Baltimore Ravens: The Least Respected 2-0 Team In NFL
The Baltimore Ravens Don’t Get The Respect They Deserve
It should come as no surprise that the Baltimore Ravens aren’t getting any love in the national sports media.
As it stands right now, the media and fans nationwide are downing the Ravens. But hold on a minute. That may not be such a bad thing. When other teams under estimate the Ravens, they seem to have better chance to show up and beat everyone.
Must Read: Should The 2-0 Ravens Be Proud Or Concerned?
Anyone remember the 2000 and 2012? The Ravens clearly have the talent to win 10 games and be a force in the playoffs. When the Ravens are counted out, they always surprise the football world.
Baltimore beat the Bills 13-7. It is true, the offense didn’t look great or even good, but folks have to remember that the first string offense didn’t play much during the preseason, so the squad needs repetitions against real opposition to build timing and chemistry.
On the other side of the ball the defensive unit shut down the Bills offense. Terrell Suggs and company held the Bills to 160 total yards and 7 points. If it wasn’t for a missed sack, they may have held Tyrod Taylor and the Bills to a field goal. Keep in mind, people are saying the Bills aren’t that good, but they racked up 31 points on a very strong Jets defense.
In week two The Ravens came out of the starting gate and spotted the Browns 20 points with lackluster play on both sides of the ball. Harbaugh and company stormed back scoring 25 unanswered points.
The Ravens defense beat McCown up badly but overall the veteran journeyman played well. Yes, Browns running back Isaiah Crowell ran for 133 yards. It must be noted however that most of that came from one busted play when he ran for 85 yards for a touchdown. After that Baltimore held Crowell to just 48 yards for the rest of the game.
One Browns touchdown should have come back, considering that Corey Coleman’s second foot was out of bounds. The Ravens got the next big break when Terrell Pryor got hit with a phantom taunting call. That call may have sealed the win for the purple and black.
The offense looked somewhat better, but the run game is still weak at best. It will be hard to improve the passing game until teams fear the running attack. The Browns gave the Ravens all they could handle and then some in that first quarter, but after that they reverted back to the Browns we have come to expect.
The Ravens now have 2 ugly wins but a W is a W. Wins against a division rival are always an important thing to have in the National Football League. Ugly wins have been standard operating procedure for Baltimore ever since 1996. Have we ever seen the Ravens make it easy?
The Ravens are the team, no one in the media, outside of the Baltimore market seem to like.I wonder what the media (NFL Network/ESPN) will say, if we come out and beat the daylights out of the Jaguars this coming Sunday in Jacksonville? What happens if the Ravens then return home to beat the Raiders and Redskins in consecutive weeks? What will it take to get respect?
Next: Breaking Down That Nightmare Quarter
One thing seems clear. Blake Bortles is probably not be looking forward to see the Ravens defense.The Ravens D have sacked Bortles 11 times in 2 games. The Ravens front seven looks strong and that trend is likely to continue this weekend.
Are the 2016 Ravens for real? The usual pundits aren’t giving them any respect. What’s new? When the Ravens rattle off some more wins, hopefully the national media’s tune will change.