Ravens Roost 4

Ravens:
Winnings games you shouldn’t is a good sign. The Ravens had no right to be leading 17-0 at half time, and no right to win that game, alas, they did. Mike Preston (Baltimore Sun) said the game should have ended in a tie because no team deserved to win is pretty accurate. The Raven’s defense stumped Cincinnati, and the Raven’s offense stumped themselves (again). How much longer can we tolerate an incompetent running attack? Our 2 touchdown drives were the result of a 48 yard pass interference call, and short field turnover. In a must win scenario, this awkward win saved the season for now. The Bengals are only 1 game ahead of us in the standings, and with a rematch set up for the last game of the season, our future is still in our hands. One final note, the Ravens have the 3rd worst offense in the NFL right now as they continue to go in the wrong direction.

Ravens:
Well, after 11 straight wins, I guess Cleveland is entitled to win one. That aside, we weren’t meant to win that game. It was obvious from the (bad) late hit call for hitting a diving quarterback, that a win was not going to happen. Once again, we failed to run the ball, or pass with any consistency. We are not done yet, but a loss to Cincinnati on Sunday will pretty much kill us. Every game is a must win from here on out. No excuses.

If you look at the best defenses in the league, you will once again notice that the AFC North has 2 of the 5 best D’s in the league. But who authorized Cleveland and Cincinnati to occupy those spots? Probably the same bozo who authorized the inverted standings.

Ravens:
We didn’t lose! And actually, we gained a little with the Browns and steelers losing. The Ravens signed Free Agent Running Back Bernard Scott to strengthen our backfield with Rice and Pierce nursing injuries. This weekend starts a string of 8 must win games, but Cleveland will be no cake walk. Jason Campbell put up good numbers against an undefeated Kansas City Team, only losing by 6 points. In our first meeting in Baltimore, the Ravens depended on 2 second half touchdowns to post a win, but this time it’s in Cleveland, where they seem to bring extra venom for some reason.

Ravens:
We SUCK. Can you find a more descriptive term? We gave up gobs of yardage on the ground to a team that averaged 60 yards a game, we still can’t run the ball, and pass protection still had it’s lapses. Our pass rush bordered on non-existent, and we once again posted only mid-teen on points. It’s a bye week, and Harbs has some asses to kick for 2 weeks. Losing to the steelers is inexcusable with the way their season has been going. We need answers, and we need them now, because if a trip to Cleveland doesn’t right this ship immediately after the bye week, it’s going to be a long 2nd half to this season.

Ravens:
The Ravens inability to establish themselves on offense produced this loss. A heavy dependency (again) on a passing attack using yet to be proven receivers because the running game went no where cost the Ravens the game as was exhibited on the 4 failed running plays inside the 5 yard line that resulted in a turnover on downs. More creativity needs to be employed to open up running holes and to protect Flacco from more punt-like INTs (last week), and the sack-fumble at the end of the first half which gave them a second chance at those 3 points they just conceded to us on their previous possession with the wide right kick. The fumble and the failure to punch the ball into the end zone cost us the game. Not to mention, our pass rush put up 3 early sacks on Rodgers, but then failed to produce another one throughout the rest of the game. This was another game that will haunt us down the road, but not as much as next weeks matchup could. The trip to pittsburgh is a MUST-WIN to maintain pace within the division, and to squash any dreams they might have after their first win last week against the Jets. A loss will virtually tie us with them, with both teams sporting 4 losses on the season.