This loss is on Cam and offense, which needs a total makeover
Listening to the radio after a Ravens loss, and everyone wants to play the blame game.
Cam should be fired! The line can’t protect! What was Harbaugh thinking?
The truth is, every NFL play stands on its own. Joe Flacco wasn’t protected well enough when he was stripped late in the 4th quarter Sunday night. Cam didn’t disguise Stallworth’s reverse well enough when that play was stuffed for a loss of 11 yards.
It is not always possible to blame one specific player, or one specific call. There is so much that happens on a football field to possibly attempt to do so.
That being said, tonight is an exception. I feel that there is a clear reason why the Ravens lost this game.
It doesn’t take a Hall of Fame coach to figure this one out. After going up 7-0, the Ravens failed to put their foot on the pedal and take control of the game. With the way the Ravens defense was playing, it taking over the game didn’t have to be going up 28-0. Turning that Stallworth catch into a TD would have been a start. Executing on first and goal at the 8 would have been another.
I am not a big Cam Cameron critic. I feel that he is a solid coordinator, especially considering what he did with the offense in 2008. Maybe he is better squeezing the most talent out of a mediocre squad, rather than maximizing the abilities of a dynamic offense.
Make no mistake, the Ravens have the makings of a juggernaut offensive unit. Fans that have clamored so long for playmaking receivers now have three of them, plus Todd Heap, plus three quality running backs, including a potential top 5-7 RB in Ray Rice. Not to mention a guy like Ed Dickson who can step right in and contribute.
The NFL is an offensive league now. The 2000 Ravens team likely doesn’t win the Super Bowl in this era. The Saints were not a dominant team last season, but they won games with their offense. The rules favor the offense. The NFL is a passing league.
As much as the Ravens want to be a smash-mouth football team, they are better off letting loose.
Let Flacco line up in the shotgun, put Boldin, Mason, Stallworth, and Houshmandzadeh in a 4 WR set, put Rice next to Joe, and let it rip. Run the hurry up offense. Make defenses adjust on the fly to an offense with such dynamic talent.
The Ravens lost this game by not adding onto their lead. Cam Cameron lost this game by not coordinating a way for these playmakers to get down the field and into the endzone after taking a 7-0 lead.
I’m not one to pay the blame game, but I have no choice tonight. If this team plans to go to Dallas, there needs to be an offensive makeover. Talent needs to dictate the scheme, not the other way around.
