Bye or Sell

So this past week was officially the bye week and I think I speak for all Ravens fans when I say, "Thank God!" We were heading in with a horrific three week losing streak where we lost by a total of eleven points, yes combined, to three very good teams.

Losing at New England, honestly we all know we kind of expected it, wasn't so bad. Having Clayton take a ball off the numbers when we could have had the game on the final drive, hurts. Then Cincinnati comes to town, coming off an upset victory over the Steelers. They are the cardiac cats for a reason as they ripped out our hearts on their final drive rather than completely screwing the pooch like they had in years past. Of course that leads to this past week where I thought we were in deep trouble after the first quarter and then Flacco/Rice lead us back into the game only to have our special teams blow it on the final play. Well I am here, fellow Ravens fans and probably haters, to ease your pain from this three week demise from on top of the world (and power rankings) to middle of the pack. Let's first talk about why we are depressed.

Our Defense is NOT Who We Thought They Were!

Let's talk about the defense, something we always knew or thought we could count on as Ravens fans/followers. Some of us referred to them for years as our offense, jokingly and unfortunately true for some time. Now we look pitiful, especially in our secondary. We are usually in the top 5 throughout the season in total defense and at this point this unit is a disgrace.

Here is our stat line in defense this season; 21st in points allowed with 21.7, 17th in total defense with 332.7 yards a game (22nd against the pass, 241.5 yds/gm and 8th against the run, at least we have that still), 5th in the league in interceptions with 7 but only 2 fumbles recovered. So through 6 games we have only caused 9 turnovers and scored 2 TDs on defense? Yes, I know Reed actually took one to the house and last season didn't really get going until late in the year. Yes, we are all hoping that happens again. Yes, he is the only person in our secondary I don't want to throw out the window right now. No, I will not stop using interjections! Fine, I will. I'm serious this time. Greg Mattison is not using our pass rushers as well as he could. It seems like the only guy getting pressure is Suggs and Ray Lewis. We have been spoiled in years past but great defensive minds like Marvin Lewis, Mike Nolan and Rex Ryan. All of been head coaches in this league (2 still are) with Nolan turning around a horrible Broncos defense from a year ago to being number 1 in the league. Let's give Mattison time to adjust to his team before Harbaugh probably chews him a new one. But if he doesn't, I can assure you that there are millions of fans that gladly would.

And before someone goes crazy and says how our red zone defense has been decent this year I'm just a guy calling it how I see it. How we looked great in the second quarter on Sunday and blah blah blah. Fine but I am solid in my stance of this defense is not who we thought they were going to be.

Matt Stover WOULD NOT Have Made That Kick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lay off the kicker people. Unless you can kick a 44 yard field goal to win an NFL game on the road just stop it. I was just as upset as any Raven fan was when the kick went inches to the left on Sunday. If it was Stover it wouldn't even have been long enough. Last season, Stover was 5/9 on field goals between 40 and 49 yards. Percentage wise the odds are against Stover who kicked better at home then on the road throughout his career. Also would you rather have the 53rd spot on your roster for a linebacker (like we do this season, they guy took down and injured Adrian Peterson for a series) or a kicker like we had to for previous years for kickoffs. Steven Hauschka is only in his first full season as a field goal kicker. In limited chances, as opposed to other seasons, he is 5/7 with his long being from 44 yards (54 being his career long). Everything was wrong with that play, Koch got it down but the snap was horrible. The rest is obviously history.

Since this is supposed to be a more positive piece let's go to a guy who, in his rookie season, missed a lot of important kicks. Am I the only guy who remembers that in Nate Kaeding's rookie year he was terrible? When it came to crunch time kicks(specifically one kick is all I can think of), like that of Sunday, Kaeding missed. Luckily for him he wasn't used that often, they had some guy named Ladainian Tomli-something. Kaeding did start the season great being perfect until week 7. Unlike Haushka, Kaeding's issue was with shorter kicks (his first miss was between 20-29 yards) and he was pretty accurate during the regular season. The only pressure he faced was in their opening round playoff game against the New York Jets. Also different from Hauschka, Kaeding was actually drafted (3rd round in 2004). Hauschka was an undrafted free agent that we picked up mid season for kickoffs last year. Other undrafted free agent kickers in history for example are Adam Vinatieri, Mike "the drunk kicker" Vanderjagt(thanks Peyton for the nickname) and Robbie Gould to name a few. I'm in no way saying the guy is Vinatieri now but just give him a chance.

Just a reminder folks, that was not all Hauschka. Kick wide yes! Horrible snap by Katula, no. Now for a change in the mood. What should we all be excited about? I think its pretty obvious.

Our Past Two Drafts Rule Everyone!

So in the past two drafts we have selected Joe Flacco, Ray Rice and Michael Oher. All have entered beast mode this season. Flacco is throwing all over everyone, Rice just torched a defense that hadn't allowed a rushing TD all season(Rice got 2) and Michael Oher is passing every test thrown at him on the line.

Starting with Flacco, everyone is just wacko for this guy. For good reason, a Raven QB you actually might want on your fantasy team. Who knew? He ranks in the top 10 in the league in passing yards(9th with 1,674) , pass yards per game (8th with 279, only 4 yards behind Drew Brees) and TDs (tied 8th with 11). Every game it seems like Cam Cameron is trusting him with more and more plays. Whether its going deep or just trying to get the first down, Flacco can do it. His favorite target seems to be the all wise Derrick Mason, all he does is catch first downs. Clayton is starting to come around, making some clutch grabs after that monumental drop in New England. Add to that Todd Heap's performance and health thus far, the guy has weapons. One very quick and elusive man out of the backfield isn't bad either.

That would be Ray Rice. I have been man crushing Ray Rice since I heard we drafted him before last season. Unlike other fans, Antoine, who were or may have been gushing over Steve Slaton(yeah, "We coulda had him, that guys fast," is an exact quote from Antoine) after one year(he is slumping so far this season) now look at this season. Rice has developed into an explosive option out of the backfield. He looked pretty awesome against a tough Minnesota D, especially against the run. Getting the first two rushing scores of the season against them. He may not lead the league in rushing like Cedric Benson but he is averaging 6 yards a carry. Who in their right mind wouldn't take that out of their running back? In addition to his quick cuts, Rice also has great hands. This is the reason why he leads the team with 33 catches with an average of nearly 10 yards per reception. Basically if Rice touches the ball, he has a chance of picking up 8 yards. Now that Willis is nearly out of the picture when it comes to taking his goal line carries, Rice is able to find the end zone. Actually all of Rice's TD runs thus far have been outside the 20. Which is where he has been excellent this season without the TD stealing McGahee or McClain in his way. Now fantasy owners and Ravens fans alike are gushing over this guy, we all think he can handle the load.

Speaking of a load, let's talk about Michael Oher for a second. He played hard in preseason. So hard that he took a man out, drilled him into the ground and had his own helmet fly off. If you missed it, that sucks for you(there was also a moment in week 1 against the Chiefs). What you didn't miss was his performance against one of the nastiest pass rushers in the NFL. After which he sounded very confident, boosting his performance. This didn't sit well with Jared Allen who said, "that's just some idiot trying to talk himself up ... I beat that dude like a redheaded stepchild, let's be honest. If he was so good, why did they have to chip me all day? Ask him that. That's just a rookie trying to build his self-confidence up." Oh really fool? Why he may have been sacked 3 times(1 by Allen on a blown play) and was hurried all day he never turned the ball over, threw for 385 yards, 2 TDs and had a passer rating of 109.2. So if anything he beat you like a red headed stepchild. Oher put up a great fight and will have to continue to prove himself against even more pass rushers in the coming weeks. Look at the schedule! Denver, Indy, Pittsburgh (twice) and Oakland. Yes Oakland. Richard Seymour is still a monster.

So look at it this way Ravens fans, this weekend's game is yet another monster one. We need at least 11 wins for a chance at the playoffs. We have a great chance at doing that. We can still take the division. We are still beasts of the...uh...north!?!