Rival Report: Ravens exposed in loss to Steelers in Week 4
The Baltimore Ravens typically defend M&T Bank Stadium very well, especially against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but on Sunday even their close-fisted, high-impact defense had no answers for what was thrown at them – and it was pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. The trials on offense linger on and even head coach John Harbaugh admitted that everyone on the roster has room to improve, and need to quickly.
Flacco the ‘whipping boy’, yet offense has bigger issues
The performance of veteran quarterback Joe Flacco has waned in 2017. Yes, he came back from a back injury no one is quite sure reports were honest about. Yes, he still has an arm and the ability to read defenses and pick out targets. Flacco is an easy target for finger-pointing and blame, the virtual ‘whipping boy’ for despondent fans who want to see more wins instead of back-to-back embarrassments like the team suffered against the Steelers and the Jacksonville Jaguars just one week before.
Harbaugh isn’t going to toss Flacco completely under the bus, however, when there are big plays being left on the field by an entire roster – on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Don’t expect major changes, however.
We’re not going to change dramatically what we do. You can’t panic … We have all the elements – different ways to attack people, different tempos … It’s how do we put it together in a way each week that gives our guys a chance to execute the best? – J. Harbaugh
Flacco placed a lot of the blame on himself, but the entire Ravens offense has been shut out in the first half in consecutive games and managed to earn points on just three-of-24 offensive drives in the past two weeks. They face a 2-2 Oakland Raiders team next with a must-fix priority on the offense. They are averaging just 15 points per game (tied with the New York Giants), the second-fewest in the NFL this season. They are averaging just 269.8 total yards (ranked 30th) and are dead last in the league in passing with 143 yards per game.
The Ravens would do well to start with the offensive line. The Steelers recorded four sacks and six quarterback hits. If Flacco is kept upright, able to scan the field for targets, the offense should get a big boost. One thing that absolutely kills offensive rhythm is having the quarterback under constant pressure and the Ravens O-line is guilty, guilty, guilty.
Defense can’t maintain balance despite talent, tempo
For Baltimore’s defense, the issues on offense are starting to expose weaknesses. That tends to happen when a team – like Pittsburgh – keeps them on the field for an amazing 16 minutes in the first half of the game alone. As a unit, the Ravens have the talent, speed, tenacity and hitting power to be absolutely disruptive and game-changing, but they’re wearing down.
After getting a stop or creating a turnover, setting their offense up for a big drive, the Ravens defense has watched much of their efforts squandered. Their teammates on offense get it, but they don’t have the answers to fixing that yet. The coaching staff keeps pressing for answers and players to step up.
We’re not executing, we’re not doing what we need to do on an individual or collective effort in order to move the football. It’s tough to not get first downs and have the defense have to go back out there. – Benjamin Watson
“It’s never black and white,” Harbaugh explained. “It’s never a total positive or a total negative…when it clicks, it looks good. When it doesn’t click, it doesn’t look good.”
Safety Eric Weddle, the recipient of the football on of one of the strangest plays – an example of why the NFL needs to clarify the ‘catch’ rule even more – that may or may not have been a catch-slash-interception and points taken away from the Ravens (or not), was especially unhappy with his team’s performance. “This league is ruthless,” Weddle said, “and if you’re down, they’re going to keep you down…The belief is there, everyone just needs to get a little bit better.”
