It was nice to welcome back our cherished friend, the vertical passing game, last Sunday in the Rams game. We hadn’t spent much time with him lately; and we would be happier if he decided to stay for a while. He made an appearance in the form of rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith and what a positive impact it had on the stats for Joe Flacco.  Cam Cameron dug up some go routes and deep post patterns for the rookie speedster and Flacco was able to deliver three scoring strikes in the first quarter.

But while the points per game numbers are up from last year, the Ravens can’t count on playing a poor defensive team each week. Quality defenses will make the offense earn third downs, sustain long drives and convert in the red zone. Over the last two games the Ravens are a combined one for seven in the red zone. If the conversion rate continues to decline you can count on some long days for the offense as three of the next five opponents have defenses ranked in the top ten for points allowed.

BTN will track the progress here on a weekly basis. Keep in mind for some categories a decrease is positive, as in the case of Fumbles lost, and an increase is negative, in as the case of Penalties.