The list of excuses is about as big as the scoreboard in the new Dallas stadium; The endless reasons for why the Ravens lost their game on Sunday against the New England Patriots only brings to perspective how poorly every aspect of the game operated. What was looked forward to as a clash of the titans (not the ones in Tennessee) ended up being nothing more than 60 minutes of ambiguous penalties, dropped passes, and one man who, according to Rodney Harrison, likes to wear a skirt. The fact is, the Ravens lost the game, lost sole possession of first place, and lost a great chance to gain ground on New England for home field advantage once the playoff picture begins to become the popular kid in school.

Breaking down the game, there were several causes to blame for the Ravens’ failure to execute against the Patriots. Whatever you believe was the reason is your opinion, but Baltimore will definitely have a lot to talk about over the next week.

The Mark Clayton dropped pass.

Nothing killed me more than this, mainly because I found myself wearing my Mark Clayton jersey and stuck in a situation that I couldn’t get out of to take it off. Nothing killed the Ravens more than their number two receiver dropping a pass that a five year old could have caught. With the game on the line, Clayton let the 1st down conversion pass bounce off of his chest pads, thus creating the "thud" heard around the world. Regardless of how bad Clayton probably feels about missing the opportunity, it’s hard to let it go that the Ravens could have kept the drive, and the momentum, moving if he had just caught the ball with his arms extended instead of trying to cradle it in the nook of his elbow.

Hanging onto one dropped pass at the end of the game sounds sort of silly in the long run. The game had been played for 59 minutes prior to Clayton’s pass, and contained several opportunities for the Ravens to get the points they needed to build a lead. Mark Clayton’s dropped pass was timed about as perfectly as a top BCS top 5 team losing their last game of the season. If he had dropped that pass in the 1st quarter, it would be more difficult for people to go back and blame him completely for the Ravens’ loss. If the name of the game is to blame (you like those rhymes?), then there is no reason not to blame Derrick Mason for dropping a touchdown pass in the 2nd quarter. Those points would be worth the same, right?

The Ravens’ defense.

Whenever you allow an opposing QB to throw for 258 yards and have over 65% completion rate, then your chances don’t stand for much when trying to win the game. We’ve been spoiled with a defense that has pummeled offenses into the ground, leaving nothing behind but some ripped up shoulder pads and a jockstrap or two. The most frustrating part about watching this game was the strategic method that Brady used to pick apart the Ravens’ defense. He quietly produced big enough numbers to give the defense breathing room.

The hardest part for the Ravens’ defense seemed to be stopping Wes Welker. While a lot of local analysts predicted that Welker would be a problem for the Ravens to contain, you would think that the coaches and veteran leaders would have realized how much of a threat he poised to be as well. Anyone can see that when Welker is in the game, he needs to be accounted for or else he will exploit you for everything you’ve got. Whether it was unlucky that he was active for the game is an opinion solely for each individual fan, but the fact is that any top NFL team needs to prepare for each scenario as if it were the one at hand.

The Ravens’ offense.

Quite the opposite to the previous scapegoat, but just as suspect to blame, the Ravens’ offense found itself under-preforming compared to the first three games of the season. Don’t get me wrong, Joe Flacco played a decent game, and can’t be held as the only one accountable if the Ravens’ offense is, in fact, the reason why the team lost the game. In fact, Flacco threw for more yardage than Brady did. The difference was the play calling.

Tom Brady is a passing quarterback, and the Patriots are an air attack offense. During their years of dominance over the NFL, they have never been known as a team that loves to run the ball as much as they enjoy passing. However, they have always maintained a balanced offense. Cam Cameron will figure out that Flacco can’t afford to have 47 passing attempts per game. For any successful offense to operate, a running game must be just as present as a passing game. The Ravens will learn, mainly because they have the tools to do so. The game against the Patriots was a test run that failed, but don’t expect Cameron to make a habit of it.

Because of this learning process (Flacco is still only in his 2nd year), a letdown performance like the one against New England was bound to happen. Blame the offense as much as you like, but remember that it’s better to get the disappointment out of the way.

Ron Winters and the rest of his crew.

This is probably the most popular excuse as to why the Ravens couldn’t walk out of Foxboro with an undefeated record still in tact. While I think that blaming the refs is usually a stupid move in order to avoid the real reason for a teams’ failure to execute, Winters and friends had a day to forget behind the whistle.

The rules exist in the NFL to maintain order, control the game, and for teams to compete fairly. Some of the penalties that can be called are overlooked, mainly because the yellow flag could find greener pastures on every play. Calls like holding and illegal contact are subjective to the referee and his crew. Many will find that not calling those types of penalties on every play will allow the contest to go smoothly, avoiding any contrasting and favorable image in the eyes of the fans, but more importantly, the NFL figureheads.

The only call from Sunday’s game that I can find disparaging is the penalty called on John Harbaugh for arguing from the sideline. It’s hard to think that the only reason the penalty was called is because Harbaugh’s language was picked up on CBS microphones. With the "S" word being dropped, Winters immediately had the Ravens’ suffering for an apparent poor choice of word(s) by their head coach. Judging from the call, do you mean to tell me that Bill Belichick or Mike Tomlin have never dropped such horrific language in the presence of a line judge? What is the point of playing the game when the players are being penalized for the actions of figures not directly involved in the action of the game? A penalty is to punish a player for providing an illegal advantage to his team; A head coach using foul language towards a referee hardly meets that criteria.

Not to delve into using the refs as an excuse, but it’s hard to ignore when the players themselves voiced their opinions on the matter. Ray Lewis was not silent on the issue.

All the other calls, whether it was the two roughing the passer calls or the ill-placed penalties that helped to continue  Patriot drives that otherwise would have been stuck in a standstill, were legitimate. As biased as it may come across, there is a strong issue as to whether or not the Ravens’ saw the same amount of liberal willingness from the officials to throw the yellow flag in situations where it would benefit Baltimore. It is an easy guess, and a fair judgement to most fans’ opinions to say that Ron Winters and his crew will be a bit more prepared when they take the field next week.

This past game was an eye opener for Baltimore, the team, and the fans. The Ravens are entering a stretch of the season that will not provide any give, but instead only a brick wall of challenges and opportunities for failure. In order for Harbaugh to avoid having his team fall flat on its collective facemask, they must continue procedures as they have been going. The offense will continue to grow and the defense will provide breathing room for an organization that has bright days in the near future.

Argue amongst yourselves, or with me. Opinions are much appreciated.

Read more: http://ravens.gearupforsports.com/blog/2009/10/ravens-reeling-after-patriots-protection-goes-too-far/#ixzz0T2PseUR1

Joe Flacco’s progression from surprise rookie quarterback to sophomore year sensation has left the Baltimore Ravens much less to worry about when going to sleep at night. As we know all too well, the Ravens have never been a team to score a ton of points, although the defense has never been able to stop themselves from punishing opposing offenses. Now that Flacco is proving that his success last season was no fluke, it’s never been more fun to watch Ravens’ games then it has been so far this season.

The stats don’t lie; Joe Flacco is among the top in most major QB categories, including passer rating and yards per game. Through three games, Flacco has left nothing to be desired as he boosts the confidence of the team and it’s fans. The reminders every week make us wonder how well this season is on pace to go.

However, some naysayers (and they’re allowed to be naysayers, despite how annoying some of them can be) claim that the weak defenses that the Ravens have faced are the real cause for Flacco’s early season success. They may say things like, "Hey! Defenses like Cleveland and Kansas City are no means of comparing how good an offense, or, more specifically, a quarterback, will be!" Or maybe it will sound something like, "Without the challenge of a solid defense under his belt so far this season, Flacco has accomplished nothing more than a few opportunities to rack up his stats and set the team up for a total letdown." Except a lot of them use language that’s a bit simpler and more offensive.

Either way you may feel about Flacco’s accomplishments in the 2009 season, credit is due where it is deserved. Despite the weak defenses of the Raven’s opponents so far, the fact is that those opponents are still teams in the NFL. Flacco is one year removed from playing college ball, and doesn’t have nearly the amount of experience as some of the defensive players he has gone against when playing the Browns and Chiefs. He has been asked to take on a huge task by turning the Ravens’ offense around, and Flacco has taken off running with the task at hand.

When Joe Flacco showed what he was capable of last season, the expectations skyrocketed. It left the fanbase hoping that he would be able to provide an offensive output that would challenge the best teams in the league. Automatically, that left the games against weak opponents as "give me" games. Teams like Cleveland and Kansas City, who had very low expectations, were considered to be games that the Ravens would roll right through with no problems. The challenge Flacco faced was meeting those requirements; If he wanted to prove that he was a legit quarterback in the NFL, he would have to put a real beating on the teams that people were expecting him to perform well against. His huge numbers against Kansas City and Cleveland weren’t anything to laugh at. Instead, Flacco did everything that was expected of him, further solidifying his development as a QB as a success.

Without performances like those that Flacco put up against the weak teams the Ravens have faced in weeks 1 through 3, not only would the team and fans be let down, but those naysayers would have a valid excuse to find faults in the Ravens’ young QB. Instead, those who don’t want to see a franchise quarterback in Baltimore, or are not yet sold on Flacco’s future, are fishing for reasons to make it seem as if Joe hasn’t accomplished anything yet.

As football fans, we all know that there will always be those whose only intentions are to annoy the reasonable logic out of us. Ravens’ fans have had the first hand experience, whether it’s been the Ray Lewis jokes over the years, or the Joe Flacco comments more recently. But, the fact of the matter is that Flacco is succeeding at a high pace, and it’s doing nothing but pissing off the Raven haters to no end. While the Browns and Chiefs don’t have the most stand-up defenses in the league, there is no push over team, especially for a second year quarterback with so much on his plate. The Patriots will provide a challenge this week, but I wouldn’t expect to see much of a drop off in Joe’s confidence or production.

Thanks to Bruce, whose opinions were helpful in this article.

Read more: http://ravens.gearupforsports.com/blog/2009/09/despite-being-the-target-flacco-is-dead-on/#ixzz0SkW5jdgc

There is no doubt that Jeremy Guthrie has the stuff to be a dominant pitcher in the major leagues. We watched it last year when he gave up less than four runs a game but couldn't seem to inspire the offense to give him any run support. In fact, 2008 saw Guthrie put up career numbers in ERA and innings pitched (something the O's bullpen could always use help with), and come within just a couple of strikeouts of his career high. He has pitched opening day for the Orioles the past two seasons because he has become a reliable starter within a very unreliable staff.

This season, however, Guthrie has seen his fair share of problems. He hasn't been the ace of the staff that Orioles' fans have been lead to believe his is (whether or not he really is is still a question to be answered). His ERA has skyrocketed to over five runs a game and his walks are treading on pace to set new career highs. The biggest lowlight of them all is the number of moonshots he has given up this season. In 30 starts last year, Guthrie only allowed 24 homeruns, an average number by a major league starter on any team. However, this season, in 13 starts, Guthrie has already eclipsed the halfway point of last season's number; 16 balls have left the park due to Guthrie's insuficiant control. With only 47 strikeouts, he is no where close to the numbers we have become used to in the past two seasons.

While the Orioles develop a stockpile of young pitching talent in the minor leagues, Guthrie needs to take notice. That pitching talent is beginning to make it's way to the majors in the likes of Brad Bergesen and Jason Berkin. Chris Tillman, Troy Patton, and Jake Arrieta are not far behind which becomes a suretell sign that Guthrie needs to find his A game in order to maintain a solid position on the team's roster. While it doesn't look like much now, his underperformance may come back to haunt him in the very near future.

The Orioles have been a well-matched team as the season has progressed, and thanks can't go ungranted to players that have found their ways to the majors recently. Roster members such as Nolan Reimold and Matt Wieters have helped the O's progress, whether it is on the field or in the stands. Reimold, with his five homeruns (already 1/5 of what he hit total in AA Bowie last season) and Wieters, whose mere announcement of being called up led to 15,000 more tickets being sold for that game, are just a few of the bright spots in the O's future that have shown through early this season. And while we discover as fans that our patience is really going to start paying off sooner rather than later, there is still some waiting to do.

The pitching that has arrived in Baltimore is not what Andy McPhail has been waiting on; While Brad Bergesen has looked stellar in the majority of his starts (and one can hope that maybe he'll grow into a pitcher he wasn't expected to be), David Hernandez seems to be destined for the bullpen (again, not a bad thing; his strengths seem to rest within the personality of a solid setup man), and Jason Berken can only be considered a temporary option, the Orioles have the top pitching prospects still continuing to develop in the minors. Chris Tillman, who was acquired in the Erik Bedard trade, has been lights-out in AAA Norfolk. The organization is hoping that his strength can continue through a full season after watching his stuff start to fall off towards the end of last year while pitching for the Baysox. Troy Patton, one of the key figures in the Miguel Tejada trade with Houston, has looked excellent in AA. Brian Matusz and Jake Arrieta, who pitched for Team USA, are both gliding through the Baltimore minor leagues like a knife through hot butter.

Several of the Orioles fan-sites claim that Bergesen and Berken have a lower success rate than the likes of David Hernandez, but it's hard to fall into that line of thinking as an avid O's fan. While watching the stuff that these guys seem to claim, Bergesen has developed a confidence with Matt Wieters behind the plate. In his past two appearances, Wieters has called the game and Bergesen hasn't allowed anything to shake him. Baseball is a game of risks, and one can only hope that Bergesen will continue his success with Wieters as a battery mate and allow the offense to take over the game. Berken, while still unproven, will get his shots. Just like the other rookie pitchers that the O's have thrown out this year, Jason should see some opportunity. His experience with Wieters last year in Bowie should be helpful in his confidence and his ability to adapt to a higher level. Those two, along with Hernandez, will learn and grow together, even if just for a small bit of time. David Hernandez will most likely be the man demoted back to Norfolk when Uehara returns from the DL; this should be a blessing in disguise for him so that he can go back and develop his pitches more. He has a huge role ahead of him as a major leaguer.