When the NFL released its full regular season schedule back in April we already knew who the Ravens’ opponents would be – we just didn’t know if those games would be played before a national audience nor did we know when the games would be played.

Schedules are interesting, perhaps even more so when they are officially announced. You will hear plenty about strength of schedule and of course here in Baltimore there will be tons of banter about how the league managed to screw the Ravens.

Whatever…

The bottom line is that the more successful a team’s season is the more difficult the succeeding year’s schedule is going to play out – at least on paper.

Coaches who have vastly more experience than me and you when it comes to managing a schedule will open up their wallet of clichés and remind us that you have to play them one at a time; you can only play your schedule; teams get better; teams get worse; and of course games in September are equally as important as those in December.

And clearly there is truth and wisdom in all of that coach speak but for me, the focus is on those first four games – where will you be at the quarter pole and what must be done then to set up the balance of the schedule?

Looking at the Ravens’ first four games, I thought it was imperative for the club to win the games they are supposed to at home against the Chiefs and Browns and then split one of the two tough road games (@ Chargers, @ Patriots). That I believed would set them up nicely for the balance of the season.

Of those two road games I believed that the Ravens matched up better against the Patriots than they did the Chargers so that October 4 clash was in my opinion a pivotal game because I chalked up a probable “L” on the board when the Ravens departed San Diego.

Now after that big win in hot and sunny California, the season’s first quarter shapes up very well as the heavily favored Ravens host the Browns looking to move to 3-0 on the season. Moreover, I’m even more convinced that the Patriots game is very winnable given Tom Brady’s obvious rust, an offensive line that is struggling, an ineffective running game and a defense missing some very key people, losses that Bill Belichick’s arrogance prevented him from properly considering.

So with all that said, I find it very interesting that the topic of conversation amongst Ravens fans isn’t the catbird seat that the team now occupies and all of the gushing praise from the national media. Instead the focus is upon the struggles of the defense.

Maybe fans can now see that the Ravens actually have a pretty good offense even without Anquan Boldin or Brandon Marshall and they want to match up the defense they’ve been accustomed to with the new look offense. Maybe they are just so spoiled by defensive excellence that they think it is their birthright as a Ravens fan to witness consistently stout performances from Ray Lewis & Co.

Or what about this one…given Rex Ryan’s early season success in New York clearly he was the glue and now we’re left with an unproven coach in the NFL, namely Greg Mattison to guide the defense.

If any of these thoughts ring a bell, try to remember that despite the 24 spot the Chiefs hung up on the scoreboard, the Ravens did hold Kansas City to 188 total net yards. Also try to remember that they just beat a team 3,000 miles away from home which was picked by many to represent the AFC in Super Bowl XLIV.  Sometimes good teams can exploit weaknesses better than less accomplished opponents and that’s why the perfect game is hard to achieve when taking on the likes of Philip Rivers, Darren Sproles, Vincent Jackson, et al.

The only stat that really counts is the “W.” The only one that carries forward is the “W.” Any other stat is just a number unique to that particular game. Those numbers do not carry forward in a meaningful way. They are done, over, part of history but they are not necessarily previews of what lies ahead.

The Ravens are very together. They are focused and they are a team on a mission. If you need proof of this club’s collective resolve you only need to consider the complete attitudinal metamorphosis of Willis McGahee.

Winning this early season game on the road against a formidable and favored opponent was big. They got a taste of winning a challenging road game and that bodes well going forward.

The singularity of purpose of your Baltimore Ravens coupled with an outstanding coaching staff will help them overcome obstacles. They will correct their mistakes and grow as a team.

In many ways, what happened to Mattison’s secondary is a blessing in disguise. It keeps the team grounded and prevents letdowns while paving the way to improvement.

Teams can get better over the course of the season when they correct the errors of their ways.

We’ll see how the Ravens respond.