I read an article on BR earlier which made me think. Most of us are of the assumption that the Ravens we underachievers this season. That they didn't play to the level that they are capable of given the current makeup of the roster, opponents ect..
But what if 8-8 was actually better than they should have done?
I mean, they lost to the JETS for petes sake! They almost blew one against the Jags and Eagles..then there was the time when they were down 20-2 to the Browns before winning by less than a touchdown.
If they those three... which COULD have happened, it's a 5-11 record.
The flip side is that you could argue
that the losses to NYJ, NYG, Skins, Raiders, and the second steelere game should have been wins. By that measure, it's an 11-5 record.
I cant really speak to the week 17 loss vs Cindy because the team just didn't even attempt to win that game, they were done. Had they beaten Pittsburgh and with the division on the line, they may have forth at least an effort.
That said, what do you think? Is this a below average team who eeked out a few more wins than it should have? Or is it a slightly above average team that just is a fe peices here and there from contending again?
My my opinion is that they have regress
to being just another team at this point. They aren't bad...really the only team that dominated them was the Patriots (regardless of how close the score was) but they aren't good either. The Ravens of 08-12 would have lost one..maybe two of those "should have won games"
Are they a few players away talent wise? Partially. The results may have been different had the current players executed as well.