The Ravens are a mess. I’ve written about this before much to the chagrin of diehard fans. But sometimes the truth hurts and one look at Marty Mornhinweg’s anemic offense is all the reminder you’ll ever need.
Sure, injuries have played a role. How much better would the offense be if the Ravens had Marshal Yanda, Alex Lewis and Nico Siragusa across the offensive front? How much better might the running game be if Kenneth Dixon was available? How much better might the rapport be between new receiver Jeremy Maclin and Joe Flacco if the Ravens quarterback was available during training camp and the preseason?
Think of the defense with Tavon Young, Zach Orr and Brent Urban.
The losses have been brutal, but that’s life in the NFL. It is what it is and teams have no choice but to move forward and try to get better with each practice. It sounds cliché-ish, but really, what else can they do, quit four games into the season. John Harbaugh’s teams have been a lot of things since Super Bowl 47, many of them not so good. But one thing they’ve always been is gritty and resilient.
They won’t back down and possess a very solid, collective work ethic, one that Harbaugh hopes will propel improvement.
“We just have to improve. You’re not going to make a bunch of changes; you just have to improve. There were some flashes in there, and we have to build on those things. It’s a process. You have to go to work, and you work to improve. We have playmakers out there, and we can put the ball in peoples’ hands. We can run the ball – we’ve shown that. We have to eliminate the mistakes and make more plays.” ~ John Harbaugh
The good news for the Ravens is that they are only 1 game behind the Steelers in the AFCN, a team that really hasn’t been all that impressive nor has the rest of the league for that matter. Take a look around. The league is a mess!
The Chiefs sport the NFL’s best record with a perfect (4-0). They stand alone. Besides the Steelers, other division leaders include the Eagles, Lions, Panthers, Rams, Bills and Jaguars. None are without flaws. None are immune from injuries.
This week the Ravens travel to Oakland to take on a (2-2) Raiders team that will be without its quarterback, Derek Carr. Last season the Raiders were (12-3) with Carr, (0-2) without him. It’s a big loss.
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Next week the Ravens return home to M&T Bank Stadium where they’ll host the Bears who announced that rookie signal caller Mitch Trubisky will be behind center. Under John Harbaugh the Ravens are (9-0) against first-year quarterbacks. After that it’s the Vikings on the road who will be without RB Dalvin Cook and possibly QB Sam Bradford. Then it’s home for Thursday Night Football against Jay Cutler and the Dolphins.
In a league where the only certain thing is uncertainty, these four games, despite the Ravens struggles, are all very winnable, assuming the Ravens make John Harbaugh’s hopes become a reality.
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