At 3 wins and 3 losses it may be too premature to hit the panic button on this season, but I would certainly keep it within arm’s reach. If the Ravens cannot dispatch the struggling Bears in a home game then it is very difficult to imagine that that they can take their anemic offense on the road against a good defensive team and come back victorious. But this is the NFL and each week always shows some surprises. By the numbers the Ravens look pretty bad through the first six games, and six games is a decent sample size for trending a 16 game season. Let’s take a closer look at the rankings and see where the Ravens stand – here you go:

Offensive Stats

Total yards per game (YPG) 289 – Ranked 29th

YPG Passing 160 – Ranked 31st

YPG Rushing 130 – Ranked 7th

Points per game 19 – Ranked 24th

Defensive Stats

Total yards per game 330 – Ranked 16th

YPG passing 190 – Ranked 5th

YPG rushing 141 – Ranked 30th

Points per game 20.7 – Ranked 11th

Straight up the Ravens offensive strength is in their running game and if they are going to win on Sunday they will have to move the ball on the ground. The challenge for the Ravens this week is the Vikings are stout against the run (ranked 3rd) and they give up a paltry 79 yards a game. Don’t expect the Ravens passing game to show much improvement this week although I do hope that the receivers will do a better job catching the ball. For reasons unknown to me, Joe Flacco has regressed in his play and even to the untrained eye it is easy to see that he is not playing like a 10 year veteran. Given his play these past few seasons and in light of the injuries to his knee and back – you have to come to grips that this is what you now have with Flacco. And as bad as the passing game looks right now – let me be very clear in stating that the answer is not Ryan Mallet – he is awful. For good or for bad Flacco is our guy and the coaching staff is going to have to scheme things in such a way that he can be successful. To be clear now, I am not putting this all on Flacco, the coaches, receivers and O line have all contributed to this lackluster offense.

I suggest you watch Sunday’s game with low expectations for the Ravens. The Vikings have played most of this season without their starting quarterback and yet they have somehow managed to win 4 games. They are winning because they have a stout defense and they are going to be a handful for the Ravens this week. It also doesn’t help that the following receivers are not practicing this week – Williams, Watson, Wallace, and Perriman. The Odds makers have the Vikings by 5 ½ and I think that they will cover. Ravens will struggle to get points on the road and the Vikings will win this one in a low scoring affair. If you are keeping track of my game predictions this year you will know that I am only 2 and 4 so far, so take my picks with a grain of salt. Enjoy the game and stay thirsty my friends.

Minnesota Vikings hosting the Baltimore Ravens – Sunday, October 22nd @ 1:00 PM Odds – Vikings by 5 ½

Game Predictions Score Ravens 9 Vikings 20 Turnovers Minus 1 Net Rushing Yardage Ravens 76 Vikings 110 Net Passing Yardage Ravens 155 Vikings 184

Miscellaneous Predictions

Everson Griffen gets 2 sacks a forced fumble on Flacco

Ravens commit 8 penalties for 80

Justin Tucker accounts for all 9 points

Refs make terrible calls

Possible Monday morning headlines

Flacco’s woes continue in loss to Vikings

Ravens continue to struggle to score in road loss

Keys to the Game