REALITY: All 5 of the Baltimore Ravens losses have been by 6 points or less.
PERCEPTION: This season has been extremely frustrating for the coaches, the players, and the fans. They have been close in every game, and “could be” 6-0, but they would be 0-6 if not for an overtime win against the Steelers with a back-up QB.
The Ravens have seen each of their first six games decided by one score or less. That happens, but it’s rare: Just 13 teams have done that since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. If you regularly read this space, you know that teams tend to split those close games 50/50. The Ravens have not. Every one of those other teams that started with six one-score games managed to win at least two of those contests. The 12 previous teams went a combined 35-37 in those one-score games.
We have heard it said often that good teams find ways to win and bad teams find ways to lose.
The Ravens are a bad team. It truly is that simple.
REALITY: The Ravens have allowed 27 points per game.
PERCEPTION: 27 points per game ranks the Ravens as the 6th worst in the NFL. Last season, the Ravens allowed just 18.9 points per game, which was the 6th best.
In the aforementioned Grantland article, Bill Barnwell wrote:
“The Ravens have been torched by teams throwing downfield. The NFL defines deep passes as those that travel 16 yards or more in the air… The 2014 Ravens were just as bad in the same spots. Teams threw 114 deep passes against them, the fifth-highest frequency in the league. And those passes went for a 99.0 QBR, which was dead last. They were the fourth-best team against long passes in 2013, so it’s not a trend, but the Ravens were terrible against downfield passing teams last year and managed to put up a pretty good defense anyway.”
The Ravens have been having nearly the same success on getting pressure to the quarterback as they have had in recent years. The problem is that they have blitzed more often, which takes away defenders in the secondary, leaving the downfield pass wide open. That is what is hurting the Ravens defensively.
I'm not football-wise enough to know exactly what's Dean Pees fault but that just looked like sub-par players getting flat beat. I dunno.
— Mark Viviano (@MarkWJZ) October 18, 2015
I know it’s not the popular opinion among Ravens fans, but it’s really not Pees’ fault. The players are simply not producing. And if you want to blame someone, I think you have to look at the front office for not giving the coaches players who could produce at the level needed.
REALITY: If the NFL Draft were held today, the Ravens would have the first pick.
PERCEPTION: Yes, you read that correctly. Tied for the worst record in the NFL, the Ravens would lose all tie-breakers and get the 1st pick in the draft, if it was held today. What would the Ravens do if they drafted that high? According to the CBS Sports Big Board, defensive players are four of the top five players in next year’s draft, including two cornerbacks.
Many Ravens fans would say that would be a great place for the team to start in rebuilding their defense. However, I believe if the Ravens end up drafting in the top 5 in 2016, you’ll see the team trade back so they can obtain more picks, giving them a chance to get some much needed added depth.
But since we are not even halfway through the season, it’s hard to predict how things will end up. So for now, we wait.
REALITY: The Ravens are 4-1 all-time against the Arizona Cardinals.
PERCEPTION: Baltimore won the last game between the two teams, back in 2011. Three of the five match-ups have been decided by 3 points, and four of the five were decided by less than a touchdown. Sunday’s matchup will be a very hard one for the Ravens as the Cardinals offense is a potent one. The Ravens need to hope the Cardinals passing attack falls asleep during a Monday Night game in Arizona or it could be another long trip home.
