Ravens Lose to Cincinnati: One Man to Blame, and One Man Only

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Heartbreaking. Devastating. Those are the words I can think of to describe the Ravens' 17-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Why did it happen?

In Bengals fashion, Carson Palmer threw a touchdown pass with seconds left, and it's the fourth time the Bengals have won a game in the final minute. Overall, it was just an ugly game. Joe Flacco was 22 of 31, but got picked off twice. The run blocking wasn't nearly as sharp as usual. Ray Rice had 69 yards, but Le'Ron McClain and Willis McGahee were nonexistent.

Losses like this are extremely tough to swallow, perhaps even more so than blowouts. If you lose a game 31-3, at least it's clear that you're going to get dominated. It's not as traumatizing.

But a loss like this, any close loss, in fact, is tougher. It's more heartbreaking to know you came that close but failed when it counted.

That's what happened today. After losses like this, there's always some blame to be spread. Flacco had by far his worst game of the year, but wasn't even bad. Ray Rice had another good game, as he ran for 69 yards and had 74 more through the air. He even had a 49-yard touchdown.

The defense wasn't horrible, and did enough to win. Sure, the 100-yard rusher streak is over. Cedric Benson ran for 120 yards. The Ravens did a good job of minimizing the damage.

Despite Benson having a great game, along with Chad Ochocinco (7 rec., 94 yards), and Carson Palmer (18 of 31, 271 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) putting forth solid performances, the Ravens held Cincinnati to 17 points. Ed Reed had his first defensive touchdown, returning an interception for 52 yards and a touchdown.

So who is to blame?

The defense for choking in the clutch? The offensive line for not giving Flacco solid protection? Flacco for not coming up as big as he has in recent weeks? No, no, and no.

The man who is to blame is simple—offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. In the past year and change that Cameron has been offensive coordinator, we've seen a new wrinkle in the Ravens offense. There's been much more balance, more  dynamic big play ability.

That's why the Ravens are off to such a fast start. They have balance. Teams don't know what in specific to prepare for.

So Cam, I ask you one question. Why are you throwing all of that away? Last week, Cameron decided it'd be a good idea to become a one-dimensional team against one of the best teams and organizations in the NFL, the New England Patriots. Sounds like a blueprint to victory to me. And then this week, Cam thinks it's a good idea to pretend two of the biggest play makers on the team flat out don't exist.

First of all, he didn't set up any plays for Derrick Mason. Mason has always been the Ravens No. 1 receiver, so why wouldn't you involve him in a key AFC North clash? Doesn't make much sense to me.

Also, Willis McGahee. In the first four games, he had seven touchdowns—five on the ground, two in the air. So why would you want to use him deep in Cincinnati territory. It's not as if he's been doing a stellar job finishing drives and scoring touchdowns, being that he's among the league leaders in TD's to start the season.

Let's do a little trivia. How many touches did Mason get? Zero. How many touches did McGahee get? Zero. I'm sorry, and I've always liked Cam as "OC" in Baltimore, but this was an absolutely dreadful game plan.

Watching it, I was reminded of the Brian Billick days. The Ravens would do a draw in shotgun on first down, a run up the gut on second down, and a throw to the flat on third. That's an ideal formula.

That is, an ideal formul if you wish to finish every drive with a three-and-out. Do the players have to execute? Absolutely. Cameron can't make the plays for them, but in this loss, the players were set up to fail.

How is Flacco going to have a big game if every one of his passes is one to a running back in the flat? How is the running game going to do without Willis McGahee?

But again, let's not panic. Last year, the Ravens started worse (2-3), and won nine of their next 11 to make the playoffs.

But I'd love to hear what Cameron has to say about this brutal game plan he put together today.

In fairness, this is the first game I've seen Cam put together this bad a blueprint. But it seems the Ravens are shying away from their balance, which is their main strength. I just have one question ask ...

WHY?

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