OUCH! Baltimore Blah!

Ravens crushed @ Indianapolis 31-3

I must admit I was very confident that this was setting up well for the Ravens. The Indianapolis Colts were falling from the ranks of the elite. And they were especially vulnerable to a running attack. It really did not seem like a stretch to think that the Ravens were a bad match-up for the Colts.

But that is why I do not work for an NFL franchise I guess. I could not have been more wrong. I would have a better chance figuring out the stock market now than getting a feel for the Ravens.

That being said I think I can make a little sense out of all of this. Let's start with 5 TURNOVERS for the RAVENS! And add the fact that the Colts had 0 turnovers and you spell TROUBLE right here in River City.

One concern I did express going in was that rookie QB was going to face a different look on defense than he had thus far. Plus he was on the road. And while his 28 for 38 and 241 yards looks pretty good on paper, his no touchdowns and 3 interceptions tell the whole story.

Part of the problem was that the Baltimore defense got torched early and often and the Ravens got in a 17 to 0 first quarter hole. Worse yet the Colts tacked on another 7 before the half to make it 24 to ZIP.

By then the strength of the Ravens was ripped out of their play book and they had to resort to throwing the ball against a team that can't stop the run but are productive against the pass. As a result the Ravens rushers piled up a whopping 51 yards against a team that had allowed over 150 yards per game prior to Sunday. And Joe Flacco the QB had 12 of those yards.

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The Ravens defense maintained it's #1 rushing defense by holding a the Colts to 76 yards on the day. But a couple of the runs against them were uncharacteristically embarrassing. However they conceded 258 yards in passing yards at a 9.2 yards per pass average. They put Peyton Manning on his buttocks twice while the Ravens offensive line surrender 4 Flacco fanny crashes.

This was a beat down. For the Colts it couldn't have come at a better time. They were looking quite pedestrian lately. And the Ravens looked like they were learning on the job. But they always say in the NFL the true test is how you look on the road. The Ravens looked like roadkill Sunday.

Truth be told they did play their hearts out despite shooting themselves over and over. Maybe I should have expected a setback here. History would have told me so.

The worse part was in some ways the Ravens did move the ball. They were abysmal on 3rd down though. Which is another kiss of death in the NFL.

But hey they are 2 and 3 with a trip to Miami to make things better. The next 3 weeks should give the Ravens a nice opportunity to put together a winning streak or at least go 2 and 1. That would make them 4 and 4 at the midway point of the season.

By Andy Natalie
ProFootball-fans.com Baltimore Ravens Correspondent