Well, Flock, the good news is that I didn\u2019t have to write about another double-digit collapse in a loss today! The Ravens pulled it out of the fire at the end of a game that should easily have been in hand, and in doing so secured their first win of the season. Hopefully, by the time the season is winding down, the end of that game will be a footnote in our collective memory and we can just appreciate the Ravens getting the W.<\/p>\n
Now onto the bad news.<\/p>\n
I make mention of our collective memory because the NFL news cycle moves very quickly. From week to week, we forget things as major news stories crop up, and the storylines that we saw at the outset of the year become forgotten down the stretch\u2026 unless our observations become trends and patterns. Early in the year, two such concerning trends have begun to surface that are somewhat linked: Baltimore\u2019s inability to close out games, and excruciatingly bad NFL officiating.<\/p>\n