RAVENS REACTION: WHAT HAPPENED, CHAMPS??
When I predicted that the Ravens would beat Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, I didn't count on Michael Oher and Jacoby Jones both being injured by their teammates. Is Jones an amazing wide receiver? No, of course not, but his speed stretches the field and helps to open up the Ravens offense. Michael Oher isn't the greatest offensive tackle in the league, but he is unquestionably the best right tackle the Ravens have, and this was proven as Joe Flacco completed 63 percent of his passes while Oher was on the field and only 51 percent of his passes after Michael Oher exited the game. With all of that said, Peyton Manning is a great second half quarterback, and there's little doubt in my mind that he would have had a spectacular night regardless of the Ravens' injuries as Manning simply picked apart a confused Ravens secondary.
I must admit that I had lofty expectations for a secondary that looked great on paper. I, like many, assumed that replacing a broken Ed Reed and a slow Bernard Pollard with former all pro safety Michael Huff, James Ihedigbo, and Matt Elam would mean a secondary that would excel in pass coverage. Combine that with the return of Lardarius Webb and an upgraded pass rush with Elvis Dumervil, a healthy Terrell Suggs, and Chris Canty, and I figured Manning would have a much tougher time in the NFL opener. As with many things in sports, the whole of a team is seldom equal to the sum of its parts. Football is the most complicated major team sport in the world. There's simply no way you can throw that many players together, get rid of the greatest free safety of a generation, and expect defensive fireworks.
With all of that said, losing the first game of the season on the road against the greatest regular season quarterback of all time is no reason to panic or assume that the Ravens are doomed to a season of failure and loss. The Ravens have lost the second game of the last two seasons to teams that missed the playoffs in those years. A loss of that caliber to the Broncos offers the Ravens a great look into all of the major weaknesses that their team possesses. Some of those weaknesses are either temporary or easily correctable on offense, and the defensive weaknesses, though seemingly extensive, may simply mean the Ravens require schematic adjustment. Dean Pees certainly doesn't appear to be the greatest defensive coordinator in Ravens recent history, but he also isn't nearly the worst...that title belongs to Greg Mattison. Pees is more than capable of making the adjustments required to take advantage of the level of talent on the Ravens defensive roster.
One thing that should give the defense a huge boost is the return of the Ravens running game. The last time the Ravens faced the Broncos Ray Rice had over 120 rushing yards and that helped the Ravens to keep Peyton Manning off the field. Last Thursday the Ravens struggled to run the football after Michael Oher left the game. The Ravens went through the entire third quarter with only 2 first downs, so it's no coincidence that Peyton Manning had 3 touchdowns in that very same quarter. To make matters worse, the Ravens defense was left gasping for air as the offense couldn't stay on the field.
Nearly everything that could have gone wrong in week one for the Ravens DID go wrong, so there's plenty of blame to go around. That was the biggest defensive disaster in Ravens history as this team has never given up 49 points in one game before, but it still only counts as one loss. The 2013 Ravens don't appear to yet possess the vocal leadership of years past, but that doesn't mean that current players can't step up. Terrell Suggs is doing his best, Joe Flacco will undoubtedly lead, and Ray Rice's voice in the locker room is much bigger than his physical size.
Ray Lewis' leadership will be missed, but not nearly as much as Ed Reed's leadership at this point and with this secondary. I had the pleasure of meeting Lardarius Webb twice in 2012, and the second time was when he came to be a guest coach with us at Long Reach High School the week before he tore his ACL. I asked Lardarius what he thought of Ray Lewis, and he said "Ray is a great guy and a big personality, but for me and everyone on the back end of that defense, Ed Reed is the man. He's the one that really takes the time to mentor the younger guys at this point." Ed will be missed too, but I have a feeling Webb himself will step up. Sometimes it takes failure and adversity to reveal true leaders. This is the biggest year of transition in Ravens history without Ray and Ed, so let's see who steps up!
NFL WEEK 1 RECAP
There's one thing that's absolutely certain in my mind after watching most of the week 1 NFL games: the Broncos are the only truly dominant team in the NFL at the moment. It's not because they beat the Ravens, but because they THUMPED the Ravens without Champ Bailey and Von Miller. Beyond that, it's safe to say that the many of the teams that people expected to come out swinging appeared much weaker than expected. The Bengals lost to the Bears, the Seahawks only barely beat the Panthers, the Patriots only narrowly squeaked by the Bills, and the 49ers beat the Packers with the aid of a reffing mistake to which the officiating crew later admitted fault. The Texans had a thrilling comeback win over the Chargers--but then again it's only the Chargers. The Redskins disappointed many in the DC area by going down 33-7 before their heroic attempt at a comeback fell short. The Steelers lost Foote and Pouncey and looked offensively impotent against a mediocre Titans squad, and the Giants disappointed fans in New York by losing a game that could have been easily won if they had protected the football only slightly better. The Saints are back in action, but I would hardly call them dominant simply based on a single win at home.
For now, the NFL seems mostly in disarray and entrenched in parity, but it's only a matter of time until some of last year's most dominant teams once again rise to the top. For the Patriots, this should happen within a week or two of the return of Rob Gronkowski. Gronk is such an incredible matchup nightmare that it's really quite fortunate that the Ravens didn't have to face him in last season's AFC Championship. The 49ers and Packers both look rather impressive and I fully expect them to win their respective divisions. The Texans looked great in the second half against the Chargers and finally found their rhythm. This could be a season where the Bears find themselves battling Green Bay for the division title or beating out the Vikings for a wildcard spot. Either way, most of the great teams from last year should still be impressive in 2013.
The NFC East is a division that, like most years, should prove impossibly close. All four teams faced divisional opponents this weekend, and each game was decided by 6 points or less. The Giants were plagued by turnovers, and the Redskins were held back in the first half by Robert Griffin III's hesitance to step into this throws on his surgically repaired knee. The Eagles looked quite explosive, but their defense collapsed late, and the Cowboys defense had plenty of turnovers but they'll need to be more offensively productive even when their opponent isn't losing the football if they hope to win their division.
Another division that appears tight at the moment is the AFC North. I say it appears close if only because every single team in the division lost in week 1, and this is the first time that has happened since 2002. The Bengals lost in a tough road environment, so I would assume there's little panic in Cincinnati. The Ravens were certainly not pleased with their blowout loss to the Broncos, but they can attribute at least some of the loss to early chemistry issues and the loss of two key players, one of whom should be back next week. The Ravens also lost to possibly the best team in the league on the road, so there's slightly less shame. The Browns, however, don't appear any better than last year. If the Dolphins can stop Trent Richardson and limit them to 10 points, 2013 could prove to be just another "rebuilding" year in Cleveland. The Steelers most likely hoped that the return of their quarterback to good health would mean they could potentially surprise doubters and once again compete for the AFC North title. It's too early to totally dismiss the Steelers, but losing at home to a Titans team led by Jake Locker is not a good way to demonstrate you're making a comeback. Losing Pouncey may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle for this season as Big Ben now has virtually no legitimate protection while the Steelers struggle to run the football. Letting Mike Wallace go also appears to have left the Steelers with an ineffective receiving corps. I won't totally count them out, but I have a feeling the Ravens-Steelers rivalry will be a lot less fun this season--mostly because both teams look rather soft.
The only truly surprising AFC team in week 1 was one that just about everyone, including myself, assumed would fail miserably. The Jets didn't start Mark Sanchez, and Darrelle Revis played on the team opposing them, but Gang Green still managed to edge a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that I assumed would look fairly impressive in week 1. That's not to say that the Jets looked amazing, but they finished the week with the 8th ranked run defense and the 10th ranked pass defense even without their former most integral defensive cog. This could mean an interesting matchup in week 2 when the Jets face the still-Gronkless Patriots in New England.
Drawing serious conclusions from the first week or even the first MONTH of an NFL season seldom proves wise, but I'm certainly glad America has its favorite game back in full swing. NFL fans have some interesting divisional matchups to look forward to in week 2 including the Titans at the Texans, the Jets at the Patriots, the Browns at the Ravens, the Vikings at the Bears, the 49ers at the Seahawks, the Steelers at the Bengals, and the Saints at the Buccaneers. Peyton Manning and Eli Manning will also face off against one another on Sunday afternoon in what could prove to be quite a showdown. Fans will get a chance to see if the Broncos are nearly as dominant on the road and whether or not Eli and his receivers can keep up the pace of his older brother and his respective targets. Either way, I find myself looking forward to far more than the Ravens game this weekend. Football season is upon us!
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!
No comments:
Post a Comment