How often does this defense, the near-legendary Ravens defense, find itself in the shadows of its offensive counterpart? Even on a day like yesterday, when that offense managed to be uncommonly clever and efficient yet still shoot itself in the foot time and time again?
The fans at M&T Bank Stadium were fully justified in chanting, "Let's go Flacco," yesterday, in light of what he did to the Cincinnati Bengals in his NFL debut. Had the fans squeezed in a few choruses of "Dee-fense" along the way, though, that wouldn't have gone unappreciated.
The Ravens' faithful are too knowledgeable to take this group for granted, but the defense might have gone above and beyond yesterday.
"When it's tough on everybody else, it's just right for us," Terrell Suggs exclaimed. "That's our motto."
Tough? Never mind what they had to face on the field so often, when the offense would, as is customary even on days like yesterday, let them down. Consider who they had to face it all with: Chris McAlister, Ed Reed and Samari Rolle, who barely played in the preseason. Suggs, who missed half the preseason because of his holdout. Haloti Ngata, battling knee problems since the first week of camp.
And no Kelly Gregg. Nor, for that matter, the suspended Fabian Washington and Derrick Martin.
Backed up against a wall early and late, pulling out schemes they hadn't shown all preseason, leaning on the chemistry built over years of continuity, and facing a Bengals offense that gives them chronic headaches, they gave up one field goal. Kept Cincinnati out of the end zone. "I think we kept them out last year when they were here," defensive coordinator Rex Ryan cracked, recalling a disturbing 21-7 loss in November. "Of course, they had seven field goals."
Turning serious, he added, "It was definitely a chore."
For Ryan, his coaches and the players, it also was a display of genius.
The offense sure saw it that way. "My God, that was ridiculous," Joe Flacco said afterward, while listing the elements that ushered him into the NFL victorious. "They didn't let up all day."
Not when Todd Heap fumbled on the second play of the game, 47 seconds in, right after Flacco's first pro completion, on his own 33-yard line. Not when the Bengals drove to the Ravens' 17 after a Ravens punt. Not when seemingly automatic points evaporated three times - a punt-return touchdown by Yamon Figurs called back on a suspect penalty, a missed field-goal try by Matt Stover, a pass ricocheting off Heap's hands in the end zone.
