There's nothing wrong with a Ravens win. The Ravens did something against the Bengals last Sunday that they haven't done since Week 1 of this season: score first. Jim Caldwell called creative plays in the first half of the game in order to find ways to get the Ravens offense down the field quickly including an early flea-flicker that drew a pass interference penalty inside the red zone and set up a touchdown pass to Dallas Clark. The Ravens were impressive on defense with a pass rush that terrorized Andy Dalton all game, a stout run defense, and a secondary that made A.J. Green look almost like a non-factor. Even after an impossibly frustrating error that gave the Bengals a last second touchdown to tie the game, the Ravens defense held the Bengals scoreless in overtime and the Ravens offense drove down the field with well-timed clutch passes from Joe Flacco to a pair of players that haven't made many clutch plays this season. I must applaud the Ravens for their unflinching determination to do whatever it took to beat a division-leading rival with the fate of their season on the line. They never gave up, and ultimately, they won the Ravens way. This win, however, demonstrated that major glaring weaknesses still exist on the Ravens offense. With the schemes, coaching, and personnel currently active on this squad, the Ravens probably have little shot of getting to the playoffs, let alone winning playoff games. Fortunately for the Ravens, one major addition in the personnel department is on its way, and that along with a few other major factors should give fans reason for hope.
The Ravens reported roughly one month ago that Dennis Pitta would likely return to the field in mid to late November. Well, it's November 11th, and the next Ravens game will be played on November 17th. The Ravens then play at home against the Jets on the 24th, and then they face the Steelers at home on Thanksgiving night (the 28th). Pitta most certainly won't be back for next weekend's game, but it would not surprise me to see him active and on the field against the Jets or more likely against the Steelers. What would Dennis Pitta's return mean for the Ravens? First, it would mean the addition of a sure-handed possession receiver in whom Joe Flacco has the utmost trust. Pitta and Flacco are great friends, and their bond carries over to the field. The Ravens don't currently have a go-to possession receiver the way they had for the first 5 years of Flacco's career. Flacco always had Derrick Mason and Todd Heap, and more recently, Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta. The Ravens currently posses big play speed and young talent in their receiving corps along with an aging veteran tight end with a recent knack for catching touchdowns. That same veteran, however, has an unfortunate habit of dropping at least one great pass per game. Pitta, on the other hand, rarely ever drops passes, is in the prime age of his career, and has proven tough enough to get outstanding yards after the catch. Pitta also has a habit of finding soft spots in opposing defenses, and I can't underscore the importance of that skill enough.
The question remains: how exactly will Pitta's return affect the Ravens offense? The effect of Pitta largely depends on just how healthy he actually is when he takes the field, but I'd like to assume that he is doing fairly well considering that his injury included no damage to connective tissue and was purely muscular. Pitta is also not known as an incredibly speedy receiver, but an instinctive, big-bodied receiver with a high football I.Q. With that said, for the sake of speculation, we'll operate under the assumption that Pitta returns to the field at 80-90% of his peak ability. Pitta's presence will likely have a positive effect on the Ravens running game. I'm not talking about explosive improvements, but it's possible his presence could push the Ravens closer to 4 yards per carry going forward. Having Pitta on the field provides a receiver to keep the chains moving, but it also forces teams to drop more linebackers into coverage, and thus, out of run support. The lack of consistent tight end play is a big reason that teams have been able to commit a large number of defenders to stopping Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce this season. The Ravens blocking schemes have, of course, been horrendous under the guidance and design of Juan Castillo, but I'm confident that both previously premier running backs will find more and bigger holes through which to run with Pitta running intermediate routes.
Improvements to the Ravens offense aren't the only things that should give the Baltimore fans hope for a possible playoff berth. The Ravens also face a favorable schedule for the remainder of the regular season with three out of their next four games at home. Part of what makes the remainder of this schedule favorable is the current condition of the upcoming Ravens opponents. The Bears, for example, will be without Jay Cutler against the Ravens. Bears fans seem to think their backup quarterback, McCown, will be just as effective if not more so, but there's no question that Jay Cutler has far more experience and impressive wins under his belt than anyone in line behind him. The Bears will also be missing their best cornerback in Charles Tillman. This means an already weak Bears pass defense will be particularly shorthanded when facing the likes of Torrey Smith. The Bears one-mighty defensive front seven is currently hampered by the loss of Lance Briggs and nagging injuries to Julius Peppers. If the Bears are going to win the game, they'll have to do so with a huge offensive performance against a revamped Ravens defense that just got done battering Andy Dalton and mostly shutting down A.J. Green.
The Ravens still have some difficult upcoming opponents such as the Jets, Patriots, Steelers, Lions, and Bengals once again in Cincinnati. Fortunately for the Ravens, the Jets, Steelers, and Patriots will all face the Joe Flacco and company in Baltimore, and that gives them a far better chance to win any or all three of those games. Thankfully, the Ravens may not have to win all of those games to get into the playoffs. The Ravens are, believe it or not, still in the hunt for the AFC North crown. The Bengals currently have a game and a half lead on both the Ravens and Browns, but the Bengals have lost two games in a row in similar fashion and aren't nearly as defensively dominant without Leon Hall and Geno Atkins. The Bengals had found ways to win in close games earlier in the season, but season ending injuries to their aforementioned defensive stars have tilted close games in favor of the Bengals' opponents. The road doesn't get much easier for the Bengals from here on out either. The Bengals face a Browns team that thumped them earlier in the season 17-6...and that was when the Bengals still had Hall and Atkins. The Bengals appear to currently have little in the way of a pass rush as they only occasionally got pressure on both Joe Flacco and Ryan Tannehill, and both of those quarterbacks are protected by less-than-stellar offensive lines. The Bengals will have even more trouble getting after a more mobile Jason Campbell protected by a comparatively stronger and more well rested Browns offensive line that will be coming off of a bye week. The Bengals then have to play the Chargers in San Diego and then the Colts and the Steelers. There's a strong chance that the Bengals could lose 2,3, or even all four of their games in the next month and find themselves with a 6-8 record only days before Christmas.
The Bengals might be getting weaker, but the Steelers and Browns appear to be getting stronger. Fortunately for the Ravens, the Browns and Steelers both appear to have tougher schedules ahead of them. The Browns have some serious road tests ahead as they have to travel to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New England, and New York to face the Jets. They also have a home games against the Steelers, Bears, and Jaguars, but the Browns are 1-3 on the road this season, and 4 of their remaining 7 games are away. As strong as the Browns looked at home against the Ravens, I simply can't see them winning anymore than 4 of the remaining games on their schedule to finish the season 8-8 and likely out of the playoff race.
The Steelers are coming off of a sound defeat of the Bills, but they've already dug themselves into a serious hole. The Steelers already have 6 losses and must face an explosive Lions offense at home next week. They then must face the Browns and Ravens on the road all in 4 day period. The Steelers then have to play the Dolphins and Bengals in Pittsburgh and those are two games I believe they'll win. Black and yellow then must travel to Green Bay where they'll face a Packers team that will, by that time, once again have Aaron Rodgers leading the charge. The Steelers finish up the season at home against the Browns, but because of their current 6 losses, the Steelers must win ALL of their remaining games to go 10-6 to likely secure the division title, or they must win all but one game to go 9-7. The Steelers have only won a single road game this season to the mindbogglingly inconsistent Jets after coming off of a bye week. I can't imagine the Steelers playing 4 divisional rival games (two on the road) and going into Green Bay and only losing one or two games in the final 7 of the season.
Simply by virtue of a waning Bengals team and tough upcoming schedules for the Steelers and Browns, I believe it will only take 9 or 10 victories to secure the AFC North title this season. The Ravens don't currently appears stronger than the Browns or Steelers as they still lack the ability to consistently run the ball and sustain offensive drives. The Ravens, however, have the advantage of the return of their best tight end in time for the final playoff push, and that should be enough to keep them ahead of the rest of their division. I realize, of course, that this sounds extremely optimistic, and it all totally hinges on Dennis Pitta's return to effective form in a timely fashion, but that's what this entire article is about--reasons for Ravens fans to hope. Keep faith alive, Baltimore, this is the time of the year when the Ravens show the rest of the league what it means to play Ravens football. The Ravens have just as good a shot (if not better) than any of the other teams in their division to win the AFC North title in 2013.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
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