Ravens Offense Runs Wild

This weekend was a little bit of sports overload for me. Homecoming, World Series, Ravens game, as well as an exam on Monday and a paper due Thursday left me a somewhat overwhelmed. So while I was super excited about the Ravens' win over Oakland, it was hard for me to find time to write about it. Please excuse this late editorial about last weekends game. It was one of the most fun games to watch in a while. It was almost as if Oakland was so bad the Ravens felt they could just run any offensive scheme. And well, they were kind of right.

The Ravens are a team that relies on its defense. Defense wins championships. This is something we have been taught again and again and again. But as many times as I hear this adage, it doesn't matter, offense is fun to watch. And as a Ravens fan, offense has been sorely missing. When there is something exciting happening in a Ravens game, it's usually bad, or a brief moment of defensive brilliance. But offense is what crowds want to see. And the Ravens came through winning 29-10.

Last weekend the Ravens went wild. Defensive players playing offense. Quarterbacks playing receivers. Trick plays, running plays, passing plays, overwhelming amounts of offense. Forget Miami's Wildcat, Baltimore has their two quarterback offense. And I'll take any offense that scores points for the Ravens. Especially when there is an extra skilled player, Troy Smith, on the field.

I think Flacco is great. Or at least is going to be great. He has shown poise and the ability to bounce back after losing. But I feel a little twinge for Troy Smith. He won a Heisman and would have been starting this season if not for a virulent strain of tonsillitis. He lost over 20 lbs. in two weeks. Man I want that diet, except if I lost 20 lbs I might shrivel up and die. Anyway, he is a great player, even if he's not our starting quarterback, it helps to have him on the field.

And this weekend the Ravens coaching staff came to the same conclusion. So Cam Cameron, Rex Ryan and John Harbaugh decided to utilize this valuable asset. And it worked out well. It was really fun to watch Troy Smith throw a 43 yard pass to Joe Flacco. Flacco could have had a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown if he had not tripped near the goal line. But still, an unusually fun game by the Ravens.

Yes, it was against the Oakland Raiders. And without their star running back Darren McFadden. But still, it was good to see the Ravens offense put the points on the board. This was a showdown of defensive coordinators. With the Ravens Rex Ryan going up against his brother, the Raiders, Rob Ryan. It was clear the Rex was the winner on Sunday.

I hope the offense continues to produce. I also hope they keep utilizing all the possible strengths and assets that are available. If they do, it'll be a fun season for Ravens fans. Because while our defense will continue to be stellar, our offense will finally start to match up.