Baltimore Ravens: Heroes and Goats From Week 1 Loss versus Bengals
Sep 7, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett (29) dives past Cincinnati Bengals strong safety George Iloka (43) for a 13-yard touchdown during the third quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
After a 23-16 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Baltimore Ravens don’t have much to be proud of. Plenty of players stood out, but many stood out for the wrong reasons.
There were some good performances too, of course. Here’s a look at both the studs and the duds from the Week 1 loss.
Dud: Dean Pees
Dean Pees is proving he is not the man to lead the Ravens back to their traditional defensive dominance.
Pees allows opposing offenses to march up and down the field with his conservative coverages and vanilla blitzes. The Ravens claim to be a bend but don’t break defense, but they are on the field so much in the first three quarters that they fall apart in the fourth quarter.
That’s exactly what happened throughout 2013, and it happened again in 2014. Blame Pees for the lack of pass rush. Blame Pees for the Bengals marching up and down the field to start the game. And blame Pees for allowing a clearly overmatched Chykie Brown to cover A.J. Green one-on-one.
Stud: Jimmy Smith
If there was a bright spot on the defense, it was Jimmy Smith. At one point, Smith made an awesome play on a jump ball intended for A.J. Green, flashing the ball skills that he started to develop last year.
Smith was never truly beaten against the Bengals. The Bengals gained just 17 yards throwing into Smith’s coverage, which is a trend the Ravens have to hope will continue.
Dud: Pass Rushers
Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil failed to generate any pressure from the edge, consistently allowing Andy Dalton to pick apart the secondary. Pernell McPhee got some pressure at times, but he couldn’t finish with a sack either.
The Ravens don’t have a single young, developmental pass rusher either. The cupboard is bare behind Dumervil, Suggs and McPhee. With Dumervil and Suggs’ struggles in Week 1, that could be a problem going forward.
Stud: Justin Forsett
The stats are in Justin Forsett’s favor: 6.4 yards per carry, a team leading 70 yards rushing and a whopping five catches.
He exhibited textbook vision in the zone blocking scheme and showed great burst through the holes the offensive line created.
Speaking of, the offensive line was great too. Joe Flacco was pressured only occasionally in his 62 passes, and Forsett had plenty of room to run.
Dud: Receiving Corps
Pro Football Focus tallied eight drops by the Baltimore Ravens, which is an unacceptable number for a high school team, let alone an NFL team. Everyone got in on the action, from Torrey Smith to Jacoby Jones (twice) to Steve Smith (by some counts four times).
Many of these drops came on third down as well. Joe Flacco may have started the game shaky, but it was his receivers who bear most of the blame for any struggles after the first two or three drives.