Penalties and the inability to run were once again the reason the Ravens were defeated this weekend. Both of the Bears scoring drives were helped out by Ravens penalties. Two of those penalties came on third down which either wise would have resulted in the Bears punting. Jamal Lewis once again had a dismal performance, averaging 2.3 yards on 15 carries. Chester Taylor only had 2 carries.
The key play of the game came at the end of the 2nd quarter. With the half winding down, the Ravens reached the Bears 11 yards. Wright was 7 for 7 on the drive. But on second down Wright couldn’t handle the snap and was forced to land on the ball and take the sack. The Ravens had to settle for a field goal.
I just lost my cell phone. It was in my jacket pocket and when I bend down to get something out of my car, it popped out and fell down a gutter. I was so mad I was swearing like a dog. It was a Motorola V180 but it had crappy reception. I don't have insurance so I am gonna have shell out some big ones. Damn!
The Ravens were able to return to their normal form against the Browns, running the ball and playing tough defense, and secured their second win of the year. The lunacy they displayed last week in Detroit was no where to be seen. There was one unnecessary roughness penalty called on Ray Lewis but it was very iffy. Ray Lewis did make contact with the ball carrier but it was not a hit, he was trying to stop his motion. Ray just smiled and walked away. Irregardless, Ray Lewis made it up by making a pick in the very next play.
Jamal Lewis has been off to a slow start but you know something is wrong when he rushes for only 59 yards against the Browns, whom he has traditionally had a good game against (he rushed for 500 yards in 2003 in two games vs Cleveland more).
Next week the Ravens will travel to Chicago and should have an easy time with the Bears.
Normally it is the offense to blame for the Ravens losses. Yesterdays loss will have to be put wholly on the Ravens defense. Yes Anthony Wright got off to a terrible start (I can't believe I am saying this but when is Boller coming back?) but Billick smartly took the ball from the hands of Wright and gave it to the running backs until the game got out of reach and they were forced to play catch up. Unsportsmanlike conduct were called on Chris McAlister and Maake Kemoeatu. Terrell Suggs and BJ Ward were ejected from the game. And God only knows how many penalties came on a third-down drive stopping play.
The officiating crew was not very helpful either. They ruled a throw made by Harrington a fumble when it was actually a forward pass. It should have been called intentional grounding because Kevin Jones had to comeback to get the ball.
1-3 is the Ravens worst start in franchise history. They are 2.5 games behind and Pittsburgh is playing at San Diego. San Diego is favored to win and if they do, Pittsburgh will fall to 2-2. So the Ravens playoffs hopes is completely out of reach. They need to take care of their next 2 games; Cleveland and at Chicago.
The Ravens were able to take advantage of the lowly New York Jets to notch their first win of the season. The Ravens were not spectacular but a 0-3 start would have been devastating. Jamal Lewis had 81 yards rushing but averaged 2.8 yards per rush and his longest run was for 9 yards. The Ravens turned the ball over twice but the Jets, who were starting a third stringer Brooks Bollinger at QB, were only able to sputter 3 points out of their takeaways.
The Ravens upcoming three games are at Detroit, Cleveland, and at Chicago. The Ravens will need to win all those games if they plan on staying close to the 4-0 Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.