The Baltimore Ravens 2011 season ended on a rushed field goal that sailed wide left, but there’s a new kicker on this year’s roster chomping at the bit trying to prove to the Ravens-or another NFL team-that he can be the best specialist on the team and make that kick should he get a chance.

That would be Justin Tucker out of the University of Texas. The rookie kicker joined Glenn Clark on “The Reality Check” Tuesday after the first official day of training camp practices located at Owings Mills, and couldn’t be happier to get started.

“It is exciting,” Tucker said of his first NFL shot. “This is definitely a big step. It really feels like we’re getting the ball rolling. OTAs and mini-camps were great…now we’re kicking it up a notch. It’s about to get real fun.”

Tucker, 22, was brought in by the Ravens at the end of May after a tremendous run of consistency on his four-year resume at the University of Texas.

Tucker made 40-of-48 field goal attempts for coach Mack Brown and the Longhorns-his most memorable of recent being a 40-yard game winner against Texas A&M which got him carried off the field by his Longhorn teammates.

He also took on punting and kick-off duties at times in Austin.

Tucker feels like all those experiences couldn’t have him more ready to kick in the NFL given the similarities in the kicking dimensions of the college game and the pro level, and having to kick in high-pressure situations in front of packed arenas.

“You have the same challenges,” Tucker said to Clark. “It’s still you versus yourself on an island. For me, I was fortunate enough to play at the University of Texas in front of 100,000 fans in our stadium…and a bunch more on TV. I can definitely use those experiences for when I’m out here.”

That poise had Tucker on the Ravens’ eye throughout the draft process, and it didn’t take long for coach John Harbaugh and special teams coach Jerry Rosburg to see him out and bring him in for a workout after the last name was called.

“I got a couple phone calls towards the end of the draft and it was really a no-brainer for me,” Tucker said. “I had my sights set on Baltimore…I couldn’t be anymore excited with this opportunity.”

And Tucker proved the Ravens right on the move-delighting them with his long leg and ability to make 55+ yard field goals throughout the OTA and mini-camp process.

Tucker will most likely be the extra leg in camp, but some have speculated that Tucker could give incumbent kicker Billy Cundiff a run for his money.

Cundiff, after making the Pro Bowl in 2010 and signing a five year, 15 million dollar contract, struggled with consistency last season and missed a potential game-tying 32-yard field goal in the AFC Championship Game, ending the season for Baltimore.

Cundiff only connected of 75.9% of his field goals last season compared to close to 90 percent two years ago.

He was 1-of-6 on field goals beyond 50 yards.

But Tucker wanted to make it clear that stats don’t matter-especially ones from a year ago-and that he’s not gunning for Cundiff.

But at the same time, he wants to do this in the NFL for a living and do that, he knows it’s all about getting the job done and putting the ball through the uprights when it matters.

And there’s only so many jobs out there for him to take a hold of and earn.

“Well, this is a competition and it’s a business,” Tucker said. “My goal at the end is to be the best kicker for this team that I can be.”

“Kicking the ball through these poles in really black and white. It’s either good or it’s not. I just need to do the best I can do, and really cherish this opportunity and try and make something out of it.”

In the end, he’s just trying to achieve the same goals as everyone else on this roster, which is to be successful and win football games-most importantly-the last one played in a season.

“It’s just remembering that we’re all in the same boat,” Tucker said. “We all have the same goal-whether you’re a first-year guy like myself or a fifteen-year veteran.”

“There’s definitely ways to achieve those goals, but really sticking your best foot forward and sticking to a plan is paramount.”

WNST thanks Justin Tucker for joining us after practice! Be sure to follow WNST on Twitter for tomorrow’s first full-practice for the Baltimore Ravens! WNST-We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports!

The NFL season has just begun with the start of training camp with teams gearing up for pre-season and regular season play. Each training camp presents challenges that will breathe fire into the eventual next world champion, starting a new journey for a team in rebuilding mode, and rekindle the hunger to win again. For the Baltimore Ravens, unfinished business was left on the field.

The Ravens are coming off of a great season in 2011 with a 12-4 record, division crown, and a hard-fought AFC championship game with one catch away from a chance to play in the Super Bowl. For fair-weather fans, that’s great, but for a Ball-So-Hard nation, it wasn’t enough. Fans were expecting more from the Ravens and a season short of a world championship is a bust.

Who will step up in 2012? This is the year for new blood to emerge and to be a part of a special run for the Lombardi trophy. The “next in line” players will take on a more pivotal role this year because of the departures of key players, and will be an indicator as to whether or not they belong in a Ravens jersey. Training camp is here and those questions will be answered.

Here is a breakdown of the pros and cons going into the 2012 season:

Pros:

The Ravens have holes to fill and it will not be done in one setting.

The coaching staff will see what they have right now and will put the best team on the field.

The Ravens have added some key additions to bolster the roster at key positions.

Key positions include:

1. WR Jacoby Jones
2. LB Courtney Upshaw (draft pick)
3. OG Kelechi Osemele (draft pick)
4. OG Bobbie Williams
5. S Sean Considine

Jacoby Jones gives the Ravens a third option at wideout and help on special teams. He is not going to be expected to carry the load but can be that possession receiver to keep the chains moving. 16.5 yards per carry is not bad for a third option.

Offensive line is a concern going into training camp. To lessen the concern, Bobbie Williams was signed to give the offensive line some depth and veteran experience. Williams knows the Ravens very well – playing them twice a year while he was on the division rival Cincinnati Bengals. That familiarity could help in his transition to the team.

With their first pick in the draft, the Ravens selected Courtney Upshaw from Alabama. Upshaw will be asked to step into a key role to help fill the void of Terrell Suggs. He has a high motor and star talent and could be a factor early. And it doesn’t hurt that he will be nurtured under the leadership of Ray Lewis.

Cons:

Along with key additions are also key departures of proven talent that were vital to the championship run last year.

The departures include:

 1. Offensive guard Ben Grubbs, who was picked up and signed by the Saints.

2. Linebacker Jarrett Johnson who signed with the Chargers.

3. Running back Ricky Williams who retired this year.

The offensive line concerns took a turn this year when the Ravens lost their Pro Bowl offensive guard Ben Grubbs to the Saints. Ben Grubbs gave the Ravens a consistent talent on the field and helped Ray Rice have a breakout season. Securing Ben Grubbs long term was the best move, but the Ravens had to go in another direction.

Jarrett Johnson also left in free agency to sign with the Chargers. His leadership and continuity is one of the reasons why the Ravens defense is in the top ten every year. They will miss what he brings to the game every Sunday.

I arrived home late last night from Cleveland and Pittsburgh. I took in Friday and Saturday night’s Oriole wins at Progressive Field and a game at the beautiful PNC Park Sunday afternoon. These were two more stadiums on my journey to see an official game at every MLB park, numbers 17 and 18 respectively. But Cleveland was all business, with my Orange gear on I was there to see the Orioles play. The second night we actually sat with 5 Orioles fans and were louder than the Indians fans in our section which was in the bleachers. The Indians have some interesting traditions, none more unique then the drum guy. This guy plays his little bass drum all night long when the Indians have a runner in scoring position and everyone in return claps along.

In my last blog, i deemed this series against the Indians as the most important series of the season up to this point. I was right with the Orioles taking 3 of 4 and the Yankees getting swept in Oakland. The O’s are now just 6.5 games back of the Yankees and tied for the Wildcard lead with a huge two week period ahead with Tampa, Oakland, and the Yankees. Its now or never and the two games I saw in Cleveland along with Sunday’s was the start! But back to the trip, I was pleasantly surprised that my party of three wasn’t the only Orioles fans at Progressive Field. The fans in Cleveland were also very welcoming towards us Orioles fans. I did make the classic mistake of asking the woman next to me who was more hated, Model or Lebron. She got over it!

The highlight of the two games in Cleveland besides the obvious two wins that I got to see on the road, was hearing the roar of the crowd when Jim Thome took his first steps towards the plate of his first at bat Friday night. He went on to double, Homer, and single that night! Thus they didn’t cheer for him very much the 2nd night! His home run in Friday nights game put him alone at 6th all-time, passing short time Oriole, Sammy Sosa. This was the first significant home run that I had seen in person since Manny Ramirez’s 500th which took place May 31st of 2008 off of the submariner, Chad Bradford, at Camden Yards. The Orioles lost that game 6-3. Thome of course homered in the 2nd game of the trip on a solo shot off Zach McAllister. His first two home runs as an Oriole, in my first two games seeing him play in an Oriole uniform.

The MVPs of the trip are Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez who shut down the Indians in front of two gigantic Cleveland crowds. Both nights after the games the Indians put on an incredible firework show called “Rock N Blast.” This is a once in a year extravangza sponsored by the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was the only reason fans stuck around throughout the Orioles 10-2 beatdown of the Indians. Big round of applause to Ryan Flaherty as well for homering in back to back nights along with Thome. The Indians are getting ready to install a Jim Thome statue in center field already and he hasn’t even retired yet!  I’ll be back Cleveland for the Ravens-Browns game in November!

After the Orioles take two of four games from the Twins they look ahead to another 4 game series on the road against the Cleveland Indians. The Indians and the Orioles have very similar records and teams in general. Both clubs are in the bottom 5 in the American League in ERA and the bottom half in runs scored and batting average. These four games will see a big test again from the very uncertain starting rotation that the Orioles are working with now. Miguel Gonzalez, Chris Tillman, and Zach Britton are the scheduled starters for the next three games. And i would expect Tommy Hunter would be the 4th but you never know who Buck wants out there. The first three guys have combined for only 5 starts so far this season, with the team only winning 2 of those 5 starts. The Orioles were outscored 32-17 by Cleveland in a four game series at the end of June. The only win was the second game of the series where the O’s won a 9-8 nail-biter.

The Orioles need to have a good series in Cleveland because after this series the Orioles will play 9 of the following 12 games against the Yankees and Tampa Bay. The following month of August doesn’t get any prettier. There are 3 games at Texas and 4 games against the White Sox to come in August, as well the Yankees, Detroit, and Boston all making appearances. With the two team wildcards taking place this season, it is now or never for the Orioles to prove that this is a team that has playoff potential. I am saying that this 4 game series against an Indians team that can be more pesky than most teams would expect, is a crucial series. Win 3 of 4 and the team can bring the momentum home to face Tampa Bay, but lose 3 or 4 and that could be the end of a very promising series.

With the unproven starting pitching and untimely injuries to Hammel and Andino, you can expect Buck Showalter to be bringing up and sending down players rapidly. Best example so far was Brad Bergeson, who was called up for less then 24 hours and sent down for Tommy Hunter who pitched a gem in the third game of the series. Wei-Yin Chen who pitched a hard fought game today is the only pitcher in the rotation who can be assured he will be in the rotation over the next few weeks. With that being said, the time is right now for the Orioles to make a move for a Zach Greinke type pitcher. The Brewers this week said that they would offer Greinke a large Drew Brees like contract, so the Orioles can’t let the Brewers sit and make that offer. This week in sports we have seen several players in different sports have big contract issues. The most ridiculous being the Jeremy Lin contract that the Rockets have given him. If the organization wants to prove that is serious about being a contender PROVE IT NOW! For me I will be heading up to Cleveland to see the weekend games and the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame!!

“Well people….It’s Time to go to Work!!! Off the unemployment line and oh yea HTTR!!!”

Yesterday morning, this was the Tweet from @RGIII letting American know that he was ready to embark on the daunting task of saving the Washington Redskins as the face of this organization. The Redskins are banking $21.1M over four years that RG3 will be the guy that will lead them from the cellar of the NFC East and back to the Joe Gibbs Era where they won three Super Bowls from 1982-1991.

We all know Robert Griffin III is a fine young man. He was the son of U.S. Army Sergeants, so he has been instilled with discipline since his inception.  That rules out going down the path of Dez Bryant. We all know he is intelligen, he had a 3.67 GPA at Baylor and scored a 24 on his Wonderlic (NFL teams look for 21 or better for their franchise QBs). That takes away the possibility of beginning his career in a Vince Young- like fashion. Finally, we all know about his speed. The Heisman winner ran a 4.3 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine, a second quicker than Jevan Snead in 2010, who ran one of the slowest times in Combine history. You may ask yourself, who is Jevan Snead and where is he now? Exactly.

Plenty of pundits out there have argued for and against the success of RG3. For every success at the #2 pick like a Donovan McNabb, there is a Rick Mirer or Ryan Leaf. Being that we are a Baltimore radio station that is just 50 minute neighbors to the north of Washington, let’s try and keep RG3 on the straight and narrow so he does not end up like the two busts just mentioned. What better way to do that than comparing him to the Ravens Joe Flacco? Joe did not have the hoopla surrounding him like RG3 had when he first broke into the league, but as time has passed, Joe has found much success in Baltimore and established himself as a franchise quarterback.

The Five Things RG3 can learn from Joe Cool:

1.)           Less is more

RG3 does not need gaudy statistics for Washington to find success in 2012. In Flacco’s rookie season, he had 14 TD’s with 12 INTs.  Those numbers will never blow a statistician’s mind, but he was a game manager and let veterans like Derek Mason and Todd Heap make plays. His strategy of keeping his mistakes to a minimum helped Flacco become the first QB to win two playoff games as a rookie as he led the Ravens all the way to the AFC championship. Now RG3 does not have the talent surrounding him like Flacco in his rookie campaign, but that is ok. The Redskins have won 4, 6, and 5 games over the past three years, respectively. Rome was not built in a day, the Redskins will not be either.

2.)           Find your security blanket

Ray Rice got paid on Monday. 5 Years, $40M with $24M guaranteed. If there was a man that was happier than Ray Rice, it was his Quarterback. Joe Flacco knows that if Torrey Smith is covered deep, Anquan Boldin is double teamed, or the defense is blitzing heavily, not allowing him much time to make a decision, a simple dump pass to Rice will save him. Rice caught 73 percent of the passes thrown his way last season, and Baltimore won all 11 of its games when Rice had 20 or more touches. Tim Hightower, Evan Royster and Roy Helu can work together to be RG3’s own Ray Rice. Now that RG3 is in camp, he needs to start getting well acquainted with these guys to have the same success as Flacco in his rookie season.

3.)           Stay on the field

Don’t try and take over every game on your own RG3, especially in your first season. At 6’2”, 223 lbs, you are not as big and burly as the 6’6” 245lb Flacco. We all know you can scramble and make plays happen with your legs, but too much running will not allow your body to stay intact for 16 games.   Often, RG3’s style is compared to fellow scrambling QB Michael Vick. Vick has played in all 16 games only once, and I am sure the Redskins did not draft RG3 with the expectation of missing games. Bottom line: RG3 needs to give Flacco a call and see what kind of training regimen he is doing up in Owings Mills. Or maybe find out what restaurants Flacco is taking his offensive lineman to. Either way, Flacco has started every single game since being drafted 18th overall in 2008 and has not suffered any major injuries that have been detrimental to his growth as a franchise QB.

4.)           Get in Good Graces with the captain of the team

Joe Flacco had to be feeling awesome after he heard this speech, even if the team was devastated after losing out on going to the Super Bowl last year. Ray Lewis backed and that will pay off in the long term for his confidence and leadership. London Fletcher, entering his sixth season in Washington, may not have the credentials of Ray Lewis, but there is no question he is the captain of the ship in DC.  When veterans stand up for you and proclaim to have your back, which rubs off on everyone involved with the team. RG3 has the personality and charisma to earn the respect from Fletcher and the rest of his teammates.  Let this video serve as a reminder of how valuable this type of relationship is for the Redskins as a whole.

5.)           Don’t Skateboard or do Pizza Hut commercials

Both pretty self-explanatory here. Of all the great things Flacco has done as the Ravens starting QB, riding a skateboard before the AFC Championship last year was the most boneheaded move Joe has made. And if you have seen the Pizza Hut commercials Joe has been featured in, I need not explain any further. But if you have not, look for yourself and you be the judge.

While watching CNN to stay afloat on current events, I focused my eye on the news feed that was at the bottom of the screen, and what I saw next disappointed me. The headline read, “T.O. late on child support, could face jail time…”

As a sports fan, you hate to see an athlete with superior talent end his career in that way — always remembered for being a “cancer” in the locker room and not a leader, but that has been the case for Terrell Owens.

Throughout the era of astronomical contracts and endorsements, athletes today have more money and more problems. Money doesn’t grow on trees, but yet athletes spend foolishly as if it did, because they never had anything else. Also, is the faulty loyalty from associates who want to capitalize on their wealth. This is what William Rhoden calls a, “40 million dollar slave.”

It has been the same story for Terrell Owens, since he’s been out of the league, and it is getting worse. How can you make multiple millions of dollars over the course of your career, but can’t pay your bills? I’ll tell you how: he has had money stolen from him by close acquaintances and business partners, bad investments, and having kids by multiple women.

Like Allen Iverson, Antoine Walker, and Mike Tyson, T.O. has tried to make an attempt at a comeback for that final elusive contract to help get him back on his feet and play at top level again. This year, T.O. has had to face the reality that his football career is over and it is time to move on. Teams are building their franchises with character athletes, who have great talent, and don’t want an aged veteran who will not be a good teammate, or hurt the team by running their mouth.

Athletes like T.O. never think about the end. Stephen Covey famously said, “Begin with the end in mind,” but for athletes the moment is greater than the end. When athletes make wise decisions and prepare for their future, they won’t have to worry about chasing money, the money will chase them. For some, change doesn’t happen until you hit rock bottom, and T.O. has knocked on the door and it’s swung wide open. If these life woes don’t change him, they will break him. This recent struggle would break anybody in his position, but only he can get up and fix it. So T.O., GET UP AND MAN UP!

Connect with me on Twitter @WinLifestyle

If the Ravens are going to make it further than they did last season, they will really need to work hard and stay healthy. The Ravens have an incredibly tough schedule, we actually play every AFC playoff team from last season and the defending super bowl champs as well. As if that wasn’t enough, you can throw the games against Philadelphia, Dallas, and at San Diego in the mix and you have one brutal schedule. Here are my five keys to the Ravens making the playoffs.

Number Five: STAY HEALTHY-With Terrell Suggs, the reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, already out for the first few months of the season, the Ravens can ill-afford to see another starter fall to injury. The most vulnerable time can be training camp so it is very important that the team stays conditioned. Suggs alone last year had 14 sacks, 7 Forced Fumbles, and 2 interceptions to go along with his 70 tackles. With him out, rookie Courtney Upshaw, who was the defensive MVP in Alabama’s National Championship win over LSU, will need to step up. He led the champs with 9.5 sacks in 13 games.

Number Four: OFFENSIVE LINE-The Offensive line will need to keep it together this year as they did last year. The biggest difference this year is the huge loss of Ben Grubbs to New Orleans. Last season the Ravens O-line allowed the 12th fewest sacks at 33, seven fewer then the previous season. If Joe Flacco has the time he needs there isn’t anyone who can deny he is a great quarterback. Bobbie Wilson, the 14 year veteran, will be called upon to keep Joe on his feet. Matt Birk, who is more then likely playing in his last season, will be playing his fourth season with Flacco, so there is no need to worry about the Center position.

Number Three: WIN AT HOME-Since Flacco has been the quarterback of the Ravens, they have only lost 3 home games. This year will be one of the toughest home schedules the Ravens have ever had. In five of the eight home games, the Ravens will welcome 2011 playoff teams: Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New England, New York Giants, and Denver. The remaining three home games are; Dallas, who will bring one of the best defenses in the league into M&T Bank Stadium, Oakland, who has young talent that just missed the playoffs last season, and Cleveland, who always can beat a big opponent. If the Ravens are going to make the playoffs in the AFC, 12-4 is the record to shoot for. Bottom line, going to have to take care of business at home or they won’t be playing into January.

Number Two: BEAT THE BAD TEAMS-Last season all four of the Ravens losses came to teams that didn’t make the playoffs. Granted all four were on the road, this season the Ravens CANNOT play down to their opponent. Winning as many games to get home field advantage is the most crucial step for the Ravens to make it to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. They have proven that it is damn near impossible for a visiting team to come into Charm City and leave victorious, but still they have to beat the bad teams on the road.

Number One: SIGN RAY RICE AND GET ED REED BACK-Make this man happy please. I already wrote a full blog for WNST on this but I will say it again. This is a top three running back in the NFL and a genuinely good person to have in your organization. He is as big of a passing threat as he is a rushing threat and is the most important player on the offense besides Joe Flacco. Having a happy Ray Rice is better then having one who feels his organization doesn’t have his back! As for Ed Reed, the Ravens will play against six of Ron Jaworski’s top 10 quarterbacks who all love to try to burn the defense deep. Ed Reed may have lost half of a step over the years but he still puts fear in any quarterbacks judgement to test him deep. And same goes for Reed as it does Rice, he is a great person to have around the organization to keep everyone smiling and happy. GIVE HIM A STEAK DINNER AND GET HIM BACK!

If all goes right, I predict the Ravens finish 13-3 and another first round bye. Hopefully this year as the number one seed.

This year’s Midsummer Classic will be quickly forgotten by the American Leaguers who got crushed by the San Francisco Giants. Matt Cain, Melky Cabrera, Pablo Sandoval, and Buster Posey all contributed towards the National League’s 8-0 victory over the American League. Amazingly the final score really leads people to believe that the entire AL team played horribly, and I’m not saying that the game was close, but only 3 American League pitchers allowed hits. Verlander and Harrison who combined to allow the 8 runs in just two innings. Five of their combined eight hits were for extra bases, which is unacceptable for any pitcher in a regular season game for just two innings work. But this is the All-Star game and I think Justin Verlander and Matt Harrison will survive. Chris Sale allowed 2 hits and fought out of the jam.

The bigger problem for the AL was only getting six hits. Two of those six were by Yankees and another was David Ortiz, making three out of six from the American League East. Oriole catcher, Matt Wieters, hit a ball that was caught at the Warning track, a ball that at Camden Yards is a home run.

As Orioles fans there are two positives from this game. The first is Jimmy Johnson’s shutdown inning with a strikeout and setting the NL down 1-2-3 in the 8th. The 2nd positive is that in that 8th inning all three Oriole All Stars were on the field at the same time.   That is the first time since 2005 that 3 Orioles were playing at the same time during the game. Unfortunately both Wieters and Adam Jones where hitless in their combined three at bats.

This loss was the 3rd straight for the American League after having a dominant reign in the thirteen seasons prior where they never lost and tied once in that miserable night in Milwaukee. With 21 of the last 26 World Series winners having home field advantage and the last nine teams to host a game seven, winning those contests, should this poor showing really give the National League representative of the Fall Classic the advantage? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I think the fact that a Wildcard team can receive home field advantage over a 100 game winning team is absolutely absurd. There is no good explanation for this other then Bud Selig wants fans to stay interested in the game. What he doesn’t realize is that the MLB All Star Game is 100 times better then the other three games combined. The Pro Bowl is a joke, which many players turn down chances to play in, the NBA all star averages 300 points a game and the NHL has a fantasy draft for its game.

The MLB fans will take the All Star Game seriously weather it means anything or not, its an important night where the entire country’s spotlight is on this one game because there is no other important event in the country happening on this night. Selig needs to cut the crap and “make it fun” and not “make it count.” By the way the last home team to lose a game seven at home happens to ironically be our beloved Orioles in ’79 to Pittsburgh.

August 9^th is right around the corner, which is the first preseason game for the Ravens in Atlanta. August 17^th, the Raven Nation will be coming down to see the Purple & Black battle Detroit in their first of two home preseason games. And before you know it, the Purple Patio at Mother’s will be popping off on Monday, September 10^th, as the Ravens host the Cincinnati Bengals at 7PM.

I am going to go through all of the Baltimore Ravens regular season games and provide a prediction and summary of how we feel the game will play out. Injuries are sure to occur throughout the season, so I tried to take some trends into consideration when making these predictions. For example, It is a pretty safe bet based on his career that Matt Schaub is not likely to play a full 16 game schedule, based on his history.

Anyway, here we go…

Week One: vs Bengals Mon, Sep 10^th 7PM

2012 is a new season. The team needs to move on from the heartbreak of 2011 just like Kris Humphries needs to move on from Kim Kardashian and stop bashing her to TMZ. Ray Lewis is still the heart and soul of this team and he will make sure that they set the tone for the year starting in Week One. Cincinnati is an organization that is finally making the right decisions to rid personalities that are detrimental to their cohesiveness, but the will not be ready for the veteran Ravens who will have a chip on their shoulder.

Baltimore 34 Cincinnati 10

Week Two: Ravens (1-0) at Eagles Sun, Sep 16^th 1PM

Baltimore will suffer their first loss of the season to the Eagles up in Philadelphia. Why? Because this is what the Ravens do. They can look so great one week, then whether it’s being overconfident or simply being outmatched at certain positions, they break down and fail to win. Look at Weeks One & Two last year. They dominated Pittsburgh defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh 35-7 only to lay an egg the following week in Tennessee 13-26. The same will occur in 2012.

The offseason acquisitions for Philadelphia are going to wreak havoc on Baltimore in this game. They spent their first two rounds in the draft on Defensive Lineman:  Mississippi State DT Fletcher Cox in the first and DE Vinny Curry from Marshall in the second. Pairing them with outside threats Jason Babin and Trent Cole, along with Cullen Jenkins up the middle, this Eagles pass rush sure is vicious. Ray Rice will be stuffed and Joe Flacco will be under duress all afternoon. Not to that it will only be Week Two, and Michael Vick should still be healthy. In addition, Vick will not have to worry about Terrell Suggs coming after him, which will allow the elusive Vick along with LeSean McCoy to set up the pass with the run onto victory.

Philadelphia 23, Baltimore 13

Week Three: Ravens (1-1) vs Patriots Sun, Sep 23 8:20PM

If you thought the Ravens had a chip on their shoulder coming into Week One of 2012, Week Three will begin a new meaning to this cliché. This is the team that the Ravens beat in last year’s AFC Championship, just not on the scoreboard. Damn, Billy Cundiff & Lee Evans. Combine that with the home field advantage that will be present at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday Night, along with the sting of last week’s loss, the Ravens will be ready for this game. The Patriots will no doubt make this is a competitive fight just like they have in this classic battle, but Joe Flacco will make sure he throws to the reliable Anquan Boldin this time on his game winning drive to win it for Baltimore.

Baltimore 27 New England 24

Week Four: Ravens (2-1) vs Browns Thu, Sep 27th 8:20PM

Like it or not, Thursday Night Football is going to be a weekly occurrence from here on out. The Ravens will be on short rest from Sunday Night, but at least get to stay in the 410 when Cleveland comes into town.

I interviewed Brandon Weeden back in the spring and I fully believe this guy is mature enough and has the NFL talent to be successful at the next level, even at 28 years old. However, he never saw a defense like the Ravens in the Big 12. And that’s just assuming he is the starter for this game. If Colt McCoy starts, he probably won’t be able to shake the hit Arthur Jones laid on him last year to knock him out of the game in Week 16.

Baltimore 20 Cleveland 9

Week Five: Baltimore (3-1) at Kansas City Sun, Oct 7th 1PM

Courtney Upshaw is going to start getting accustomed to life in the NFL by Week 5. Add his emergence to Haloti Ngata and Ray Lewis’ ability to not only stuff the run but pressure the quarterback, and that equals a long day for Matt Cassell. Offensively for Baltimore, Ray Rice should be able to have a breakout game against the Kansas City defense. Dontari Poe is a rookie at the DT spot, and it remains to be seen if Kansas City reached too high for the DT out of Memphis. Regardless, he will clog the middle and Cam Cameron will scheme a way for Ray Rice to run and catch the ball outside the tackles to have his biggest game of the season thus far.

Baltimore 28 Kansas City 13

Week Six: Baltimore (4-1) vs Dallas Sun, Oct 14th 1PM

Baltimore Ravens fans are going to have this week circled, just because it is against the Dallas Cowboys. I cannot stress this enough to the Raven players, go about your business as usual. The Dallas Cowboys are not a good football team. Their QB is a 32 year old choke artist who has the same amount of playoff wins as Tim Tebow. They cut their shutdown CB Terrence Newman who would have certainly helped in the development of 1^st round pick Morris Claiborne. WR Laurent Robinson, who had 11 TDs last season, signed with Jacksonville. Keith Brooking is 36 and will never be on the level Ray Lewis is. Finally, Dallas was never able to create a Hernandez/Gronkowski type scenario down in Texas with Martellus Bennett and Jason Witten. Bennett did not work out and signed with NY in the offseason. Ravens will take care of a below average Dallas team easily and keep it rolling in 2012.

Baltimore 31 Dallas 17

Week Seven: Baltimore (5-1) at Houston Sun, Oct 21st 1PM

Now, this game really determines whether or not Matt Schaub is on the field or on crutches. If it is the latter, the Baltimore Ravens do like they did in last year’s playoffs and move on to 6-1. If Matt Schaub does play, however, that is a different ball game.

I mention that the Ravens will dearly miss Terrell Suggs Week Two vs. Philadelphia. The Texans will make sure they keep Matt Schaub protected and do what they have to do to keep Courtney Upshaw from hitting him on his blindside. That means Matt Schaub is going to have plenty of time to find Andre Johnson (pending he can stay healthy until Week Seven) and Arian Foster in the flats. As far as Houston’s defense, the unit has only gotten better under Wade Phillips. Despite starting 2012 without Demeco Ryans and Mario Williams, Phillips will develop blitzing schemes with guys like Bradie James and Brian Cushing in the 3-4 to cause Flacco to have a less than stellar performance going into the bye week.

Houston 24 Baltimore 20

Week Eight: Bye Week

Week Nine: Baltimore (5-2) at Cleveland Sun, Nov 4th 1PM

Since John Harbaugh has taken over the reign as the Head Coach of the Baltimore Ravens, they are 4-0 after the bye week. That will not change in 2012, despite the loss to Houston two weeks prior. By Week 9, Trent Richardson will have the rookie campaign everyone anticipated, and should be able to find some holes throughout the afternoon. However, Brandon Weeden’s lack of options to throw the ball will ultimately hurt this team’s chances in keeping it competitive.

Baltimore 27 Cleveland 14

Week Ten: Baltimore (6-2) vs Oakland Sun, Nov 11^th 1PM

Pending no season ending injuries or mental breakdowns that result in another retirement, Carson Palmer will be underway in his first full season as Oakland’s starting QB. History suggests that he will find success against the Ravens, as he is 9-4 in his career against Baltimore with 15 TD passes.

However, Carson Palmer has not been the same since that knee injury from the dive to the knee by Kimo von Oelhoffen  back in the 2006 playoffs. He no longer steps up and delivers tight, confident throws. And when Ray Lewis smells blood, the rest of the defense does too. The Ravens Defense will pressure Palmer all afternoon and LaDarius Webb and Jimmy Smith will make him pay for the rushed throws.

Baltimore 35 Oakland 10

Week Eleven: Baltimore (7-2) at Pittsburgh Sun, Nov 18th 8:20PM

This game is indicated as a Flex Game, and to be honest I am not really sure what they mean by that. All I know is this game needs to be kept as a Sunday Night Game. Who can forget the Ravens OT thriller in 2009 when they triumphed 23-20 against a Dennis Dixon led Steelers team? Or in 2010 on Sunday Night, when it was near twenty degrees and Pittsburgh triumphed 13-10. This game will have the same feel. Pittsburgh is always a strong contender to win the AFC North and 2012 will be no different. In a slugfest, Ben Roethlisberger will just slightly outduel Joe Flacco and will have the last drive to set up a FG, giving Pittsburgh their first win against Baltimore since January 2011.

Pittsburgh 16 Baltimore 14

Week Twelve: Baltimore (7-3) at San Diego Sun, Nov 25th 4:05 PM

Really? Again? The Baltimore Ravens, less than a year later, travel back out to San Diego to face the Chargers. If you remember last year, you will know it was not pretty. Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson were the backbone behind a 34-14 thumping of the Ravens, engineered by Norv Turner’s ability to understand and expose the Ravens Defense.

This year, there is no Vincent Jackson, but by Week Twelve, we probably will not be seeing reigning AFC Defensive MVP Terrell Suggs back as well. Norv Turner will once again find a way to find holes in the Ravens Defense, this time utilizing more Philip Rivers to Ryan Matthews in the flats. Baltimore will certainly keep this game competitive until the last drive, but will not leave sunny San Diego victorious.

San Diego 27 Baltimore 24

Week Thirteen: Baltimore (7-4) vs Steelers Sun, Dec 2^nd 4:25PM

The official listing is 4:25 start time, but this game once again is a flex option, and I fully anticipate the NFL putting this game on Sunday Night Prime Time. And by Week 13, as is the case every season, Ben Roethlisberger’s body will start breaking down again. He will still play, but not as effectively as he did just two weeks ago. Not only that, but Ray Rice makes a statement against Baltimore’s biggest rivals in Week 13. Just like Ben, the aging Polamalu and Ryan Clark in Pittsburgh secondary will be nursing injuries as well and will not be able to take down the compact Rice once he breaks free. Baltimore gets their season back on track at home and moves to 8-4.

Baltimore 20 Pittsburgh 13

Week Fourteen: Baltimore (8-4) at Washington Sun, Dec 9^th 1 PM

The Battle of the Beltway in baseball between the Orioles and Nationals has become quite the hot commodity. Each game at Camden Yards was a sellout during their interleague series this year. Both teams are improving and when they face each other from here on out, it should continue to be competitive.

The same cannot be said about the Ravens and Redskins. Baltimore is the far superior team. And by Week Fourteen, I fully expect RG3 to be shut down for the season. He will have sustained an injury because he is too small and his body will have not fully developed where it needs to be in the NFL. That means Rex Grossman is at the helm, and by Week Fourteen, Jimmy Smith will be mentioned as a Pro Bowler in his 2^nd season. The rush will force Rex Grossman to turn the ball over numerous times and Jimmy Smith will take a pick to the house, as the Ravens shut out Washington.

Baltimore 24 Washington 0

Week Fifteen: Baltimore (9-4) vs Broncos Sun, Dec 16th 1PM

Peyton Manning was not kind to the Baltimore Ravens during his 14 year career in Indianapolis. Peyton went  7-2, with 2443 yards and 17 touchdowns. That was then, and this is now. The future Hall of Famer is now without the plethora of options in Indianapolis that include Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison and Dallas Clark. Sure, Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker have been solid in their brief careers, but they will not have had the experience to fully grasp Peyton’s complex offensive schemes in the first year.

Dean Pees will be in his 14^th game as Baltimore’s Defensive Coordinator, and he is also no stranger to Peyton Manning, as he was defensive coordinator the New England Patriots from 2006-2009 during the riveting Pats-Colts rivalry in its heyday. Pees is also very familiar with Willis McGahee, while McGahee was a member of the Baltimore Ravens. The defense will be ready to contain the pass and stop the run, and there will be no Tebow magic in Baltimore Week 15.

Baltimore 17 Denver 14

Week Sixteen: Baltimore (10-4) vs Giants Sun, Dec 23rd 1PM

It seems like every year, the New York Giants play just above mediocre football all year and somehow find a way to limp into the playoffs. It is doubtful the Giants will have clinched the playoffs by Week 16, and they will have to wait until Week 17 if they want to have the same magic as 2011.

The key matchup in this game that I see being the difference is the Giants Offensive Line trying to stop the rush of Haloti Ngata in the middle. Giants veteran David Diehl was ranked the worst pass blocking tackle and guard in 2011 by ProFootballFocus. The team also let 33 year old tackle Kareem McKenzie walk. This leads the Giants with question marks on who will fill this void, whether it will be free agent signing Sean Locklear or 4^th round pick Brandon Mosley. Terrell Suggs could be back for this game as well. Whether Suggs is back at 90%, or it’s Courtney Upshaw still in his spot, the combo along with Ray and the rest of the defense will have Eli flustered all afternoon.

Baltimore 20 NY Giants 17

Week Seventeen: Baltimore (11-4) at Cincinnati  Sun, Dec 31PM

The Ravens are coming off a huge win against the defending champions. By this point, they will have already secured a playoff spot, and this game will help determine the AFC North. Judging on the past in Baltimore, this sounds like a letdown, right?

Wrong.

The Ravens know how important playing at home field is for their chance at another run to the Super Bowl. They were 9-0 at M&T Bank Stadium last year, including the playoffs. You better believe Ray Lewis will have his defense ready to go and finish off the regular season the way they started it: with a victory.

Baltimore 23 Cincinnati 19

So there you have it. The Baltimore Ravens will go 12-4 and make the 2012 playoffs. What do you think?

Can our WNST Baltimore Sports Media Superstars pass the test? You can be the judge now with all of the action from Monday’s packed live show at Hooters in Towson right here at WNST.net: