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Just a few weeks ago, some critics suggested that the Ravens are at home clean and begin to rebuild. This phrase is often used, but few people understand the pain involved.
Just look at the Oakland Raiders (2-8), the Ravens' opponent on Sunday.
Raiders are still one of the NFL's most prestigious franchises and their motto is one of the best in professional sports: "Commitment to Excellence".
They have won three Super Bowl titles and have become Hall of Famers such as Art Shell, Gene Upshaw, Jim Otto, Ted Hendricks, Ronnie Lott and Willie Brown.
But it is difficult to name 10 starters on the current list of 2018. The team starts with five recruits and eliminates the names of big names such as Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper so that the Raiders can have a salary cap in anticipation of relocation of the franchise to Las Vegas for the start of the 2019 or 2020 season.
The Raiders are so bad that the Ravens are trying to stay focused for Sunday's game. It tells you something right there.
Ravens' special attention to defense has been one of the best things in the past week. Against the Bengals, they have not developed a lot of sophisticated packaging to try to confuse Cincinnati.
Before beating the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, the Ravens had lost three straight and four of their last five. They can not afford to neglect any team, but they know that the Raiders are in a desperate situation: they scored only 17 points per game and gave 29.
Next time, Baltimore fans may want to be careful before asking to rebuild. Anyway, if the Ravens can not beat Oakland convincingly, it's a telling sign of what will happen if they reach the playoffs.
"It's a week at a time, but it's the next, and we're going to join the Oakland Raiders now," said Ravens cornerback Brandon Carr.
"We can not. I mean, we know that if we lose, it's really done, "said Eric Weddle, in Ravens, at the request of the team who might or might not be watching Oakland. "This team is too tight, too tied. The next game is the game of our lives, and we will treat it like that. "
Quarterback situation
Rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson won his first game as an NFL star on Sunday and some people are now ready to bring veteran Joe Flacco out of the city.
It's fun.
Jackson deserves some accessories for his efforts against the Bengals. His race was superb. But the Ravens can not go far with the Pop Warner style offensive presented on Sunday. There will be more sophisticated games this week for Jackson against the Raiders, but Flacco still gives the Ravens their best chance of winning, especially in the playoffs.
Flacco should be reintegrated into training as soon as he is healthy enough to play. Coach John Harbaugh, however, did his best to defend Jackson and his ability to overtake Monday, although the first round pick in Louisville was only 150 yards by 13 versus 19 on Sunday.
That may be true. The child may be able to throw at the bottom of the field, but I have not seen a team throwing a pass over the center since 11-13 at Stembridge Wolverines in Essex in 1971.
Yet, Sunday, Jackson was playing the same room.
The discontent of the receiver
It was easy to say that some of the Ravens receivers were not happy not to receive the ball, while Jackson rushed 27 times for 117 yards and the three starters combined for seven catches for 81 yards. Harbaugh said the plan was to involve them further in the offense.
If that does not happen soon, the members of this group will sulk. I will not mention any names, but the favorite practice to complain first is # 15.
Edwards emerges
Harbaugh took pains to congratulate all of his opponents after Sunday's win, although rookie Gus Edwards handled the bulk of the charge with 115 yards in 17 races.
Edwards' north-south style is more suited to the Ravens' downhill race than Alex Collins', who is more of a fearsome runner than the other. But Collins' ego could be hurt if Harbaugh picked the rookie to hire her. The Ravens do not have the means to have Collins Collins check mentally at this point in the season.
Harbaugh should also send this message to Edwards: Do it again, again and again for the rest of the season. Only one big game against the worst defense of the NFL is not enough.
Back to the base on "D"
They kept the base. They lined up and said we would do what we do best. Cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Marlon Humphrey were aggressive and grabbed the receivers. The Ravens have won many face-to-face battles with their outside linebackers to keep the quarterback Andy Dalton under constant pressure.
Perhaps the most dominant defenders were Brandon Williams and Michael Pierce, who ended the Cincinnati race.
"The bottom line was getting the basics, clearing the basics and doing what we do best in advance," said Williams. "We took two teams and allowed the linebackers to fill. We have after. "
Yanda-Burfict Incident
There is a lot of talk about Marshal Yanda, Ravens goaltender, who may be spitting on Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict.
I do not know what happened between the two players and I can not tell if Yanda spat intentionally on him. But I put Yanda in the class with former Ravens linebacker, Ray Lewis, when it comes to field fights.
I have not seen these two fighting for many fights in their career, and they have often been peacemakers in fights between other players. That said, I would not want to get into an argument with Lewis, Yanda or Burfict.
Many things happen between games and during stacks after contact. This is not beautiful. Without being on the ground, we will never know what really happened.
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