Harbaugh On Ravens' Loss: 'We Have To Move On'
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) -- As much as the Baltimore Ravens would like to dismiss their miserable showing in Tennessee as just a bad day, the truth is that they can't.
The reason: Their 26-13 loss to the rebuilding Titans on Sunday is just as much a part of their fabric as the 35-7 rout of the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers one week earlier.
"The same performance we took responsibility for against Pittsburgh, we take responsibility for against Tennessee," coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "Both of those games are ours. That's who we are, and we build off both of those games. We take what we learn and we take it to St. Louis (this Sunday) and try to become a better football team."
The Ravens (1-1) couldn't have looked much better against the Steelers or much worse against Tennessee.
Quarterback Joe Flacco, who shredded the Steelers, went 15 for 32 for 197 yards and two interceptions against Tennessee. The defense failed to register a single sack, yielded 358 yards passing and got only one turnover after setting a franchise record with seven against Pittsburgh.
"We've got to ask ourselves what was different from Week 1 to Week 2," linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "In Week 1 we got a lot of turnovers and we didn't give up the ball. This week we didn't get so many turnovers and we gave up the ball."
Harbaugh was mystified over the good-to-awful switch, only because the players appeared sharp and focused in the days leading up to the game.
"We practiced very well last week, and it didn't transfer to the way we executed on game day, which is disappointing," he said.
But he's been around long enough to know that one good performance doesn't necessarily lead to another.
"There's nothing perplexing about it. We just didn't play well enough in critical situations to win," Harbaugh said. "That's how football is in this league. We're working to the point where we can go out there every single week and just roll over opponents. But we're not there yet. We're trying, but we're not there yet."
The Ravens' performance against the Steelers was stunning because it came so soon after the team added veteran offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, wide receiver Lee Evans and several others to the mix.
"It's reality in this league: It's week to week," Harbaugh said. "As good as we felt about our team last week, we don't feel
so good right now. But you can't let that effect how you see your guys and how you see your team and overreact and those kind of things. Because I really believe everybody in the National Football League, especially this year, is a work in progress."
Moving forward, Harbaugh must work around several key injuries. Kick returner David Reed will miss at least three weeks with a strained left shoulder, and Evans (ankle) and Domonique Foxworth, who is returning from knee surgery, are clearly not at 100 percent.
Of Evans, Harbaugh said, "I think it's affecting him. There's no doubt about it. We're going to have to take a hard look at that. To me, if he can do the things that he needs to do, he plays. If he can't, he won't play. We've been nursing this thing now for a month and I don't see it getting a lot better.
"Same thing goes for Domonique Foxworth," Harbaugh said.
"Either he can play or he can't. If they can't play the kind of football we need them to because they're injured -- no fault of theirs, these guys are gutting it out -- then they're going to have to sit for a while and get healthy."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
