Stop Complaining!

Everybody!  Stop it!  OK, OK, we got a couple of bad calls, and a few of the ball spots were questionable.  Some members of the national sports media, notably Tony Dungy, said at least one of the personal fouls called against the Ravens was “ticky-tacky.” So what?  The personal fouls didn’t cost the Ravens the ball game.  Neither did Mark Clayton’s drop at the 8 yard line. 

Heck, if Mark Clayton makes that catch, it doesn’t guarantee victory.  All it guarantees is that the Ravens have 1^st and goal at the 8 with 28 seconds left.  We may have scored.  We may have not.  Let’s face it - the Ravens were not exactly masters of the Red Zone on Sunday.   We lost the game for a variety of factors.

·      We lost the game because the Ravens ran the ball only 17 times when, clearly, the ground game was working.

And finally,

·      We lost the game because Tom Brady made the plays he had to make, when he had to make them, and the Ravens didn’t.

What I Liked

Except for their post-game whining, the Ravens have nothing to be ashamed about.  They hung in against what many NFL analysts consider to be the Team of the Decade, and at one of the toughest venues for a visiting team.  Joe Flacco continues to progress and impress, in spite of having what for him was a sub-Flaccoesque day, throwing for only 258 yards and 2 TDs.  The front 4 produced strong pressure and the defense had 3 sacks against the Patriots.  Unlike previous visits to Gillette Stadium, the Ravens never gave up and were in the game to the very end.

What I didn’t Like

If the Ravens had somehow pulled that game out in the closing seconds, the fans would have been delirious, the national media glowing, and their Number 1 ranking in several polls intact.  But…..it would only have wallpapered over two glaring holes in this Ravens squad;  a defensive backfield that’s fast enough to run with anybody but can’t seem to cover a tortoise, and continuing poor performance by the return teams. 

Why, oh why, did we ever let Jim Leonard skip town?

The Whining.  Harbaugh has to put a stop to this.  I’m having a flashback to the Brian Billick teams that were great at pointing fingers at everyone but themselves. 

NEWS & NOTES AT THE QUARTER POLE:

Lucky Birds

Ray Lewis and Ed Reed weren’t fined by the NFL for their post game zebra-induced outburst.  I’m surprised.  Maybe, just maybe, the League actually looked at the tapes the Ravens sent to Park Avenue and said. “Uh, ….Yeah.”

Updated Leaders for the 1^st Pick in 2010:  So many to choose from, but so many are worthy of 0-16:

1. St. Louis – I feel really sorry for Kyle Boller. 2.  Cleveland - They can add Jimmy Clausen to their stable of quarterbacks.   3. Kansas City – Todd Haley left the Cardinals for this?  4. Tampa Bay – Should be renamed the Bay of Pigs. 5. Carolina - Only because they’ve played 3 games.  Their number will go up next week.

Updated Endangered Head Coach List: 

These candidates are all termination-worthy:  Wade Philips is number one for sure, then Jim Zorn (Hello Sherman Lewis), followed by Eric Mangini; Buffalo’s Dick Jauron is closing fast and may not even last the season.  John Fox in Carolina looks to be Dead Man Walking, Raheem Morris is turning out to be a huge Glazer mistake, and an oldie but a goodie - Jeff Fisher (only kidding about Fisher, but he is 0-4).

Don’t Mess with ‘Bron

Braylon Edwards takes his bully act to the Big Apple.  Rex Ryan won’t care who Edwards punches out next as long as it isn’t Mark Sanchez.  ‘Bray’ plays for a new contract on a playoff contending team.  LeBron can even the score next year when he joins the Brooklyn Nets.   A steal, a veritable steal for the Jets. 

THIS WEEK

Now that the Ravens’ aura of invincibility has been shot down like a U-2 spy plane, Harbaugh and the coaching staff can focus on what remains to be fixed.  Let’s start with Special Teams. Chris Carr has that deer in the headlights look as a returner.  It’s time to try the fearless Lardarius Webb.  Unfortunately there are no quick fixes for the secondary, unless you’re talking about massive does of HGH.

This week the newly minted (and almost 4-0) Cincinnati Bengals pay a visit to the Purple Vault and they’re not your mother’s Bungles.  The defense is better, Carson Palmer is back and healthy, and Chad Ochenta y Cinco is already twittering Domonique Foxworth and Fabian Washington.

The early line is Ravens, anywhere from -8.5 to -9.5.  That’s a little too rich for me.  The Bengals will put up some points but, luckily, they don’t have a Wes Welker to torture the Ravens secondary.