Kritik und Lob » A once-promising season is spiraling dangerou

sly out of control Stitched Mark Andrews Jersey , and the Cincinnati Bengals can't even agree on the proper path to turning themselves back into a postseason contender.There's no doubt that the defense has to get better. Yet the offense hasn't exactly been racking up the points without injured wide receiver A.J. Green."That's an individual that we need," Bengals safety Shawn Williams said.After watching his team give up more than 500 yards in total offense in three straight games, most in the Super Bowl era, coach Marvin Lewis fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and took over the unit.Lewis was pleased with the baby steps the Bengals took in a 24-21 loss to Baltimore on Sunday, even though they surrendered 403 yards 鈥?including 265 on the ground 鈥?to a team led by a quarterback making his first NFL start.With four losses in five games, the Bengals (5-5) find themselves lumped with several other AFC teams on a ledge, in danger of falling out of the playoff picture."It's a race now, and that's what we're here for Baby Mark Andrews Jersey ," Lewis said. "It's now a race to the finish. And we'll be a better football team coming out of this than we were coming in. That's what's exciting for me."OK, the defense allowed the Ravens to convert half their 16 third-down tries and gave up 15 first downs rushing. But the 24 points allowed compared favorably to the previous four games 鈥?28 to Pittsburgh, 45 to Kansas City, 34 against Tampa Bay and the final insult, 51 at home against New Orleans."It was a step forward for us on defense," linebacker Vincent Rey insisted. "Now we have to put the pedal to the metal."Lewis knows all about leading a defense, given that he owns a Super Bowl ring from his time as a coordinator in Baltimore. The transition from Austin to Lewis was smooth, even if the results weren't ideal."I have no complaints Best Mark Andrews Jersey ," cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick said. "I got the calls, I got the checks, everything. We were playing fast, rallying to the ball."Unfortunately, the defense didn't get much support from the Cincinnati offense. Operating without Green, who has a toe injury, the Bengals were limited to 255 yards overall and scored only one touchdown before halftime."We didn't come out fast like we wanted to," tight end C.J. Uzomah said. "Whether it was us hurting ourselves or just not executing Adult Mark Andrews Jersey , whatever the case may be, we just didn't get it done offensively."Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton engineered a 34-23 win over Baltimore earlier this season and orchestrated a comeback victory last year to knock the Ravens out of the playoff picture on the final Sunday of the season.On this day, he was a pedestrian 19 for 36 for 211 yards and two scores."A.J., if he'd have been out there, the coverage may have been different," Dalton said. "But I think at the end of the day, we just got to make the plays."Dalton sees only one way for the Bengals to turn their season around: by winning next Sunday at Cleveland, possibly one of the few teams struggling more than the Bengals."For us Miles Boykin Baltimore Ravens Jersey , it's all about winning the next one. ... It doesn't matter if we don't win. We've got to put our focus on this week." A surprising answer after Ravens fans were in full-blown meltdown due to the losses of free agency"The free agency doors opened and the 2019 league year began with multiple losses. The Ravens lost their star middle linebacker C.J. Mosley in a bidding war with the New York Jets. Pass rusher Za’Darius Smith joined the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North. Terrell Suggs shocked the NFL by leaving his long-time franchise and opted to end his career in Arizona with the Cardinals. All of this left Ravens fans in panic mode as the only move made was signing TE Nick Boyle to a three-year contract. The blogs were set on fire and Facebook groups were left in turmoil. Twitter raged and we even meme’d it.Then, the next day, Eric DeCosta signed veteran RB Mark Ingram and followed up with the bombshell news of adding FS Earl Thomas.After the free agency glow wore off, SB Nation decided to poll Ravens fans on whether or not the franchise got better or worse in free agency.Ravens fans, sign up for FanPulse HERE!Did the Ravens get better in free agency?I’ll be honest, I voted in this poll and I responded yes. The team added quality players and cleared a bunch of cap space for 2020 and beyond. While great players left and signed mega-deals elsewhere, they added a compensatory pick or two for DeCosta to work with. The team still looks rather strong and I’m confident the Ravens will be defending their AFC North crown.The team isn’t perfect, but I think it’s fair to say the Ravens got better. They added a superstar free safety Womens Miles Boykin Jersey , the most complimentary tailback for Lamar Jackson, traded away Joe Flacco for a fourth-round pick and still have room to work with in the 2019 NFL Draft. The defense is still the best in the NFL until proven otherwise and the draft will (hopefully) bring about offensive talent for Jackson.