Everything is relative… you lose your first 3 games all of which you could have won and held the late lead in at various points of the 4th quarter…
Okay, it takes time for a new offensive coordinator (Marc Trestman) to gel with his limited offense— limited that is by the absence of any real #1 wide receiver talent outside of Steve Smith, plus the damaged offensive line’s not being able to block for any kind of running game— and then you have to counterbalance the inability of your defense (without a major pass-rush force any longer) to make key stops or protect a late lead.
It seems like a perfect storm brewing in Baltimore.
But wait a minute— whether you were 1-2, 2-1 or 0-3, you still had to go into Pittsburgh on a short week and take care of business against the Steelers this week. So what would it matter if you went into Thursday night’s game at 1-2 and lost to the Killer Bees? You’d still be 1-3 with a ton of season left to play.
So win this game against Pittsburgh on the road and basically you’re right back where you started in terms of real NFL scheduling.
You would then have 12 games left (7 of them at home) to solve your mysteries and iron things out, particularly in the crucial secondary coverage and the pass rush.
Meanwhile, it doesn’t get any easier for the Ravens—Wide receiver Breshad Perriman’s return to the practice field was short-lived. The Ravens’ first-round pick was a limited practice participant last Thursday and Friday, but felt discomfort in his knee during pre-game warmups on Sunday, and was not back on the field for Monday evening’s practice.
The Ravens are in need of a deep threat in their offense as opposing defenses haven’t had to be too worried about big-play threats. Perriman’s speed on the field would immediately change how defenses have to approach Baltimore.
Quarterback Joe Flacco didn’t have much patience in talking about Perriman’s potential return. He said he didn’t throw to Perriman last week.
“It’s not something I’m going to worry about until I know for sure that he’s coming back,” Flacco said. “Just tell me when he’s coming back. Other than that, don’t really bother me with it because it’s not something we can worry about at this point.”
Starting tight end Crockett Gillmore sat out Monday’s practice with a calf injury, an unnerving development considering how integral he’s been to the passing game thus far. Gillmore is tied with Smith for the most touchdowns (two) and has the second-most receiving yards (151) and third-most receptions (10) on the team. He’s been a big threat in the red zone. Gillmore got off to a good start in the first half of Sunday’s game with three catches for 40 yards, but he was pulled from action in the second half. It’s unclear when he suffered his injury.
If Gillmore can’t suit up Thursday, the Ravens will have to rely on rookies Maxx Williams and Nick Boyle. Williams caught three passes for 44 yards against the Bengals and Boyle made two snags for 19 yards, including his first career catch that included a hurdle over a defender.
The Ravens might have their starting left tackle back as Eugene Monroe returned to the field for the first time since suffering a concussion on the opening series of the first game in Denver. Monroe would step in for second-year tackle James Hurst, who has had some difficulty containing speed rushers around the edge. The Ravens run game could also use Monroe, which would again give the Ravens their starting five offensive linemen from last season.
That still doesn’t neutralize the disappointing play of RT Rick Wagner so far, but it is a ray of optimistic discussion for the offensive unit.
Veteran defensive end Chris Canty is still sidelined by a calf injury.
Canty missed Sunday’s game against the Bengals, but the defensive line held up, limiting the Bengals’ strong rushing duo of Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill to just 70 yards on 25 carries. Lawrence Guy started in Canty’s place alongside nose tackle Brandon Williams, who received Pro Football Focus’ highest grade (plus-7.6) of anybody in the NFL on Sunday.
Let’s face it, the Ravens lost a lot of physical and emotional leadership on defense when Ray Lewis retired, and then Ed Reed fell apart…and now, without Suggs, it’s almost academic that the the entire house will collapse— or so I’m told.
Now it’s Steve Smith—the Ravens’ 36-year-old playmaker has carried the Ravens offense the past two weeks and quarterback Joe Flacco wants to ease his load.
Yes, Smith has been a monster with 349 receiving yards (third-most in the NFL) and two touchdowns, but Flacco wants to give his other weapons a chance. Flacco has targeted Smith 40 times in three games. The next closest wide receivers in targets (Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown) have each had 11 passes come their way. Running back Justin Forsett has had 18 targets and tight end Crockett Gillmore has 13.
On Sunday, Smith recorded 13 catches on 17 targets for 186 yards and two scores. Nobody else had even half as many targets and Aiken had just one.
“We can [make plays], we’ve just got to give them the ball and give them the opportunities to do it,” Flacco said.
“We need to get some other guys some similar amount of opportunities and see what they can do and get their confidence going and make them believe that they can make those plays down the stretch because they can.”
The level at which Smith is playing has also certainly impacted how many passes have come his way.
The Ravens have used some interesting methods to get him open, including lining him up in the slot and off the ball, so he can’t be pressed, and even once setting him into motion and having him loop behind the line of scrimmage before catching a pass.
“The issue is, when we have Steve, you can’t not find ways to get him the ball,” Flacco said. “A lot of the plays in our game plan, you say ‘OK, let’s make them for Steve because he’s really good.”
Smith was asked whether there was a point in which he tells his teammates to hop on for the ride.
“No, there’s a point in the game where I probably said a few words that I don’t want my kids to know I said, but I just go out there and make plays and do my best,” he said. “I think you can always get better. There were a few plays that I’d like to have back.”
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