Go ahead, you switch places with them if you think the Ravens are getting such a raw deal.
The bottom line is this: Both teams were ready to play games that count after the usual insufferably long preseason, and as soon as they jumped into real action, Mother Nature brought it all to a halt. The Ravens did have momentum, some positive reinforcement, and we'll know next week against the Cleveland Browns at home whether that momentum was broken.
It will be a couple of months - about the time the Ravens arrive in Houston, actually - before we know the toll the premature bye week took. How the players are able to stay at a physical and mental peak the rest of the way. And where Flacco stands, with his big debut long past, with defenses starting to catch up to him, with Smith healthy and hungry for the chance his illness denied him, with a possible rookie "wall" looming, and with no bye week as a crutch.
