Week 14: The state of the Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a team that most had placed among the top of the teams in the National Football League (NFL), going into 2009/10 season.

After the first three games, they had everyone convinced they were the real deal with strong wins over the Chiefs, Chargers and Browns. The Ravens received so much support that they were number one in ESPN’s power rankings going into week four. Then, the wheels slowly started to falling off game-by-game and they dropped three games in a row, leaving them 3-3 going into the bye.

105.7 The Fans’ Mark Zinno saw the frustration from Baltimore’s fans, ““I think the fans are a little emotional as they should be. They’re certainly worried I think the general consensus of them all is more on the we’re in trouble side then the we’re going to be ok side.”

The 3-3 record was something, John Harbaugh and company couldn’t stand for. The ’08 AFC champs weren’t going down without a fight, and coming out of the bye the Ravens smashed an undefeated Denver Broncos team who was ranked number four in the NFL at the time.

The next game didn’t go as planned and the Ravens again lost a game to the Cincinnati Bengals. Luckily, the next opponent was the Browns and they powered through them to bring their record to 5-4.

But off on the horizon, in heavily armed battleships, were the Colts and Steelers, sailing into Baltimore to make the Ravens’ playoff-push a little tougher then the Ravens had hoped for.

The Colts came into Baltimore and left the same way they came in–undefeated. But, as the Steelers pulled into the Inner Harbor, they didn’t seem as intimidating as they did in past years. Big Ben was out, and so was Troy Polamalu. The Steelers had lost two games in-a-row and the Ravens had the advantage, at home, as 71,000 fans piled into M&T Bank Stadium from their all-day-long tailgates.

The Steelers came into Baltimore with a two-game losing streak, and they left with a three-game one. A week later, the Ravens’ watched closely, from their Green Bay hotels, the Oakland Raiders bring that streak to four.

The loss to the Raiders left the Ravens with a really good chance to make the playoffs. That is, if they could get a win in Green Bay.

The Ravens had their gameplans set and the coaches were aware of the Packers’ playmakers. They needed this win. If there was ever a “do-or-die” situation in the NFL this was it. Apparently, someone forgot to tell the Ravens and they dropped another big game, leaving them at 6-6 on the year.

Will the Ravens make the Playoffs? If you ask me, they don’t have a shot.

For some Ravens’ facts, click here.