The Baltimore Ravens have been under criticism these past few weeks with a horrible loss to the Texans and nearly losing to the Cowboys after being up for most of the game. Losing Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb for the rest of the season is a huge blow but restoring Terrell Suggs to the starting line up was a breath of fresh air. Injuries have hit this team extremely hard but it is not an excuse for losing. The second half of the season awaits and for the Ravens to stay at top of the AFC North division, it will take excellence from coaches as well as the players. The offense with Joe Flacco was going wild with perfect passes and reads. Ray Rice was running great with good cuts and vision. Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin have had huge games in large part of the pass protection.
Jacoby Jones has been playing very well in the special teams with a few touchdowns.
The offensive line has also seen the injury bug with rookie Kelechi Osemele injuring his leg. Dennis Pitta was the surprise of the season but has diminished in the past weeks with his role on the team. The defense has let long runs and long passes occur but not till the Texans game did it let the game get out of hand. Without Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb it will have to be up to the back ups to maintain a bend but don’t break defense. Ed Reed and Haloti Ngata are also hurting and it was perfect timing for the team to go on their bye week. Terrell Suggs can’t fill the whole left by Ray Lewis but it can help motivate the defense to play at a level that only the Baltimore Ravens are capable of.
The first half of the season is over and for the most part it was very productive. The second half of the season is here and the first test will be facing the Cleveland Browns. It is a great AFC North match up and I believe the Ravens will showcase an aggressive running attack and Joe Flacco will shake off a poor performance and not let third downs define his game. We must remember the Baltimore Ravens are a one of a kind football team, built on heart and determination with great will power.
-Ed Donayre
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