Terrell Suggs: Ravens are in a 'state of emergency'

Some will sugarcoat it. Others will say the Ravens still have everything within striking distance. You can make that case, sure. There's still plenty of time left in the season to reel off plenty of wins in a row en route to another deep postseason run.

But linebacker Terrell Suggs was honest and closer to correct about where his team currently stands.

"I am very concerned," he told reporters following Baltimore's 19-16 loss to the Steelers. "We’re in a state of emergency."

You're fooling yourself if you think the Ravens are still in an OK position. With the way they've played, this isn't a good football team right now. It's a slightly below average group that, quite frankly, is underachieving. The moving parts are failing each other — from the offensive line, to the running backs' abilities to pass protect, to quarterback Joe Flacco's decision-making.

The defense can only do so much and even they are beginning to show chinks in the armor. Heading into Sunday's game, the Steelers were averaging 61 rushing yards per game. By halftime, they had 64.

The supposed changes and tweaks to the offensive line? Didn't do much. Rice (15 carries for 45 yards) hasn't been able to run like a $40 million running back and Pierce has been twice as ineffective (six carries for 13 yards).

Sure, a bye week serves the Ravens well at this time. And John Harbaugh told reporters they coaches will think about having the players practice Tuesday and Wednesday. Perhaps, they can use those days to install some different components to help spark them beginning in Week 9.

As it stands, the Ravens are now two games back in the race for the AFC North. The Bengals gained a game with a last-second win over Detroit.

Yes, there are nine games remaining and the bye week came at a great time with the Ravens struggling in multiple facets. But there's no denying the fact that the Ravens are in troubling territory. Key division games against Cleveland and Cincinnati are upcoming when the Ravens return from their bye.

The Pittsburgh game was teetering in the must-win range. These next two games will certainly be in a higher category.