While offense started slow, it's important to give credit where it's due

November 12, 2010 9:33 AM by Dan Kolko View Comments

OK, so it took the Ravens' offense four legitimate drives to finally realize that last night's game had actually started.

Not counting a Joe Flacco kneel down at the end of the first half, Baltimore first four possessions of the game went like this:

Five plays, 29 yards and a punt.

Six plays, 22 yards and a punt.

Five plays, 26 yards and a punt.

Three plays, minus-five yards and an interception.

Yes, the Ravens' offense continues to have issues starting games quickly, and if they hope to contend in a tough AFC deep into December and January, they can't keep deciding to wait around until the second half to start playing.

But while it's easy to point out all the negatives from a game as frustrating as the one last night (oh, is it ever), you simply cannot ignore the grit and determination shown by those in the Ravens' offensive huddle.

Following Flacco's interception on Baltimore's first drive of the second half, wide receiver Anquan Boldin - who has quickly turned into the Ravens' clear-cut leader on the offensive side of the ball - gave an impassioned speech on the sideline, asking his teammates if they would be so kind as to start playing some solid football.

That might not be exactly how Boldin worded it, but you get the idea.

And despite trailing 13-0 and having put up just 71 total yards to that point, the Ravens finally kicked it into high gear.

Three of their next four possessions resulted in touchdowns. Instead of sticking to the same gameplan which clearly had flopped in the first half, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron got creative. He ran end-arounds to speedy wide receiver Donte' Stallworth, got the ball in Boldin's hands on short routes and let him make plays after the catch, and used Atlanta's aggressive pass rush against itself with screens to Ray Rice.

Flacco, who had gone just 5-of-9 for 31 yards and an interception through the game's first 32 minutes, caught fire, and finished the game 17-of-his-last-25 for 184 yards and three touchdowns.

Boldin, who hadn't caught a single pass on Baltimore's first four drives, came though with five catches for 50 yards and a score. Rice stepped up, Todd Heap made a big touchdown grab and found holes over the middle of the field, and Derrick Mason played through a potentially re-broken right pinky finger and made a handful of clutch catches.

The offensive line, which was beat up and dominated in the first half, hung in there, and did a much better job in the final 30 minutes protecting the edges and giving Flacco time to survey the field and make plays.

While we might not be used to seeing the Ravens' defense blow a late fourth quarter lead, we're also definitely not used to seeing a Baltimore offense come back from a 13-point second half deficit, take the lead, and set themselves up to earn a huge road victory.

Of course, that didn't happen. Would things have been different if Flacco and the offensive line had started playing on the first drive of the game as compared to the second drive of the third quarter? Yeah, they probably would have.

But I think it's important here to give credit where credit is due. Amidst all the defense-bashing and negative talk that will certainly take place in Charm City over the next week and a half (most of it deserved), we should also take note of how the guys on offense manned up, put their rough start behind them, and gave the Ravens a chance to win.

Here's your day-after-game question of the week:

Are you able to take solace in the fact that while the Ravens' defense isn't what it used to be, the Baltimore offense clearly isn't what it used to be, either - in a good way?

Is that enough to cheer you up after a loss as frustrating as the one last night?