Offensive Struggles Not All Joe Flacco's Fault

Although the Baltimore Ravens offense has looked inept at times this season, the blame can not be put squarely on their quarterback. Many fans around Baltimore are quick to finger Joe Flacco as the big problem in our offensive disconnect but the problem goes a lot deeper than just Mr. Flacco. Joe may have his issues and sure, he has not helped our cause in our three loses this season but he has continued to do his best to get the ball to our play-makers with the plays he is able to run.

The Ravens are an extremely talented team. More so even than most NFL squads. So why, when we leave the comforts of M&T Bank Stadium, do they look like the Cleveland Browns or well... Seattle Seahawks??

There are many theories bouncing around Raven nation as to why the up and down performances each week. I tend to think it must be a real disconnect between the coaches and players on an emotional level. The players, who show so much pride and emotion for big games, simply don't have it in them to pack up those feelings and take them on the road. This is a big problem. In dealing with a highly emotional team we are dealing with a team that has to "get up" for games, a team who's performance is solely based on how much feeling they can muster for any game.

Maybe that is not the problem though. Maybe the Titans, Seahawks and Jaguars are just better teams. Maybe any team that plays a 4-3 defense is better than us... Our offense seemed to be able to move the ball down the field for the most part but the drives would always stall when there was a dropped pass or we took a shot deep and did not connect on first or second down, leaving us with second or third and long. For some reason when we lose a down and gain nothing that spells the end of our scoring opportunity. To get back to my point, the blame can only partially be put on Flacco. There was poor play calling dropped balls and the defense could not stop Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks offensive line when we needed them to.

There is something very wrong and this team may play themselves right out of the post season if they continue to with these performances...