Panic Stations?

Three weeks ago, on the eve of the Ravens' first game of the 2015 NFL season, I was quietly confident. Joe Flacco is in his prime, Steve Smith Sr. is retiring at the end of the season and playing with an intensity rarely seen, even in the NFL. Yes, there were issues, such as the long-term injury to first round draft pick Breshad Perriman, and the loss of key players from last season in free agency. But excuses aren't the way the Ravens do things. It never has been, and it never will.

So with three weeks gone in the season, with the Ravens sitting at a paltry 0-3, what on earth has gone wrong? A first week loss at Denver, I can understand. A home game against Cincinatti (a team which has now won the last 4 meeting between the two) was always going to be tough. Losing to the Oakland Raiders in Week 2 was a real shock, however. Contrary to a quote from outside lineback Elvis Dumervil following last night's loss to the Bengals, I think the Ravens could easily be 3-0 instead of 0-3. Historically known for playing strong, physical defense, the Ravens squad of 2015 isn't quite performing to the level it has set for itself.

Defensive co-ordinator Dean Pees seems to be struggling to get the best out of his unit, which is missing Terrell Suggs for the season, but still has quality players on all three levels, such as Timmy

Jernigan, CJ Mosley, and Jimmy Smith. How this defense has yielded 28 points per game is quite staggering. Pees' 'bend-but-don't-break' philosophy seems to have been replaced this season by a "bend-then-snap-at-a-crucial-moment" policy. Against Denver, the defense gave up a 17-play, 11 minute drive, which gave the offense barely a minute on the field to pull out the victory. They couldn't manage it. Against Oakland, the offense scored 13 unanswered points in the 4th quarter, and all the defense had to do was stop the Raiders one time. Derek Carr threw a touchdown to Seth Roberts with 0:12 remaining. Against Cincinatti, the defense scored off an Andy Dalton fumble, then immediately yielded an 80-yard TD to AJ Green. The offense came back out and scored again through Steve Smith (seemingly the only man capable of catching a ball on this team), before the defense gave up another 80 yard drive, in only 1min 46secs, which condemned the squad to their third defeat of the season.

Ravens #3 WR

Last season, it took until Week 8 for the Ravens to lose 3 games. So what's the problem? For me, it's a combination of a lack of playmakers on offense, and a defense which isn't playing to its strengths. Joe Flacco is being forced to play from behind in football matches, and is throwing to a group of receivers that, outside of Steve Smith Sr and Crockett Gillmore, might as well be a bunch of rocks and troll dolls. The defense has two good cornerbacks in Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb, but they are best utilised in press man-to-man coverage, jamming their opposite number at the line of scrimmage and not allowing him to get into his route-running. Pees' defensive scheme isn't allowing them to play like this, and it's affecting the pass rush, which might not be as fearsome without Terrell Suggs, but still contains Elvis Dumervil, who has recorded 91 sacks so far in his 9 year career.

Essentially, as it stands, neither unit is helping the other, and as a result, the whole team is suffering. The offense starts slowly and picks up towards the end of games, and the defense sucks for 45 minutes, and then completely breaks down like a mediocre robot in the 4th quarter. Neither are  recipe for success, and if John Harbaugh wants his team to find the winning formula, he'll have to do it quickly. Playing Pittsburgh at Heinz Field on Thursday is just the kind of game which will either kick start the season, or send the Ravens into a catastrophic spiral, the likes of which have never been seen before in Baltimore.