Good Morning, Ravens Flock.
No, it isn’t. I get it. For the first time all season, we’re sitting here on a Monday morning trying to work through what went wrong (remember, the other loss, at Vegas, was on Monday Night Football, so that coping came on a Tuesday). The answer, of course, is…”most everything.”
Let’s try to put on a happy face and take a look around the Twittersphere. Here we go.
We’ll start with some good amongst all the bad yesterday. Rashod Bateman? He good!
Rashod Bateman averaged 26.7 yards per catch yesterday with three going for 80 total yards. All seven of his first NFL catches have picked up first downs. pic.twitter.com/ZAEWq2DCq3
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) October 25, 2021
Bateman is emerging as a true threat in the passing game, though he was overshadowed by his rookie WR counterpart on the other side of the ball on Sunday.
And it isn’t just Rashod! Marquise Brown had another incredible catch and toe-drag for a TD yesterday. Look at these eye-popping stats:
The #Ravens are REALLY picking up huge chunks of yards with their WRs this year.
WR: Yards/Catch (#NFL rank) ⬇️
➡️ Watkins: 16.2 (12th)
➡️ Bateman: 15.6 (15th*)
➡️ Brown: 15.3 (16th)#RavensFlock*Unofficial. Needs 1.875 receptions per team game to officially qualify. pic.twitter.com/ZRafKifXlK
— Matt Wise (@TheMattWise) October 25, 2021
If the Ravens can figure out some semblance of a running game, there’s no reason this offense should sputter like it did at times against Cincy.
Speaking of that…
All jokes aside, Lamar Jackson shouldn't be playing 2 positions at once. Ravens have to figure out something to improve the backfield.
— Da Kid Gowie (@DaKidGowie) October 24, 2021
We can argue about whether or not there is anything to be done here, as the offensive line is as much of a problem as the backs are in the eyes of many. Perhaps Nick Boyle’s return will provide a noticeable jolt to the ground attack. Hopefully Latavius Murray misses just the one game. But the Le’Veon Bell experiment needs to end. It was sad watching him try to get to the edge yesterday.
One way the Flock is coping today is by reminding ourselves of that whooping our squad took at a similar juncture back in 2012, a year that ended…pretty well!
Not sure what it is about being 5-1 but that record doesn’t agree with this franchise clearly. They’ve lost every time after. In 2012, it was a wax job against Houston, then the team went into the bye. Some similarities to that game for sure today. #Ravens #RavensFlock
— Dev Panchwagh (@devpanchwagh) October 25, 2021
Remember that beating the Ravens took at the hands of the Texans? I’m not gonna look it up, but…41-13 sounds about right, doesn’t it? Here’s hoping this humbling sparks a similar reflection and run towards January.
The Bengals came into the Ravens house and humbled them. When you do that, you earn the right to talk a little bit.
Bengals CB Eli Apple with a “Big Truss,” a Baltimore catchphrase, and then some in the postgame aftermath. pic.twitter.com/ItRpJpzisd
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) October 24, 2021
Bottom line, the squad is 5-2 headed into the bye. I think we all would have taken that after the rash of injuries leading up to Week 1, and especially after the loss in Vegas. However, they got straight up spanked by a team that looks to be for real in the race for the AFC North crown, and they need to wear that.
We saw again just what a crazy week-to-week league the NFL is, and just as the Los Angeles Chargers will want to burn Week 6’s film, the Ravens will be wincing through today’s sessions.
We’ve got something special in store here at RSR in the coming days. Stay tuned.
