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Very few Ravens fans have sounded completely pleased with their team's 24-point win over the Panthers on Sunday.
A majority of media reports (including a couple on this very site) have found faults in the victory as well, one in which the Ravens needed two defensive touchdowns in the final six minutes to put away a one-win Carolina team playing without a few key starters.
But reporters and those in the fan base aren't the only ones disappointed in the manner in which the Ravens earned a win on Sunday. Those inside Ravens headquarters are less than thrilled with the way things went down in Carolina as well.
A number of players said as much to reporters after the game, which head coach John Harbaugh views as a positive.
"I'd be disappointed if we were doing cartwheels after that win," Harbaugh said during yesterday's weekly Monday press conference. "I think they realize how important the win was - and I think they did a good job of finding a way to win the game - but they're not by any means satisfied with the performance.
"We left too many points on the table. We gave up three big plays that were probably worth 130 yards that should have never happened. We gave up a kickoff return that should have never happened. Those are the things I think the players are referring to that we're capable of playing so much better, and we're going to need to."
Harbaugh had no trouble finding a major flaw in each aspect of the game in that brief quote, which is why he says he didn't mind that many fans spent the last two days calling in to sports talk radio stations to complain after Sunday's win.
The Ravens' head coach even joked that he knows he'll hear a lot of the same grumbling first-hand tonight when he takes part in his weekly radio show.
"They have a right to do that," Harbaugh said. "People care, I think. We care, they care, the coaches care. It's important to the fans. We do the same thing. We nitpick ourselves. Our players nitpick every little thing that they do well or don't do well, and we do the same thing as coaches and we do the same thing for our own performances. That's fine. We're OK with it.
"We get a chance to watch the tape and have a good understanding of what we're trying to do, and it's tough. It's tough to win; it's tough to compete in this league. It's back and forth, it's a push and a pull. It's competition, and you do the best you can."
I wrote yesterday that the Ravens are still searching for that complete performance, that signature game when they get solid, consistent play from all three aspects and make a true statement that they're a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
That's something they've failed to do this season, even though they've faced one team that currently has just a single win, and two teams that only have two victories on the year.
The wins obviously are nice, but the Ravens know that while they're 7-3 and sit atop the AFC North in first place, they still have plenty of work to do and a number of holes to fix.
"We're still looking for that dominant game, and I think we're all disappointed that we didn't play a dominant game," Harbaugh said. "But, we're happy with the win. I think you take your victories where they come within the game, but by no means are we satisfied with the way we played.
"I think that's the same in the Atlanta game; you can say the same thing in a loss as you can say in a win. There are so many things we can do better to be the team we need to be, but we're still searching for that dominant performance."
