Baltimore Ravens Fans Fully Participating in Overreaction Monday

The loud thud you heard outside this past Sunday wasn't another earthquake in the mid Atlantic region, it was the sound of Ravens fans crashing back to earth after Baltimore's 26-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

However, there is no need to panic in the Charm City. The Ravens are exactly where most thought they would be after games. They just won the game we thought they would lose, and lost the game we thought they would win. They are not the team we saw dominate their hated rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday, and they are not the team we saw fail to show up and play in the Music City yesterday.

They are somewhere in between, and because of the talent on the roster and their weak strength of schedule, they are still a threat to win the AFC.

The issues that many thought would plague the Ravens early in the season were front and center yesterday in Nashville. We all thought the Ravens would need four to six games to gel along the offensive line, and Tennessee’s younger than Pittsburgh's front seven proved a bit more effective against the Ravens starting front five on Sunday.

The Ravens offensive line pushed around the Steelers front seven last week, and yesterday struggled in Tennessee. A major contributing factor for this is the difference in age between the two. While the Steelers are a more experienced group, the average age of their starting front seven last week was 31.8 years. The youngest Steelers’ player to start up front, was 25-year-old, Lawrence Timmons.

Yesterday, the Titans trotted out three players aged 25 years or younger, with just two players aged 30 years or more. The average age of the Titans front seven was 26.8 years, and say what you will, but they were faster and appeared to be stronger than what Bryant McKinnie, Michael Oher, and company faced last week. 

I’m not saying the Titans have a better front seven, but I am saying in September, it makes a difference. Pittsburgh’s defensive front looked out of shape, and more than a few of them were recovering from numerous injuries. Pittsburgh never sacked Flacco and the Ravens never turned the ball over.

The Titans did not appear to have those have problems, and came at the Ravens relentlessly on Sunday. They forced three Baltimore turnovers and sacked Joe Flacco three times while hitting him an additional five times. The Ravens signal caller seemed on the run all day.

Once the Ravens offensive line gels, and they will, games like the one on Sunday will be far and few in between.

The fact that Ben Grubbs missed yesterday hurt the Ravens. Remember, Grubbs was the only lineman to start at his original position throughout training camp and into the season. In fact, Grubbs has not missed a start in his last 61 games.

Then there was the question marks surrounding quarterback Joe Flacco, and if you look at yesterday’s performance, they certainly seem fair. Flacco played poorly yesterday. His footwork was erratic, and he made several bad decisions, while throwing two costly interceptions.

Flacco was just 15 of 32 for 197 yards with a QB rating of 51.2. However, if you thought Flacco looked bad yesterday, just think back to week two last season. His performance against the Bengals in Cincinnati made yesterday pale in comparison. In that game, Flacco was 17-for- 39 for only 154 yards. He threw not one, two, or three interceptions----try four of them in a 15-10 loss in which many questioned his ability to take the next step.

All Flacco did the following week against Cleveland was throw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, all to Anquan Boldin, for the win. Joe Cool went onto to lead the Ravens to a dramatic last minute, come from behind win in Pittsburgh the week after that, while going 11-3 the rest of the way, throwing 24 touchdowns to just five interceptions.

Flacco has a knack for bouncing back. He is 12-4 following a Ravens loss and only twice in his four year career has he, and the Ravens, endured a losing streak of more than one game. During his rookie season of 2008, the Ravens lost three games in a row to Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Indianapolis.

During his sophomore campaign, the Ravens lost three in a row to New England, Cincinnati, and Minnesota by a combined nine points. All six of those teams were playoff teams in those years.

The media, and fans alike, need to relax on Flacco. He will be fine and so will the offense, which in case you did not know doesn't necessarily succeed off Flacco's arm. Its success hinges mostly on Ray Rice, and his ability to gain all-purpose yards.

Yesterday, Rice didn't crack 100 combined yards after posting 149 combined rushing and receiving yards last week. Unfortunately, what Rice was forced to do very-very well yesterday, was block. He saved Flacco from at least three sacks and the fact that Rice couldn't get off some of those blocks was a contributing factor in his lower production in yards.

Other than the secondary, the Ravens defense wasn't as poor as it appeared. The front seven was average, allowing Titans running back Chris Johnson just 53 rushing yards. We all know they must generate more of a pass rush, but the lack of it yesterday was due to defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano trying to protect his depleted secondary. 

Sergio Kindle must not be standing on the Ravens sideline in anything other than pads and a uniform next week. The Ravens need him now.

What scares me more than anything at this point with the defense is the lack of a contract extension for the best defensive player in the NFL this season. After recording four tackles, two pass deflections and recovering two fumbles last week, Haloti Ngata was just as dominating yesterday, especially in the first when he had six more tackles, and a pass deflection that led to a Terrell Suggs interception.

The Ravens secondary was also a big question mark headed into this season, and yesterday, they did nothing to answer any of those questions. Granted they were a depleted group without Chris Carr and Jimmy Smith, but the group they had in there couldn't stop the Titans receivers.

In fact, they never came close.

For the second consecutive week, this group allowed a receiver to reach the century mark and came within one yard of allowing two. Titan’s wide outs Kenny Britt (9-135-1), and Nate Washington (7-99) brought back memories of how the duo of Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell used to torch the Ravens when they played the Jaguars twice a year before re-alignment.

Titans QB Matt Hasselbeck continued his success against the Ravens defense, throwing for 358 yards and one touchdown. He was never sacked and is 2-1 against Baltimore in his career. The former Seattle Seahawk has now thrown for 890 yards (296.6 per game) in three career starts versus Baltimore, with eight touchdowns and three interceptions.  

Part of the reason, and what is the biggest cause for concern with this team, is the Ravens sacrificed more of a pass rush on Sunday in order to help support the depleted secondary, and it did not work. The Ravens were seen consistently dropping men back into coverage, but Hasselbeck still hit on seven pass plays longer than 15 yards, as Britt himself pulled in receptions of 37, 28 and 16 yards.

This area must improve. Lardarius Webb is too inconsistent, and because of this, Cary Williams’ margin for error in any game is much smaller. The pressure on the third year cornerback to be perfect on every play is that much greater and it is a given moving forward, that when Williams has an average, or below average day, like Sunday, the Ravens have a good shot of being torched.

This unit, not the offensive line, and certainly not Joe Flacco is the Ravens biggest concern. However, since John Harbaugh became head coach in 2008, the Ravens have allowed just six 300 yard passing games.

They allowed none in 2008, one in 09', and five last season. Following each of those games, the Ravens defense averaged just 174 yards through the air the following week, and won five of the six games in the process.

I may be criticized for this, but while Ed Reed still has a knack for intercepting the ball, he is losing his knack for coverage deep down the field. He must improve his play while defending a receiver. If this unit is to bounce back quickly, it must be done with improved coverage from the future Hall of Fame safety. 

While all of this sounds like a lot to overcome, the Ravens are OK and will be fine after Sunday's loss to Tennessee. Like every team in the NFL, the Ravens obviously have issues.

 I'm not making excuses, but beating an NFL team in their home opener, is no easy task. The Ravens are a natural rivalry to the Titans and their fans. They were just as pumped to play Baltimore yesterday as we were to play the Steelers in week one.

Including the Ravens and Titans, NFL teams were 17-9 in their home openers, and the teams that lost  their first game at home this season are a combined 2-15 overall. The Cowboys, Bengals, Eagles, Raiders, and Seahawks have yet to play at home.

Next week in St. Louis, we should start to see the identity of the 2011 Ravens appear. While the Ravens are not as good as they showed last week, they are not as bad as they played on Sunday.

The Ravens needed week one badly. They needed it more than Pittsburgh, and played that way. After losing to Jacksonville last week, the Titans were in the same position on Sunday against Baltimore, and they played accordingly, outplaying the Ravens in every phase of the game.

There is something to be said for peaking too early. Ask the New England Patriots from the past four seasons. The Ravens have plenty of work to do, the good news is, most of this can be fixed, and by the time November and December arrive, probably will be fixed.

As Mike Tomlin did this past week in Pittsburgh, look for Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh to get back to basics this week in Owings Mills. Relax Ravens fans, next week at this time we should be talking about how the Tennessee game was a blip on the learning radar for the playoff bound 2011 Ravens.