The Ravens ventured into LP Field on Sunday riding a wave of confidence thanks to a dominating performance against the Steelers on Opening Day. All week long the team talked about putting the big win behind them and focusing on the Tennessee Titans. They vowed not to overlook Mike Munchak’s squad in a stadium where the Ravens have historically enjoyed a great deal of success. Earlier in the week John Harbaugh chastised a member of the media for inquiring about the possibility of a letdown.
"I’m embarrassed for you when you even say that. There’s no such thing as that in the National Football League."
Maybe he should be embarrassed by that letdown instead.
Like the Steelers the week before, the Ravens seemingly bought into their own hype and as they learned on Sunday, showing up isn’t good enough no matter who your opponent is. The Ravens looked very robotic and the robot was short-circuiting. The Ravens arrived with a poorly concocted plan on both sides of the ball and they never adjusted. I couldn’t help but think of this Planet Fitness commercial (below) after reading some of the post game quotes from Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh.
The Good: Most will single out the collective play of the secondary and label it an F and it would be hard to disagree. But I liked the way Lardarius Webb continued to compete and in the second half he made some very good plays defending the pass and supporting the run defense. He’s a very sure tackler…The defensive line as a unit was stout while containing the explosive Chris Johnson limiting him to 52 yards on 24 carries…Billy Cundiff was money, nailing both FGA’s and on kickoffs he was 3 for 3 on touchbacks…The punt coverage teams were also a bright spot…Ray Rice’s effort on the screen pass for a score along with the lead blocking combined to produce Cam Cameron’s most efficiently executed play of the day. Memo to Cam: Ever hear the expression, “Keep doing it until they stop it?”...David Reed's 77 yard kickoff return to set up the tying field goal before halftime.
The Bad: Bryant McKinnie looked like he aged 5 years in one week…Hey Michael Oher, it goes something like this: “On your mark, get set, go.” …When Cameron had Willis McGahee it seemed that whenever Willis entered the game he carried the ball on the very first play after the substitution. Now he’s doing the same with Ricky Williams who responded with a fumble…Cary Williams’ Nashville homecoming was a flop. He needs to be headier, study film a little more and not let emotion dictate his play…Jameel McClain trying to tackle yesterday looked like a pitcher trying to hit. It’s time for Dannell Ellerbe to get the start…Speaking of line-up changes, here’s a vote for Haruki Nakamura to play over Tom Zbikowski who makes about as many impactful plays as Jameel McClain which is another way of saying none…Did Ray Lewis look slow out there or what? He is for the most part an ineffective blitzer and lately he couldn’t cover a corpse with a blanket. They won’t do it because it’s Ray Lewis but he really needs to come off the field in dime packages.
The Ugly: You’ve all heard of the Bermuda Triangle. The Ravens passing game may soon be referred to as the Baltimore Triangle. That’s where receivers go, never to be found again. Cameron and Flacco go into vapor lock mode against teams that can pressure the quarterback with four and play efficient zone on the back end. This game was very similar to the offensive meltdowns we’ve witnessed against less the than stellar defenses that employ such schemes. The Colts and the Bengals come to mind and almost always Cameron abandons the run to soon. His game plan was ill conceived. Too bad he doesn’t have months to prepare for each opponent like he did for the Steelers…Chuck Pagano never adjusted and his unit failed to disrupt the timing of Matt Hasselbeck. He focused on taking Chris Johnson out of the game. Mission accomplished! The Titans adjusted – Pagano did not…Every time I see Domonique Foxworth on the field, he’s chasing a receiver, a few steps behind. Chris Carr and Jimmy Smith, boy do we miss you…And last be certainly not least, what was John Harbaugh thinking sending Billy Cundiff on to the field for a 29 yard field goal trailing 23-10 with 7:02 left in the game. Granted the way the Ravens were executing converting a fourth and goal from the 11 would not be an easy task BUT, asking a defense for two stops and the offense for 10 more points in under 7 minutes was CLEARLY a far more daunting task, particularly the way both had played for the game’s first 53 minutes. One big play could have turned the tide. I’m sure Harbaugh will get some flowers and candy from Mike Munchak later today.
The Megan Fox: Megan obviously had a bye week or she’s wanted in Nashville for some criminal offense.