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Listen folks: And I know that I am preaching to the choir here. First, 6 touches in 3 games for Dixon is such an insignificant body of work that no conclusion can be drawn from that, obviously. Secondly, if we don't fix the o-line in terms of personnel (including the coach) and scheme, I don't care if you have a backfield of Jim Brown and Barry Sanders, it isn't going to work.

What we missed in each and every game this season...!!!

R eadiness
A ttitude
V ision of Joe
E nergy
N ow of Never
S econdary speed

What we missed in each and every game this season...!!!

F ocus
I ntensity
G ame management
H ead coaching
T eam

Re-training muscle memory and reversing bad habits. Man, this is getting old with the Ravens, but that is what we are up against. We are not just looking at breaking the bad habits of players (pick one), but also, the bad habits of the coaches. A team has to work really hard at the wrong things to get this messed up.

The offense not even getting into the red zone against the Jets for 60 minutes is just so totally embarrassing. Someone in a position of authority on this team, please give a substantive explanation for this. And please give a plausible plan for correcting this mess.

The fans have many good ideas. We are hanging with you, Ravens.

remember on 10/12 the article about how the change in OC injected energy into the Ravens offense? I guess that was premature like many of us thought. I hate to say this because I have been a big supporter of Flacco. But I think it comes down to this. We need someone at QB that has something to play for. Maybe it is true what his worst critics have suggested. Maybe Flacco has already achieved what he was playing for. Maybe all he wanted was a SB ring and a big contract.

Patterns of performance equal momentum. We are stacking up a whole lot of negative momentum. One pattern in particular that is becoming quite noticeable and intolerable is the weekly parade of rhetoric that explains and excuses, once again, a very bad performance.

The only thing we have proved to be true, so far, are the words of our critics, who, after week 3, declared us to be the worst 3-0 team in the NFL.

Easily corrected mistakes? Maybe not that easy after all, Coach. But now we have 2 weeks off to make twice the number of corrections as we did today. The problem is 2 x 0 = 0.

As far as I am concerned, we are already at the point of trying to figure out what is really going on and what we need to do. We don't need another loss to initialize that quest.

When he was taken out by friendly fire during that play with Beckham on the game winning TD, I see it more as Weddle running into him. The play was in front of Weddle. Young was rotating to cover Beckham who had cut right to left across the field. I think Weddle should have done more to avoid his own teammate/co-defender; especially, due to the fact that Young was covering the Giants killer receiver.

Flacco's technique is getting worse. He seems to be throwing off his back foot more and more which effects accuracy, arm strength and arm health.

But really, penalties do factor into the large number of 3rd downs and the low conversion rate of 3rd downs. They keep putting us into a deeper hole that is harder and harder to climb out of. When 1st and 2nd down do not produce much, you find yourself facing 3rd and long. Then a penalty of the holding variety trying to keep Flacco from getting pummeled makes it 3rd and very long.

I think the red zone psyches us out now, too. We try so hard to get that red zone monkey off our back and we screw it up yet again.

But HC John says it is "easily correctable."

Correction - In my exuberance to amplify the futility of our red zone offense, I described an impossibility - "4th and a sixteenth of an inch and goal on the 5." Make that a sixteenth of an inch for a TD. You know what I mean. Unprecedented red zone frustration occurred against the Giants with 1st and goal at the 3 and coming away with 0 points.

I would sure like to see, as every Raven fan would, marked improvement in the red zone. But until then, take every FG that presents itself that we can. We have the best dang FG kicker in the NFL. Stop the penalties that put us out of FG range. And do not go for it on 4th down in the red zone, unless time is running out and we need a TD (God help us in that scenario). But I don't care if it is 4th and a sixteenth of an inch and goal on the 5. Kick It! Stop chasing points every game. We do not have a consistent enough offense to be throwing away a sure 3 points.

Harbaugh says "easily correctable." Let's get on with it, then. Prove it.

One commenter (Fastynart) referred to beating the Jets soundly. That would be nice, I say. And pleasantly shocking. Can we beat anybody soundly?

Well coached teams are well disciplined. And well disciplined teams do not commit a large number of penalties. Well coached and well disciplined teams are not self-destructive.

But really, penalties is just one of the chronic issues on this team that make us better at finding ways to lose than we are at finding ways to win.

Bandwagon fans are not defined by the fact that we criticize our favorite team. A bandwagon fan is one who abandons the team when they are playing badly; then return to cheer them on when they start playing well again.

In my opinion, being a fan does not mean living in a fantasy world and believing that our team is better than it is. And it does not mean to discredit critics as fair weather followers and ignore the reality. When patterns develop that contribute to losing, like drive-killing penalties and red zone anxiety disorder, a true, frustrated fan will criticize his/her team because we care.

And starting at Quarterback, out of Arkansas - #15 - RYAN MALLETT! Ahhh, wouldn't that be nice?

You can predict the post-game rhetoric before you even hear the current version. Why? Because you have heard it before...lots of times.

Well, all the warm fuzzies over the new OC are sure better than NOT being excited and energized by the change. But the games will tell the story. Can't wait for Sunday; like the first drive in a new car. Go Ravens!

Harbaugh keeps saying we need to play better. Actually, we also need better plays called.

1 hour ago, stixfix69 said:

First thing, no day off tomorrow, practice in full pads, you did not play well enough for a day off...Looks like Wagner is injured again, you better sign a worthy RG, as Yanda was a beast a RT.....And somebody needs fired, make it happen.....And Joe seriously 3rd and 8 don't throw into double coverage in the endzone, focus on the first down, then take your shots, 4th and 8 once again 2 weeks in a row is a tough play to make....

I agree. The team had their day off a day early.

Yes, Trestman did abandon the running game. No one has to even see the numbers 8 out of the final 45 plays to know that we abandoned the running game.

We self-destructed. So hard to see us dominate the stats, yet get outplayed and not deserve a W.

5 hours ago, Fastynart said:

O come on. They are not "so good". They are improved, but they have played against lousy quarterbacks and bad teams. Give them props for bailing out the gawd awful offense, but to say they are "so good" is ridiculous at this point. Wait until they play against a real quarterback. Then, if they get the job done, we can give them the "so good" tag.

Against Buffalo, we were going against an offense that could be pretty explosive, and we didn't let them explode. But overall, I think your assessment is fair. It is the same as saying we are 3-0 against three teams that are collectively 1-8.

1. Communication on D is better...
1a. Pees on the sideline interacting with his defenders during the game.
1b. Studious and performing Weddle at the back-end of the D calling out positions and tips.

2. Team speed on D is better...
2a. We are in better position.
2b. We are reading, anticipating and reacting better. Everyone knows, now, they had better be running to the football.
2c. Talent upgrade (Orr, Weddle, Mosley [MUCH better pass coverage], and rookies).

MVP on D so far, in my opinion, is Weddle. See previous article comparing Weddle to the Ray Lewis effect on our D. Also Ed Reed.