Prior to the start of the 2015 season, I was one of the rare voices in town who predicted a “down year” for the Ravens. I did so because I don’t think their receiving corps is good enough and the overall depth that we saw in preseason isn’t capable of holding its own if the Ravens are forced to go three and four deep at any position.
So, as Sunday’s game in Denver rolled along, I continued to bemoan the fact that Baltimore’s wide receivers were largely ineffective. My skepticism for the receiving corps played out – unfortunately – in high def on the last two offensive plays of the game, as Steve Smith Sr. dropped a game-winning touchdown pass with 42 seconds left and then Crockett Gillmore failed to haul in a perfectly thrown ball from Flacco that would have also been the deciding score for John Harbaugh’s team.
Now, in fairness to Gillmore, he didn’t drop the ball thrown at him the way Smith did moments before, but a high-quality tight end in the league goes up, fights for that ball, and comes down with it to win the game. That’s just my opinion, anyway…and it’s not really germane to the topic at hand.
After the game, I was discussing the loss with a football-nut friend of mine and lamented how the Ravens are going to need MUCH better play from their wide receivers if they’re going to reach the double-digit win total in 2015. His response was interesting.
“Dude, do you think Brady or Rodgers or Roethlisberger would have generated 13 points today in Denver if they had the exact same cast of characters that Flacco had at his disposal?” he asked me.
Before I could answer the question, he shot back — “And you know what the answer is…so go ahead and say it.”
As I went to give him my opinion, he jumped in again. “Brady could get something out of Marlon Brown and Kamar Aiken. He’d make that Campanaro kid into a star. So would Rodgers. He’d be finding Brown in the corner of the end zone for jump balls every game. And you know Roethlisberger would make a connection of some sort with those guys. He’s made Antonio Brown into a Pro Bowl player.”
“If you’re trying to say Joe Flacco’s the reason the Ravens lost the game today (Sunday), I think you’re on drugs,” I replied. “He didn’t have three seconds to throw the ball on any pass play. He was under duress from the first series of the game. And then, when he did hit the guy in the end zone for the game-winning TD pass, the guy dropped the ball.”
“Oh, you’re right about that,” my buddy confirmed. “Flacco didn’t lose the game. But he didn’t win the game, either. Brady wins those kinds of games. Roethlisberger wins that kind of game. Rodgers would have had 3 touchdowns and 300 yards in the air against those guys – even with Brown and Campanaro and Smith catching the ball.”
“What about the shoddy offensive line Flacco was dealing with all day?” I asked.
“Have you seen Pittsburgh’s offensive line the last two years?” he countered. “It’s been awful. Never seems to bother Ben.”
“Why don’t you just go ahead and blame Flacco for losing the game?” I said again.
“Because that’s not the point,” he stated, emphatically. “All I’m saying is if you think Brady and Rodgers wouldn’t have won with those receivers the Ravens had today, you’re not paying attention to those guys and how good they are.”
Still sounds like my pal was trying to blame Flacco for the loss – which by the way is always a popular theme around town when the Ravens lose a game. That said, the point he tried to make was interesting if nothing else. It got me to thinking.
“Would Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers or Ben Roethlisberger be able to make chicken salad out of the receiving corps the Ravens are currently using? “
I guess that IS a fair question to ask.
Even if I’m not sure what the answer would mean if I knew what it was, it’s a fair question nonetheless.
Drew Forrester’s daily musings on the Ravens and the NFL can be found at www.drewsmorningdish.com.
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Receivers photo courtesy of BaltimoreSportsandLife.com
