The Ravens appear to be stuck in a rut. Last week may have been a fluke, or an anomaly, but it definitely didn't fit the jigsaw puzzle John Harbaugh & Co. seem to be piecing together this fall. Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati Bengals started the game where they left off earlier this seasons, with two quick completions in the air. Then, the Ravens defensive line faltered, uncharacteristically, letting Cedric Benson go, and relying on Dawan Landry and Dominique Foxworth to make the tackle in some sort of sick role reversal. Terrell Suggs delivered some good pressure on Palmer to force a 3rd & 10, but soon the referees came to the rescue, nearly as dependable as a Disney Prince Charming when it comes to saving the other team. They granted Cincy a questionable timeout after originally calling a delay of game, and then allowed Cincinnati to start another play well after the clock struck zero. At this time, the Bengals no longer needed the officials' help. Chad Johnson- I refuse to call him by his "legally changed" name and give him that satisfaction- may not know his Spanish very well but he sure knew how to make a bunch of fools out of our secondary today-- not that that's much of a secret. Johnson won his team a first down and then got the Bengals within inches of a second consecutive one on the next play. Cedric Benson got the Bengals inside the 10, and one begins to wonder whether the defense, of all units, could be the Ravens' Achilles Heel this season. But not to worry, the offense's later performance would quell all such rumors and concerns. The defense is definitely still the stronger unit.
Carson Palmer polished off a 12 play, 73 yd drive with a touchdown pass to Caldwell. It was as if Palmer was a boy scout, alone in the wilderness. He was that alone and unpressured. When the Baltimore offense took the field, things would just get worse. Tank Johnson dropped Ray Rice for a loss of yards, and despite Rice's talent and effort, this would become a pattern for the game. Derrick Mason also showed some versatility. No one was expecting Mason to have to play corner, knocking passes out of the actual corner's hands to avoid interceptions, as Flacco's passes sailed this way and that and whichever way Mason was not. A spark- fumble recovery! But no, Dawan Landry racked up another penalty. The Bengals continued to drive, and the Ravens allowed Palmer, the self-proclaimed slow kid, to slide in for a first down.
Just at this time, Johnson (Ochocinco) warmed up and put on an instructional video on how to catch- a video Kelly Washington, Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, and their fellow WRs might just want to order off infomercial. Johnson made a series of spectacularly acrobatic catches. Fabian Washington took care of earning Baltimore its league-leading 7th pass interference call of the season. Lavernius Coles then escaped the great Ed Reed. We should have known it was over then. From the 2 yd line, Cedric Benson ran train on the Ravens defensive line, missing key starter Haloti Ngata, and waltzed into the endzone to give the Bengals a two touchdown lead. Viewers found themselves in anguish and disbelief- could it still really be the 1st Quarter?
Another penalty- this must be a typo- really? A costly penalty? No way. Yes, penalty on the Ravens receiving team backed them up again. Sam Koch was the face of the Ravens, and either he or Palmer was always on the field.
Because a backup's backup- a fully incompetent one at that- at secondary is not bad enough, Fabian Washington got injured. The Ravens turned to Chris Carr. I hate to break it to them but overextending this youngster is not the route to success. Carr already had too much to do. From here on, things quickly slipped downhill. Trevor Pryce took an inadvertent friendly fire hit and went out limping. But wait! A silver lining? Webb went in for Carr for Washington. And- he made a tackle!
Then I began looking for any possible distraction from the game. Ray Lewis's beard caught my eye. I am thinking that maybe he has decided, "hey the rest of this team's let themselves go, why not me?" Then, a Georgia Tech yellowjacket frustrated and angered me as never before. Tight End Foschi was a pest that just kept immunizing itself against the Ravens' coverage.
Soon, Derrick Mason was resembling the Ravens' secondary in more than one way, meaning that the actual Bengals' secondary actually caught the ball for a completion, I mean interception, from Joe Flacco.
By the time Ray Rice decided to take things into his own hands and score, it was far too late. Then the same story. Steve Hauschka misses. Should have kept Stover. Baltimore's on fire. Players dropping like flies. Then another near pick. Then a sack. And another. And.. another? Three?! Yes. The Bengals' unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the end of the game was indicative of their dirty play and their team's less than spotless record. But at the same time, it was indicative of the entire game. The penalty ultimately cost them nothing, nor did any of their other mistakes, due to the Ravens' substantially longer list of screw-ups, penalties, and missed opportunities. So the game came to a fitting end, and the Ravens hobbled bloody, battered, and, yes, beaten into the locker room. Are they settling for .500? I thought that was a standard held only for the Orioles..
photo credit [WR Derrick Mason playing DEFENSE?]: Baltimore Sun
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