The Ravens offense went scoreless in the first quarter for the third time in a road game this year and was unable to mount a comeback after falling behind to Seattle 10-0. Once might be a fluke, twice might be hard to explain, but three times is a disturbing trend that can’t be ignored.
For some reason this year the offense can’t get off the bus against inferior teams and a game that should have been a cake walk turned into a loss that puts a dent in the chances of securing a home playoff game in the post season.
Cam Cameron hasn’t been able to solve the 4-3 defense and once again a team with a losing record is able to hold the offense under 20 points. In the three road losses to Tennessee, Jacksonville and Seattle the Ravens have scored an average of just 12.3 points.
Why does an offensive coordinator ask the league’s 26th ranked quarterback to throw the ball 52 times to a wide-receiving corps that is no better than average on its best day? Was QB Joe Flacco erratic…yes? Should the run game have been abandoned in the first quarter and the QB charged with carrying the burden of predictable play calling for the remainder of the game…no?
It’s clear a more balanced attack is needed for the offense to be successful. Star running back Ray Rice carried the ball only 5 times for 27 yards. Even the feint of a running game is a basic principle for every NFL offense. As good as the Packers passing attack is they ran the ball 21 times against the Vikings in their 45-7 win on Monday Night Football. Linebackers still bite on the play-action and it’s not against the rules to hand the ball off from a shotgun formation. If I recall correctly some guy named Brett Favre did it for years.
The remaining schedule, overall, is not daunting, but the next two home games will be against the 5th and 1st ranked defenses for points allowed in the Bengals and 49ers. With seven games left all the goals set in the off season are still within reach if the coaching staff can make the right adjustments.
The NFL is a week to week animal. Keep in mind if the playoffs started today the Ravens would be the 5th seed and travel to Oakland to face the Raiders. Let’s hope this picture changes for the better over the course of the last seven games.
|
Category |
2010 (rank) |
2011 to date |
2011 Ranking |
Difference |
|
Pts / Gm |
22.3 (16) |
25 |
9th |
|
|
Tot Pts |
357 (16) |
225 |
9th |
|
|
Yds / Gm |
322.9 (22) |
340.7 |
15th |
|
|
Rush Yds/Gm |
114.4 (14) |
99.0 |
22nd |
|
|
Pass Yds/Gm |
208.4 (20) |
241.7 |
11th |
|
|
1st downs/Gm |
18.9 (18) |
20.7 |
10th |
|
|
3rd Down Pct. |
39% (T-16) |
40% |
T-10th |
|
|
4th Down Pct. |
40% (T-21) |
75% |
2nd |
|
|
Penalties |
90 (T-18) |
59 |
T-16th |
|
|
TOP/Gm |
31:20 (11) |
29:59 |
19th |
|
|
Fumbles |
22 (T-17) |
17 |
T-2nd |
|
|
Fumbles Lost |
10 (T-17) |
10 |
2nd |
|
|
Turnovers |
+7 (9) |
+1 |
T-13th |
|
|
Red Zone % |
49.2% (22) |
45.2% |
21st |
|
|
Flacco QB Rating |
93.6 (7) |
75.6 |
26th |
|
Red Zone Conversion Rate for Teams with a Winning Record
|
Team |
2011 Red zone % |
2010 Red zone % |
|
1. Tennessee |
71.4% |
58.1% |
|
2. New England |
63.4% |
61.9% |
|
3. Green Bay |
62.2% |
62.7% |
|
4. NY Jets |
61.5% |
44.3% |
|
5. Buffalo |
61.3% |
51.4% |
|
6. NY Giants |
58.1% |
57.4% |
|
7. Atlanta |
58.1% |
60.7% |
|
8. Oakland |
57.7% |
52.1% |
|
9. Chicago |
54.2% |
49.1% |
|
10. Cincinnati |
53.9% |
49.1% |
|
11. New Orleans |
51.1% |
51.5% |
|
12. Pittsburgh |
50.0% |
52.5% |
|
13. Detroit |
48.4% |
64.4% |
|
14. Houston |
47.5% |
62.3% |
|
15. Ravens |
45.2% |
49.2% |
|
16. San Francisco |
43.8% |
47.6% |
|
17.Dallas |
40.0% |
59.6% |
BTN will track the progress here on a weekly basis. Keep in mind for some categories a decrease is positive, as in the case of Fumbles lost, and an increase is negative, in as the case of Penalties.
