Baltimore Sports Post

The Ravens are not the same team they were at the beginning of the season, but it’s hard to say they’ve improved.  In reality most of the problems they had early in the season are not the same problems now.  Early in the season it was about how the team started slow.  Middle of the season the issue was the conservative offense including too many check downs to the running backs and tight ends.  Lately it’s been the stagnant running game and allowing too many sacks.  The one issue that has been an issue the entire season is holding onto leads late in the game.  The Ravens have given up 8 leads in the 4th quarter, but still only lost 4 of those 8 games.

In retrospect, I think the most troubling problem lately is the issue protecting the QB.  I’d rather go back to the offense that seemed overloaded with check downs instead of the rash of sacks we’ve seen lately.  I’ll admit I was getting frustrated with the check downs, but as a fan it’s not always obvious why a game plays out the way it does.  I think the Ravens knew they had some holes in their offensive pass protection and played it safe.  It makes a lot of sense in hindsight especially after watching teams throw the kitchen sink at the Ravens with success the past few weeks including the Steelers setting up their winning TD with a strip sack.