Ravens Need Discipline, Cohesion to Be Playoff Contenders

By the time the fourth quarter commenced on Sunday, it appeared the Baltimore Ravens would get the better of their visiting opponents, the San Diego Chargers.

Up 10 points thanks to a Torrey Smith touchdown reception with five minutes left in the third quarter, all the Ravens defense needed to do was limit the damage Philip Rivers and the Chargers defense could do.

After all, the Ravens defense stepped up in the second half after allowing all seven of the Chargers' first-half third-down attempts to be converted. The Chargers converted just two of their four third downs in the game's final two quarters.

Instead, Baltimore's defense seemingly had no answer for the Chargers offense in the fourth quarter, giving up three touchdowns, including a game-winner on a two-minute drive. The Ravens offense, meanwhile, added a touchdown and a field goal to its total.

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When the dust settled, the Chargers had won, 34-33. The one-point loss keeps the Ravens jammed up with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns in the AFC North, while the Cincinnati Bengals limped to their own one-point win, extending their divisional lead by 1.5 games.

It didn't have to be this way, however. The Ravens were caught both sleeping and slipping by the Chargers and they paid the price with a loss. 

There were problems with consistence and cohesiveness. And there were very clear problems with discipline—the Ravens' 14 penalties totaling 98 yards belie that fact.

From linebacker Elvis Dumervil repeatedly lining up in the neutral zone to repeated illegal-use-of-hands calls, including one by left tackle Eugene Monroe that knocked out an 11-yard gain by Owen Daniels, the Ravens were constantly killing their own drives or extending ones for the Chargers with their errors. Of the Chargers' 31 first downs on Sunday, six were earned via penalty.

Another area in which the Ravens lacked discipline was on the defense. Tackling and coverage were both poor on Sunday. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Ravens defense missed a combined 12 tackles. However, their performance in coverage was even more sloppy.

With cornerback Jimmy Smith done for the year and Asa Jackson still not yet back on the field, the Ravens have had to make do with their depth chart. That has meant Lardarius Webb, Anthony Levine and Danny Gorrer have made up their cornerbacks corps, with safety Matt Elam having been converted to slot receiver.

This arrangement has struggled, but none so much as on Sunday. Levine was particularly picked on, with 10 targets thrown his way. He gave up nine receptions, for 75 yards, 20 yards after the catch and a touchdown. Not to be outdone, Gorrer gave up three catches on four targets, for 100 yards, 22 yards after the catch and a score. Webb also gave up a touchdown.

Rivers threw 45 pass attempts, 40 of them targeted to a receiver. Of those, the Ravens allowed 34 to be caught, a catch rate of 85 percent. Four of his receivers ended the day with 80 or more yards, with Keenan Allen leading the way with 121 yards and two scores on 11 catches.

Tight end Antonio Gates caught seven of eight targets, for 83 yards. Eddie Royal caught nine of 10, for 81 yards. Malcom Floyd caught three of six for 85 yards and had the game's longest reception, at 59 yards. In contrast, no Ravens receiver exceeded 65 yards on Sunday.

Granted, the Ravens found themselves thin at receiver, with Marlon Brown leaving in the first half with a concussion and Torrey Smith leaving in the second half with a knee injury of unknown severity. Still, the receivers remaining also couldn't take advantage of the situation.

Steve Smith Sr., in particular, had a bad day. He caught only one pass on four targets, for a mere two yards. He dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone and was noticeably frustrated after the game.

In speaking to The Baltimore Sun's Aaron Wilson, Smith said, "I pretty much played terrible. When I got an opportunity, I didn't do anything to help us offensively. In a situation like that, they're playing with 10 men. That falls directly on me."

Smith blamed his poor performance on a lack of focus: "I can attribute it to a lot of stuff, but, at the end of the day, I have to stay focused. The game is a roller coaster. Each individual guy has expectations, but, at the end of the day, you get paid to be focused and focused throughout the whole game."

Indeed, a lack of focus could be the Ravens' overarching theme in the loss on Sunday. The penalties, the missed tackles, the blown coverages, Smith's struggles and the defense allowing the Chargers the game-winning touchdown on a routine two-minute drill were all the results of a lack of focus, discipline and playing together as a team.

Player	Tgts.	Rec.	Yds.	YAC	TD	INT
Levine	10	9	75	20	1	0
Gorrer	4	3	100	22	1	0
Webb	5	4	37	8	1	0
Elam	4	3	26	10	0	0
Hill	2	2	32	22	0	0
Miles	1	1	2	4	0	0

This cannot repeat itself next week at the Miami Dolphins, or the Ravens are guaranteed to lose. Three of the Ravens' four remaining opponents are currently in the playoff hunt, with .500 or better records, the Dolphins included. 

Furthermore, 12 of 16 teams in the AFC have .500 or better records. Not only is there a close race for the top spot in the AFC North, but also for the two wild-card playoff berths. None of those three spots is guaranteed to the Ravens, or any team, at this point. This loss to the Chargers—who, too, are in the hunt—could be the difference-maker for Baltimore's postseason hopes.

What happened on Sunday needs to be corrected quickly. While the struggles in the secondary may be a necessary evil the Ravens will have to live with, things like penalties, missed tackles and a lack of focus can be turned around.

Otherwise, the Ravens will find themselves outside of the playoff picture, looking in, for the second season in a row.