Titan-ic Upset

I got a chance to cross something off of my bucket list today: Cover a Baltimore Ravens football game. While it wasn’t at M&T Bank Stadium, and it wasn’t a win, it was still an awesome experience.  Forget getting to stand on the same sideline as my childhood heroes. Forget getting paid to do what most people would gladly give a paycheck to do.  Forget getting to work with two photographers (Gene Sweeney Jr. and Karl Merton Ferron from the Baltimore Sun) who’s work I’ve admired since I was a kid.  This was just flat out awesome.  I only with the outcome of the game had been different.

From a fan’s perspective, the Ravens just sucked today.  From a journalist’s perspective, the Ravens just sucked today.

The team had no rhythm in the first half, completely abandoning their game plan against the Steelers in which they lit them up through the air and struck early, instead opting for a much more conservative approach on the ground.  The Titans reminded everyone in Nashville that they were one of the best teams in the league just three years ago and looked like it today.  They lit the Ravens up through the air and ripped off a few big runs in the second half with back-up Javon Ringer.

The Titans were not, by any stretch of the imagination, supposed to win this game after losing to a rebuilding Jaguars team in week one while the Ravens rolled over rival Pittsburgh.  Tennessee, though, fed off of a sellout crowd in their home opener and with an experienced quarterback at the helm in Matt Hasselbeck, probably caught the Ravens underestimating them. They took full advantage of it.

Regardless, this was a great experience for me and I hope I get to repeat it next week in St. Louis when the Ravens travel out to play the Rams.  Hopefully, I’m covering a Ravens win then.

Full Ravens and Titans Gallery

Ravens running back Ray Rice breaks through the tackling attempt of Titans safety Michael Griffin on his way to the Ravens only touchdown of the game off of a screen pass in the second quarter.