Enemy Fan Forums: Baltimore Ravens

As we approach the halfway point of the season (halftime of week 9??), the AFC is somewhat of a jumbled mess. Case in point:

-KC barely hanging onto .500 (dumb Giants should have won that game more than once)
-Buffalo looking vulnerable at times with losses to big AFC rivals
-Cleveland starting to Cleveland
-The Ravens putting us on a roller coaster ride in just about every game
-The Raiders non-stop drama
-The Chargers looking like the next big thing, followed by the Chargers being the Chargers
-The Steelers being written off at 1-3 and then planting themselves right back in the mix with a couple cupcake games coming up

Your guess is as good as mine as to who will emerge in January.

The Vikings are an intriguing matchup. Their offense is loaded. Their defensive front 7 is solid, although the loss of D. Hunter could be huge moving forward. They have a losing record but they've been in every game and if not for a botched review on a fumble and a couple missed chip shot FG's, they would most likely be 5-2. They certainly aren't going to be a push over.

The Ravens typically play well coming off the bye. I think the record is 10-3 under Harbs. I still have major concerns about our lack of a real running back, and I think it will ultimately be our undoing when the games really start to count down the stretch. But... we will cross that bridge when we get to it. We have three straight games coming up that we *should* win and then the real fun begins around Thanksgiving.

Ravens 27
Vikings 20

I have no idea what to expect. If they haven't resolved the defensive issues that were present for Cincy, they aren't going to win, Jefferson and Thielen are going to feast. But they've had 2 weeks to fix it and are generally money coming out of a bye, so I'll lean Ravens.

Ravens 24
Vikings 17

The “Other Purple Team” : 27
Charm City Crew: 20

I've got a bad feeling about this one. I get the sense that this is a game the Ravens think they should win and, with all the injuries, they're not good enough to take any opponent lightly. The Raiders and Bengals showed us that and the Lions almost did too. This year's team have played best in games they might have been expected to lose.

Ravens 21
Vikings 24

Ravens coming off a bye and getting some key players back should be ready to kick some ass

Ravens 38
Vikings 23

Jefferson and Thielen have a field day, Cook continues to disappoint his fantasy owners (especially me), and the Ravens keep us on the edge of our seats for another week.

Ravens 30
Vikings 27

Baltimore wins the Barney Bowl. Too bad it won't be cold enough to snow this weekend.

I expect a tough game...Vikings are a mediocre team that keeps a lot of games close and thus, they win some and they lose some.

26-23 Ravens.

Cousins quietly has about the same yards as Lamar and a few more TD throws. They are dangerous. The only reason I feel as confident in a win as I do is because the Ravens are at home and coming off a bye.

Ravens 31
Vikings 24

Since I have no clue which Ravens team is going to show up this Sunday I might as well be a homer:

Ravens 24
Vikes 20

Another Tucker win.

Ravens are at home, rested, prepared, and coming off a humbling loss -- I expect they will play well.

Ravens 30
Vikings 23

Vikings offense was pathetic last week. Their defense is a different story.

MIN 19
BAL 26

Good Purple - 33
Bad Purple - 20

The Ravens fix some defensive problems from the Cincy game, and just give up a late TD in garbage time to make it look closer.

We better win after the gross taste they gave us going back into the bye. I think the defense steps it up after that embarrassing performance.

Vikes are a wounded animal with a broken claw. This should be a cake walk if one approaches with confident caution. They are a werewolf team, catch them at the right time, they will help you move a couch. At the wrong time, they will eat you.

Ravens 11-4 after the bye under Harbs, 5th best in the NFL.

Minnesota has been in every game they have lost. I'm feeling the 6 point spread is way too many to wager on the Ravens this week.

Will be interesting to see if the offense looks good or dysfunctional considering we’ll be bringing Boyle back, along with Watkins back, while now having Bateman- plus the early season results provided by Proche and Duvernay.

We have a varied assortment of weapons, but how they will stand to be used will be quite interesting. Could pay huge dividends to have that level of versatility and talent, could just as easily be too many cooks in the kitchen.

That said we typically play well coming off of a bye week, so I’m not particularly concerned with this matchup.

History has taught me that coming off a bye, at home, is typically money in the bank for this team's chances.

The 2021 season has taught me that typical expectations have gone out the window with how weird this season has been.

For that and that alone I'm predicting an L