Dear Coaches Harbaugh and Ryan,
I'm writing you both this week, John and Rex, because I feel like I need to communicate directly with both of you. Games like yesterday just can't happen.
The Ravens have already been embarrassed once (by the Colts), but this game is in some ways more embarrassing. How does the NFL's No. 1 rush defense allow more than 200 yards?
Granted, the Giant rushing attack is powerful. But the last time a team gained that many yards on the ground against Balmer was 1997!
Consider the backs faced with regularity in the years since '97: Eddie George, Jerome Bettis, Corey Dillon, Willie Parker, Fred Taylor...and these are only guys that were at one point playing in the Ravens' division.
Is Brandon Jacobs really more powerful than George or Bettis in their prime?
I wrote last week that your front seven, Rex, might be the best in the NFL. Well, they certainly didn't play like it Sunday. They missed tackles. They took poor pursuit angles. The defensive line was consistently blown off the ball at the snap.
The first half was disappointing, but would have been forgivable had the defense rebounded in the second half. Though it initially stymied the Giants' ground game in the second half, Ahmad Bradshaw's 77 yard run in the fourth quarter was a back-breaker and a painful reminder of New York's domination throughout most of the game. The best defense in the NFL doesn't allow 77 yards on a single run in the fourth quarter of a close-enough-for-comfort game, Rex.
And John, you were a special teams coordinator in Philadelphia, but there is nothing special about the Ravens' kicking and punting games. Returns are consistently ineffective, return coverage is consistently porous, and even Matt Stover and Sam Koch suffered through rough games against New York.
Stover and Koch are forgiven. They've proven themselves in this league. But what about Yamon Figurs? What about the kick coverage? What about the penalty flags that come down after every single return for a block in the back or some other foolish penalty? Why are the Ravens' special teams -- so often a strength in years past -- now a major weakness, maybe even a liability?
This game wasn't about Flac, who continued to impress despite a pair of costly interceptions (only one of which was his fault). The three-headed running back monster can be forgiven, too, considering that the defense put the Ravens into a position where they had to throw the ball.
This game was on the defense, Rex. But in a game where you need a few breaks to go your way, special teams have to contribute in a big way, John.
The Ravens are 6-4 in a season that they had no reason to expect better than 4-12. That's on you two.
But this loss, more than any other this season, is on you, too. I have complete faith that the Ravens will turn it around -- you've got me drinking the purple kool-aid, John -- and Rex, you've certainly done enough during your time in Baltimore to be allowed a stinker now and then.
There's no list this week, coaches. You both know exactly what needs to be done.
Your pal,
ap
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