Ravens offense must get off to faster starts

The Baltimore Ravens suffered their first loss of the season to the Oakland Raiders in wild fashion Sunday to drop them to 3-1 on the season.

There were several reasons why this game was such a crazy one, but Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has a pretty good idea what the main one is.

This is spot on. Against Buffalo, Cleveland and Jacksonville the Ravens offense got off to extremely slow starts early on, and had to pull off some late magic to pull out the win.

Winning ugly is the norm for the Ravens, but it’s unsustainable. It doesn't often work against teams of a similar or higher skill level.

The Ravens didn't seem overmatched by the Raiders but their offensive firepower was just too great for the Baltimore defense to continue to shut down over and over again.

This is why the Ravens offense needs to start showing some pride and coming out firing on all cylinders early in their contests. Terrance West, Steve Smith Sr. and Mike Wallace all looked good in the second half of the game but had they been able to contribute earlier, the Ravens could've taken an early lead thanks to the play of their defense.

The Ravens offensive line looked bad throughout the game, and their ability to both run and pass block well seems to be the Ravens major key to success. Hopefully Ronnie Stanley will return to the lineup next week, and can help this offense get rolling in the first half.