Last Sunday evening as fans exited M&T Bank Stadium, I heard more than one person say, “What an Ugly Win.” The Ravens struggled early to puts some points on the board and then watched the Houston Texans take the lead in the middle of the 3rd quarter. Was this Reliant Stadium 2010 redux?
No. The Ravens defense clamped down the Texans offense and the Ravens offense went to a ball-control game as they won, going away, by 15 points.
To many fans, it felt a lot closer than that.
But was it really? Did the Ravens play down to their competition, a fault they have exhibited more than once in the recent past? Are they struggling in games that should be run-away wins? I don’t think so, and here’s why.
First, to this point, the 2011 competition has been surprisingly strong. The Texans and the Titans are both very good ball clubs. The job Wade Phillips has done with the Houston defense is stunning. Ranked 30th in the league last year, the Texans now rank in the top 10 – and that’s without All-Pro LB Mario Williams. Ole’ Wade didn’t make it in two tries as a head coach, but he has few peers in the league as a defensive coordinator. Offensively, Matt Schaub has some of the best offensive numbers of any quarterback this side of Tom Brady.
The Titans’ win over the Ravens was no mirage and, while they may have come back to earth a bit after losing WR Kenny Britt, Tennessee will be one of two teams contending for the AFC South crown. Either Houston or the team that used to play there will most likely meet the Ravens in the playoffs.
Second, and most important, the Ravens are victims of their own success. Look at the Steelers game. We came out on fire, never let the Steelers in the game, made them look old, and in turn made us look like world beaters. We beat the defending AFC Champions by 28 points.
That game, for better or worse, became the gold standard for Ravens performance for the rest of the year.
Are the Ravens 4 touchdowns better than Pittsburgh on a week-to-week basis? Of course not. Even hardcore fans like myself, who partake of the Purple Kool-Aid a little too much, know the Ravens caught the Steelers unprepared and maybe just a tad out of shape. We justifiably creamed a bad St. Louis Rams team and then embarrassed the overrated New York Jets.
And we fans have come to expect that type of performance every week.
It won’t get any easier as the season goes on. The Ravens are moving from what was a cup cake schedule to one that now includes some newly formidable opponents. The Ravens have to face the Bengals twice, the now incredible 49ers on a short week, then Pittsburgh away, and finally a potent Chargers team in San Diego. Not every game will be a blowout and we might lose 2 or 3 of those games,
However, this is not your 2010 Ravens, or your 2006 version, either. In the Houston game there was no way the defense was going to collapse like it did last year at Reliant Stadium. And although the offense looks cranky at times and out of sync, Joe Flacco and his guys have, by and large, made the plays they’ve needed to make, when they’ve needed to make them. You won’t hear any flak about Flacco here.
OK. Bad pun.
But resistance is futile. Embrace the ugly – or whatever you call a Ravens win this year.
AROUND THE RAVENS AND AROUND THE LEAGUE
Fran’s Theatre of the Absurd
After years of futility, Bengals owner Mike Brown has hit the football equivalent of a Grand Slam. The Oakland Raiders traded a 2012 first round draft choice and a conditional 2013 second round pick than could become a first rounder for Carson Palmer, a 31 yr old quarterback who is on the downside of his career. On first blush, this looks to play out well on all fronts. Palmer got his wish – to get out of Cincinnati. The Raiders got their wish – a proven commodity at quarterback to replace the injured Jason Campbell (remember, the immortal Kyle Boller is their backup). Mike Brown and the Bengals got theirs – by sticking to their guns and resisting pressure to trade Palmer earlier in the year, they hit the draft pick jackpot.
The Bengals would have been fortunate to receive a third-rounder for Palmer. Instead, because of one freak play, they parlayed that into a first-round pick and another selection that could turn into a first-rounder. Heck, to receive even one first-round pick for him was a huge victory for Brown and the Bengals.
Why the Raiders made this move is understandable. Due to Campbell’s season-ending injury, they decided to mortgage the future for the chance to win now. Plus Campbell and Boller are set to become free agents at the end of this season, leaving the totally unproven Terrelle Pryor as the only QB signed past this year. So, they had a chance to get for a proven quarterback, so they took the risk, and traded for Palmer.
And what a risk it is. Worst case scenario – Palmer’s game continues to deteriorate, the Raiders miss the playoffs, the Raiders have to cough up two high draft picks, and then wind up paying an aging quarterback nearly $30 million to basically be Pryor’s caddy.
And I thought Raiders Insanity died with Al Davis.
For Mike Brown and the Bengals, there is no worst-case. Palmer wasn’t coming back to Cincinnati, and Andy Dalton is nicely filling their need at quarterback. For once, Mike Brown’s pig-headedness has paid off.
The NFL Stock Market Report
Stock Up:
· Green Bay Packers: The talk of an undefeated season has already started.
· Baltimore Ravens: It only looks like the Ravens are winning ugly.
· Cincinnati Bengals: Who are these masked men?
· New England Patriots: The No. 1 ranked Offense in the league is disguising the worst defense in the league. A bye week will help them prepare for the Steelers.
· San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers are doing great, but Jim Harbaugh needs to keep his backslapping routine among his staff and on the sidelines.
· San Diego Chargers: The talk in the AFC West is all Raiders, but it’s the Bolts who are leading the division.
Stock Down
· Miami Dolphins: Incredibly bad. They’re already calling it the “Suck for Luck” strategy.
· Minnesota Vikings: Notice how the Vikings have the same team colors as the Los Angeles Lakers? Next year they’ll be playing in the same city, too.
· Jacksonville Jaguars: How many empty seats can Wayne Weaver cover up and still call EverBank a NFL Stadium?
· Indianapolis Colts: To those old Baltimore Colts season ticket holders (like me), this is beyond sweet.
· St. Louis Rams: If things weren’t bad enough, Sam Bradford is now in a walking boot.
Dead Men Walking Update:
1) Tony Sparano, Miami. Andrew Luck will be playing for the Dolphins next year. Unfortunately for Sparano, he won’t be coaching him.
2) Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis. People laughed when I put Jeff Fisher on this list at this point last year. Well, look what happened to him. Et tu, Jim.
3) Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville. Sunday will be the last game the Ravens play against their former linebacker’s coach.
4) Leslie Frazier, Minnesota. He should have paid attention to what Andy Reid did. Donovan McNabb is toast and so are Frazier’s chances of keeping his job – whether it’s in Minneapolis or L.A.
This Week
Jacksonville gets its annual national exposure on Monday night as the Ravens travel to EverBank Field to take on the Jaguars Monday. The Ravens are flying high and the Jags are 1-5 and waiting for the guillotine to drop on Jack Del Rio. The line is a modest -7.5 Ravens, which makes one think – Is this a trap game? The Ravens should roll, right? Maybe. The Jaguars have a rookie quarterback and the 32nd ranked offense, which should mean another big Ravens’ defensive night. But the Jags defense is also ranked a very respectable 8th in the league which does not bode well for the Jekyll and Hyde personality of the Ravens offense.
Jacksonville played well in Pittsburgh last week and gave the Steelers a late scare. They’ll try to play well in front of a national TV audience and, if the Ravens defense doesn’t put some points on the board, it could be surprisingly close.
What am I saying? Of course it won’t.
Ravens 30, Jaguars 6
Note: All stats courtesy of NFL.com, and thanks to CSSports.com, and ProfootballTalk.com for additional content.
