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Keeping LB Matthew Judon a Top Offseason Priority for the Ravens

January 17th, 2020

CJ

Posted in Free Agency, News, Opinions

When you look at the Baltimore Ravens offseason, figuring out what to do with free agents is by far the number one thing on the list for this team to be able to turn the corner for 2020.

Friday head coach John Harbaugh was stuck talking a lot more about the players that might not be in Baltimore in 2020, than those that will be.

If you look at bet-nv.com you can see that the Ravens are still one of the top AFC teams that are expected to make a Super Bowl run next season, right up there with the Chiefs and Patriots.

The club has a whopping 23 unrestricted free agents, with linebacker Matthew Judon being the top name on the list when it comes to players that the club wants to keep around.

Judon was a hot topic on Friday, as Harbaugh was quick to point out that the club wants to do whatever they have to do in order to keep the fifth round pick of 2016 on the roster.

Harbaugh was asked flat out how much he wants Judon back in 2020, as well as how hard it is going to be to keep the 27-year-old.

“Very much and pretty hard, you know? But we’re going to try,” Harbaugh said of keeping Judon and trying to bring him back for years to come.

The Ravens coach added, “We’re going to try to get as many of these guys re-signed as we can. Matt [Judon] is probably right at the top of the list, for sure. … Our goal will be to have Matt back.”

How effective was Judon last season for the 14-2 Ravens? He quietly was the best player most weeks on defense, and by the time it was over he put up a career-high 9.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and 33 QB hits.

2019 was the first season in which Judon was a full-time starter. He was behind just Marlon Humphrey and Earl Thomas in terms of defensive snaps on the entire roster.

As a whole, Judon put up 740 snaps. His 28.5 sacks since 2016 rank 31st in the league, a solid number for a player that is looking to come into his own on a roster of young defensive stars.

This past season Judon stepped in for two departed starters, Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith, and the team didn’t miss a beat.

The big question is going to be what it is going to cost the Ravens to keep him around, and is a team going to swoop in and try to make him a big offer before the Ravens can make him a competitive deal.

The Ravens have about a month to get things straight when it comes to their priority in the free agent market. Keeping Judon on the roster still seems to be the top thing on the list, and if they can find the money to pay him, it would behoove them to do what they can to ink him long term and make him a leader on defense.

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Taking a Look at the Ravens Offseason – Who Comes Back, Who Goes

January 15th, 2020

Drew Goldfarb

Posted in Free Agency

The sudden end of the Baltimore Ravens 2019 season didn’t come without the realization that the team as it’s constructed will never be the same as it was.

The club now will have to figure out its task for the offseason, figuring out what players are worth a contract, and what players they need to bring back in order to finally take that next step forward when they take the field again in 2020.

When you look at the free agent list for the Ravens, it is made up of 23 free agents in total, that are categorized as unrestricted, restricted, exclusive rights, and contract option.

If you’re a basketball-betting.pro you can see that the Birds have a ton of work to do, and it’s not going to be easy to get a number of these players back with the team.

Let’s start with the Unrestricted Free Agents, those players that are free to go as soon as they want, or if the Ravens want to bring them back they for sure can chat with them about their futures playing in Baltimore.

Jimmy Smith, Matthew Judon, Michael Pierce, Patrick Onwuasor, Seth Roberts, Anthony Levine, Pernell McPhee, Domata Peko, Josh Bynes, Bryden Trawick, Jordan Richards, De’Anthony Thomas, Justin Ellis, Chris Moore, Jihad Ward, Hroniss Grasu and Andre Smith.

It is obvious that it’s going to be impossible for the Ravens to bring back most of their unrestricted free agents, but there are a couple names that stand out that the team is going to try and likely chat with as they look to the task of building the team for the offseason.

Included on that list of players are Matthew Judon, Jimmy Smith, Michael Pierce, Josh Bynes, and Anthony Levine. Smith is probably the number one priority on the list, and if the Ravens can not allow him to reach free agency, it they should be able to get him back.

Smith has spoken about wanting to return to the Ravens, and the Ravens feel likewise.

As far as Judon goes, don’t be shocked to see the Ravens use the franchise tag if the two sides cannot agree to a long-term deal.

The rest of the unrestricted free agents on the team are all a great unknown, and some of it will simply come down to who wants to stay, and who is willing to leave the comforts of Baltimore.

The Ravens have just one restircted free agent for 2020, that being Matt Skura. You may have forgotten about Skura, as he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the team’s win over the Rams back in week 12.

He’s got a long recovery as he has said that he tore his ACL, MCL, PCL, and dislocated his knee cap. The team may take a flier on him, but it won’t be a very wealthy deal.

Finally there are the Exclusive-Rights Free Agents, with the big name being running back Gus Edwards, who has been valuable for the offense the last few years.

It’s important for the Ravens to make sure they get a new deal with Edwards done. Also on the list are Parker Ehinger, Fish Smithson and Randin Crecelius.

If nothing else the shock of already being in the offseason should be enough to wake the team up, and for them to make sure they get the job of building for 2020 already in progress.

Easier said than done for the two-time defending AFC North champions.

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With Another Playoff Letdown, the Pressure in 2020 Will Be All on Lamar Jackson’s Shoulders

January 14th, 2020

Jerie OConnor

Posted in News

It was not the way it was supposed to end.

For the Baltimore Ravens, rarely had the NFL seen a more dominant team roll through the final three plus months, putting up monster points on offense, holding teams in check on defense, and in the end winning 14 games.

But for all the bravado the Ravens had, the dancing, the celebrating, the happy times on the sidelines as they easily dispatched teams, Saturday night it all came crashing down by a more focused Tennessee Titans team who were more worried about doing the little things right.

And while the football season is over, you can already click here for advices on baseball betting.

But back to the Ravens, just like that, it’s a season all over.

“I don’t really care about what they say,” Ravens QB Lamar Jackson said.

“This is my second year in the league. Many people [aren’t] able to bring it to the playoffs. I’ve got a great team with me. I don’t really worry about the people say. We’re just going to keep going, like I said, [and] get ready for next year.”

Sadly after the 28-12 loss to the Titans next year is all the Ravens have to look forward to, and that includes a long offseason, mini-camp, training camp, preseason, and a regular season.

All that just to get back to the very place they stood on Saturday night at home as they looked forward to hosting the AFC Title game.

Now they will simply have to sit back and watch, just like all of the other teams in the AFC minus the Chiefs and Titans.

The good news, Jackson should be the MVP of the league, and he deserved it. 36 touchdown passes and finishing sixth in the league with 1,206 yards rushing.

The problem, he looked for the second straight season like a quarterback that just wasn’t good enough to get it done with the bright lights of the postseason.

“He’s the most competitive person I’ve been around,” tight end Mark Andrews said Saturday night.

“I know he’s going to take this and use it as fuel to make himself a better football player.”

Jackson knows that there will be more pressure next season, and that after two seasons of letdowns in the postseason, it’s time for him to live up to the promise that he’s shown over the course of the regular season the last two campaigns for the back-to-back AFC North Champions.

Last seasons 23-17 wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Jackson completed just three passes through the first three quarters, which made many to wonder if he was ever going to be able to be a pure pocket passer.

His struggles this time around again will have people asking questions. Only questions he and the team can answer.

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Top Seeded Ravens Upset by Titans 28-12, Season Comes to Stunning End in Playoff Setback

January 12th, 2020

Richard Graves

Posted in Game Stories, Video

From Fox News:

The Tennessee Titans fear no one. Not even the NFL’s best team.

Why should they with Derrick Henry running — and even throwing — the ball, and a big-play defense making clutch stops and turnovers?

One week after dominating defending Super Bowl champion New England, Henry gained 195 yards rushing and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass in a 28-12 victory over the Ravens. Baltimore (14-3) had won its last 12 games, with quarterback Lamar Jackson setting records and looking unstoppable.

On Saturday night, it was Henry who was unstoppable.

Plus, Tennessee’s defense had two interceptions of Jackson, who also lost a fumble, and the Titans (11-7) twice stopped Baltimore on fourth-and-1.

Henry’s jump-pass to Corey Davis displayed yet another of his skills. He has completed three throws in four attempts in his career.

But it’s the way he plows over and through opponents that makes Henry — and the Titans — dangerous. Next week, they will go after their second Super Bowl trip and first since the 2000 season, either at Kansas City or Houston. The last sixth seed to get to the big game was Green Bay in the 2010 season; the Packers won it all.

Tennessee scored all of its points off takeaways or fourth-down stops.

Ryan Tannehill’s throws to Jonnu Smith and Kalif Raymond, who missed the last two games in concussion protocol, gave Tennessee a 14-point edge.

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Ravens RB Mark Ingram II Dealing with Calf Injury

January 7th, 2020

Greg Cohen

Posted in Injuries, News

As the Ravens held their first practice Tuesday in advance of Saturday night’s divisional-round matchup against the Titans, running back Mark Ingram II (calf injury) was one of four players not seen at the open portion of practice, Daniel Oyefusi of the Baltimore Sun reports.

Last week, coach John Harbaugh said Ingram, who suffered a “mild-to-moderate” calf strain Dec. 22 against the Cleveland Browns, was “on track” to play Saturday and “should be practicing next week, full speed.”

But as he spoke to reporters Tuesday before practice, Harbaugh wouldn’t expand on Ingram when asked about his status.

“We’re not talking about any injuries this week,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll just wait and see. You’ll know on [Saturday].”

According to an NFL Network report, Ingram was “was essentially full speed last week on his calf” during the team’s bye week, “but he felt some tightness … and pulled back to avoid re-injury.”

The reports adds that Ingram “still has a chance to play” Saturday.

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Lamar Jackson’s 2019 Season Was Historic, Even for the Oddsmakers

December 30th, 2019

Greg Cohen

Posted in News

As the Ravens sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor as the number one seed in the American Football Conference for the next two weeks, there is already a lot of moments this season no one will soon forget no matter how far Baltimore ends up in the postseason.

While there were plenty of great moments as the team went 14-2, there was one player in particular that took the league by storm in 2019, that being second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson.

If you would have checked any delaware gambling sites in the months of July and August, not many were counting on Jackson to have the huge breakout season that he did, as he is the front-runner to be the league’s MVP that will be announced the night before the Super Bowl.

Just how much did Jackson defy the odds? Let’s look at some of the prop bets that were out during the summer and how Jackson (for the most part) blew through them.

Let’s start with the prop bet of “Total Passing yards in the 2019 Regular Season,” as the oddsmakers had Jackson’s over/under at 3000 yards.

So how did he do? Well he threw for 3127 yards, meaning that if you bet the over you walked away a winner in that bet.

Moving on Jackson’s bet of “Total TD Passes in the 2019 Regular Season” over/under was 17.5, and once again Jackson plowed through that.

Jackson playing in 15 games getting to take week 16 off with everything clinched still threw for 36 touchdowns, most in the AFC. Easy to see if you bet the over, you are taking home easy money.

A third prop bet was Jackson’s “Total Interceptions in the 2019 Regular Season,” with the over/under on that being set at 10.5.

He was careful with the football, and if you bet the under you would have won, as he threw just six picks, three of which came early in the season in an overtime win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

Jackson’s “Total Rushing Yards in the 2019 Regular Season” was a fourth prop bet put out by the sportsbooks, with that number being at 775.

Not only did Jackson blast through that with 1206 yards, he led the team overall in rushing. The Baltimore run game was so good they are the first team in over 40 years to average over 200 yards rushing per game.

The final prop bet for Lamar was “Total Rushing TD’s in the 2019 Regular Season,” and the over/under on that was set at 5.5.

Again if you bet the over you were a winner, as Jackson crossed the goal line as a runner seven times in 2019.

So as you can see, it’s one of the most historic seasons in the history of the game at the QB spot.

But it’s not over yet, and Jackson and the Ravens still have plenty more to do now that the playoffs are ready to get rolling.

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Who Will the Ravens Play in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game in Two Weeks?

December 30th, 2019

CJ

Posted in News, Opinions

The Ravens took care of business at home Sunday in a game that was for nothing more than pride, beating up their biggest AFC North rivals in the Steelers by a final of 28-10.

Now that the team got a chance to see what a number of their backups could do against the Steelers, the team will be off until January 11th when they play host to the lowest remaining seed in the AFC in a game that is slated to start at 8:15pm.

Who exactly will the Ravens match up against on the 11th? If you check out the odds on mejores casas de apuestas USA there’s a couple of teams that could come into M&T Bank Stadium for a divisional matchup, and today we run down the teams that could potentially be the Ravens opponent as they look to host the AFC Title Game the following week.

1. Tennessee Titans (9-7)

The Titans finally clinched a playoff spot in the final game of the season against the Houston Texans, running past them to clinch the final playoff spot.

Tennessee is an interesting matchup for any team, and they are going to have to get past the New England Patriots in Foxboro if they want to get to the divisional round.

The team is 7-3 in 10 games since Ryan Tannehill replaced Marcus Mariota in the starting lineup, and since that time they are the fourth highest scoring offense in the NFL.

They are on a roll, and it could be a good battle if they get past the Pats.

2. Buffalo Bills (10-6)

The Ravens already dispatched the Bills in Buffalo earlier this season, and if Buffalo gets past the Houston Texans in a wild card game on Saturday at 4:35pm, and the Pats defeat the Titans, the Bills will come to Baltimore for a second-round game.

Josh Allen is one of the more up and coming quarterbacks in the NFL, and his ability to escape the pocket and race for yards should remind Ravens fans of their own quarterback Lamar Jackson.

While their offense is middle of the road, the Bills defense could carry them to a win over the Texans. They are ranked No. 5 in defensive DVOA and No. 2 in points allowed, numbers that have to impress the Ravens.

3. Houston Texans (10-6)

Another team that the Ravens beat during the regular season, the Texans got a chance to rest most of their starters in the final week of the season, basically giving themselves a bye week to rest and get healthy.

The Texans made huge strides on their offensive line, which allowed Deshaun Watson to not take as many licks from defenders, which was a big reason the team won 10 games.

One big downfall for the Texans is their defense, which entering Sunday was ranked 22nd in the NFL, and allowed just over 270 yards per game. It could be a big day on offense for the Ravens if these two teams meet.

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Ravens Sign Cornerback Marcus Peters to a Three-Year Extension Worth $42 Million

December 28th, 2019

Jean-Paul Bergeaux

Posted in News

The Ravens have inked cornerback Marcus Peters to a three-year, $42 million contract extension according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

The deal includes $32 million in guaranteed money and allows him to hit free agency as a 29-year-old. It is a win-win outcome for both parties.

There are only so many every-week No.1 cornerbacks in the NFL, and Peters certainly qualifies as one; Pro Football Focus has Peters as the No. 3 corner in the NFL this season between his stints with the Rams and the Ravens. The mid-season trade of Peters marked the complete turnaround for the Ravens defense.

Peters’ playmaking ability-he is one of the premier ballhawks in the league with five interceptions- has allowed the Ravens to blitz opposing quarterbacks at league-leading levels, which is another way this innovative team has created an advantage in the AFC.

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