Taking An Emotional Break For The Remainder Of The Season

Jimmy Smith was the only saving grace to a dumpster fire of a secondary for the Ravens. Now that Smith is gone for the season, needing surgery to repair his injured foot, I feel deflated.

When head coach John Harbaugh delivered the news on Smith's injury, it not only closed the book on Smith for the season, but also the Ravens chances at a Super Bowl this season.

Now, they'll be lucky to even make the playoffs. Emotionally, I'm at a point where I believe the Ravens are playing with house money and anything extra is a bonus.

The AFC North has been a fun division to watch this season. It's essentially four brothers, constantly beating each other up to try to one-up the other. The Ravens are somehow in last place, despite a 5-4 record, and no one is a clear-cut favorite to win.

Even with Smith out, the Ravens still have a chance to make the playoffs because of their light schedule the rest of the season. To determine if the Ravens will win or lose a game the rest of the season, I'm only considering the combination of opposing quarterbacks and receiver depth against this secondary with no depth.

The Ravens are signing free agents and thrusting them into starting spots. It's that bad.

Of the seven remaining games, I think the loss of Smith will now contribute to an additional three losses. I figured the Ravens would likely lose to the Saints, and one other game with Smith. Now, I think the Ravens won't only be able to contain the Saints, but likely the Dolphins, Texans and the Browns with a very fresh Josh Gordon on the field.

With Smith out, I believe the Ravens are on pace to finish the year with a 9-7 record at best. If they make the playoffs, there's no way they'll contain quarterbacks like Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning; that's just getting through the AFC to the Super Bowl.

C.J. Mosley has me spoiled. It has been a while since the Ravens have drafted a player of his caliber and they go that because they aren't used to picking in the middle of the pack when it comes to the draft. So for the rest of the season, here's an easy chart to go by when it comes to my emotions.

Ravens Win: Great! You have to be happy with a win in the NFL!

Ravens Lose: Oh well, they were done when they lost Jimmy Smith. Now they're one step closer to an impactful draft pick.

Ravens Make Playoffs: Great! Five out of six years under Harbaugh is something to hang your hat on.

Ravens Miss Playoffs: Better draft position! It's impossible for the offense to score every time they touch the field with how trash the secondary is.

Chances are, you may feel the same way. I'm not trying to be negative at all. I'm just calling it in a realistic way as I see it.

House. Money.

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