Baltimore Ravens start 0-3: What is the problem?

By Rocky Friedman | Sep 30, 2015

As you all know well by now, the Baltimore Ravens have not gotten off to the best of starts here in 2015. After falling short in a nail-bitter against the Denver Broncos in Week 1, they have since then dropped two very close games in contests that they had multiple opportunities to grab a victory in. However, after losing three games by six points or less, the Ravens have started off the season losing three straight for the very first time in their 20-year franchise history.

So much hype revolved around this team before the season started. The famous Sports Illustrated magazine predicted the Ravens to win the Super Bowl before the season, and critics from around the country had very high hopes for them as well. Needless to say that they have not lived up to their expectations this season.

Many fingers can be pointed in several different directions. After displaying a dominant performance in Week 1 against the high-flying Denver Broncos, the Ravens secondary has (for a lack of a better term) sucked it up these last couple of weeks. However, the front seven has not really contributed too much either. After recording one sack in the opener, the Ravens have totaled just one in the last two weeks.

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And while Joe Flacco and Steve Smith Sr. have hooked up on a number of occasions over the last couple of weeks, they were both nowhere to be seen in Week 1 against Denver. So the question must be asked: Who’s to blame for this disastrous start to the Baltimore Ravens season?

The answer is very simple. A team will not win only getting production from the offensive side and vise-versa. Both sides of the ball must contribute in order for a team to be successful. That has not been the case with the 2015 Baltimore Ravens.

In the opener against the Broncos, Flacco displayed a sluggish performance, completing 18-of-32 passes for 117 yards and two interceptions. However, the defense kept the Ravens in that game from start to finish. The pass-rushers were able to take down Peyton Manning four times for the first time in three years, while Jimmy Smith and Co. shut down the explosive Broncos receivers.

The Ravens lost Terrell Suggs to an Achilles tear that week, and the defense felt the blow in Week 2 against an inexperienced Oakland Raiders team. Second-year quarterback Derek Carr threw for 351 yards and three touchdowns against the lost Ravens secondary, but this week it was Flacco coming to save the day. The eighth-year veteran 32-of-45 passes for 384 yards and two touchdowns.

The next week saw a mixture of both, as the defense started off slow, but came alive late, as did Flacco and the offense. What the Ravens need to see in the remaining 13 games of the season is consistency, and they must see it from every aspect of the team.

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