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Eisenberg: Titans Matchup Merits BIG Label - Baltimore Ravens
I’ve found you have to be oh-so careful with doling out those capital letters.
But Sunday’s contest against the Titans warrants them, I do believe. It has the look and feel of a pivotal game going in, and I suspect the same could be true in its aftermath.
Think of the many ways a victory would boost a Ravens team seeking to re-emerge as a bona fide contender after missing the playoffs for the past three years:
- It would give them a winning record (2-1) on an early-season three-game road trip that had the potential to bring them to their knees if enough things went awry.
- It would give them a 4-2 overall record, an unqualified victory considering they’ve played two-thirds of their games on the road and now get to enjoy a schedule dominated by home games.
- It would give them the tiebreaker edge over a Tennessee team that made the playoffs as a wild-card qualifier last season and looks like a contender again in 2018.
- It would dilute the odor still emanating from last Sunday’s loss in Cleveland.
The latter would be especially important, it seems. Cut off the bad vibe. Don’t let it linger. Since 2015, the Ravens have an 11-12 record in games played the week aftera defeat. That isn’t a disaster, but I’m guessing they’d like to fare better. Every team loses games they didn’t count on losing from time to time; the ability to bounce back from those is a key factor separating the contenders and pretenders.
Bleacher Report’s Expert Consensus Week 6 NFL Picks
Baltimore Ravens (3-2) at Tennessee Titans (3-2)
A lot of books have the Baltimore Ravens favored by only 2.5 points Sunday against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, which might make them an intriguing bet. But with a full field goal on their side, the majority of our experts are rolling with the Titans at home.
That might be a safer bet merely because this is likely to be a close, low-scoring game. The Titans have scored 20 or fewer points in four of their five games and have allowed 13 or fewer in two of their last three, while the Ravens scored only nine points last week in Cleveland and have surrendered 14 or fewer in four of their first five outings.
That could make it hard for Baltimore to pull away on the road against a Tennessee team that has won seven of its last eight at Nissan Stadium.
Still, Baltimore ranks sixth in the NFL in terms of DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) at Football Outsiders, while the Titans rank 20th. Our top-picking analyst is a dissenting voice in favor of the more talented Ravens.
”An overtime loss to the Browns has many already turning tail on the Ravens, even though they’re a solid team on both sides of the ball,” Sobleski said. “Offensively, Joe Flacco and Co. may not have found the end zone in Week 5, but Baltimore is still 11th in total offense and has multitude of weapons at running back, wide receiver and tight end. Defensively, the Ravens are third overall with multiple pass-rushers and an extremely talented secondary. One misstep doesn’t mean they’re on par, or even close, with the Titans.”
Sobleski is in the minority, but it’s worth noting that lone wolves picking against the grain are 23-15 this season, which explains why all of our experts have better records than the consensus.
Predictions
Davenport: Tennessee (+3)
Gagnon: Tennessee (+3)
Sobleski: Baltimore (-3)
Consensus: Tennessee (+3)
Score Prediction: Baltimore 20, Tennessee 17
Surprising Stats: Week 6 - NFL.com
Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans
Michael Crabtree leads the league with eight drops in five games. And yet he leads the team with 46 targets, 12 of which came last week at Cleveland.
Marcus Mariota has thrown two touchdowns this year. He’s also thrown four interceptions. He’s averaging 169 passing yards per game. He’s only completed 64.9 percent of his passes attempted when not under pressure. When kept clean, only Joe Flacco, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and Josh Rosen are worse. Three of those four players are rookies.
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