I know, you're going to rip me apart for this headline and following opinions. You're going to say he's a rookie head coach and these are just part of the growing pains. You'll say he's going to learn from his mistakes and get better. Well, I say hogwash, because I don't want to curse and say the other words as I always have the hope that main stream media will be reading this and want to whisk me away to write for the newspaper, TV, or ESPN's Sportscenter! Yes, perhaps I am delusional (I am a Ravens fan, so of course I am)!

The Ravens have played four games. Two were relatively easy wins, as much because of our solid play as our opponents ineffectiveness. The last two have been close losses and while I'm not about to blame the losses on the coach, like I did last year, I am very clear in my observations that he is hurting this team right now.

Last year I thought that Brian Billick actually cost us I believe four games just by his own coaching decisions. The first MNF game in Cincinnati when he decided to throw so many times when runs would have given us first downs and the game winning score. The Buffalo game when he chose to pass on third and fourth down with one yard needed for the first down and the game on the line. Of course there was also the Miami embarassment when he didn't have the balls to go for the win at the end of regulation and instead chose to kick the game tying FG with the ball on the Dolphins six inch line. I know there was another game at least, but I sort of have amnesia, just like the person who survived a horrible accident and can't remember anything.

But let's get back to the present. I've discussed this issue with my friends and they don't totally agree with me, although they acknowledge their concern. The decision not to throw the Red Challenge flag on Derrick Mason's TD catch early in the Steelers game was a big issue with me. Regardless of the lack of replay, Mason's indifference to the call and the coaches upstairs, he should ALWAYS throw the flag on a close play in the end zone. If it was at midfield, I'd understand it not being worth the risk of the loss of a timeout. But we're talking a touchdown here, and you ALWAYS throw the flag. There's a key reason why he didn't see the catch replayed on the video screens at Heinz Field, guys! They saw it was a catch, so why let the Ravens see it as well? Once you realize that, it's a no brainer. Is that a rookie mistake? If I'm not the coach but I know that, then it's not a rookie thing, it's a thinking thing. He needs to be able to make decisions at times without always relying on others to make them for him.

This past week in the once again disappointing loss to the Titans he froze and then make multiple horrible decsions at the end of the first half. When you have one timeout left, are about to get into field goal range and just rip off a long gain with half your team over 15 yards away and only 40 seconds on the clock, you ALWAYS call timeout. Once you regroup, you can always call two plays in the huddle or stop the clock with a quick snap and down the ball. However, if you try to save the TO and get to the line of scrimmage you waste at least 15-20 seconds to get set which usually results in a false start and of course, that dreaded ten second runoff. Ah yes, that ten second runoff, let's talk about that idiotic decision with 14 seconds on the clock. Due to the Ravens unwillingness to use that timeout and inability to get to the line of scrimmage and get a play off, they false started and were left with the decision to lose five yards and be left with four seconds, or use their final TO and still have 14 seconds, perhaps enough to get a few more yards to improve their FG position. If you're just going to kick the FG, why leave any time on the clock for Tennessee to have in the event of a botched play? In that case, just kick the damn FG and end the half. If you want to put the additional ten seconds back on the clock, then try a sideline play or throw it out of bounds if no one's open. Both choices would have been unnecessary if we had just utilized the timeout with 40 seconds on the clock. Next we could have ran the ball to get a few more yards and then spiked it to stop the clock. We could have had the FG team ready to rush onto the field and kick a much shorter FG, perhaps from the 40 yard line or less, rather than the 46 after the five yard penalty. Stover has been erratic this season, but you have to think he would have made it from 40 yards or less. That miss was a critical loss of points that could have been a huge difference in the outcome of the game. In addition, with the score 10-3, we had the ball just outside of field goal range and couldn't come up with a play to get a crucial first down to prolong the drive and perhaps put us in range for another FG atttempt that might have put the game out of reach, or at least forced overtime after Tennessee's game tying drive. It certainly would have wound down the clock a few more minutes at the very least.

While I've focused on the poor decision making of head coach John Harbaugh, I've also been sorely disppointed with offensive coordinator Cam Cameron's playbook the last two games. The first two had a bunch of plays we'd never seen before from the Ravens, including a couple of trick plays, such as reverses. The past two, when a trick play could make (yes, or break) the game, they were non-existent. The playcalling was so vanilla in both losses, that I mentioned in yesterday's posting that I thought former o-coordinator Matt Cavanugh had taken over the playcalling duties once again. Why is it that every other team throws to their wide receivers on the run, while all we do is throw to them when their backs are to the end zone? There was one pass to D. Williams and everyhting else was pretty much to Flacco's only look (Mason) or to the Titans. Flacco is NOT a roll out QB. DO NOT design plays that have him roll out. Furthermore, TELL HIM that when he does scramble to his right, either RUN the ball or THROW it out of bounds! We DO NOT need his attempt to sneak in a short throw on the sideline because EVERY team knows it's coming and is READY!!! Do I seem to be making myself CLEAR? Get it? GOOD!

Now I'm going to go take my medicine as my heart is racing and my pressure is skyrocketing again, as it took all last week for it to go down and then here we go again yesterday. This trend of imploding both on the field and the sideline is beginning to get to me and the scary thing is that the season is only one quarter over. I know I can't take much more of this and with five of our next six on the road, it could get worse before it gets better. At least when I'm at the game I can't throw a lamp or break a window. Now what am I going to do when I see this type of managment!? Luckily, I am taking my very first career Ravens road trip out of state(other than DC years ago), to see them play in Miami in two weeks. Hopefully, they'll have bigger cojones than they did last season when they were there. Unfortunately, it looks like the Dolphins are nowhere near the patsies they were then, and we still lost.

Deep breaths, Rexx, in your nose and out your mouth. Slowly now, there, that's better. Ahhh...

I am a miserable Ravens fan. I was there, screaming my head off, watching what I thought was going to be a Ravens tough earned victory over a previously undefeated Titans team. However, for the second game in a row, the Ravens snatched defeat from the jawes of victory. This no longer is an aberration on either side. My Ravens are pretenders, as they cannot win the close games agains the better teams. On the flip side, your titans are difinitely contenders and on their way to a AFC South title. You guys did what you needed to against a brutal defense. The refs were horrible on both of us, as this is one fan who will never blame the refs for a loss, no matter how bad they were.

The Ravens coaches mismanaged the game clock, played not to lose when they could have possibly put the game away, and let the Titans get the critical first downs time and time again on those two fourth quarter scoring drives.

Until we learn to keep our cool after the play is called dead, then we will continue to be targeted by opponents and referees. And until we can win a close game against a contending team, we will be relegated to the middle shelf and a decent draft pick.

Good luck and feel free to visit my take on the game and post over at Baltimore Beatdown.

Thanks!

Thanks!

I am absolutely miserable. I don't know where to start. Don't give me the stuff about playing a good team and staying in it until the end, that this is something to build on, that we never expected to be competitive before the season started. Blah, blah, blah. Just like 2007's last minute loss to the Pats when we were double digit underdogs, when you get close enough to win and should have won, I'm never satisfied with coming close- again! After the last Steelers game, when the Ravens blew a ten point lead within 15 seconds, perhaps you could have given them a pass for that game. However, after leading by seven in the fourth quarter and having the ball almost within field goal range, then to give up two length of the field drives that result in a field goal and game winning touchdown!? Sorry, but that's the difference between a contender and pretender, and we thought we were the former but now realize that we are the latter.

What went wrong? Like I said, where do we start? Overall, I was surprised by the vanilla offensive gameplan of Cam Cameron. At some point, I thought Matt Cavanaugh had returned to run the offense It was so boring and predictable, the fans around me agreed that we had "turtled" and were trying not to lose, rather than go for the jugular vein. Where were the passes over the middle? There was one excellent pass to Demetrius Williams for the Ravens longest play of the game from scrimmage. Other than that, every single pass play was to a receiver running anywhere but towards the end zone. By that, I mean that all of our pass plays seem to be to a receiver standing still, curling back to the line of scrimmage, or to the sideline. While it was nice to see Todd Heap get into the offense and catch a couple of passes (without flipping head over heels and fumbling!), they are so predictable and this has been a trend the past two games whenever they get the lead. I guess the coaches are less than confident that Flacco can stay out of trouble when the game is on the line.

Speaking of Flacco, when will he learn to throw the ball out of bounds when running to the sideline? His insistence on trying to be sneaky and force the ball in rather than play it safe has cost us. He should have had two early interceptions but was lucky when one was reversed on the replay. For whatever reason, the coaches continue to run plays having him roll out, which always seem to end up with bad results. He is not a scrambling QB, but should remain in the pocket under all circumstances, even if it means taking the sack or throwing it away. Until he limits his mistakes, we will always be one bad play away from implosion.

Speaking of implosion, I can't stand hearing our fans whine and complain about the officals' poor calls that gave the Titans a new set of downs late in the fourth quarter and resulted in their game winning drive. Funny how the Ravens fans seem to forget that both scores we had were the direct results of Titans penalties that extended our drives for all ten points we scored. As I've said repeatedly in these blogs, that until the Ravens learn that the entire league and officials are just waiting and baiting this undisciplined "me-first" group of players, then we will continue to be the target and never given the benefit of the doubt. Sure, the Titans were pretty thug-like as well, but face it, we either start or more frustrating, retaliate more often than any team in the NFL. I'm curious to see, although I doubt the public will, how Harbaugh handles our continued lack of poise and control after the plays have ended. I totally agree that the officials were horrible all game long, but the Titans' fans will agree, as they were also called for a ton of penalties and the referees arms must be sore from throwing their yellow bean bags way too often. This includes that phantom call on Suggs on the third down "incompletion/false start/roughing-the-passer" play that jump started the Titans final TD drive. I, for one, will never blame the officials for a loss, nor give them credit for a win. Ever.

Even more disturbing was the incredibly poor clock management at the end of the first half. The coaching staff, and the responsibility falls directly onto head coach John Harbaugh, looked embarassingly confused and poorly prepared. That's two weeks in a row that the rookie head coach has made obvious poor decisions. The Ravens were driving for a possible score and had just run off a huge gain to get into field goal position. They had one timeout and there were 45 seconds left in the first half. Harbaugh chose to try to get the team up to the line for either another play or to spike the ball to stop the clock and save the timeout. However, with half the team 15-20 yards downfield the obvious call would be to use the timeout, for which I was screaming  for from the stands. This would have put the ball in field goal range and we would have had 40 seconds to run a couple of plays and then spike the ball if needed to stop the clock. Instead, he tried to do what he did and the clock ran all the way down to the 14 seconds that started his decision-making mess. The Ravens were penalized and had the option of losing a timeout or take a ten second runoff which would have put the game clock down to four seconds. For whatever reason, he chose the timeout to keep the clock at 14 seconds, then unexpicably went for the field goal anyway! Matt Stover missed a key opportunity to add to the Ravens lead, and his lack of success this season at shots he has usually been money on has me and the rest of the fans concerned that he may be losing it real fast. Stover has been one of the most valuable Ravens in history, but his age and limited distance on both field goals and kickoffs are becoming an obvious liability.

All in all, this game sticks in my craw like the powdered mash potatoes my mother raised me on and never let me leave the dinner table until I ate every last disgusting bite (yeah, I got issues, so what!?) One loss and perhaps it's excusable. Two, in a row, and we have a trend. The Ravens cannot win the close games against good teams. Our defense cannot shut down the underneath pass, as our secondary blankets the wideouts, while the tight ends and running backs continually outrun our linebackers and get open for critical gains when the game is on the line. The Titans offensive line deserves some impressive props as they held us without a sack, which allowed Kerry Collins to wait until the underneath options broke into the open for first down receptions over and over again. Don't also forget, penalties or not, that the Titans drove 80 yards twice in a row in the fourth quarter for scores, when we had the chance to put the game away with a long drive or another score. Once again, we couldn't get it done, which combined with the Steelers going on the road in Jacksonville and winning, put us in a position that has us playing five of our next six games on the road. At one point, I could see us competing for the AFC North title, based on our play and Pittsburgh's hellacious schedule. However, contenders (Steelers) find ways to win close games, while pretenders (Ravens) find ways to lose them.

'Nuff said.

The above stats show two very similar teams, both with average offenses but good rushing attacks and relatively vanilla passing games. While the Ravens typically average more yards on the ground than through the air, the Titans are surprisingly the opposite. However, to me, as tough as the Tennessee defense is supposed to be, they are not quite in the Ravens league, stat wise. They are however, ranked higher in points allowed, but that is almost too close to differentiate.

The key to me for this very close game is the home field advantage. If this game was in Tennessee, I'd probably have to pick the titans to prevail, but with the game in Baltimore, I've got to go with the home team. The Ravens always score more points at home and play more opportunistic defense there as well. The Titans will be facing a defense unlike any they've faced all season, while the Ravens already faced a pretty tough one in difficult circumstances last Monday night in Pittsburgh. Either way, it should be as physical as last week's game, and if so, that's another reason I expect the game to go the Ravens way in the end.

Although the Ravens lost to the Steelers, they played a very tough game, surprising a lot of people nationwide, but not Ravens fans, who have realized that when healthy, this team will compete in every game. Last year, the team was decimated by injuries and their record showed it, as they lost too many win-able games. This year, they beat two division foes in Cincinnati and Cleveland, and although they were both winless, they still had good offensive reputations that we shut down. Expecting to win in Pittsburgh on Monday night, when the Ravens are notoriously horrible on prime time while the Steelers are just the opposite, proved too tall of a task. There were too many things that had to go right for Baltimore to win that game, and although for over a half it looked like they might exorcise the demons, it was not to be.

However, this is another game and this time it is in front of our fans, which is a huge difference in the NFL. The last time Titans QB Kerry Collins faced this type of defense, they brutalized him in the 34-7 drubbing of Super Bowl 35 way back in 2001. I realize that this is over seven years later, but then again, Collins is seven years older and even less mobile. The Titans have displayed a good o-line, but they haven't faced the Ravens blitz happy packages. This might be the first time the two headed Titans running attack is limited or even shut down and the Titans passing attack is almost as limited as the Ravens.

While the Ravens passing attack is rolling up less stats than the Titans, their running attack is actually gaining an average of more yards per game. The Titans passing defense is running away with takeaways, but is also giving up around 60 more yards per game than the Ravens. To me, this shows a clear difference in the teams two defenses and the combination of the stats and the home field advantage will turn this game in the Ravens favor. By the fourth quarter, the Ravens should have the lead and their running game will begin to wear down the Titans front seven, which has played great but has not faced the poundage of the Ravens options of going to the 260 pound Le'Ron McClain following the lead blocking of 255 pound fullback Lorenzo Neal. Short passes and hard running will move the ball enough against the Titans stingy defense. The vicious hard hitting defense will stop the Titans running game and force them into an uncomfortable passing situation too often to succeed and that is where the turnovers and short fields given to the Ravens offense will make the difference.

Bet the house on the under total for the game and watch the Ravens rebound to take ahold of the AFC North division lead at , after the Steelers lose in Jacksonville later on Sunday night. At 4-1, the Titans will still lead the AFC South, and perhaps the two will meet again in the postseason!

Ravens:  16-13

After a pretty decent last week of picks (9-4), including the sad, but true pick of the hated Steelers over my upstart Ravens, I look ahead to this coming week's games with some rebounding by not only the Ravens, but some of the other losers from last week. Here goes:

Carolina over Kansas City: Props to the Chiefs for running all over the Broncos surprisingly horrible defense last week, but now they have to go on the road to face a Panthers defense who held Atlanta's Michael Turner to under 50 yards and a much improved Carolina passing attack bolstered by the return of Steve Smith.

Detroit over Chicago: Here is my first upset pick of the weekend. The Lions have made changes in the Front Office and the Bears were beaten at home last week. Together the combination is my recipe for the Lions first win of the season.

Green Bay over Atlanta: Doesn't matter to me who takes snaps for the Packers, as their defense will trump the Falcons either way.

San Diego over Miami: Chargers are beginning to get their game in gear, as their offense has been great behind Phil Rivers and their defense is beginning to catch up. The Dolphins may be improved over last year, but not good enough for an upset.

NY Giants over Seattle: The Giants may be without Plaxico Burress but coming off a Bye week and being undefeated should sort of help their cause. Besides, Seattle has struggled, even though Matt Hasselback gets a couple of his WR's back.

Philadelphia over Washington: Eagles looked good enough to win at Chicago last week and so did the Redskins at Dallas. However, to expect the 'skins to do it twice in a row on the road is a little to much, while Eagles secondary is better than the Cowboys.

Indianapolis over Houston: Colts coming off a Bye week are nearly unbeatable as Manning & company have had an extra week to get their act together. Texans re-open Reliant Stadium in what should be an emotional game, but not a win.

Tampa Bay over Denver: What the heck has happened to the Broncos defense!? If they can't hold Kansas City under 30 points, then the Buccaneers should run and pass all over them, plus play hard pounding defense against a real good passing attack, led by emerging stars Jay Cutler to Brandon Marshall.

Buffalo over Arizona: This game is a toss up, as I'm not too sure which Cardinal team will show up. The one who scored 35 points last week in their loss at the Jets, or the same one who turned the ball over a ton and gave up 50+ points. On the other side, the Bills are undefeated for a reason and a legit threat as they play great defense and have a well balanced, yet underrated offense.

New England over San Francisco: Many will look for the 49ers to upset the crippled Patriots, but me thinks the Bye week and Bill Belichick will come up with a gameplan for QB Matt Cassel to make sure they don't actually lose two games in a season (for now), much less two in a row!

Dallas over Cincinnati: The Cowboys are 17 point favorites in this seemingly one sided affair and although I expect their offense to overwhelm the Bengals, their defense hasn't impressed me. With Carson Palmer reportedly returning to action, I expect the Bengals to cover, but of course still lose again.

Jacksonville over Pittsburgh: While the fan in me is rooting for the Jaguars, my head also sees a Steeler team that was beaten on the field but not on the scoreboard last Monday night. Jacksonville plays a tough, physical defense and their running game should be successful behind the option skills of QB David Garrard. Too many Steelers are hurting and it might only take one big hit on Ben Roethlisberger to bring back former Jag QB Byron Leftwich, albeit in an enemy uniform.

New Orleans over Minnesota (Monday Night): This might be the perfect example of the inability of a great running game (Vikings) unable to keep up with a great passing attack (Saints). The Vikings will have to grind out drives with AP, while Drew Brees will chuck the ball all over the field, regardless of who his receivers are. The Saints will come marching in, at home in the New Orleans Superdome.

(NOTE: I will pick & pan the Ravens-Titans slugfest in tomorrow's posting.)

Last Week:  9-4

Season Record:  39-20

Ravens cornerback Samri Rolle just had neck surgery and will be out of action at least for the next month. Fabian Washington will start in his place, as he did in this past Monday night's game against the Steelers.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Washington remain in the starting lineup even after Rolle returns, as he is younger and was picked up this past offseason on draft day in a trade with the Oakland Raiders with the intention of taking his place.

Washington is younger and faster than Rolle and looks to be the type of player the Raiders expected him to be when they selected him in the first round of the 2005 draft.

As promised here are my questions (in bold) and Jimmy's responses on the upcoming slugfest between the Baltimore Ravens and visiting Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon:

1. Has the change in QB made a huge difference to the continuity of the offense?

The biggest change in the offense has been the decline in the number of turnovers.  Kerry Collins has thrown just 1 pick in 3 games.  That is exactly what the Titans need from their quarterback.  The other passing numbers are pretty much the same.

2. The addition of rookie Chris Johnson to the already tough run game of the Titans make them a threat inside the tackles as well as around the edge? What makes them so good?

While I wait for the answers to my questions to Jimmy from Music City Miracles, who is the blogger on the Tenneess Titans, I will post his questions and my answers on this weekend's Ravens-Titans tilt.  As soon as he responds, I'll publish them above this post.  In the meantime, feel free to head over to his site and check out his stories and fans' comments on the game by clicking here.

Here are Jimmy's questions and my responses (in bold):

...while many Ravens fans were satisfied with their close call on Monday night, I'm just pissed that we didn't win a game we should have.

...if we don't start winning those types of games, we have no right to even think about talking about the playoffs.

...the way the Steelers have played this season, they make it hard not to think about the postseason, because they have a very difficult schedule and might do everything they can to keep us in the race.

...if we want to stay in the playoff hunt (there, I already started talking about it!), we had better start taking care of business this week against the Titans.

...if the Browns and Bengals don't get a complete makeover and turnaround, I see very few games that they will win on their schedules, other than the one remaining between them.

...if the Bengals want to start rebuilding, the Ravens would be glad to take either TJ Whoyourmomma or 85 off their hands.

...even though I think I'd rather have TJ, why does it seem that Ocho Cinco would fit perfect here in Baltimore with that cast of characters we already have!?

...why can't we wait until we start winning the big games before our "cast" starts dancing and showing off after every routine play?

...how many times did we whiff on QB sacks due to trying to arm tackle Big Ben Roethlisberger last Monday night (as well said by DT711 in a great FanShot).

...didn't he escape and make some plays downfield that put them into position to win?

...Jarret Johnson said he didn't know he was on the sideline when he hit Hines Ward after the play to draw that painfully stupid personal foul penalty. Would it have been okay to do the same thing in the middle of the field, Jarret!?

...methinks that the next Ravens to incur a personal foul penalty should be fined, tarred and feathered, or at least something to make it clear these "sophomoric" behaviors have to stop so the league and officials stop laughing at us.

...Tennessee's 4-0 record is great, although two of their wins came against winless teams (just like us!) and the first against Jacksonville was at home while the Jags were still trying to figure out what to do about their offensive line woes.

...that being said, their running game has been the most well rounded in the league with Mr. Inside (LenDale White) and Mr. Outside (Chris Johnson).

...their secondary and team defense might be the best in the league, as evidenced by their leading the league in interceptions, sacks and points allowed.

...the way to beat the Titans is too slow down their running game and unleash the pass rush on QB Kerry Collins, to force him into turnovers and a short field for our offense to put some points on the board.

...didn't we crush Collins when he was the NY Giants QB way back in Super Bowl 35 in 2001?

...if we win, then we'll have momentum on our side as we head on the road to Indy and Miami the next two weeks and then host the Raiders.

...if we lose, then we're possibly looking at a loss to Indy and a three game losing streak to totally deflate our early season hopes.

...if we do indeed win Sunday and the Steelers fall flat in Jacksonville, then unleash the bandwagon, as it's going to get full real quick in this city dying for a winner!

Baltimore Ravens rookie Head Coach John Harbaugh made a big mistake by not throwing the red Challenge Flag on the out of bounds call on the TD catch by Derrick Mason in the first quarter of Monday night's game. He said he didn't have a good view of the play and his assistants up in the box didn't tell him to review it. Mason didn't seem to care either. He also said he didn't want to lose a timeout if it wasn't reversed and called a TD.

However, this is a first year's rookie mistake. You ALWAYS challenge a possible TD catch. The reward is well worth the risk almost every time. Unless it is so obviously a non-catch, you do it. Haven't we Ravens fans learned that from the call that New England's Jabar Gaffney got in last year's last minute comeback and victory for the Pats over us on MNF!?

John, you've got to throw the flag. Not that we know for sure, but seven points instead of three, followed by another field goal and TD would have put us up 17-3 at the half and the chain of events in those horrible 15 seconds in the third quarter might not have made that big of a difference in the final outcome, as our final drive would have won the game, not tied it.

Either way, in the future, you've got to throw the red flag. Learn to use it, early and often. After all, you can't do any worse with it than Brian Billick did, as he lost most of those reviews.