one play today

[MadJack]

yea, it's a homer play but come on.

Ravens -3 +105?

that means steelers are faves on a neutral field? with roth and his 17 interceptions?

Ray should be back

Billick's offense getting better every week

and the 2nd best defense (behind chicago) with Ray being out 2.5 weeks of the 10 games?

I DON'T *THINK* SO!

and, no, we aren't looking ahead to cincy :142smilie

this is the year, boys, this is the year.

i'll be at the sportsbar at 1245 today and the place will be dead because the colts play tonight.

then i can come home and root against the colts to tie the ravens up for home field throughout the playoffs, although i would like nothing more than for the ravens to beat indy in indy for the afc championship.

good luck today, knuckleheads!

 

[GENO]

JACK

I am not quite as bold as you I pulled the trigger last nite late @ BLT -139, I feel really strong about a BLT win but I hate back door covers. The failed two point to tie routine gives me nightmares:scared

BOL Man!

 

[wox11]

GL GUYS!!!


LEANING TOWARDS THE OVER IN THIS GAME ~ ANY THOUGHTS?

 

[JCam]

Hey Jack...

First of all, I hope you and yours had a safe and happy Thanksgiving, but with regard to the Raven/Steeler game I have to respectfully disagree with you my friend.

Pittsburgh is indeed the better overall team in this match up, a check of Baltimore's results to date shows that they own three wins over Cleveland, San Diego, and Tenny by a combined 5 points.

If the ball bounces the other way and Baltimore loses these three games they are then a 5-5 team. The Steelers have now won 2 straight games and are just now getting their legs under them.

Let's keep in mind that Steeler QB Roethlisberger essentially never had a training camp due to his pre-season motorcycle accident and then the emergency appendectomy prior to the first game of the new season and is just now rounding into game shape.

In Pittsburgh ?s last two wins over the Saints and Brownies Roethlisberger has thrown five TD?s, completed nearly 62% of his passes (34 of 55 tosses) for 453 yards with a whopping 13.32 yards per pass average.

The Ravens brought QB Steve McNair to town as a means of adding leadership and stability to their offense and it has worked as evidenced by Baltimore?s 8-2 straight up record and commanding lead in the AFC North, however, McNair has a TD to INT ratio of 10 to 9, has actually totaled 500 yards less passing and has a lower completion percentage than Roethlisberger.

These two teams do reside in the same division and hence face each other twice yearly, needless to say they know each other quite well, with that being said we have to find the intangible edge and I believe that edge lies with Roethlisberger who is much more mobile than McNair and has the ability to not only keep plays alive but also move the chains with his legs.

Baltimore is hurting on defense, LB Ray Lewis is expected back this week from back surgery and safety Ed Reed is listed as probable with a bum knee, with this in mind I would expect to see Pittsburgh?s offense work from a spread offense that utilizes pass catching RB Willie Parker coming out of the backfield, I also expect to see the Steelers use RB Najeh Davenport as a battering ram of sorts running up the middle and right at Ray Lewis.

Pittsburgh also has their share of injuries concerns with WR Hines Ward topping the list as questionable, a check backwards in time reveals that over the past four seasons these teams have split their seasonal meetings with one over and one under, meaning that however this match up turns out in terms of total points scored you want to go opposite with regard to the total when these teams meet again on Christmas eve. With that being said the past four straight years has seen the first seasonal meeting fly over the posted total?.things the make you go hmmmmm!

take care and be well my friend

Jim

 

[MadJack]

JCam,

let's just say both teams are improving as the season goes on.

last week pit had to come from behind to beat the lowly browns while bal easily handled the mobile vick and the falcons. pit allowed ATL 41 points in an OT loss to them while BAL only allowed them 10 points :shrug:

prior week PIT has to come from behind to beat the saints allowing them 31 points when BAL beat them 35-22 and giving them a meaningless 15 unanswered points in the 4th.
yes, the ravens struggled on the road the same week by coming from behind to beat the titans.

prior week *oakland* (?) beat PIT :com: while the ravens easily handled the saints in new orleans.

prior week PIT loses to ATL, a common opponent hat BAL beat handily while we took the week off.

prior week was impressive for PIT when they dominated KC while the ravens lost to CAR but that was before Billick took over the play calling.

prior week PIT loses to SD another common opponent that BAL beat :shrug: while BAL lost in DEN.

week 3 PIT loses to CIN, another common opponent BAL beat while BAL was beating CLE in CLE.

BAL is 4-1 on the road and PIT is 1-4

BAL is 5-1 vs the AFC and PIT is 3-5

BAL has won 4 in a row and PIT has won 2 in a row so, yes, both teams are improving.

i think big ben will be spending some time on his back today and should he get that pass off before he goes down he will probably be seeing a raven running the opposite direction past him for a TD

should be a fun game to watch for sure.

 

[MadJack]

after all that, i just went and doubled my bet

 

[kcwolf]

Like the Ravens too Jack.

We will have to talk soon about the Ravens/Chiefs game -- two weeks.:wall:

 

[JCam]

:SIB

Hello Jack..

Thanks for the reply, you made some good points, however, the points you made are exactly the same things I pointed out with regard to how the Steelers performed over the first half of the season.

Pittsburgh was a mistake prone turnover machine in their first eight games as evidenced by turning the ball over 24 times in their first 8 games which on average is 3 give-a-ways per game...thats not how you win games thats for sure.

In each and every game you referenced above Pittsburgh literally shot themselves in the foot, in the Atlanta game they turned the ball over THREE times inside the Falcons 20 yard line which set up 3 Michael Vick TD passes, in a blink of an eye they were down by three scores and in the process made Vick look like a super star, however, to the Steelers credit they fought back and lost by a FG.

In the loss at Oakland, Pittsburgh dominated the game with a 360 to 98 yard edge and held the Raiders offensive to two FG's, yet they lost on a interception return for a TD and a punt return for a TD, the root cause was 4 Pittsburgh T/O's.

As already mentioned above, the Steelers beat themselves in each and every loss and actually out gained their opponent in 4 of their 6 losses. The thought process here is that the cause for their disaterous season is their QB...Roethlisberger...but with that in mind he is finally rounding into game shape.

The past three years has seen these divisonal rivals split their two seasonal meetings with the home team winning, however, 2 of the last 3 games played in Baltimore have been decided by a mere FG, a deeper look-see reveals that Pittsburgh has only been installed as a doggie four times when visiting Baltimore and the Steelers won 3 of those 4 games in straight up fashion....give me Pittsburgh as a Best Bet for today.

take care and be well my friend

Jim

 

[IntenseOperator]

That's "Mr" Knucklehead to you

 

[Gags]

Steelers usually dominate the Jailbirds. Hell Kordell Stewart used to have his way with that defense.

True Pittsburgh offense has struggled this year, but this is their super bowl today. Lose and they are out. I see McNair puking it up a few times for some defensive scores!

 

[Ronnie]

Good Luck Homer, I mean Jack!

Jack special: Over 40 Pitt/Baltimore

 

[JCam]

:shrug:

Hey Jack...

Just a note of congrats to you and your Ravens, the was one of the most dominant performances of one team over another that I have seen in some time.

Being from the Pittsburgh area I guess I let the ole "Homerism" bug take over which is generally the reason why I usually shy away from wagering on the home teams, oh well...as the song goes "Sometimes you're the bug and sometimes you're the windshield".

Once again Congrats to you and the Ravens on one hell of a great performance....take care and be well my friend.

Jim

 

[Senor Capper]

Hey Jack....

Hey Jack....

YOU HOMOr

 

[GENO]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh Magoo,...... you done it again :mj07: :mj07: :mj07: :mj07: