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Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was a real reality check for the Ravens, particularly the defense. The Ravens gave up over 400 yards of offense to the Bengals, and allowed Chad Ocho Cinco to own the middle of the field. And while S Ed Reed made two spectacular plays to keep the Ravens in the game, it wasn't enough to overshadow penalties and mistakes that ultimately was the seal of defeat for the 3-2 Ravens.
I'm very well aware that the offense didn't hold up their end of the bargain in the Ravens' loss on Sunday, but I want to focus on defense for a sec. The defense of 2009 clearly aren't the Ravens of old. They aren't getting pressure on the QB, their cornerbacks aren't covering well and their star players look like they may have lost a step. The Ravens defense was ranked #2 in 2008, only to be #16 through 5 games in the 2009 season. Many blame defensive coordinator Greg Mattison for not scheming properly and not making adjustments at halftime. While that may be true, I'd like to remind folks that this is a new coordinator and we are only 5 weeks into the season. I'm not ready to write off Mattison just yet.
For those of you that want Jets head coach Rex Ryan to miraculously quit his job come back and come back to the Ravens, that won't happen. One, because of the obvious, he wouldn't be stupid enough to take a demotion. And two, because it's more about the personnel than the coordinator. To prove my point, let's take a look at the Ravens defensive stats during Week 5 as well as the NY Jets' D stats:
Ravens D Allowed- 17 pts, 403 total yards, 142 rush yds, 22 first downs, 5/13 3rd down conversions, 2 turnovers
NY Jets D Allowed- 31 pts , 413 total yards, 151 rush yds ,23 first downs, 9/14 3rd down conversions, 0 turnovers
Now, I'm no rocket scientist, but the Ravens and Jets defensive stats from Week 5 look almost identical. Actually, the Ravens did slightly better because they gave up less 3rd downs, total points and created turnovers. Add the fact that the Jets defense is ranked #15, one spot ahead of Baltimore, and I'd say they're pretty even.
I loved Rex Ryan and the things he could do for this defense. The truth is, that the right now his defense looks no different than the one Ravens fans have seen the past 5 weeks. Would this defense still be dominant had Rex stayed in Baltimore? I think the consensus answer would be yes. But given the talent that he has in NY, and to see similar results, makes you wonder.
The Ravens have a challenge ahead of them, as they will play Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday. This seems to be the wrong week to finally right the defensive ship, but I haven't given up hope that this defense can still be a dominate one like the defense in years past. And with Samari Rolle expected to come back soon, the Ravens can possibly fix whatever the problems may be and make enough plays to win games like they once did.
Here's hoping that the REAL Ravens D shows up soon!
2 comments:
I think to a degree you've got to look at the losses and aging of personnel in the last 3-4 years. You all have lost Edge Hartwell, Adalius Thomas, Bart Scott just at LB, Chris McAllister is gone, Samari Rolle is hurt or injured, and there's been frequent change at the safety position alongside Ed Reed. I always thought TSuggs was better off coming off the edge in a 3-4 scheme, than playing DE in a 4-3. And Ray is 34 so....
I think at the end of the day, the Ravens D looked tired. Cincinnat was controlling the ball and Benson was running the rock effectively. Ozzie's been drafting more youth on the defensive side, and it might be another year to see how good he did in drafting, but they'll be ok. If not, then the coordinator will be outta there ASAP. Just my two cents. (that's like 3 dollars for real lol)
-Ed.
I agree with Ed. The Ravens D looked very tired in the 4th qtr. I'm not sure what the final time of possession stats were but I'll guarantee that Cincy had the ball longer. Do they miss Rex? Yes. But maybe not as much as we think.
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