Maybe you are new to the Russell Street Report. Let me explain this article a bit. I remember growing up reading the sports pages of the Baltimore Sun newspaper every single day. I really looked forward to one specific article that happened every month or so that was a “Fact and Opinion” column by John Eisenberg. It must have been popular, because I remember the sports editor of The Aegis in Harford County, Randy McRoberts, copying the idea every now and then in his column.
It was a favorite of mine, and when I started writing for the Eutaw Street Report and the Russell Street Report a few years ago, I wanted to do something similar. That’s when “Perception is Reality” was born. The “reality” is basically the fact, while the “perception” is my opinion on the topic of that fact. Hope you enjoy, and feel free to agree or disagree with me in the comments.
REALITY: There were four missed extra points in Week 1 of the NFL Season.
Perception: During the entire 2014 NFL season, only eight extra points were missed. Half of that amount were missed in the first week this year.
The NFL wants to get rid of plays that don’t seem to matter. That’s why there is talk of elimination the kickoff, and why the NFL moved the extra point back. They want as many eye balls on TV as possible for as long as possible.
Well, after just one week, it seems that the NFL might have gotten their wish when it comes to extra points. Yes, kickers went 71-for-75 in extra points in Week 1, but between the misses and teams going for two, you will see more people hanging around to see what happens, instead of going to the fridge or the restroom during that play.
REALITY: Terrell Suggs tore his Achilles and will miss the remainder of the 2015 NFL Season.
Perception: Sunday’s loss was discouraging enough, but then to learn shortly after the interception in the end zone to end the game that Suggs tore his ACL and will miss the season was really a downer.
Suggs might not have had much of an impact on the stat sheet Sunday, but he is still one player on the Ravens defense that requires opposing quarterbacks and offensive linemen to take notice. Without him, opponents can concentrate more on Elvis Dumervil, which means he becomes less effective.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said he thinks the Ravens can fill the gap left by Suggs internally, but that they would indeed look externally. Unfortunately, trades in the NFL are few and far between, meaning that external options means guys who are currently not on a team. So a guy that could not make a roster on 31 other teams is going to fill in for All-Pro Terrell Suggs? Yea, I don’t think so.
The team will most definitely sign someone off the street (Update: It was Jason Babin), but I can’t see them making an immediate impact. It will most likely have to be a “next man up” with Za’Darius Smith, Courtney Upshaw and others taking Suggs’ spot.
Injuries are now playing a big role for a team that many had going to the AFC Championship, if not the Super Bowl. Suggs joins receiver Breshad Perriman, Eugene Monroe, Lorenzo Taliaferro, and Timmy Jernigan on the list of guys who were supposed to make an impact this season.
Obviously Monroe, Perriman and Suggs are the biggest losses for the purple and black. Suggs helps make the defense dominant. Monroe helps protect Flacco, and Perriman was a first-round pick for a reason. He was supposed to help stretch the field and give Flacco another quality threat to throw to, along with Steve Smith Sr. But he has been absent for weeks, with October as the rumored date he may be able to join the team.
The Ravens need to get healthy, and need other players to step up if they are going to fulfill the expectations placed upon them.
REALITY: Joe Flacco performs much better at home than on the road.
Perception: We all know how good Flacco is in the playoffs. Since 2008, Flacco has seven road playoff wins, two more than any other quarterback in NFL history. But during the regular season, it’s a completely different story.
Take a look at these regular season stats from NFL.com:
2014: Home QB Rating – 98.4 Road QB Rating – 84.0
2013: Home QB Rating – 81.7 Road QB Rating – 66.2
2012: Home QB Rating – 99.0 Road QB Rating – 74.9
2011: Home QB Rating – 84.0 Road QB Rating – 78.2
2010: Home QB Rating – 104.4 Road QB Rating – 84.7
2009: Home QB Rating – 101.5 Road QB Rating – 75.8
2008: Home QB Rating – 66.8 Road QB Rating – 91.7
Outside of 2008, Flacco has always performed much better at home during the season. That was obviously the case again Sunday.
You could blame General Manager Ozzie Newsome for some of that. The Ravens have a drastic lack of depth on the Offensive Line, plus they don’t have any quality receivers with any experience outside Smith.
But Flacco didn’t make great decisions a few times Sunday. The Ravens needed to win that game against an AFC team that could be fighting for a #1 or #2 seed in the playoffs. If the Ravens want to win in January, they are going to have to find a way to get home playoff games. That means they have got to win games on the road during the regular season. Yes, Sunday was just one game, but when we look back on this season, I think you’ll find this game as one that was critical.
REALITY: The Ravens and Raiders have met eight times with the Ravens going 7-1.
Perception: The Ravens stay out west Sunday afternoon and take on the Raiders in Oakland. These teams last played in November 2012 in Baltimore, with the Ravens winning 55-20.
In that win, Flacco threw for 341 yards and three TDs. The Ravens had four players with over 50 yards receiving, and eight players with catches. Jacoby Jones also had a 105-yard kickoff return for a TD.
The game I will never forget against the Raiders was in January 2001, as the Ravens were in Oakland for their first AFC Championship game. In that game, Trent Dilfer hit Shannon Sharpe on a crossing route for a 96-yard touchdown, as the Ravens won 16-3. I will never forget that play.
