Month: August 2021

OWINGS MILLS, Maryland – It was August 11, 2016, and the Baltimore Ravens took their first of 19 straight wins the preseason with a 22:19 win over the Carolina Panthers. And the most memorable moment had nothing to do with football.

Late in the fourth quarter, Ravens players and fans celebrated after watching hometown hero Michael Phelps win his 22nd Olympic gold medal on the M&T Bank Stadium video board. Panther’s quarterback Cam Newton raised both arms in the air, and Raven’s safety Eric Weddle spoke about how he would share that story with his children 20 years later.

“I remember [Phelps] to win, and that’s maybe the loudest applause of the night, ”said Ravens kicker Justin Tucker this week.

The Ravens Marching Band and the Ravens and Panthers players took the time on August 11, 2016 to watch Michael Phelps of Baltimore win his 22nd Olympic gold medal. Jeff Siner / Charlotte Observer / Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Like Phelps, the Ravens have dominated the Summer Games, winning every preseason for the past six years. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Ravens ‘preseason streak is the longest in at least 26 years, but Elias’ preseason records don’t go beyond 1995.

Long-time NFL reporter Rick Gosselin reported that the Packers won 19 consecutive exhibition games 59 years ago. With a win in Washington on Saturday, Baltimore can beat Vince Lombardi’s teams for the unofficial mark of most consecutive wins in the preseason.

The Ravens have heard others blame them for adopting a streak that is not recognized by the NFL record books and that has appeared during a portion of the league calendar where games technically don’t count. But for players and team officials, this August dynasty represents a culture of winning, a success story in finding talent, and a system for developing players.

What does this mean for the ravens? When asked about the streak, quarterback Lamar Jackson crossed his fingers on both hands and told the reporter not to hex him.

Please don’t hex us 😂😂 @ Lj_era8 pic.twitter.com/nPfQWtrmV7

– Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 24, 2021

“We want to win,” said Jackson, who was a newcomer to Louisville the last time Baltimore lost a game in the preseason. “We don’t care what it is; we want to win. It’s a very competitive team. “

It’s well documented that Baltimore took on the league’s best record (30-7) since Jackson was the starting quarterback in mid-2018. What many do not know is that the Ravens try to outdo each other on the practice field.

There is a scoreboard that shows whether the offensive or defensive wins the training. Jackson and linebacker safety Anthony Levine Jr. always start with trash talk.

“To win is win,” said Levine, the third-longest reigning player for the Ravens. “If the score is maintained, we want to win. This is the raven way. That’s how we teach it. “

The Ravens dominated the teams during this hot preseason, winning by an average of 11.7 points. But Baltimore doesn’t try to win at any cost.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh traditionally doesn’t play much with his starters, especially the quarterbacks, in the preseason. During the streak, Jackson and Joe Flacco only threw 20% of the Ravens’ passes. Ryan Mallett, Josh Woodrum, Robert Griffin III, and Trace McSorley delivered the most touchdown strikes.

The real stars of the preseason were the third day draft prospects (and the undrafted ones) who later became sought-after players. In 2016, outside linebacker Matthew Judon led Baltimore as a rookie in tackles and sacks, outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith recorded a sack, and Darren Waller produced 84 yards that were received as a wide receiver. In the final that year, Nose Tackle Michael Pierce won one of the last places on the squad with a strip sack he brought for a touchdown.

It’s not that Lamar Jackson played deep into the games during the Ravens preseason. It was the lesser-known names that did the most damage. AP Photo / Nick Wass

These four players – Judon, Smith, Waller and Pierce – have since played a total of five Pro Bowls and received $ 80.6 million in guaranteed money for their second contracts.

“We’re proud of that,” said Tucker. “It’s not Joe Flacco, Steve Smith and Terrell Suggs and all the other big name starters who are involved. It’s everyone who’s been on that 90-man squad for the Baltimore Ravens since 2016. There are a lot of people involved in these victories. “

In 2017, Woodrum met Tim White for a 33-yard touchdown against Washington. Woodrum played for the Alliance of American Football’s Salt Lake Stallions a year later before moving to Washington, where he tore a chest muscle and never wore his suit again.

In 2018, De’Lance Turner’s running back freed himself for a 65-yard touchdown in Miami. Turner went on to have 10 career rushing yards in 12 games for the Ravens and Dolphins.

That year, Huntley made a comeback in the fourth quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run against the New Orleans Saints with 6:35 minutes remaining.

The Ravens’ most dramatic preseason game came in 2016 after the Indianapolis Colts took the lead at 3:54 before the game at 18:17. Then Levine intercepted the two point conversion and returned it 95 yards to score the winning result.

Once Levine reached the end zone at Lucas Oil Stadium, he held two fingers twice and then his entire hand into the crowd. It meant “25”, the jersey number of Cornerback Tray Walker, who died five months earlier as a result of a motorcycle accident.

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Don’t tell Levine that preseason memories like this are meaningless.

“To make this game and to honor him, I’ll say this is probably one of my best games ever,” said Levine.

The second-longest current winning streak in the preseason belongs to the Buffalo Bills, who have won seven straight wins. To beat the Ravens’ current mark, Buffalo would have to win every preseason game by 2025.

But Harbaugh isn’t worried about the preseason records. The priority at this time of the season is to evaluate the players.

“It’s not even a conversation,” said Harbaugh. “We have never approached any of these games differently than ever before.

“What’s the best way to say it? It means something to the people who have been a part of it over the years. There are other aspects that are valuable, but we’ll do it as we always do and let the chips fly. “

Jake Paul will take the next step on his path from YouTuber to respected boxer when he meets former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in an eight-round boxing match with a catchweight of 190 pounds. The fight will take place on August 29th in Paul’s hometown of Cleveland at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Paul’s short career stands at 3-0, with all three wins being knockout. Although his opponents were not considered dangerous, as none had a background in storming. Woodley has never boxed before, but he is considered the best striker Paul faced by a fairly wide margin.

Woodley goes into battle after a successful MMA career that culminated in becoming one of the best welterweight champions in UFC history. However, after starting his MMA career 19-3-1, Woodley suffered four straight losses and left the UFC after a submission loss to Vicente Luque in March.

But Woodley is confident that the move to boxing and his bad blood with Paul will lead him to a win. Will that happen, or will Jake Paul continue climbing the ranks and remaining one of the biggest draws in the sport?

Sporting News has the latest odds and insight into how to bet on Paul-Woodley.

MORE: Everything you need to know about Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley fight

Paul vs. Woodley odds

• Jake Paul: -190
• Tyron Woodley: +148
• Draw: +2000

According to FanDuel odds, Paul is the favorite at -190, which means it would take a stake of $ 190 to make a $ 100 profit. Woodley is currently an underdog of +148, so a $ 100 bet on the former UFC champion would produce a profit of $ 148.

Pacquiao vs. Ugas Prop betting

• Paul von (T) KO: -135
• Paul after decision: +900
• Woodley from (T) KO: +190
• Woodley by decision: +1200

Paul vs. Woodley prediction

On paper, this seems like Jake Paul’s toughest test yet, and it probably is. However, this shouldn’t be as difficult for an opponent as one might think. Although Woodley was an exceptional striker in his MMA career, everything is different in boxing. He’s known for his right of overhand, but he needs to find a way to take this punch against an opponent who has only trained boxing for the past few years.

It is not an easy task.

In addition, Paul has a size, age and size advantage over his opponent. In addition to being 15 years young, Paul will also benefit from four inches of height and two inches of reach. The fight will be fought at a catchweight of 190 pounds and Woodley has never fought over 170 pounds. There is a lot to overcome. Sprinkle the fact that Woodley hasn’t won a fight in nearly three years – 0-4 and not remotely competitive – and there are more questions about Woodley’s ability to successfully transition into a new sport. Not to mention that in his four losses he beat 327-114. That’s just not enough.

One thing that is regularly underestimated is Paul’s dedication to his craft. While he’s not yet faced a “real” fighter, Paul has demonstrated a solid foundation built on an efficient thrust that aligns his other punches. And a jab is the only thing that is underutilized in MMA and most fighters struggle to handle it.

It is not out of the realm of possibility that Woodley could create the surprise, but there are just too many advantages in Paul’s favor to ignore. The only real question is whether Paul will get another knockout or whether he will finally let his fight be decided by the three judges outside the ring.

Woodley was only knocked out by strikes once and that was against Nate Marquardt in 2012. He didn’t punish much, but boxing is just a whole different universe. Unless he has developed another weapon outside of the upper hand right, he must eat healthy food until Paul unleashes the right hand to end the fight. It just feels too much for Woodley to overcome and he is eventually stopped in the distance.

Sporting News prediction: Jake Paul von (T) KO (-135)

ENGLEWOOD, Colorado – The number 18 was dominated by the quarterback decision Vic Fangio faced throughout the off-season, right down to his pick on the fourth Wednesday of August from Teddy Bridgewater to Drew Lock.

No. 18 as in Peyton Manning, whose historic four-year run ended with 50 Broncos wins, four AFC West titles, two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl 50 win after the 2015 season.

No. 18 as in the starts Drew Lock had in his young career, but also the number of interceptions he threw in those games.

No. 18 as in days to a very important season opener for Fangio and the Broncos.

The Broncos have been little more than an overzealous hub at the quarterback since Manning left. Ten different players, including running back Phillip Lindsay, have opened a game behind the middle since Manning strolled into the Hall of Fame’s sunset. By overtaking Lock in a “close” match, Bridgewater will now be number 11.

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Bridgewater earned the job to be safe. He was stable, kept the pace of the offense during practice and in preseason games, was productive, and the offense rarely took a pre-snap penalty in practice when behind the center.

In his 40 snaps in two preseason games together, he completed 84.2% of his passes, threw no interception and did not take a sack. The Broncos scored three touchdowns and one field goal on these four holdings.

Lock completed 66.7% of his passes, had two touchdowns, no interceptions, and was fired twice. In his 47 games in these two preseason games, the Broncos scored two touchdowns, three field goals, had two punts, and turned the ball over into eight possession on downs.

Both had their chances of starting a game as well as playing with many second and potential third players.

They shared the work with the starters during training, faced the Broncos’ own starting defense with almost as many snaps and worked consistently well together along the way. Bridgewater helped Lock and Lock pushed Bridgewater forward.

“I secretly sat back and learned all I could from Teddy,” said Lock. “And I think one of the special things he does that I will bring to my game over and over again is the way he communicates, how he speaks, how he works after training.”

But in the end, this is a coaching baton with the head coach in the third year of a four-year deal who has gone 0 through September for the past two seasons en route to the Broncos’ fourth and fifth straight playoffs. With this lens, Bridgewater’s current reliability outperforms Lock’s potential on-the-fly growth.

The NFL is a lot of things, but it would be hard to find fairness that is high on the list.

Was a 2020 COVID-19 season completely fair to Lock?

Was his team’s continued reliance on a staffing group that obviously didn’t put him in the best position to do Lock justice?

Is a win-now mentality towards Lock completely fair?

No, no and no, probably. But as Manning so famously said, “Every interception has a story and nobody wants to hear it.”

Fangio broke the news to Lock and Bridgewater on Wednesday morning. He told everyone he considered her a quarterback.

For Lock, a 2019 second-round pick for the Broncos, it’s a bit of a moment that I’m walking from here. After a significant improvement after an offseason in which he put his nose to the quarterback grindstone, he is a backup and loses a starting job for the first time in his sporting life.

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“The hardest part was getting it and then going to the team meeting and knowing it was going to be discussed,” said Lock.

Lock said Fangio explained the decision as follows: “It just came down to being able to choose a little from his experience, that it was time to make a choice, and it was close. That you two are starters in this matter are league. “

Nothing is over for Lock. Manning himself threw 43 interceptions together in his first two seasons and had two seasons with 23 or more interceptions in his first four years in the league. How that would have played out in the boom-or-bust world of social media today is a tricky exercise for later.

There are plenty of # 2 quarterback teams out there with far less potential than Lock, who may be calling Broncos CEO George Paton in the coming days.

But right now, for this team, those sales are above Lock’s résumé. He was tied to leading the league in interceptions on those 13 starts in 2020 and was most recently in the league in terms of completion percentage. But his gifts, the work ethic he showed from the end of the 2020 season to the day Fangio chose Bridgewater, are still very much in his favor.

As for Bridgewater, he has and can help Lock get better. Bridgewater, if Lock does its part now, can help get Lock to the other side of the quarterback decision on another day.