406 yards of Total Offense…in the first half!
Rookie Wide Receiver Torrey Smith’s first 3 career receptions are touchdowns...all in the 1st quarter! (5 receptions for 152 on the day)
Joe Flacco-27/48, 389 yards (career high), and 3TD’s
All of it added up to a 37-7 win in St. Louis and a record setting day for the franchise; hanging 553 Total Yards on the beleaguered Rams (now 0-3).
The Ravens (now 2-1) were embarrssed by their performace in Tennessee last week. The talk around Baltimore camp throughout the week was to forget about it and move on. Now, the Rams may be struggling, and may have been coming off a short week due to playing on Monday night, but the Ravens still left no doubt who the better team was when the final horn sounded.
The game resembled the Ravens dismantling of the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1. The defense sacked Rams QB Sam Bradford five times and forced turnovers again, one of which turned into a defensive touchdown. The difference between the Ravens team that lost to the Titans last week, and this Ravens team was night-and-day.
The Raven's offense is the story from Sunday, but their defense was stifling once again
“I’m proud of the way we attacked, really in all three phases,” Said Head Coach John Harbough after the game. Offensively, the Ravens, again, looked unstoppable. With Flacco making decisions and slinging the ball like he did in the first half, the Ravens may have the final piece to the puzzle that they’ve missed since their last, and lone, Super Bowl title.
The deep passes that made Flacco and Smith so successful against the Rams weren’t by accident however. Every team knows the Ravens M.O.; they like to set up the run with Ray Rice, then beat you deep with the play-action pass. Today, the Ravens flipped the script on the Rams, knowing St. Louis had injuries in their secondary.
Not to say the Ravens didn’t run the ball, both of their running backs contributed well when given opportunities, (Ray Rice, 8 carries: 79 yards, Ricky Williams, 5 carries: 42 yards)
The picked on CB Justin King who was filling in for injured CB Ron Bartell (on IR) for two of Smith’s three scores. After the first quarter it seemed as though the Rams had given up.”We did what we didn’t want to do, which is fall behind. It’s like we weren’t even playing in the first half.” Said Bradford after the game.
Torrey Smith turned some heads in St. Louis
This type of aerial show is not common in Ravens land. Very seldom has the NFL witnessed any QB in purple drop back with confidence enough to fire it deep down field; but this is a new Ravens offense with one goal in mind.
“The goal is to win the Super Bowl.” Joe Flacco said when asked about his offense’s performance.
The team knows who they are at this point, and now it’s about remaining hungry and staying consistent. Consistency is the last knock on Flacco, and the team as a whole. Another few games like this one may finally give the Ravens offense the respect it deserves around the NFL; but until they can sustain it, we’ll just have to wait and see.
For now, the Ravens will look forward to meeting their old friend Rex Ryan and his Jets in Baltimore on Sunday night.
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Written by Frank Sullivan
Frank is a graduate of Old Dominion University, sports fan, author, and founder of TheBloosh.com. He's been working with prosportsblogging.com since April 2011, and has covered the Chicago Bulls, Baltimore Ravens, Virginia Tech Hokies Football, and the Washington Wizards. Frank can be reached @franksullivan on twitter.
