.5 over ATL

Seahawks +10 over CHI

Jets +9 over New England

 Randy
Baltimore +3 over Steelers

Packers +2.5 over ATL

Seahawks +10 over CHI

New England -9 over Jets

 Brendan
Steelers -3 over Bmore

Atlanta -2.5 over Green Bay

Seahawks +10 over CHI

Jets +9 over New England

Winner this week will receive a ham sandwich, but they will have to provide condiments themselves.

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