BALTIMORE -- Bill Parcells is famous for assessing his team and the other guy's with a simple review of wins and losses, and an even simpler summation from that evidence: "You are what you are."But even Parcells would've been hard-pressed to so easily judge undefeated Denver and .500 Baltimore before they met Sunday at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium. And he certainly couldn't have done so after their contest was complete.
To be sure, the Ravens proved what many of us suspected after they beat down the Broncos 30-7. The Broncos weren't as good as their spotless record through their first six games suggested, and the Ravens were a lot better than their lukewarm 3-3 mark alluded.
What we've witnessed between these two teams over the first six weeks is a reversal of fortune. And there is a very good chance the script is about to get flipped again and wind up where it should be. The Broncos host the defending champions from Pittsburgh on the second Monday night of November, and the Ravens head to Cincinnati, who surprised them in Baltimore earlier this season, and then go to Cleveland, which should be renamed Bye.
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Orton was yet another reason the Broncos didn't deserve to be mentioned on the rare perch of unbeatens this late into the season with New Orleans and Indianapolis, both quarterbacked by ridiculously prolific signal callers in Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. The Broncos' record compared to the Saints and Colts, but not their full body of work. Broncos' rookie coach Josh McDaniels almost admitted as much when it was all over in Baltimore and he finally made his way to the interview podium after a longer than normal wait. (It was his first loss as an NFL head coach.)
"This is always one of those things where you face a little adversity with a loss, and then you realize that maybe some of the things that you thought were good enough just aren't good enough."
-- Josh McDaniels
"This is always one of those things where you face a little adversity with a loss, and then you realize that maybe some of the things that you thought were good enough just aren't good enough," McDaniels said. "Even the things that you feel like you're doing well, after a loss, become more glaring, and you really take the time to evaluate what you are good at, and what you're not good at."
The Broncos thought they were good at defense. But the Ravens' offense scored 23 points against a Broncos' defense that came in ranked first in points allowed. They turned 11-of-18 third downs into first downs against a Denver defense that also was atop in the league in halting the opponent on third down.
The Broncos thought they were good at keeping the ball moving. But the Ravens' defense at least four times caught Broncos' running backs Correll Buckhalter and Knowshon Moreno behind the line of scrimmage after they entered the game leading the league in fewest negative plays.
The Broncos thought they were good in the return game with Eddie Royal. But the Ravens' special teams stymied Royal, who returned a kickoff and punt for a touchdown against the Chargers last month, and opened the second half with a touchdown return of its own by Lardarius Webb.
If the Broncos left Baltimore headed back to the drawing board, the Ravens entered their home stadium already having revisited it.
"We know what kind of team we have, and we know that we are capable of doing this kind of thing," announced Ravens' quarterback Joe Flacco after contributing to his team's win by completing 20-of-25 pass attempts including being perfect on his last 14 attempts.
The rest of the league would be foolish not to take notice.
After all, observers took note of these Ravens even in preseason when most everything is better off ignored. And none of us could ignore their very impressive beginning at the start of the season.For the first time it appeared the Ravens had a potent offense to go along with their hallmark stout defense. They averaged 34 points per game in jumping to a 3-0 mark against two teams we know now are horrible (Kansas City and Cleveland) and one that is decent (San Diego). Then came a close loss At New England, a surprise loss at home to what is now a winning Bengals' club, and a two-point stumble in Minnesota, 33-31. That was their last outing before a bye week.
"It [a win] was there last week [Oct. 18], and we didn't come up with a way to win," Ravens' coach John Harbaugh said. "It was there two weeks ago [Oct. 11], and it was there three weeks ago [Oct. 4], but we didn't come up with a way to win.
"It was there today [Sunday] and we played better, coached better," Harbaugh summed up.
It was almost as if what the Broncos had done in getting to 6-0 was a reminder to the Ravens of their method of success: solid defense combined with mistake-free offense and opportunistic special teams. The Broncos were just doing a better job of imitating the Ravens than the Ravens had been doing their past three outings.
But this final tally didn't lie. It was just the record each team brought into this game that did.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
11-01-2009 @ 8:25PM
Dan said...
Ok, they lost, but pretenders? Really? One bad game doesn't mean their suddenly terrible. Look at the Eagles. They drop to the Oakland Raiders. Does that make them horrible, pretenders who don't deserve to be talked about in terms of playoff contention? Obviously not, they went out and crushed the Giants this week. Now sure the Broncos didn't play well today. But everyone knew they weren't going undefeated and everyone knew the Ravens were better than 3-3. The Broncos still beat the Pats, Cowboys, Chargers, and Bengals, all teams that will contend in the AFC and all good teams. They will still probably win their division and compete in the playoffs. Don't condemn them for one loss.
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11-01-2009 @ 9:43PM
bearnutztb said...
The only pretender is Blackistone. The Broncos may not be as good as there record shows but pretenders they are not. Kyle Orton may not be anything but an average quartercack but most times his NFL starts show that he is consistent . I saw a lot of receivers drop balls today. As far as the defense they are as still as as their record. I don't know what Blackistone was watching but the Broncos defense held up most of the game. The special teams play was poor. Plain and simple Broncos had an off day.
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11-01-2009 @ 10:29PM
Dan said...
I never thought of Blackistone as a complete idiot before. But this article proves that. so are the Patriots pretenders because they got beaten badly by the Broncos? are the Eagles a joke because they lost to the raiders? so are the chargers losers because they could barely beat the raiders TWICE? Are the Vikings pretenders cuz they lost to the steelers? jesus the broncos got hammered by a very good Ravens team at home. so the ravens are good now that they beat the broncos but the broncos are pretenders because they lost to the ravens, that kind of logic would only make sense to a chargers fan!
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11-03-2009 @ 12:45PM
oughat said...
the patriots were beaten badly by the broncos? If I recall they were in the lead the whole game up until the end of the 4th quarter and then lost in overtime.
11-01-2009 @ 10:45PM
Bob said...
There's a good reason why the phrase "On any given Sunday" was coined--thanks for the lengthy example, Kevin. Coulda' happened to any team.
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11-01-2009 @ 10:48PM
pghjf said...
I almost want to say back to earth denver....because the hype machine was getting out of hand. Today they played a complete football team, a more complete one than what they've played up to now and now they see where the bar is. I'm hoping the Steelers have one of their more complete outing next monday and offer up denver loss #2. Welcome to the afc North, a fluke play away from being 0-2 against the division.
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11-02-2009 @ 6:51AM
Don Wilson said...
Right on Kevin: Your skills a writer are down right amazing .... you say the Broncos are Pretenders - well Kevin you are a Pretender too and an I am surprised you cover football ... its obvious to us all you really know nothing about it. If they are pretenders then you just slapped the first 6 football teams the Broncos play in the face bigtime. Its the NFL and in any given Sunday the best team that day wins. Pretenders Kevin - I think you should admit to everyone you are the Pretender ... not the Broncos !!!!
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11-02-2009 @ 12:46AM
thefencechild said...
i think this is a horrible article that makes little sense. A team that beat the Patriots are pretenders? I'm not so sure I'd agree with that statement. That's not even mentioning Dallas or Cincinnati who are at both decent teams this year. The Ravens have a very good defense and an offense that isn't too bad either. Look at the Ravens losses; New England, Cincinnati, and Minnesota. Man those teams just suck don't they.... I don't think a good team beating a good team makes either team seem better or worse.
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11-02-2009 @ 4:34AM
Allen said...
Terrible article. AOL has slipped significantly. It's just a matter of time before New Orleans will be "exposed." You are a Raven fan or football stupid, either way, your editorial piece on the Ravens "exposed you as a pretender." Is there a "real" sports writer in the house?
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11-02-2009 @ 8:39AM
ADAMP791 said...
GIVE THE RAVENS CREDIT!! THEY ARE A GOOD TEAM!! THE REF,s DUE A BETTER JOB AT BEATING THE RAVENS THAN ANY TEAM COULD!!
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11-02-2009 @ 9:34AM
JFCJR said...
I don't agree with the Broncos being pretenders but they have been very "fortunate" thus far...thanks to their defense. They have won 3 more games than I thought they would win all season. Their offense is non-existant. 31 coaches in the NFL would easily take Cutler over Orton if given the choice. Orton is way too conservative, does not throw down field enough...thus, only 1 interception all year. I still do not think they will win their division. The Steeler game next Monday night will tell a lot about these 2009 Broncos.......
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11-02-2009 @ 5:38PM
Bill said...
For crying out loud. How many times do we have to hear "the next game will tell us a lot about the Broncos." What is it about beating Cincinnati, Dallas, New England and San Diego that is not telling us the whole truth about Denver? Get a grip.
11-02-2009 @ 10:15AM
Jimbo said...
Since all of the comments seem to be about defending the Broncos, here are a few observations that are not so flattering. The broncos are a 6-1 team and very few teams can say that. However, I haven't seen a top rated team collapse so fast since the 2000 Super Bowl when the New York Giants ended their season with their tail between their legs. Where was the best defense in the league especially during the second half when the Ravens scored most of their points? Where was the great Broncos special team when the Ravens consistantly got good field position? And where was the feared Broncos offense and Orton's pass protection? The whole nation got to see the Broncos collapse as a whole team which leads me to my next question. Where was the overall coaching and preperation for this game. My conclusion is that the Broncos are a better than average team but, for this game anyway, they thought the Ravens were going to be a pushover and prepared like it. That goes directly to the coaching. Put simple, the Broncos got out coached and out prepared. Now, lets see if they make the same mistake this week!
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11-02-2009 @ 3:44PM
Tim said...
Collapse? Full disclosure...I am a Bronco fan. But collapse? They were beaten by a team that, in my opinion, looked like a SB contender 3 weeks into the season, in their own building. It was not a pretty loss, to be sure, and I am VERY concerned about their special teams, which looked night and day better thaan last year coming into this game. I need to do some research on why we switched punters...Mitch Berger has the slowest punt routine in the NFL, and was like that back when he played for my Buffs, too! I was optimistically expecting 6-7 wins from this team going in, and even at 6-0, I wasn't booking tickets to Miami. Who exactly was jumping all over the Bronco SB bandwagon? I think people finally had to admit they weren't a fluke after wins vs. Dallas, NE and the Colts, but really? Collapse? Oh, and by the way, they beat the Browns, too...I realize AFC North fans don't want to own up to them being in their division, but...
11-02-2009 @ 12:38PM
TERRI said...
So what, they lost a game, get over it you Bronco Haters. Honestly, do you think any of the teams are going unbeaten this season! And you know what, we are still 6 wins 1 loss. GO BRONCOS!!!!!
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11-02-2009 @ 12:40PM
Marc said...
ARE YOU *&^%ING KIDDING ME?! Blackstone here is clueless. The Broncos lost to a good team yesterday, and if you think Denver beat Dallas, SD and NE with smoke and mirrors, you're just ignorant or stupid. It was a bad loss on the road against a very good, physical team wit ha great defense, despite what stats may say. If you're going to say the Broncos aren't a 6-0 team going in, then Baltimore wasn't a 3-3 team going in either, they were much better than their record indicated. Maybe Denver lost a little focus during their Bye with everyone telling them how great they were. Even if they lose on MNF at home to Pittsburgh, they'll still be 7-2 in 2 weeks after winning in Washington or 8-1 wit hthe home win. All you people criticing the Broncos since July, the Denver fans will be laughing when Denver is playing in January and McDaniels is Coach of the Year.
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11-02-2009 @ 12:40PM
washstatebullman said...
IM CURIOUS WHY THE HELL DO THEY LET BLACKSOINE STILL WRITE THIS MAN IS BIGOT AND A RACIST GET RID OF HIM!
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11-02-2009 @ 12:54PM
whiteboybrnd said...
ok ok ok I love how we loose one game and all of a sudden we are pretenders. Ha ha ha you idiots that think that make me laugh. And next week when we win every one will say it was a fluke. so if kansas city , the bills, or the titans win then what they don't really suck this year it was all just an illusion. Kevin you are an idiot......... that's all I have to say.
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11-02-2009 @ 12:55PM
bobinthetrees said...
I couldn't beieve my eyes when I read this article. Blackistone is a complete moron. Why is he writing articles again? Loser.
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11-02-2009 @ 1:09PM
Mary Lou said...
I have faith in the Broncos and yesterday can best be described as an off day. Like one when you say you should have stayed in bed or at home. Just proves they are human. But it certainly does not take away from them the fact that they are a great team this year, have a good QB and coaching staff. I still believe in them and have for some 30 plus years. A BRONCO FAN who loves the game.
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