Ravens in review...

   The New York Jets arrived in Baltimore last week with a 2-1 record and a lot riding on the outcome of their showdown with our Ravens. This came as no surprise to most casual football fans since both teams have been to the playoffs the last 2 seasons and the Jets to the AFC Championship game both times. What fans didn't expect to see when they circled this prime time match-up on their calendars was the Jets coming into the game ranked next to last in rushing defense with a turnover +/- of zero. Many "experts" crowned the Jets as the AFC Champions long before the first pass was thrown this season (want to rethink that now?). Fast forward and the Jets are now 2-2 after being completely dominated defensively by a Baltimore team that has now resoundingly beaten 2 of the early AFC favorites (Steelers, Jets). Mark Sanchez looked like the very average QB that he is and, while Flacco didn't wow, the Ravens offensive line looked they were blocking a high school team. The handful of times that the Jets defense managed to get after Joe Cool, he looked more like Michael Vick or Big Ben than his normal cement-legged self. While I hope the offense can become more consistent as the year progresses, you don't beat great or even  good defensive teams with your offense, you beat them with your defense. Think about it. Does it make more sense to attack a team's strength (trying to score a ton of points on offense) or their weakness (totally shutting down their offense)? Not a tough decision. Too many teams get so fixated on scoring that they force the issue against a good defense and wind up looking a lot like the Jets did Sunday night. I don't think the Jets are a bad team, but I do think they have their work cut out for them in a division that now features 3 teams (welcome back to the league Buffalo) that have the talent to play into January. The Ravens emerged looking like the favorites in the AFC North if not the AFC as a whole and there isn't an offense in the league that wants to line up opposite them right now.