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Fran The Fan - This One Hurts!

Posted On: 9/14/07

Written By:

Fran "The Fan" Vojik

Well, where do I begin? With the dumb play calling? The six turnovers – with three fumbles in the first quarter? The injuries? The dropped passes? The nagging procedure penalties? The lousy officiating? My more analytical colleagues on the PF24X7 staff have dissected the loss but, for a fan like me, the bottom line is you can’t turn over the ball six times and expect to win.

In fact, if that’s ever happened in the history of the NFL I’d like to know the details.

The Bengals scored 24 points off turnovers and if Carson Palmer, who was uncharacteristically off his game, was mid-season sharp it would have been a rout.

Is this the result of Camp Cupcake? Remember that Brian Billick sat 16 of his 22 starters for the last exhibition game in Atlanta. For many first-stringers, Monday night was the first real action since the storm- shortened Redskins game on August 25th.

That’s sixteen (16) days without any real contact in a game situation!

The Ravens made up for that on Monday night, but they paid a terrible price. B.J. Sams gone for the year, Ogden out indefinitely, and Ray Lewis and Steve McNair pretty much game-time decisions. The injury list is full of guys with dents, nicks and sprains.

The bottom line is that on Sunday, in the 2nd game of the year, the Ravens face a must-win situation. Pittsburgh plays their first home game against the Bills and the Bengals face the league’s favorite patsy, the Browns in Cleveland. We know who’s going to win those games. The Ravens can ill-afford to overlook the Jets and fall two games behind.

Sunday Prediction: The line has the Ravens favored by 10, but somehow I can’t see them covering. The defense is pissed and will be ferocious against the Jets, but the uncertainty of the Ravens play-calling, meshing the o-line, and the quarterback situation will allow New York to keep it relatively close. Ravens 19, Jets 10.