Ravens Reeling After Patriots' Protection Hits New Levels

The list of excuses is about as big as the scoreboard in the new Dallas stadium; The endless reasons for why the Ravens lost their game on Sunday against the New England Patriots only brings to perspective how poorly every aspect of the game operated. What was looked forward to as a clash of the titans (not the ones in Tennessee) ended up being nothing more than 60 minutes of ambiguous penalties, dropped passes, and one man who, according to Rodney Harrison, likes to wear a skirt. The fact is, the Ravens lost the game, lost sole possession of first place, and lost a great chance to gain ground on New England for home field advantage once the playoff picture begins to become the popular kid in school.

Breaking down the game, there were several causes to blame for the Ravens’ failure to execute against the Patriots. Whatever you believe was the reason is your opinion, but Baltimore will definitely have a lot to talk about over the next week.

The Mark Clayton dropped pass.

Nothing killed me more than this, mainly because I found myself wearing my Mark Clayton jersey and stuck in a situation that I couldn’t get out of to take it off. Nothing killed the Ravens more than their number two receiver dropping a pass that a five year old could have caught. With the game on the line, Clayton let the 1st down conversion pass bounce off of his chest pads, thus creating the "thud" heard around the world. Regardless of how bad Clayton probably feels about missing the opportunity, it’s hard to let it go that the Ravens could have kept the drive, and the momentum, moving if he had just caught the ball with his arms extended instead of trying to cradle it in the nook of his elbow.

Hanging onto one dropped pass at the end of the game sounds sort of silly in the long run. The game had been played for 59 minutes prior to Clayton’s pass, and contained several opportunities for the Ravens to get the points they needed to build a lead. Mark Clayton’s dropped pass was timed about as perfectly as a top BCS top 5 team losing their last game of the season. If he had dropped that pass in the 1st quarter, it would be more difficult for people to go back and blame him completely for the Ravens’ loss. If the name of the game is to blame (you like those rhymes?), then there is no reason not to blame Derrick Mason for dropping a touchdown pass in the 2nd quarter. Those points would be worth the same, right?

The Ravens’ defense.

Whenever you allow an opposing QB to throw for 258 yards and have over 65% completion rate, then your chances don’t stand for much when trying to win the game. We’ve been spoiled with a defense that has pummeled offenses into the ground, leaving nothing behind but some ripped up shoulder pads and a jockstrap or two. The most frustrating part about watching this game was the strategic method that Brady used to pick apart the Ravens’ defense. He quietly produced big enough numbers to give the defense breathing room.

The hardest part for the Ravens’ defense seemed to be stopping Wes Welker. While a lot of local analysts predicted that Welker would be a problem for the Ravens to contain, you would think that the coaches and veteran leaders would have realized how much of a threat he poised to be as well. Anyone can see that when Welker is in the game, he needs to be accounted for or else he will exploit you for everything you’ve got. Whether it was unlucky that he was active for the game is an opinion solely for each individual fan, but the fact is that any top NFL team needs to prepare for each scenario as if it were the one at hand.

The Ravens’ offense.

Quite the opposite to the previous scapegoat, but just as suspect to blame, the Ravens’ offense found itself under-preforming compared to the first three games of the season. Don’t get me wrong, Joe Flacco played a decent game, and can’t be held as the only one accountable if the Ravens’ offense is, in fact, the reason why the team lost the game. In fact, Flacco threw for more yardage than Brady did. The difference was the play calling.

Tom Brady is a passing quarterback, and the Patriots are an air attack offense. During their years of dominance over the NFL, they have never been known as a team that loves to run the ball as much as they enjoy passing. However, they have always maintained a balanced offense. Cam Cameron will figure out that Flacco can’t afford to have 47 passing attempts per game. For any successful offense to operate, a running game must be just as present as a passing game. The Ravens will learn, mainly because they have the tools to do so. The game against the Patriots was a test run that failed, but don’t expect Cameron to make a habit of it.

Because of this learning process (Flacco is still only in his 2nd year), a letdown performance like the one against New England was bound to happen. Blame the offense as much as you like, but remember that it’s better to get the disappointment out of the way.

Ron Winters and the rest of his crew.

This is probably the most popular excuse as to why the Ravens couldn’t walk out of Foxboro with an undefeated record still in tact. While I think that blaming the refs is usually a stupid move in order to avoid the real reason for a teams’ failure to execute, Winters and friends had a day to forget behind the whistle.

The rules exist in the NFL to maintain order, control the game, and for teams to compete fairly. Some of the penalties that can be called are overlooked, mainly because the yellow flag could find greener pastures on every play. Calls like holding and illegal contact are subjective to the referee and his crew. Many will find that not calling those types of penalties on every play will allow the contest to go smoothly, avoiding any contrasting and favorable image in the eyes of the fans, but more importantly, the NFL figureheads.

The only call from Sunday’s game that I can find disparaging is the penalty called on John Harbaugh for arguing from the sideline. It’s hard to think that the only reason the penalty was called is because Harbaugh’s language was picked up on CBS microphones. With the "S" word being dropped, Winters immediately had the Ravens’ suffering for an apparent poor choice of word(s) by their head coach. Judging from the call, do you mean to tell me that Bill Belichick or Mike Tomlin have never dropped such horrific language in the presence of a line judge? What is the point of playing the game when the players are being penalized for the actions of figures not directly involved in the action of the game? A penalty is to punish a player for providing an illegal advantage to his team; A head coach using foul language towards a referee hardly meets that criteria.

Not to delve into using the refs as an excuse, but it’s hard to ignore when the players themselves voiced their opinions on the matter. Ray Lewis was not silent on the issue.

All the other calls, whether it was the two roughing the passer calls or the ill-placed penalties that helped to continue  Patriot drives that otherwise would have been stuck in a standstill, were legitimate. As biased as it may come across, there is a strong issue as to whether or not the Ravens’ saw the same amount of liberal willingness from the officials to throw the yellow flag in situations where it would benefit Baltimore. It is an easy guess, and a fair judgement to most fans’ opinions to say that Ron Winters and his crew will be a bit more prepared when they take the field next week.

This past game was an eye opener for Baltimore, the team, and the fans. The Ravens are entering a stretch of the season that will not provide any give, but instead only a brick wall of challenges and opportunities for failure. In order for Harbaugh to avoid having his team fall flat on its collective facemask, they must continue procedures as they have been going. The offense will continue to grow and the defense will provide breathing room for an organization that has bright days in the near future.

Argue amongst yourselves, or with me. Opinions are much appreciated.

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