There is almost zero faith in the Ravens at this point. Their 1-4 start coupled with the ever-growing list of injuries to major players has left fans and probably many within the organization doubting that any sort of turnaround could occur at this point that would allow Baltimore to sneak into the playoffs.
For the first half of last week's game against the Browns, I fully believed the Ravens had turned the corner and were on their way to putting together a 3-4 game winning streak that would allow them to make a strong push in the second half of the season with the eventual return of their vaunted first round pick, Breshad Perriman. The second half told a different story. Lardarius Webb, Elvis Dumervil, and the newly acquired, talented cornerback, Will Davis, all went down with injuries and never returned to the game. Suddenly drives that might have ended in field goals for the Browns during the first half found their way into the end zone without such integral cogs in the Ravens pass defense. Josh McCown was made to look like an absolute stud, and the Ravens offense possessed the ball far fewer times and for less minutes than in the first half. Then, when the Ravens had first and goal from the 10 yardline at the end of regulation, Justin Forsett exited the game with an ankle injury, and that halted the Ravens otherwise spectacular march down the field nearly dead in its tracks.
The Ravens, no longer able to run the football effectively without Justin Forsett, settled for a field goal toward the end of regulation and then proceeded to go three and out on the first possession of overtime. The Ravens defense found itself almost totally devoid of pass defending and pass rushing talent, and allowed the Browns to go promptly down the field to drive a sudden death dagger into the hearts of the citizens of Baltimore.
I would like to sit here and explain how and why the Ravens are only inches away from winning games against tough opponents, and therefore, ultimately going to get better, but that would have only been the case before Dumervil, Webb, Davis, and Forsett all went down. Sure, poor Steve Smith Sr. is gearing up to try to play, and Crockett Gilmore might be able to play too, but there's simply not enough on defense to stop mediocre opponents such as the Browns at this point and even less to stop quality opponents that lay ahead. The Ravens, in order to have a good shot at securing a wildcard berth, must win a bare minimum of 9 games, but it's more likely that they'll need 10 wins.
At this point in the season, in order to accrue 10 wins, the Ravens will have to win 9 of their remaining 11 games. There was already only a small chance that such and miraculous comeback would take place BEFORE more players became injured, but now that chance may actually be less than 1 percent. Lardarius Webb may come back healthy in a week, and it's possible that so too will Elvis Dumervil. It's also possible that Shareece Wright, Will Davis' quality replacement, will prove just as useful as Davis did during his brief stint with the Ravens, and help solidify the pass defense. The problem is that the odds of these players all getting healthy and coalescing into one effective group within the next two weeks is low, and the Ravens go to Arizona next week to face a dangerous Cardinals team led by a quarterback who has almost never lost to Baltimore. So that means the Ravens have high odds of losing their next two games and falling to 1-6, and in order to reach 10 wins, they'd have to win all 9 of their remaining games...and that ain't happening, folks.
The biggest hope that Ravens fans can cling to going forward is that the Ravens win put together an offensively dominant performance this week and limit a 49ers offense that has performed quite poorly this season to say the least. If by some chance the Ravens can FINALLY get their first round pick back onto the field following a win this week, then hopefully he can be ready to go in two weeks when the Ravens face an uneven Chargers team that only barely beat the Browns and just lost at home to the Steelers. I'm writing off the Cardinals game as a loss regardless, but the best case scenario is that the Ravens find a way to get healthy and win two out of their next three games going into the bye week. After the bye week, the Ravens face many teams doing just as poorly if not far worse than they are currently, and the possibility for some kind of winning streak improves IF the Ravens can get healthy and stay that way to an extent. Also, as I write this, I have just read that Steve Smith Sr. has not felt good in practice and is not likely to play. Justin Forsett has listed himself as a game-time decision as his ankle has improved each day of this week, but Forsett, Elvis Dumervil and Marshal Yanda have all returned to practice today.
I am not optimistic that the Ravens will somehow find a healthy, dominant groove and go 9-2 for the remainder of the season--no one should be. I, instead, will continue to support my favorite team and hope that, despite a lack of a playoff berth, Flacco will develop chemistry with his young tights ends and Breshad Perriman down the stretch. This team should finish with anywhere from 6-8 wins, and their higher-than-usual position in the 2016 draft should enable them to go after a high quality corner or safety to finally return the Ravens pass defense to its elite status of yesteryear. If, however, Perriman hits the field and proves the difference-maker that turns narrow losses into a string of solid wins, then we should all be pleasantly surprised--just don't hold your breath. With that said, there is still a lot of good football to watch this season aside of the Ravens. Let's take a look at this week's picks around the league!
WEEK 6 NFL PICKS
REDSKINS AT JETS- This game isn't easy to predict. The Redskins have looked tough at times, and so have the Jets. The Jets are coming off of a bye week, and they rely on heavy rushing production from Chris Ivory, but Ivory may struggle to find much running room against a quality Redskins defense. The Redskins, however, must also content with a suffocating Jets defense front and some of the best corners in the league with Revis and Cromartie in the secondary. I'm going with the home team coming off of a bye here, but an upset won't surprise me in the least. JETS 24-20
CARDINALS AT STEELERS- Michael Vick may have engaged in late-game heroics against the Chargers, but the Chargers haven't looked great this season. The Cardinals are one of the top 10 teams in the league, and their head coach is the Steelers' former offensive coordinator. It might be nice to see the Steelers BEAT the Cardinals in order to give a blueprint to the Ravens as to how one accomplishes that, but I can't see that happening until Ben gets healthy. CARDINALS 33-21
CHEIFS AT VIKINIGS- With no Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs are doomed. VIKINGS 42-10
BENGALS AT BILLS- The Bills are a tremendous disappointment, and the Bengals are quite good, if not the most complete team in the league. BENGALS 37-17
BEARS AT LIONS- The Bears are bad, but the Lions may be worse. In this kind of a situation, I go with the home team, but does it even really matter? LIONS 21-20
BRONCOS AT BROWNS- Without Demarcus Ware, this game will be a lot more interesting. The Browns aren't nearly as bad as their record might suggest, and the Broncos aren't nearly as GOOD as THEIR record might suggest. The Broncos only barely beat the Raiders last week, and they could be walking into a buzz saw here. The thing that will tip the scales in favor of the Broncos is the fact that Joe Haden won't play. BRONCOS 28-24
TEXANS AT JAGUARS- These are two very bad teams. The Texans have yet to win a road game this season, and the Jaguars are 1-1 at home. God, I hate predicting meaningless games. JAGUARS 20-17
DOLPHINS AT TITANS- The Dolphins are in a state of utter chaos right now. The Titans lost two games by a combined score of 4 points in the last two weeks against better teams than the Dolphins. I have to imagine they'll win this one at home. TITANS 17-13
PANTHERS AT SEAHAWKS- The Seahawks have a bad record and the Panthers have a good one, but the Seahawks still have enough firepower to beat a team such as the Panthers at home. SEAHAWKS 31-23
CHARGERS AT PACKERS- If the Chargers just barely beat the Browns and lose to a Michael Vick-led Steelers team at home, then they're going to be absolutely blasted in Green Bay. PACKERS 35-20
RAVENS AT 49ERS- The 49ers have looked horrible this season, but they began to pick up offensive steam in their loss to the Giants last week. The Ravens will likely start Justin Forsett and possibly Crocket Gillmore, but Steve Smith is doubtful, and that leaves them with almost no serious wide receivers against a team that did manage to hold the Packers to a mere 17 points. PLEASE Joe, PROVE ME WRONG, I'M BEGGING YOU!!! 49ERS 27-23
PATRIOTS AT COLTS- The Patriots may have lost their left tackle, but that won't stop them from flattening the worst Colts team since Peyton Manning missed a season because of his neck injury. PATRIOTS 49-21
GIANTS AT EAGLES- The Eagles are coming off of their second win in three weeks. If the Giants were healthy, I would pick them. Odell Beckham and Victor Cruz are both injured, so is Prince Amukamara. This has Eagles written all over it. I'll be rooting for the Gmen though. EAGLES 33-28
AS RAVENS FANS, WE HAVE BEEN SPOILED FOR YEARS. OUR TEAM GIVES US A CONSISTENT, HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT. EVERY TEAM MUST OCCASIONALLY FACE A DOWN SEASON. THERE IS STILL HOPE THAT THE RAVENS CAN GET HEALTHY AND THEIR COACHING STAFF CAN MAKE SIGNIFICANT ADJUSTMENTS THAT WILL LEAD TO A STRING OF WINS AND PLAYOFF BERTH, BUT NONE OF THAT IS LIKELY WITH 4 LOSSES ALREADY IN THE BOOKS. THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD STOP WATCHING OR ROOTING FOR OUR GUYS, BUT IT MEANS THAT RAVENS FANS SHOULD TEMPER THEIR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS SEASON IF THEY HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO WITHIN THE LAST MONTH. AN EARLY PICKING SLOT IN THE DRAFT ORDER COULD BE JUST WHAT THIS TEAM NEEDS TO REGROUP AND MOVE FORWARD NEXT SEASON. DON'T LOSE HOPE, BUT TRY NOT TO LOSE YOUR MINDS, BALTIMORE. IT IS< AFTER ALL, JUST A GAME.
NOW AND FOREVER
GO RAVENS!!!
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