Merlin
11-29-2006, 06:40 AM
On my favorite real statistics site , Ravens have finally moved to # 1, because of ongoing improvement in offense and special teams, reflecting what we see on the field
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6217244
Some interesting commentary from Aaron Schatz on football outsiders"
"Before the season started, I was very skeptical about Baltimore's chances. What changed to make them one of the league's best teams? Steve McNair is an answer, but certainly not the answer — he wasn't even playing very well until the last few weeks. My guess at the top five factors: 1) Dewan Landry, a draft steal at a position where Baltimore literally had nobody. 2) The continued development of Bart Scott. 3) Haloti Ngata has been a nice addition. Those last two factors have also helped Ray Lewis have a bounce-back year. 4) McNair. 5) Ovie Mughelli is developing into one of the top fullbacks in the league, and his blocking has actually helped Jamal Lewis to look halfway decent again in recent weeks. NEXT: at CIN (Thu.)"
I think those are good points -- what he doesn't talk about is the o-line which has really started to make a difference as well.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6217244
Some interesting commentary from Aaron Schatz on football outsiders"
"Before the season started, I was very skeptical about Baltimore's chances. What changed to make them one of the league's best teams? Steve McNair is an answer, but certainly not the answer — he wasn't even playing very well until the last few weeks. My guess at the top five factors: 1) Dewan Landry, a draft steal at a position where Baltimore literally had nobody. 2) The continued development of Bart Scott. 3) Haloti Ngata has been a nice addition. Those last two factors have also helped Ray Lewis have a bounce-back year. 4) McNair. 5) Ovie Mughelli is developing into one of the top fullbacks in the league, and his blocking has actually helped Jamal Lewis to look halfway decent again in recent weeks. NEXT: at CIN (Thu.)"
I think those are good points -- what he doesn't talk about is the o-line which has really started to make a difference as well.