Thank God For Bye Weeks!!!

If you're wondering why I'm 3 days in without a blog post on my Ravens loss to the Vikings... it's because I'm still numb. I'm emotionally exhausted (football wise, at least lol) and heartbroken.

So here we are Ravens lovers (and haters). We're 3-3. Three straight losses that were all tough to swallow. The first loss to New England was disappointing, but I didn't take too bad because I picked against them that week. The loss to Cincy was more shocking because they gave up a go-ahead TD with less than 30 seconds left. But the Vikings loss hurts the worst. To overcome a 17 point deficit and to lose because the kick was "wide left", still hurts, even 3 days later. Will I live? Of course I will. But geez, that one hurt bad... real bad!

This is the Ravens bye week, and if you ask me (and other Ravens fans), this bye couldn't have come at a better time. Time for the team to deprogram and start fresh. But first things first, let's fix the problems.

The biggest problem of concern, is the defense. What a difference a year makes. The Ravens went from being one of the most ferocious defenses to one that has given up the most big plays. The defensive line hasn't put enough pressure on the QB, and the secondary look pathetic. I point the finger at the defensive coordinator as well as the players on the field. This team needs to find out what they did last year that made them so successful and implement it in their defensive strategy from here, on out. The secondary in particular needs to step up and cover somebody... ANYBODY.. in order for us to win games. But they can't do so without a pass rush. They go hand in hand and this needs to be fixed ASAP!

Next thing is special teams. The Ravens have already taken the step in allowing DB LarDarius Webb take kickoffs over DB Chris Carr, so that's a great first step. However, Carr had a nice long kickoff run nullified in Sunday's game because of a penalty. The Ravens special teams get way too many penalties, which moves the offense back. They also allow too many yards on punt and kickoff situations also. And last but not least, they miss critical field goals that determines the outcome of games. Coach Harbaugh was a special teams coach for many years, so I hope he can add some input into the problem and help come up with a solution.

The offense has done a great job so far. Remember, I'm a Ravens fan, so for years, we had no idea what it meant to have an offense. I thank the football gods as much as I can for Flacco and Ray Rice. They've been nothing short of a miracle for us. One can only ask they continue to keep up the good work.

I'm a fan through thick and thin, win or lose. And I know this is a good team, all of the elements are there. I just hope that the coaches and players take this bye week to start fresh. Bring some new life to this team who has struggled to close out games.

From a broken hearted Ravens fan..........