A big, physical and talented Cincinnati Bengals team is about to invade Baltimore and try to make a statement…
But RB Ray Rice is still upset about losing to the Seahawks…
Here’s our newest staff writer RON BENAMOR with the rest of the story:
“Don’t give me any excuse about a cross-country trip. Stupid. That is a ridiculous loss” –Peter King, SI.com….
Ray Rice showed his displeasure with the team’s performance. After the game, Rice shrugged off reporters who approached him to get his take on rushing the ball just five times for 27 yards. He told reporters that he would speak to them when he could say something positive. “Something’s wrong in the water there and he didn’t want to say it” suggested CSN Baltimore’s John Eisenberg.
Raven coaches and personnel should hit the film room and fix some game plan issues. Luckily, I am here to give coach Harbaugh and company my opinion as to what exactly went wrong in Seattle, and the one thing that went right.
Horrible Special Teams proved to be a major factor: Kicker Billy Cundiff missed twice from 50 yards and beyond in a game that was decided by five points; this cannot happen. Cundiff, who was a Pro-Bowler just a year ago, has had a sub-par year to this point. He now has a 77.8 field goal percentage for the season and a poor 26% for attempts beyond 50 yards. Cundiff has acknowledged his lack-luster performances as of late. “I’m frustrated that I haven’t performed,” Cundiff said, “That’s my job. My job is to make kicks and I haven’t done that.”
Believe it or not, Cundiff was not the worst performer on special teams. That award is given to kick returner David Reed. Reed managed to fumble the ball two times on kick returns, resulting in six points for the Seattle Seahawks and a loss of precious time for Flacco and company to get back into an offensive groove. Not to mention giving running back Marshawn Lynch more carries to wear down the Ravens’ defense… “It was tough,” Reed, said after the game. “I’m just trying to make some plays out there.” Reed was making plays; they were just benefiting the wrong team.
Lucky for us, John Harbaugh is a special teams guru and will find a way to improve that unit.
Although, I do have one suggestion to Coach Harbaugh: Torrey Smith should return kicks. In his three years at the University of Maryland, Smith accumulated 2,983 kick return yards, three touchdowns, and a 24.3-yard average. In 2009, Atlantic Coast Sports’ Media Association named Smith to the All-ACC second team as both a wide receiver and return specialist. Smith’s size, speed and big play capability would transition into a good kick returner, which could potentially give Flacco a shorter field to work with.
Offensive Imbalance: The Ravens have forgotten that they have a pro-bowl-caliber running back in Ray Rice. Rice carried the ball only five times for twenty-seven yards. On the other hand, Joe Flacco threw a career high fifty-two times. Such an imbalance means that the Ravens cannot effectively utilize the play action, something Flacco has relied on for opening up passing options. “We’ve got to remain balanced and we weren’t able to do that today,” center Matt Birk said. “We have to execute better and keep the game close, so being able to stay balanced is an option. Once you get to the fourth quarter and you’re down two scores, you pretty much have to
throw it every time.” In Baltimore’s three losses, Rice has been held to an average of nine carries and thirty-two yards per game.
“Ravens will say they had to pass because they fell behind, but they were passing, and ignoring the run, all along,” writes Baltimore Ravens’ writer John Eisenberg. Baltimore added tackle Bryant McKinnie, fullback Vonta Leach, and running back Ricky Williams this offseason in an effort to boost the running game. However, it seems that as the season progressed, Cam Cameron wanted to put more weight on the shoulders of Joe Flacco. This will eventually come back and haunt the Ravens like it did last Sunday night. Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron should take a page out of Seattle’s playbook. Marshawn Lynch carried the ball 32 times for 109 yards. Although he never broke a big run, he was able to wear down the Ravens’ defense and milk down the clock in the second half. If the Ravens want to be in the Super Bowl contention this year, they must give Ray Rice more carries. Not only will it open up the passing attack through play action, but it will also wear down opposing defenses and give the Ravens ‘D’ more rest.
Tight end play from Dickson and Pitta is emerging: amidst all the negativity spewing from Sunday’s loss, there were some bright spots. Most notably would be the maturation and growth from sophomore tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta. The two tight ends have a newfound chemistry with Joe Flacco and have replaced beloved Todd Heap exceptionally. “I knew a breakout game would come because of the way I work in practice and the way our team works in practice,” Dickson said. He reassured fans that a win is far more important than stats, saying that he would, “trade all my stats right now for a ‘W’ on the scoreboard.” In the last three games, Dickson and Pitta have notched 33 catches for 263 yards. In addition, they have been clutch on third downs and late game drives. “That chemistry is very important in this league,” Dickson said. “I don’t have the chemistry that [Flacco] had with Heap, but I’m building on it each week, and I’m instilling confidence in him and in myself.” The Ravens will continue to find ways to get the ball to these sure-handed targets. Fortunately, this will add depth to Joe Flacco’s arsenal, which has expanded this year with the emergence of wide receiver Torrey Smith and the addition on Lee Evans, who has been injured since week two.
I assure you Ravens fans, all hope is not lost; not the least bit. The Ravens are a good football team and will find a way to bounce back. “It’s the National Football League,” Ray Lewis said. “The bottom line is that we’re number one in the division and we have the division on the line this week. I think that’s the exciting part of going back, you learn from these mistakes.” The Ravens play division foe Cincinnati this Sunday in a game with playoff implications. They follow that game with the much-anticipated Thanksgiving battle with Jim Harbaugh’s red-hot 49ers. *All quotes and information was taken from post-game interviews, analysis and NFL.com. —Ron Benamor
Thanks, Ron… we’ll go to a Bengals at Ravens preview in the next blurb…
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