I don’t even know what to write about this game.  The Ravens are a better team than what they showed in Jacksonville.  Should I get mad and do the “this team has proven they aren’t a Super Bowl contender” schtick?  Or stay level headed and and go with the “this team will bounce back” routine?  I’m disappointed that I even have to ask.

The Ravens took a “butt wooping,” as John Harbaugh said in his post game press conference, in Jacksonville.  Here are my thoughts on their 12-7 loss to the Jaguars.

  • Why did you watch this game? – You do realize that while the Ravens were embarrassing themselves in front of a national audience that the Rangers were busy taking a 3-2 lead over the Cardinals in an awesome game five of the World Series, right?  I sure hope you turned this Ravens game off by the first half at the latest.  There was nothing good to watch.  My favorite part of the whole broadcast was when Sal Paolantonio said Ed Reed’s return was questionable while Reed was running back on to the field.
  • Bad Joe – Last week, ESPN’s Skip Bayless told viewers that the Ravens won’t win a Super Bowl with Joe Flacco under center.  Bayless is looking a tad bit smarter after watching the Ravens offense’s performance on Monday night.  Flacco finished the game with 137 yards passing, a touchdown and an interception, but the Ravens didn’t convert on third down until over halfway through the third quarter.  The Ravens receivers were covered, Flacco was pressured and no one stepped up.
  • Cam never adjusted – The thing that worries me the most about the Ravens is their inability to bounce back after a difficult first half.  After going down 6-0 to a horrible Jacksonville team at the half, the Ravens should have gone into the locker room, thrown some stuff around, yelled and came back with a different game plan.  Maybe they did the first three, but they certainly never adjusted.  Sometimes Cam Cameron’s game plan makes the Ravens offense look as dangerous as the New England Patriots and sometimes they look as flat as the Raiders with Kyle Boller (yeah I said it).  Unfortunately, Cam’s game plans are set in stone and on Monday, he thought using Ray Rice eight times was a good idea.  It wasn’t.
  • Onside kick? – John Harbaugh has to be questioned on the onside kick.  I’m sure that his poor game management will likely be overshadowed by how horrible Joe Flacco and the offense looked or where Haloti Ngata disappeared off to, but kicking an onside kick with over two minutes to play was stupid.  It allowed the Jags to score three more points and forced the Ravens to score a touchdown to win the game.  Dumb call.
  • Ayanbadejo shouldn’t be on defense – I’ve mentioned here on BSR that I’m dumbfounded by Brendon Ayanbadejo’s amount of playing time on the Ravens defense.  He’s a lifelong special teams player and guy who seems to be in the middle of too many dumb penalties.  Monday was no different as Ayanbadejo was ejected for throwing a punch in the first half.  A fitting ugly play for a ugly game.
Alright, I’ve had enough.  It’s going to be a long week.