REALITY: Steve Smith Sr. is now the 10th player in NFL history to reach 18,000 combined yards in his career.
.@89SteveSmith is now 10th player in NFL history to reach 18,000 combined yards in a career. #Ravens
— Patrick Gleason (@PMGleason) September 27, 2015
PERCEPTION: As Smith continues to get closer to 1,000 career catches, he also continues to climb other lists. He has 31 career catches of 50-or-more yards, which is most among active players. There is no doubt in my mind that Smith should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day. He will have all the stats to prove it, but he also has a lot more than that. Just watch the one TD catch he had on 4th down this past Sunday. That is a guy at 36 who is doing what half the guys 10 years younger than him in this league can’t do. He is one of the best at his position to ever play.
Now, if we could only get him to NOT retire!
REALITY: The Ravens have not drafted a wide receiver that has panned out to be a top receiver while with the Ravens.
PERCEPTION: Since the team became the Ravens, they have drafted 21 wide receivers. Have any of them become a top quality receiver? Well, not while in Baltimore.
Brandon Stokley went on to a very solid career with Indianapolis and Denver, but besides his one highlight of a Super Bowl touchdown with the Ravens, he wasn’t stellar in Baltimore.
Torrey Smith had a lot of potential, and showed flashes, but never lived up to what we needed him to be. The same could be said for Mark Clayton.
Everyone else… bust, bust, bust.
The Ravens drafted Breshad Perriman in the first round of the last NFL draft, but he has yet to take the field.
REALITY: The Ravens currently rank 29 out of 32 teams in the NFL in passing defense.
PERCEPTION: The Ravens front office has deservedly received very high accolades as one of, if not the best in the NFL when it comes to the draft. But when will some fans blame Ozzie Newsome, at least partially, for the Ravens’ lack of depth?
The Ravens can’t draft a solid receiver. And their secondary is just awful. Yes, Webb and Jimmy Smith are good (most of the time), but overall the unit is not good and there is no depth for the second straight season.
When do we stop just boldly proclaiming #InOzzieWeTrust and instead put a little heat on the front office?
They are still one of the best in the NFL, but I believe the lack of depth on the team was a major reason why the Ravens feel short last year. That lack of depth has carried over into this year.
REALITY: Justin Forsett is averaging just 3.2 yards per carry through three games.
PERCEPTION: I found it very interesting how many people were saying the Ravens and Justin Forsett were going to be one of the best running games in the NFL this season. What track record do we have for this? Forsett has been around and never once gained more than 619 yards in a season… until last year when he doubled that.
If you are an Orioles fan, then you know this all too well. Just because a player had one good season, doesn’t mean he now will be one of the best in the league. Remember Steve Pearce in 2014 for the Orioles? Or Jimmy Paredes before the All Star break this season?
I was all for the Ravens bringing back Forsett and trying to duplicate what he did last season, but I also won’t overly optimistic. With offensive line injuries and now the NFL knowing what Forsett can do, did we really expect him to have another Pro Bowl type of season?
The Ravens are currently tied with Miami, ranking 27 out of 32 teams in rushing offense in the NFL. That has to improve, but so do Forsett and the offensive line.
REALITY: The Ravens take on the Steelers Thursday night. Pittsburgh leads the all-time series 21-16.
PERCEPTION: The best rivalry in the NFL gets renewed Thursday night. But this rivalry won’t look like any other games between the two teams. There will be no Ray Lewis, no Ed Reed, no Terrell Suggs, and no Ben Roethlisberger.
But players on both sides still know about the rivalry, and still don’t like each other. The Ravens are desperate, but they were this past Sunday, too.
If the Ravens lose Thursday night, you can say bye bye to any hope of a positive season, and you might as well play for the best draft pick we’ve ever had in Baltimore.
If the Ravens can pull out a win, however, it can change their season. Eight of their next 10 games are against below .500 teams, and teams that should stay below .500. Can the Ravens go 7-3 after beating Pittsburgh Thursday night? If so, that would put them at 8-6 going into their final two games of the season against the Steelers and Bengals. Both would be must wins.
So starting 0-3 has not ended their season, as their schedule gets easier… but going 0-4 does.
