You could say that the Ravens lax approach on Sunday was a direct result of their leadership or their organizational philosophy. For all of the cries by fans to open up the playbook and expand the offense, the Ravens remain ultra-conservative. They don’t use the middle of the field, they don’t try to force the action, and they simply hang around and give themselves a chance to win it at the end. When times get desperate, like they did in San Diego last week, or like they did against Arizona last season, then and only then have the Ravens shown a willingness to be aggressive. That series-by-series philosophy has served them well over the nearly 5 seasons of John Harbaugh’s tenure. That philosophy betrayed them on Sunday.
In Sunday’s action the Ravens never saw fit to open it up because the game was always in their control. The same is true with their loss to the Eagles in week 2. The Ravens led both games throughout and therefore never felt compelled to risk what appeared to be control. By the time those games got away from them, it was too late to answer aggressively.
In those terms, the Ravens finished the 3rd quarter of their season on Sunday, holding a preclusive lead. Therefore, fitting with their philosophy, there was no urgency needed and there should have been none expected. Throw Charlie batch into the mix and the widespread expectation of a Ravens cakewalk and the scene was perfectly set for just what happened.
The Ravens gave back a bit of that lead with their loss; and now as they enter the season’s final quarter we’ll see whether they can muster the aggression necessary to respond or, like they have in game after game, if they’ll keep their opponents in it until the final minutes (or weeks as it were). Urgency is once again at hand, but it’s still no time to panic.