NFL - Ravens v Colts

22 November 2009

Preview By Tipster Jumbo (New Zealand)

One of two remaining unbeaten teams in the NFL, the Colts will try to extend their overall winning streak to 19 games Sunday when they head to Baltimore, Home of the Ravens.

The Ravens have a new Kicker after releasing Hauschka and will be looking for a better performance from the 6 year veteran Billy Cundiff, Hauschka was cut Tuesday after missing several important field goal tries - including a potential game-winner in Minnesota last month. But it’s not just kicking that is letting them down, the Ravens with each passing game are looking more and more shaky on offence, Flacco completed 13 of 18 for 155 yards on Monday Night after going 18 for 32 for 195 yards in a 17-7 loss to the Bengals the week before . He has a 66.3 passer rating over those two games after averaging 264.1 yards with 12 TDs, five picks and a 95.6 rating in his first seven. Last season Flacco struggled against Indianapolis as a rookie going 28 for 38 for 241 yards but threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The Good news for the Ravens though is that their solid defence is again causing troubles for all sides they face, especially in their last 3 matches against the Browns, Bengals and Broncos, The Ravens defence has held opponents to an average of 158.3 passing yards over their last three games, including a season-low 99 against the Browns. They've also given up only one touchdown pass in that span, winning twice following a three-game slide. A couple of blows for the Ravnes as TE Todd Heap is banged up this week with a back injury that again doesn’t help the Ravens, while Sluggs is out maybe the remainder of the season which is a huge blow to the Ravens defense.

The Indianapolis Colts haven't lost in nearly 13 months, and have won their first 9 this season a feat they have achieved before, The Colts won their first nine games of 2006 heading towards their second Super Bowl title and are Tied with New Orleans as the only remaining unbeaten teams in the league at present , Indianapolis has gotten to this point in two of the previous four seasons with mixed results, they could of lost last weekend If it wasn’t for Pats coach Belichick’s last minute blunder, but they didn’t and a win is a win no matter how you look at it, The Colts have enjoyed some very good fortune over the past three weeks and have now won a franchise record 18-straight regular season games , Manning will be looking to lead his Colts to a 19th straight win today against a side he has faced a fair bit before, Manning has led the Colts to five consecutive wins over Baltimore with two coming on the road. He threw three TD passes in a 31-3 victory at home in 2008. Manning the three-time NFL MVP leads the league in completion’s at 69% , passing yards with 2,872 and touchdowns 20, while ranking third in passer rating with 104.2.

The Ravens offensive line has not been good in the past couple of weeks and Flacco is being pressured rather badly, this could cause problems for the Ravens with Indys pass rush who did go well last weekend raring to have a crack at Flacco this weekend., Then there is the Ravens Secondary. The secondary has struggled against any side that is able to throw the ball down the field while both Ravens CB’s in Foxworth and Washington seem to be handing away Pass Interference calls every week at the moment, which is not a good sign with Manning, Clark and Wayne coming to town to play today. The Ravens have had some really bad games recently and the Colts are firing on all cylinders. The Penalty yards the Ravens are giving away is also a worry for them today and if they just give Manning free Yardage down field they will be made to pay.

It’s hard to not like the Colts here, they will know that they escaped last weekend against the Patriots and also that their performances over the last few weeks have not been that good, the Ravens on the other side are really struggling to do much at all in their games and have now lost 3 of their last 5 most recent matches, I’m of the opinion that they will lose another one today to a Colts side who look very handy right now.

If the Ravens Offence keep’s on playing the way they have been as well as giving away as many penalty yards as they have been in recent games they are in real trouble facing the Colts who have won their last 4 road games by an average margin of 20 points, I don’t think they can beat the Ravens by that many, but I do think the Colts can win….Good Luck.