Baltimore Ravens: The good, the bad, and the ugly

The Ravens entered Monday night as the clear underdog with their dismal record of 1-5. Their opponent, Arizona, defended their home field with a record of of 4-2. After four up and down quarters the games result was similar to many others this season for Baltimore.

Baltimore received the ball with 1:53 remaining in the game. The Ravens needed a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to tie the game at 26. Baltimore began a drive and with 13 seconds left the Ravens were on the Arizona nine yard line. On the next play, Joe Flacco hurled a ball over Crockett Gillmore’s head. Tony Jefferson, number 22 on the Cardinals intercepted the ball and sealed the win for the now first place Cardinals.

The Ravens may have ended the game with a loss, but the game was riddled with events that were good, bad , and ugly.

The Good

The Ravens have kept games close all season long and Monday night was no exception. The Ravens have lost all six out of their seven games by an average of five points.

Baltimore also has had a chance late in the fourth quarter of each of these losses (including Monday night) to tie or win the game with a final drive. With 8:08 remaining in the fourth quarter Carson Palmer of the Cardinals threw a nine yard touchdown pass to John Brown.

This score made the game 26-10 and a Raven’s win looked to be out of contention. However, with heart comes resilience. On the next Arizona drive, corner back Asa Jackson ripped through the middle of the Cardinals offensive line and lunged forward to block a Drew Butler punt.

Joe Flacco then threw a one yard pass to Kyle Juszczyk on the next play and Baltimore followed up with a Crockett Gillmore 2-point conversion to reduce the deficit to eight points. The Ravens defense stopped Carson Palmer and his arsenal of receivers on the next drive to give Joe Flacco the ball back with 1:53.

Yes, Baltimore still lost the game but the fervor and buoyancy of the Ravens to bounce back after a 16-point fourth quarter deficit was an indication of the teams drive and focus to make the most out of this season.

This season, Joe Flacco has looked like the reverse of his Super Bowl MVP self. Flacco’s first six games were riddled with mistakes and untimely nervousness. These characteristics before this season have never existed in the game of the “Joe Cool” nicked named quarterback.

During Monday nights contest in Arizona, Flacco showed signs of the leadership the Ravens and their fans have come accustomed to since Flacco entered the league in 2008. On several drives Flacco identified the Cardinals defensive packages and audibled to a “successful” play. These plays may have not changed the games score, but most were positive yardage plays that otherwise would of ended in lost yardage or worse  – a turnover.

Flacco also several times scrambled around in the backfield to dodge would be tacklers and to keep plays alive. These plays from Flacco indicated that the storm of mistakes that has engulfed him may be passing by completely in the near future.

The Bad

In the previous six games of the season Baltimore gave up a total of 1,788 pass yards. On Monday night Arizona and Carson Palmer found the end zone twice through the air. Carson Palmer ended the game with 275 passing yards.

However, through the air was not the only way Arizona moved the chains. Chris Johnson ran for 122 yards and a touchdown behind a seemingly unmovable offensive line. The Ravens defense looked weak and impotent at the point of attack. The absence of the run defense allowed the Cardinals to become two dimensional. This two dimensional attack stretched the already injury ridden Baltimore defense and enabled the Cardinals to gain more and more yards and points.

The Ravens run game looked almost invisible on Monday night aside from the 14 yard Justin Forsett run in the middle of the second quarter. Not including the touchdown Justin Forsett gained 22 yards for a total of 36 yards on 12 carries. The lack of rushing yards put unneeded pressure on the already dwindling Joe Flacco and Steve Smith, Sr. led passing game. The single dimensioned Baltimore offense was easy for Arizona to predict. These predictions allowed the Cardinals to bring five and six man rushes on every drive. These juggernaut rushes could not be stopped or even contained by the offensive line, and on several drives Flacco was forced to make a risky play including the games final interception.

The Ugly

Late in the third quarter, Baltimore’s Brandon Williams wrapped up and brought Chris Johnson down as he was running through the Baltimore defense. However, as Williams and Johnson hit the turf, Johnson landed on top of Williams and unaware that Johnson did not touch the ground Williams let go of his hold. Johnson preceded to get up and run the ball to the Ravens’ eight yard line when he was finally tackled by safety Will Hill. The play was both embarrassing and pivotal as Arizona scored a field goal on the drive. The failed tackle in short encompasses the Ravens entire season thus far as mistakes seem to place games just out of reach.

The final drive by the Ravens looked good from the start and the touchdown could almost be tasted. However, the Joe Flacco thrown interception left a sour taste in the minds of the Ravens and their fans. The interception came on an overthrown ball which was forced by Flacco. The interception occurred with nine seconds remaining on the clock and could have completely avoided if Flacco would have thrown the ball away.

The communication between Flacco and offensive coordinator Marc Trestman looked flustered on the final drive as well. After the game Baltimore’s head coach John Harbaugh stated to the media that during the Ravens final drive the communication system went out and Flacco was forced to improvise.