Ravens: Letdown or beatdown
Everybody and his brother is calling what happened to the Ravens on Sunday a "letdown," which probably seems like an obvious conclusion to reach when you compare their performance with the one that had people crowning them Super Bowl champs after the Pittsburgh game last week.
If the fact that they didn't play anywhere near as well as they did against the Steelers constitutes a letdown, then who can argue? But if you give a little credit to the Titans coaching staff for completely disrupting the newlook Ravens offense and you give Matt Hasselbeck a little love for the way he picked apart the Ravens secondary and somehow neutralized the Ravens rush, then it's more of a beatdown than a letdown.
The Ravens did not rise to the emotional level of the Steelers game because it would have been impossible to replicate the intensity of their home opener against their chief division rival for a road game against a far less talented team. That's not an excuse -- they should have been able to beat the Titans anyway -- but it is a fact that should quell any talk of some motivational deficiency.
That doesn't mean it wasn't a shocking loss in the aftermath of such a satisfying and lopsided victory over the Steelers. It just means that anybody can be beaten by a team that executes its gameplan better.
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Comments
A reader posted this in your blog after the Steeler game: Said HenryO: "That was a thorough beat down by a superior team. the Ravens beat the crap of the Steelers and that's that.
Let the Steelers trolls digest that for a while before they post their typical nonsense."
Says this Steelers 'troll': That was a thorough beatdown by a superior team. The Titans beat the crap out of the Ravens and that's that.
Perhaps Ravens fans are shocked that the NFL did not just cancel the season and give the Ravens the Lombardi Trophy after they humbled the Steelers?
Posted by: PghSteve | September 19, 2011 7:03 AM
Look we can talk about all the reasons why this team got beat yesterday but it falls squarely on the coaching staff. They were not prepared to play this game period. But with that said the thing that continually makes me furious with this team is how with 7 minutes left they are not in a hurry up offense, They were walking back to the huddle after every play, no sense of urgency i know we seem to always throw that word around but every good team that you watch can excute a hurry up offense but the ravens. You can beat this subject into the ground and the stats won't prove it but Joe Flacco will never be a elite qb no matter what anybody say's. There is something intangible missing from his game that can't be taught, he just lacks the savey that the good qb's have.
Posted by: blancione | September 19, 2011 8:56 AM
blancione...you are absolutely, 100% dead on correct; i agree with every letter in your post; we get out-coached in games like this; delay of game after a penalty?? the next 2 plays should have been called, with hurry-up offense; the only thing i'd add to your post, is when you say "flacco", i'd add "and harbaugh"; this shows he's not prime time; good, yeah sure, but not elite;
Posted by: jerry | September 20, 2011 10:23 AM
The real Ravens lie somewhere in-between The Steelers overwhelming game performance and the Titans underwhelming game performance.
What really concerns me is the game against the Rams this coming weekend. With the personnel they have, the Ravens are more tailored for playing on natural turf. I hate to admit it but that's
an appreciable advantage to the Rams.
I'm hoping Bradford doesn't leave our secondary torched on artificial turf. We may not see the real Ravens team until the following week when they host an old-fashioned alley brawl with the Jets.
Rex Ryan has turned into the annual "Super Bowl guaranteed win" prognisticator. The longer that takes to happen, the happier Ravens Nation will be. When he was with the Ravens, he was outspoken. With the Jets, he's become an outspoken media-seeking jerk. I get more joy out of the Ravens beating the Jets than the Steelers, hands down. Why? I simply love to see Ryan humbled at another Jets loss.
Posted by: Patrick R. Lynch | September 20, 2011 7:35 PM
As others have suggested, the truth about this team probably lies somewhere between their showing against the Steelers and their loss on Sunday.
In the first game, the Ravens were fired up and ready to play, while their opponent was lethargic and complacent. Hard to tell from that how good the team really is this year.
In the second game, the Ravens were flat, stupid, overconfident and ill prepared. They got their a** kicked by strong, sharp, well-coached team. Again, hard to tell much about their true quality this year.
From what I saw in both games, I would surmise that
1. As Preston has said, pass defense and pass-rush are weaknesses and need shoring up.
2. In addition, I would add that
Flacco still doesn't impress me much (remember that many of the points in game 1 came off defensive turnovers). As I have said before, I think the Ravens need a better quarterback.
2. Cam Cameron has no idea how to create a successful running game. Without one, the Ravens probably won't win consistently.
He also has no killer instinct and no idea how to manage an offense mid-game.
3. Harbaugh, in my view, is a below average coach--juvenile, uninspired, weak, lacking in the football smarts and drive necessary to win tough games, and more or less irrelevant while games are in progress. This team deserves better. To me it has been obvious for two years that both he and Cameron should be replaced.
Once the owner starts looking at things with a colder and more objective eye, and makes a few changes, this team has great possibilities.
Posted by: A Fan | September 21, 2011 11:33 PM