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Simply put, this was ugly.  From the game to the barking fans, there was nothing pretty about this one.
The Browns name seems to fit now more than ever.  They’re certainly leaving their “mark” all over the NFL this season.  Week by week, city by city, they are stinking it up.  I’ve seen better special-ed football teams.  And the faith I had in Ravens kicker, Steve Hauschka is gone.  Just like the faith I used to have that Whitney Houston would get her shit together.

I’m every woman…on crack

My sources tell me that Hauschka kicked his way off the Ravens last night and most likely out of the NFL.  He missed another easy field goal and had an extra point blocked.  I’m not gonna sit here and pity a kicker but the irony in the NFL is, well, ironic.  Brady Quinn still has his job today after a miserable season.  Derek Anderson still has his job after a miserable season.  And, for some reason, Frank Walker still has his job after a miserable career. It doesn’t work that way for a kicker.  You make em?  You stay.  You miss em?  You’re giving back-alley hand jobs for a nickel.
Hauschka doesn’t have the mental toughness to kick out of this rut.  He’s replacing one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history on a team that was a game away from the Super Bowl last year.  Three points is huge in the NFL.  Hell, three inches is huge in the NFL, which is the same thing I tell my girlfriend when we’re gettin busy but she ain’t buyin it.  Just ask the Patriots what a difference a few inches makes after Belichick’s bonehead call cost them a game.
The one bright spot was Lardarius Webb.  The dude was all over the field on defense and special teams.  Ozzie may have found another gem.  The verdict is still out on Lardarius and the Ravens and the next two weeks are gonna show us who this team really is.
Next up, Indianapolis.  If Peyton Manning doesn’t rip our secondary apart, I have a weird feeling Matt Stover is gonna trot out on the field at the end of the game and attempt to do what he did for us all those years.

Kuh Kaw!

- Ryan Sickler, Ravens Blogger

CLICK HERE FOR MY OFFICIAL NFL RAVENS BLOG
MY UNEDITED BLOG IS BELOW.
THE NFL HAS AN IMAGE TO UPHOLD. SO DO I.

I’ve been sick with the flu for a week now.  Feel like I’ve been nailed to my bed.  Not nailed in it but nailed to it – the difference between the two is HUGE.  Just like the difference between a good Ravens football team and a lousy one.
Sunday, I scraped myself out of bed and made my way to the couch to watch the Birds.  I wasn’t sure if I’d see the dominating team that beat the Broncos or the team that lost to the Bengals earlier in the season.  I got my answer.  The Ravens played like I felt.  Like absolute dog shit.  From week to week, I have no idea which team is going to take the field.  The Ravens are still holding on – and I don’t mean holding on to a shot at the playoffs – I mean holding on to the jerseys of every player that runs right past them.  And this time it wasn’t just the defense.  The offense had their share of problems too.  But the DB’s on this team are some of the worst I’ve ever seen play for the Ravens.
*Note to any NFL quarterback: if you wanna move the ball down the field on Baltimore, just put it in the air.  You probably won’t get a touchdown that way, but you’ll get a slew of pass interference penalties that will set you up nicely inside the red zone.  Then, you’ll get the TD.
After the game, I went out on my balcony for some sun and fresh air and a little bird landed next to me.  We got to talkin.  He told me things were kinda rough in his life right now, not to mention winter is coming. He just lost a close friend in a freak accident. Said he was headed to FLA to chill and relax and think about things for a little while.  Then he flew away.  Just like that.  His friend’s name?  Playoffs.

Run down, run over and run into the ground

This season isn’t totally over but winning the AFC North is. There’s a lot of football left to play and the Ravens can turn things around.  They need to get a grip on themselves and not every player on the opposing team.
Next up, Cleveland.  I know you think this is an easy one.  Guess again…

Kuh Kaw!

- Ryan Sickler, Ravens Blogger

CLICK HERE FOR MY OFFICIAL NFL RAVENS BLOG
MY UNEDITED BLOG IS BELOW.
THE NFL HAS AN IMAGE TO UPHOLD. SO DO I.

Sing it with me!

I’m coming out
I want the world to know
Got to let it show.
I’m coming out
I want the world to know
Bout Joe Fla-a-co!

Awwww yeah!  Woo!  Feel it??  That’s the good stuff right there!  Now, I know some of you are gonna say, “Take it easy. It was only the Browns.”
Say what you want, but I’m keeping it positive.  The birds were hitting on all cylinders Sunday.  They needed to make a statement – not just to the Browns but to the NFL.  Statement made.
Playing the Browns reminds me of the time in high school when I had to wrestle a kid with no legs.  He had them during weigh-ins but when we hit the mat?  Nubs.
If I won?  Big deal.  I beat a guy with no legs.  If I lost?  I’d never hear the end of it.
I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t…and I’ll be damned if I was gonna lose to a kid with no legs.  I pinned him in seconds!
And that’s exactly what the Ravens did to the legless Browns, limiting them to 186 total yards.  They took away the running game, the passing game, special teams AND Brady Quinn’s job. Probably took Mangini’s job too.  Did you see the look on Derek Anderson’s face after his second pick?  I had the same look on my face but for completely different reasons.
This game was important for the Ravens and this was the first time we’ve played the new Cleveland Browns without a member of the old Cleveland Browns (Matt Stover) on our team.  Joe Flacco and the offense put their foot in Cleveland’s brown ass and never let up.  479 yards of total offense, the D picked up 4 INT’s, and did you see the two laterals?  No team in the NFL plays defense like the Baltimore Ravens.  And now we have an offense to go with it.  Joe Flacco is the real deal. Baltimore, we finally have our QB!
This Sunday, it’s up to Foxborough to face Belichick and the Pats. If you wanna rank among the elite, this is the dragon you need to slay.

Kuh Kaw!

- Ryan Sickler, Ravens Blogger