Email Discussion w/ Speed & Big Wes

-----------From my boy Dominic---------------
Waz up PEEPS???

The Ravens still don't have much to RAVE about at this point. It seems they have to WIN IT ALL in order to get the respect they, to some degree,deserve. They still have a bit to be desired on offense. I think theywill overcome the Raiders sunday. However, regardless of who they play inthe Superbowl, I think they will be shaky because they are 1 and 4 after abye week only having beaten Arizona this season after their bye week. Thatis my real concern with them taking it all. The comforting factor is thatthis has been somewhat of a turnaround season for the Ravens so maybe alltrends are changing.

Last season, they found ways of losing games in the fourth quarter. Thisseason they found ways of not letting teams score in the 4th quarter. Theyare now able to make needed adjustments as games proceed to the 60 minutemark. Think about it, Eddie George had 87 yards at the start of the 4thquarter. He ended up with 91 yards. 91! They found a way to stop him.In addition, most if not all teams know they can not successfully runagainst the Ravens especially with the Ray "THE BEAST" Lewis around. Oncethe Ravens got up on Titans, the game became 1-dimensional. The Titans hadto resort to the passing game. To depend on the run against the Ravenswould not have been a good idea. They were able to move the ball with thepass but the Ravens were able to play some pass defense as well; just notas good as their rush defense.

I'm looking forward to the game next week. It should be a good one.

On a side note! Prepare yourselves'. I'm having a house built up here inRandallstown. It should be done in the May/June time frame. I'm gonnaneed some movers at that time. It shouldn't be much to move because Idon't really have any furniture now so most of it will be delivered to thehouse shortly after I move in. I'll keep you abreast of the details as Ilearn more....

Peace Out and GO RAVENS!!!!!
DMAN

--------------From by boy Wes------------------
How about dem' Ravens!!? Talking about finding ways to win. Who woulda'thunk it that you could put 24 points on the board and score only 1offensive touchdown? Special teams had more yards than the offense. Theoffense produced 6 first downs in the game. The offense had like 158yards of total offense. The defense is like awesome. They held EddieGeorge to under 100 yards (like 93) for the third straight time. Great winfor the Ravens. Yet . . . . .

They get to face the Raiders who love to pass. The passing may be thekiller for them. Baltimore has shown flashes of brilliance in the past byputting up some good numbers on the board. They will need to have one ofthose kinda' games against the Raiders. And should they get past theRaiders, they will want to face NY Giants over Minnesota. I personallywould love to see the Giants and the Ravens, for I feel the Ravens D wouldstop the NYG offense. Minnesota and their passing tandem will be touch todefend and keep in check.

But that's why they play the game.

On a smaller note, why was the channel 7 commentator last night trying toget some plugs for the Redskins. Speaking about the Philadelphia Eaglesand the NYGiants, he was plugging "And the Eagles and the Giants . . . . .2 teams the Skins beat, . . . . . . . ." Yet, he neglected to mentionhow these 2 teams are in the playoffs and the Skins weren't!! Punk!!

Oh well, hope all had a good Holiday season and all. And Speed, I foundthe pictures and the CDs from the wedding (I had the pics placed onCDs). I will filter them out slowly but surely over the next week or 2.

Peace and Happiness,

Wes
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I gotta agree with you, Speed, that Ray "Not Guilty" Lewis is an absolute beast. Reminds me of the old-school 70s and 80s defensemen who were everywhere on the field knocking people silly. The commentators mentioned his name in like 75% of the defensive plays because he was either making a tackle or getting a hit on somebody. I dunno what the Ravens' D would be like without him. Steve McNair looked like he had nothing left in the 4th. His passes were short, long, and incomplete. Ray's hit on him was almost as good as LaVar Arrington's on Aikman.

The Ravens offense? Eww. (FIVE passes?!? "It's PLAYOFF TIME!!! Show me somethin'!") They're gonna have to bring a lil' more thunder against Oakland--who ain't to proud to run the score up on you. Even the best D cracks at some point, and that Dilfer offense will have to step up. Happened to the Skins against Dallas. They Ravens can run a little, but their passing game looks bizarre. If I were Oakland, I'd lower the boom with blitzes every down for the first half. Dilfer isn't mobile, and this will force him to find the hot read quickly. The Raiders' corners are good enough to go one on one if they take the chance. Dilfer'll be on the sidelines with smelling salts by 4:00 in the second quarter.

I was bored watching NY/PHI. Since they're in the East, I watch 'em half the #$@# season. Neither of them looked all that potent. How in the world did the Eagles get this far with that offense?!? The Giants' D is good, yes, but the Eagles looked so inept I even wished the Ain'ts--I mean, Saints--were playing. At least they looked like they had a fighting chance.

All of Baltimore is abuzz with dem Ravens. Their D definitely gets respect, as does their special teams. The offense hasn't earned much respect. (Remember October's touchdown drought?)

Go Skins.