In Theory, there is no Practice.

Okay, so I am finally calm enough to write Ravens 20, Bengals 27. What a disaster. 6 Turnovers leading to 24 points. Ray Lewis, Steve McNair, Jonathan Ogden, B.J. Sams hurt. There was a brutal offensive pass interference call on Todd Heap that negated a game tying touchdown with less than 2-minutes left.

And yet, the Ravens lost by only 7 points on a last minute goal line interception. There is a little solace in this. Perhaps this was the Ravens’ ‘No F’ing Way Game‘ of 2007. If it had been Madden, that is surely how it would have been viewed by the losing player. I do agree with TMQ about the Ravens getting pass wacky at the end:

‘Tis Better to Have Rushed and Lost Than Never to Have Rushed At All No. 2: Baltimore, trailing Cincinnati 27-20 at the end of the game, ran eight consecutive goal-to-go plays — owing to penalties– and failed to score. Five of the eight plays were pass attempts, all leading to incompletions, interceptions or penalties; the Ravens went pass-wacky though beginning the series with first-and-goal on the Bengals 3, where with four straight power-rushes seemingly all but assured a score.

Conclusion: Injuries are bad. Losing is bad. Losing to a division rival is bad. Sams out all year is bad. It could have been worse. It looks like Ray Lewis will still be able to play this year. Ogden may or may not, but at least the Ravens were looking ahead in the draft, and since Ogden didn’t play during the pre-season the backups got a lot of work. McNair may need some rest, but should be able to play again this year. And I do think that if the Ravens find the handle on the ball, they can whoop Cincy next time they play. The offense scored 20 points, but got 17 of those after a turnover (the other TD was a defensive score).