Baltimore Ravens Need A Quick Start
The importance of a fresh start can’t be overstated. The Ravens have not gotten a week 1 win since 2012. Today we talk about the importance of quickly racking up wins.
The NFL season flashes by in no time. Blink and you miss it. Sixteen games in seventeen weeks to prove your teams worth and earn a spot in the playoffs. With so few games, getting off to a fast start is paramount. The Baltimore Ravens can’t afford any less than 3-1 for the first four games.
The Ravens posted four winning records in the past six years, and in each of those winning seasons, they posted a 3-1 record in the first quarter of the season. It’s the ten yard split of the forty-yard dash. The NFL plays less than half the games of Major League Soccer, roughly a fifth of NHL and NBA, and about a tenth of Major League Baseball. You can’t stumble in a sprint and hope to win.
Last season the Baltimore Ravens stumbled hard. So hard in fact, they fell on their face. After beginning the season 1-6, they finished at the worst record under coach John Harbaugh. They dug a hole so deep, there wasn’t enough rope to pull themselves out.
The Ravens open the season against the Buffalo Bills who also look to improve on a disappointing season. The Bills need to strike quickly while the perennial AFC East winner, the New England Patriots, are without the services of Tom Brady.
Week two takes the Ravens to Cleveland to face their division rival. This makes year seventeen of the Browns rebuilding process, but this year marks a shift in culture with the hiring of new front office staff and head coach. Sashi Brown and company continue stock piling draft picks and seem committed to operating the right way; however, this season marks the same old Browns.
Continuing the road trip, the Baltimore Ravens travels to Jacksonville. Like Cleveland, playing the Jaguars usually meant an easy win; however, Blake Bortles, Allen Robinson, and Allen Hurns look to continue the offensive output from last season. Unlike last season, the Jags defense might also be ready to turn the corner.
For the fourth game, the Ravens return home to Baltimore to face the Oakland Raiders. Analysts around the league seemingly all agree that the Raiders are for real. GM Reggie McKenzie continues collecting some of the finest young talent in the league. The Raiders represent the best overall team in the first four games.
Next: Buffalo Bills Will Test Ravens Offensive Line
Last year the Ravens never regained their footing after losing the first three games by one score. They came up on the losing side of close games all year. The beginning of the season gives them a chance to erase the mistakes of last season. They have a real oppurtunity to sprint out to a lead in the first quarter of the season.