No one was happier to be wrong about the outcome of yesterday's Ravens game than I. After giving up a record high 49 points and 7 touchdowns in Week 1, the Ravens haven't allowed a single touchdown since. The Ravens have, in fact, allowed only 15 points in the past two games combined. Terrell Suggs has 3 sacks in 3 games, and the Ravens pass-rush has amassed a total of 11 sacks which puts the Ravens on pace for a total of 58 sacks for the year. The Ravens certainly didn't shut down Arian Foster, but they limited him to a mere 54 yards on the ground. Daryl Smith is a huge physical improvement over a broken Ray Lewis, and the Ravens redzone defense once again looks like the best in the NFL in the past two weeks. Soooo why am I still a bit concerned?
The Ravens offense simply hasn't clicked, and that's not at all surprising. Dallas Clark had some nice catches yesterday, but he simply looks old, slow, and timid. Flacco has yet to take advantage of Marlon Brown's height. At 6'5", Brown is just as tall Dennis Pitta, and there's almost no defensive back in the league that should be able to win in jump ball situations over the young receiver. I'd like to see Joe loft the ball up high to Brown to exploit that advantage in height. Overall, Joe hasn't fully developed chemistry with his new targets, and the style of his passes seems to have changed drastically from last season. Joe seldom winds up and launches his patented bombs downfield to the likes of Torrey Smith. Perhaps Jim Caldwell is attempting to be more conservative while Joe gets in synch with his receiving corps and avoid interceptions since Torrey Smith frequently finds himself in double coverage. Whatever the reason, the Ravens have struggled to move the ball offensively in the last two first halves of games, and if they hope to beat top tier teams they'll need to do far better.
The passing game isn't where the Ravens want it to be, but the running game is far worse. The Ravens rank 25th in the league in rushing yards per game. Ray Rice is injured, but even before he was injured the Ravens struggled to run the football. The Ravens offensive line is almost totally the same as the fantastic unit that won a Super Bowl only months ago. The only different piece is Gino Gradkowski. Could Gradkowski really be that much worse than Matt Birk or are there schematic reasons that the Ravens can't open holes for two premier tailbacks? The Ravens even hired Juan Castillo for a position that I had never heard of before this year: run game coordinator. Perhaps Castillo is the factor that has led to a drop-off in rushing production.
Despite the obvious weaknesses in the Ravens offense, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The Ravens passing attack may open back up with the return of Jacoby Jones in the next 2-3 weeks. Deonte Thompson may also return to the field soon, and the return of either or both of these speedy wideouts will help to stretch opposing defenses and allow Flacco to more frequently target Torrey Smith. Ray Rice should also be back next week to face a Buffalo Bills defense that has allowed the 3rd most rushing yards of any team in the NFL this month. The Bills pass defense also ranks in the bottom half of the league in yards allowed, so perhaps this will be a game where the Ravens offense finds success in all phases. The Bills have run the football well thus far, but the Ravens rank 4th in run defense and should be able to handle Fred Jackson and a somewhat injured C.J. Spiller.
Offense and defense aside, the biggest surprise of yesterday's Ravens game came from special teams. Tandon Doss has been criticized often in the past two seasons for never developing into the possession receiver that the Ravens and their fans had hoped for after originally being handpicked by Joe Flacco. Doss' success yesterday, however, had little to do with receiving passes. Doss returned a punt for 82 yards and a touchdown. I don't expect this to be a regular occurrence for the receiver, but it certainly was a pleasant surprise considering the Ravens cut him at the end of the preseason.
The score of any game is always the bottom line. If the Ravens win, whether it be by shutting down a team with suffocating defense or dazzling fans with explosive offense, the win is all that matters. Both of the Ravens wins thus far have been at home in Baltimore, so next week's road game will be a decent test to see how the impressive Ravens defense performs on the road after being embarrassed in Denver in Week 1. Ray Rice is no longer required for the Ravens to beat AFC contenders, but it certainly would be nice to have #27 back in action next weekend. For now, we should celebrate a dominant win over a team that spanked the Ravens up and down the field last season, but there's no question that the Ravens have a lot of work to do if they plan to earn another postseason berth. Stay tuned tomorrow for full NFL Week 3 recap and reaction!
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment