This Was A Team Loss

[theFRANCHISE]

[i](I apologize for making yet another game-related thread, but I felt that this was different than the other one-and-done threads that usually pop up after each game.)

[/i][b]The Ravens lost. Badly. And now the team is 2-3 -- [u]TOUGH[/u].[/b]

No one enjoys losing, and every loss hurts. [b]But to put things in perspective, it's not as if the playoffs are out of reach with this loss.[/b] The best possible record this team can achieve is now 13-3, and realistically, a playoff berth is still attainable even with 3 more losses, 4 tops.
[b]
In other words, quit with the doom and gloom.[/b] There is NO REASON to panic. Not when the team is 5 games into the season with 11 left to play. Not when this loss came to a NON-DIVISIONAL opponent; had this been a loss to the Browns/Bengals/Steelers, then an increased sense of urgency may be appropriate.

Otherwise, stop the name-calling. Stop the finger-pointing. [b]Stop the blame game.[/b]

Face it: growing pains were bound to come. [b]The struggles of this team cannot be pinned on one side of the ball[/b], nor one individual player -- to say otherwise would be to deny that this team is fallible.

[b]Today's loss came at the expense of [i]all[/i] sides of the ball. [/b]

The offensive line did not protect the QB nor open up holes. The running backs did not always fight for yardage or find the right holes. The QB made mistakes. The receivers dropped passes that hit their hands and did not always run the correct routes. The defensive line did not always finish on tackles. The linebackers whiffed on a few tackles. The defensive secondary was simply beat in coverage. The specials teams units did not cover kicks well. The playcalling on both sides of the ball was hot-and-cold between too conservative and too aggressive.

Fact of the matter is, this loss hurts more because there is no one side of the ball to blame. [b]There is no one person to blame. The blame falls on the entire team -- period.[/b]

The Ravens' philosophy has always been about the Next Man Up; when a player goes down or when a side of the ball is struggling, everyone else helps to pick up the pieces. [b]Today is [i]not[/i] indicative of the type of football that this team is capable of.[/b] Today is [i]not[/i] the litmus test that determines whether this team will be a playoff contender.

[b]Today is simply a lesson in what happens when the team does not play as a [u]team[/u].[/b]

To have expected the Ravens to go 19-0 this season was unrealistic. To expect them to find rousing success without obstacles, demonstrates a severe misunderstanding of the game of football.

[b]What happened, happpened -- deal with it.[/b] So, the team is 2-3. They are still 2-1 in the division. In going toe-to-toe with the Steelers and Titans, they have proven that they are fully capable of competing with some of the better teams in the league. In losing significantly to the Colts, [b]they have proven that they still have work to do before they can compete with the absolute best.[/b]

Hats off to the Colts for winning a game that, in all fairness, they were expected to win before this season. Indianapolis proved that they deserve the success they've had -- [b]the Ravens still need to prove they deserve the success Baltimore fans expect of them.[/b]

[bkirha1]

Well said

[bluehen1987]

Amen! Very well spoken!

Now, let's look turn our sights to the Maimi Dolphins!

[The Seed of Reed]

agree.

tough loss but it's not the end of the world.

like Harbaugh said, we deserved this loss.

[Moderator 2]

All 3 phases of the game did NOT WORK I have never seen ST this bad all year.

[bossman419]

[quote name='Moderator 2' post='75581' date='Oct 12 2008, 09:04 PM']All 3 phases of the game did NOT WORK I have never seen ST this bad all year.[/quote]
tell that to some of the less knowledgeable members... oh wait i forgot flacco plays of special teams and is a cornerback as well

[Perfekt]

[quote name='bossman419' post='75646' date='Oct 12 2008, 10:04 PM']tell that to some of the less knowledgeable members... oh wait i forgot flacco plays of special teams and is a cornerback as well[/quote]


this is why people argue with you about your comments cuz they are directed towards people instead of how franchise put it as a general statement. if your mad about the loss take it out on other fans not your fellow fans. and stop hating on a guy who isnt even playing.

[bkirha1]

[quote name='Perfekt' post='75667' date='Oct 12 2008, 11:05 PM']this is why people argue with you about your comments cuz they are directed towards people instead of how franchise put it as a general statement. if your mad about the loss take it out on other fans not your fellow fans. and stop hating on a guy who isnt even playing.[/quote]

agreed

[nevermore621]

I agree...this was a TEAM loss in the end and the TEAM needs to come together and play sound fundamental football in order to get on the winning side again.

And we as fans need to be CONSTRUCTIVE with our criticisms, and avoid the personal attacks that go on in here against individual players and fellow fans.

[RavensMan]

We need to start doing something or stop doing something. Not sure what it is but we need some help

[TXRaven]

Good post

[ravensgirlx88]

I just hope we can move on from this & play well in Miami. We can't let this loss get us down. We are still a GREAT team with ALOT of talent, Harbaugh is still my coach. Flacco is still my QB. Peytons rookie year will probablly be much like Flacco's. You can't build a winning franchise overnight. If you want a GREAT team NOW then maybe be a bandwagon fan somewhere else. We don't need you in Baltimore.

[RedFire]

[quote name='ravensgirlx88' post='75753' date='Oct 13 2008, 08:27 AM']I just hope we can move on from this & play well in Miami. We can't let this loss get us down. We are still a GREAT team with ALOT of talent, Harbaugh is still my coach. Flacco is still my QB. Peytons rookie year will probablly be much like Flacco's. You can't build a winning franchise overnight. If you want a GREAT team NOW then maybe be a bandwagon fan somewhere else. We don't need you in Baltimore.[/quote]


peyton had 26tds to go with his 28ints in 98.

i'm only 22yrs old...not that i claim 2 be a football expert and i'm a armchair qb like most of us.
when the offense is stagnant you switch things up....you swap out flacco. THEY DO IT AT EVERY OTHER LEVEL when you can't get things going!
NFL needs to realize the bench in important like college coaches do. A college coach would not tolerate this!

[Rinbee]

Thinking from a team perspecitve and not putting balme on any one person, but with all of the discussions about Flacco vs Smith, should Harb have taken the opportunity, when the game was clearly out of reach, to put Smith in (assuming he is healthy enough) and see what he can do? I know coaches do not like to send a negative signal to their QB, but we had an opportunity to take a look at other players (not just at QB). I get that Harb is sticking with Flacco, but assuming the time may come when Smith or Bouman are needed, it would be nice if they had some playing time under their belt. Same goes for anyone else on the depth chart

[FerrariFan87]

Every loss is a TEAM loss... It is never one side of the ball over another that costs us a game.

[Bullrush]

Except for 2-3 guys the entire team played terrible. Not only the team as in the players but also the coaches. I came to the conclusion that with Rex Ryan at D# coordinator we will never win a superbowl. Anybody can beat the Rams offense with a defense like that, you don't have to be a genius. But every time we play a team with a great offense we just look pathetic on defense. While we're at it, where were the safeties yesterday? How come there was nobody over the top to make sure we don't give up those bigplays. Did Reed once again gamble all the time or was that our game plan? Because if so then Rex needs to go.

Anyway, we played 3 of the best teams in the NFL the past 3 games. Calm down already. You'd think that we lost to the Browns 3 straight times. Don't get fooled by our record, we should have been 4-1 right now, not 2-3.

As for the QB play if all you can do is pull up stats then you must be one of those who doesn't know what you're talking about. Maybe you should focus on playing Madden instead. Again, we played 3 of the best Teams, 3 of the defenses in the NFL the past 3 games. What did you expect him to do? Light the place up, throw for 500 yards and 6 touchdowns per game? No. Start Troy Smith? Are you insane? Flacco outplayed Smith in the pre season. Smith started throwing balls just a few days ago. What kind of logic is this?

What we need to do is establish a running game and then tell our defense to do their job. But this is on Rex Ryan. Not sure why we didn't run the ball more often yesterday, i thought our game plan on offense was pathetic as well. When you play the Colts you run the ball, i don't care what the score is. All they want to do is get you to throw the ball, and we did that. Flacco played great when we had a running game, he played great when the defense helped him out. He's not Peyton Manning yet that he can just play great without having a good defense. Not that we have any of those weapons on offense the Colts have to begin with.

So calm down everybody. We had a tough schedule at the beginning. We're now playing Miami, Oakland, Cleveland and Houston next. So things will get much easier for us. Don't try to judge Flacco based on how he does against the best teams in the NFL. He looked like the real deal when our running backs and our defense showed up and he will show up again in the next few games, and all of a sudden he'll be the real deal again. Let him play, stop judging him after every throw. He will make mistakes, that's part of being a rookie. We didn't draft Johnny Unitas in his prime, we drafted a rookie QB.

Rex needs to get this defense going and Cameron needs to get our running game going.

[TXRaven]

I am with you Ravensgirl. Ain't time to give up. If we win the next 3 everybody will want back on the bandwagon. Even though I have lived in Texas for 5 years now I was born and raised in and around Baltimore. I like many of you bleed Black and purple and that will never change. Hell, I still cheer for the Orioles and they have not produced anything in over a decade.

[FerrariFan87]

[quote name='Bullrush' post='75780' date='Oct 13 2008, 09:34 AM']Except for 2-3 guys the entire team played terrible. Not only the team as in the players but also the coaches. I came to the conclusion that with Rex Ryan at D# coordinator we will never win a superbowl. Anybody can beat the Rams offense with a defense like that, you don't have to be a genius. But every time we play a team with a great offense we just look pathetic on defense. While we're at it, where were the safeties yesterday? How come there was nobody over the top to make sure we don't give up those bigplays. Did Reed once again gamble all the time or was that our game plan? Because if so then Rex needs to go.[/quote]

If Marvin Lewis gets fired, I would LOVE to have him back helping out with our D, because then maybe we could get some of that old form back that LED us to the SB win...

[FerrariFan87]

Overall, everyone needs to step up because our next 4 games are VERY winnable...

[mcgaheewillrunyourassover]

that game was awful...just flat out terrible in every aspect...except i guess for the run defense,other than that one run we tackled well,many times rhodes didnt even go forward after he was hit

but flacco was awful...3 ints...and couldnt even get a handoff once
mcgahee and mcclain had a few good runs a piece...but many times didnt even go forward after being hit
there was no pass-protection,at times we had a pass-rush but not often,but no coverage
we couldnt get a takeaway,and c-mac got burned a few times

one of the worst played games of the year....the only brightside this week alot of crazy stuff happened
many big games that were supposed to be close werent
SDG/NWE CAR/TAM...the only one that was was ATL/CHI...rams beat skins...so atleast we know we werent the only one

[Moderator 3]

Interesting article by Scott Garceau up on the main BR.com site:

[b]Monday Morning QB: Manning Up[/b]
Scott Garceau offers his take on the Ravens' 31-3 loss to the Colts.
[i]by Scott Garceau
Oct 13, 2008, 2:34PM [/i]

After playing four solid games, the Ravens laid an egg. The Colts dominated in all three phases of the 31-3 blowout. In a Sunday filled with thrillers, this wasn

[PuRock]

[quote name='Moderator 3' post='75859' date='Oct 13 2008, 03:49 PM']The Colts top three receivers have a decided advantage over the banged up Ravens secondary. Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez will be matched up with Chris McAlister, Corey Ivy and Frank Walker.

These three Ravens can't cover those three Colts for long. If the Ravens don't get pressure on Manning, it could get ugly early.[/quote]

I also saw this coming before the game even started. I didn't see anyway that we were going to stop them, but I stayed optimistic. Ivy was gaurding Wayne on that one touchdown. It just wasn't going to happen. It's not like Manning needed time in the pocket either, it was way too easy.

Manning always seems to get to play us when we are decimated with injury in our secondary. Last year we were down both our starters. This year down our starting CB, safety, and few guys on the depth chart. Maybe it's just because we're always injured!

What makes it even more like a slap in the face. Everybody talks about how this was the breakout game that Manning & Harrison needed. How they didn't look rusty one bit against our #1 defense. But how much did they actually need to do, is my question.

[Moderator 2]

Actually the breakout was the last 4 mins of the Colts-Texans game, what else has not been mention is that Manning has been without starting center Jeff Saturday and that made a HUGE difference.

[BrownsFan]

I don't think it can be said much better than how franchise put it.

You got beat and beat badly; teams get their clock cleaned all the time. Move on.