As the Baltimore Ravens steadily crumbled on national television against the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, a thought came to mind: You don't want to be the next team on their schedule.
That happens to be the Cleveland Browns, chosen by the NFL to travel to Baltimore to face an agitated Ravens squad that was robbed of a home opener against Denver so that Major League Baseball's wandering Orioles could host a meaningless home game.
The Ravens accepted their fate, traveled to Denver and got walloped. Back home again, they're not a happy bunch.
"We're ticked off at ourselves, to use your term," coach John Harbaugh told the Ravens' official website this week. "We're not happy about the way we played, especially in critical situations.
"So, yes, we should be upset about that. We also have to move on from it emotionally, and we have to prepare for the next challenge. It's just like a play. You can't carry the last play into the next play."
The next play comes against the Browns, which should be of some concern to Cleveland. Baltimore under Harbaugh is 4-0 after losing by 20 points or more. On top of that, quarterback Joe Flacco and his coach are 10-0 against the Browns.
History won't dictate Sunday, but on the field, we don't like the matchup between the shaky right side of Cleveland's offensive line against Baltimore's rejuvenated pass rush. Cameron Wake made mincemeat of the Brownsin Week 1 as the Dolphins sacked quarterback Brandon Weeden six times and hit him 16 times before the game was over.
After watching his former team -- the Broncos -- whip up on his current one -- the Ravens -- pass rusher Elvis Dumervil, and the rest of the locker room, are licking their lips to right the ship.
The "Around The League Podcast" is now available on iTunes! Click here to listen and subscribe.
