BALTIMORE -- All offseason the wide receivers on the Ravens heard about how much they stink.
They read that the Ravens needed more weapons, how their current group of players was so old they herded sheep to Noah's Ark, and how the Ravens were doomed to experience massive amounts of big-play offensive fail.
Then, Sunday morning, just hours before a record-setting offensive explosion against the Kansas City Chiefs that led to a 38-24 Baltimore victory, Ravens players said they were made aware of critical comments by ESPN analysts Keyshawn Johnson and Cris Carter during a conference call with reporters.
• Recap: Ravens 38, Chiefs 24
Ravens players were particularly incensed by Johnson, who said, "You want a bum, you pay a bum."
The remarks by Johnson and Carter were, apparently, the last straw for Ravens, particularly receiver Derrick Mason who went supernova on Johnson and Carter to CBSSports.com after the game.
Though it's true no one can gin up fake outrage like an NFL coaching staff, and it's also true the Ravens' great offensive game was against the sorry Chiefs, the comments by Mason are nevertheless simultaneously hilarious and instructive.
"Keyshawn Johnson is the bum, that's why he's in the analyst seat," said Mason after catching four passes for 47 yards against Kansas City. "He tried to come back to football but no one would sign him. He was never that good a player. He got lucky and signed on in Tampa Bay and won a Super Bowl because they had a great defense.
"Just look at the two people doing the criticizing, that's all I'm saying. Keyshawn was overrated and Carter is in the same boat I'm in. He doesn't have a Super Bowl ring either. He's in the analyst seat without a ring. At least I'm playing. He still wants to play but he can't anymore. We're the bums? That's why you're in the analyst seat. Just be quiet and keep dreaming you still could play."
Sorry but that was funny and indicative of just about how the entire offense feels. They became sick and tired of being sick and tired and took it out on Kansas City's undermanned defense.
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| Joe Flacco set career highs with 43 attempts, 307 passing yards and three TDs. (US Presswire) |
Against the Chiefs, Joe Flacco set career highs in attempts (43), passing yards (307) and passing touchdowns (three) further cementing the idea he's as solid a young franchise thrower as Matt Ryan or Aaron Rodgers. After a rough start in which several of his passes looked like wobbly missiles with faulty tracking systems he carried the team on his shoulders.
It's clear that Flacco's arrival is the signal of a shift within the Ravens' mindset. While Baltimore's defense remains the biggest of bullies the team sees it finally has a trustworthy quarterback and, well, trusts him.
Flacco has the go sign and this makes Baltimore perhaps as dangerous a team as Pittsburgh or New England.
"Everyone talks about how we don't have weapons," coach John Harbaugh said. "I think we have weapons, if you want to use that term ... to say we don't have players that can make plays, that's not something we're too interested in hearing about."
The Ravens can now stop people and score on them as well. Both things haven't been true in Baltimore since the days of Unitas. Baltimore's 501 total yards were a Ravens franchise record as were their 32 first downs.
"We haven't done that too many times around here ever," said tight end Todd Heap of the scoring outburst, "and I've been here nine years."
"We're kind of remaking ourselves," Clayton said.
Ray Rice rushed for 108 yards, Willis McGahee and Le'Ron McClain combined for three scores and Clayton and Heap combined for two. Flacco's 307 passing yards and Rice's 108 on the ground marked just the fourth instance in Ravens team history a passer and runner combined for 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in a single game.
Despite the doubters there just might indeed be significant offensive megatonnage.
"We're using the weapons that we have, and we use them in the right way," Mason explained. "We could have had more than 500 yards. [We had] some miscues here and there. We could have possibly thrown for 600 yards.
"If we continue to do this we're going to be a very explosive team."
Despite what the ring-less analysts say.
