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WEEK 12 IN REVIEW |
| Pre Game Analysis: |
Dilfer:
A study in perseverance When Trent Dilfer seemingly threw away the game in Tennessee with an interception returned for a touchdown, visions of past Ravens failures danced in the heads of Baltimore fans. Hope and optimism appeared to be lost. That is, unless you were Trent Dilfer. According to the newly crowned starting quarterback, he quietly said a prayer and regrouped himself on the sideline. When given the opportunity to redeem himself, Dilfer taught the Ravens, the Titans and the fans a lesson in tenacity. Playing with an "I refuse to lose" attitude, #8 led the Ravens straight down the field in a two minute drill that would have made so many of his NFL predecessors proud. What is particularly impressive about Trent Dilfer is the enthusiasm and confidence that he radiates, no matter the circumstances. This, unfortunately, was a characteristic that was sorely lacking during Tony Banks' tenure at the helm. Football is a game of emotion and momentum. Dilfer, at the moment, appears to have both. The Ravens, for all of their earlier offensive woes, appear to be perched for a strong stretch run. |
Ravens
host "America's Team" Cowboys, FOX's #1 broadcast team come to town The Ravens get yet another crack at the national spotlight this week as the matchup with the Dallas Cowboys is FOX's featured late-afternoon game. The Cowboys, with a rich winning tradition have been on the slide in recent years but still boast a few old war horses in Troy Aikman, Randall Cunningham and Emmitt Smith. Aikman was once the premier quarterback in the NFL but now appears only to play in between concussions. The Ravens attack should be quite simple: Stop Emmitt Smith and make the Cowboys beat them with the pass. A scrambling Randall Cunningham would offer the 'Boys their best chance of victory but he will start the game on the bench. Dallas is a team with plenty of fight in them on any given week as evidenced by their win over the Redskins earlier in the year. All indications are, however, that their offense will be severely overmatched by the powerful Ravens defense and Baltimore should be able to score enough points to pull away. Personally, I am looking forward to John Madden's unique, telestrator-assisted analysis of our team, city and fans. The better team wins here. Prediction: Ravens 27, Cowboys 13 WEEK 12: |
| Post Game Analysis: |
Week 12
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A Tale of Domination Ravens send Cowboys packing The funny
thing was that there was talk of the Ravens looking ahead
to the playoffs and taking the Cowboys too lightly. Fat
chance. Perhaps it was the threat of fines from coach
Billick for mentioning the "P" word or perhaps
it was simply pride. Whatever the case may be, the Ravens
turned in perhaps their most dominating performance in
the team's short history. In a game in which rookie
running back Jamal Lewis outgained the entire Cowboys'
team, Baltimore laid an old-fashioned, high school-style
whipping on a seemingly unprepared Dallas team. Rushing
for team records of 44 attempts and 250 yards, the Ravens
proved to be an unstoppable force from start to finish.
Bulldozing their way at will through the soft-playing
defensive line of Dallas were offensive tackle Jonathan
Ogden and offensive guard Edward Mulitalo. These two led
the way for rookie of the year candidate, Jamal Lewis,
who finished with 187 yards on the ground. Dallas seemed
to be in the unenviable position of knowing what was
coming but helpless in trying to stop it. The Ravens, at
long last, seem to have put all of the offensive pieces
into place. With such a lethal threat of a running
attack, the field has opened just enough for quarterback
Trent Dilfer to take a few calculated shots downfield.
Dilfer had ample time to throw and used plenty of play-action
in completing 18 of 24 passes for 242 yards and 2
touchdowns. The preseason formula that Brian Billick had
in mind has begun to pay dividends. The Ravens have
become the tough, physical, balanced team on offense that
has long been the trademark on the defensive side. There
is not much that one can say about the defense, other
than to add to the many accolades already bestowed. The
group ranks 1st in total defense, 1st in run defense, 1st
in take-a-ways and has yielded the fewest points in the
NFL (still without a bye week). Throw into the mix that
one third of their games have been shutouts and you have
a defense that may challenge history. With a bye week
coming up after this week's game with Cleveland and
already leading in the wildcard race, Baltimore sits in
as good a spot as any for the playoff sweepstakes. |
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