Team Grades: Ravens Struggle In Loss To Bengals At Home
By Samuel Njoku
The Ravens faced an 0-2 deficit and faced a pivotal game 3 at home against their division foes in the Cincinnati Bengals. Baltimore found themselves in another shootout against a high octane offense but found themselves once again coming up short when the final whistle was blown. Now with the Ravens (0-3) winless to start the season and the Bengals (3-0) undefeated and currently sitting on top of the division, hopes of a 3rd title are slowly slipping away from their grasp.
Offense: C+
If you looked at the stats, it would appear as though the Ravens had a great day on offense. But watching the game, it's clear that the inconsistency of this unit was as much a culprit in the loss as the defense. The Ravens offense played as poorly as one can imagine in the first half. Their slow start can be attributed to their non-existent running attack headed by Justin Forsett. In his defense, there are simply no holes for the elusive running back to run through. Penalties played a big part in this game, and a lot of that has to do with the discipline of the Ravens offensive front. Holding calls against players like Kelechi Osemele were a reoccurring issue. Costly errors like that kill drives, and this game was no different.
The second half saw the Ravens offense come to life. Ravens OC Marc Trestman did a good job of finding ways to get the ball in the hands of his playmaker. Steve Smith was a one man wrecking crew as he ran around and through defenders in order to move the chains and put points on the board. It's clear that Flacco has lost trust in his other targets due to drops and the inability of his pass catchers to gain separation on the opposing defender. With the return of Breshad Perriman seemingly days away, it'll be interesting to see if this unit can improve before their postseason goals are out of reach.
Defense: D-
In Week 1, albeit in a losing effort, the Ravens defense showed that they had the talent to impose their will on any offense. Then Terrell Suggs tore his Achilles tendon. The defense hasn't looked the same since. In fact, they've been downright awful. For the second straight week, Baltimore's offense has scored the would be go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter only to have the defense squander the opportunity. The Ravens defense gave up 383 yards through the air, with 227 yards accumulated by A.J. Green. The perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver dismantled the Ravens secondary with huge plays all over M&T Bank Stadium. After the game, players and coaches spoke to media about the need for the team to learn to close out games. In reality, the Ravens need to learn how to play defense. The inactivation of pass rusher Jason Babin for the second straight week is puzzling considering Baltimore continues to struggle in their attempts to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Fans are calling for the head of Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees and some of that frustration is warranted. There were times when Pees would have safeties lined up to cover Green just to watch him blow pass them for huge chunks of yards. But considering Green was torching any defensive back he could find, you can't blame Pees for trying something new. Sooner or later, players have to be held accountable for their ineptness on the football field. The Ravens defense has held this team back the past two weeks and John Harbaugh has a lot of work to do if he plans on turning this unit around.
Special Teams: B
Having Michael Campanaro back to return both kickoffs and punts is the right move by Special Teams Coordinator Jerry Rosburg. Not only would you not want to risk Steve Smith to injury, but Campanaro is good at making something out of nothing in the open field. It was refreshing to see him make an attempt to make a play without necessarily putting his team in danger by making a bonehead move.
A rare missed kick by Justin Tucker from 50 yards was the one blemish on an otherwise good day by this unit. It's unfortunate that those 3 points were necessary in what would have likely changed the approach of the Ravens offense late in the game.
Coaching: C
Whatever the gameplan was for this game, it didn't work. It was bad. The team didn't look prepared and the players appeared to be undisciplined as was made clear by the penalties. So why the decent grade? John Harbaugh's time management skills were top notch in this one. He called timeouts when he had to and made sure the tempo of the offense was up during critical moments.
The poor challenge put somewhat of a blemish on his coaching performance in this game. But an overall good job with time-management deserves a decent grade considering this has been an issue that has plagued him for most of his head-coaching career.
The Ravens are disappointed after a golden opportunity escaped them for a second straight week, but they'll have to put this one behind them as they prepare for a Thursday game against a Steelers team that will likely be without Big Ben.
Samuel Njoku was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and is a graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Samuel has covered the Ravens for Examiner.com since 2010. Prior to 2010, Samuel was an avid blogger and radio personality in Salisbury, MD. Samuel Njoku is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Ravens_Examiner.
