The Baltimore Ravens, what went wrong this year?

Other than beating the Steelers earlier this season, the better question to ask is what went right for the Ravens in 2015?

For starters, their defense got old and depleted real quick. Ever since Ray Lewis retired, their defense went south in just 2 short years. They went from a defense that was feared to a defense that teams can run and pass wild on.

The Ravens past two drafts haven't produced a whole lot in talent. When you aren't drafting well, then it will eventually show up on the field.

They lose Joe Flacco and Ravens fans have to watch Matt Schaub throw pick sixes like he did when he was with the Texans.

It may be time for the Ravens to blow it all up and rebuild. Ever since the old Browns moved to Baltimore, the Ravens have been competitive for the better part of 2 decades. Age finally caught up with them.

Baltimore Raven Chat Line Number

I can tell you what happen to the Ravens. For the past few seasons the Raven were built around consistent QB play with a great defense.

Their offense has been terrible, their o line wasn't protecting Joe flacco which is why hes out for the rest of the season. And since their o-line has been so terrible they cant run the ball well like last year. This puts Joe in situations like 3rd and 15 where the defense knows that hes passing and are intercepting him or sacking him because he cant find anyone open. Even when Joe is throwing it away keep in mind its 3rd down so they aren't scoring.

Their defense is getting older. The team seems to think every defensive player on that team is like Ray Lewis and can consistently play well way into their 30s. They cant stop the pass or the run. Their D line is doing terrible causing the LB to do terrible. And if your LBs are doing bad I'm sorry but your entire defense is going to crumble.

Offense cant move ball + Bad Defense = bye bye John harbough

Joe Flacco deserves to be blamed because Ozzie Newsome overpaid him to superstar QB money, and Flacco's fat contract came at the expense of Anquan Boldin (49ers), Torrey Smith (49ers), Ray Lewis (retirement) and several others.

When Flacco was sidelined for good in 2015, Baltimore now was left with a beatable defensive line sans Ray Lewis and a combination of Matt Schaub, Jimmy Clausen and Ryan Mallett.

Mallett was the QB who had run-ins with Bill O'Brien while he was backing up fellow ex-Patriot backup QB Brian Hoyer, leading Mallett to get waived by the Houston Texans before joining Baltimore.

For Matt Schaub, he was a decent QB for the Atlanta Falcons and looked to be the QB of the Houston Texans until he was shipped to the Oakland Raiders where he was abysmal before being an off-season cut. Now he's hated for throwing pick sixes to opposing teams while a Raven.

Injuries and incredibly poor drafts. They have a number of key players on IR and because they haven't drafted well, they have poor depth. Since 2011 the Ravens have had 44 draft picks. Of those 44, only 21 are currently on the roster in some capacity (active roster or IR). Of those 21, 9 are starters of which 1 is a FB and only 3 players total are still on the team from the 2011 and 2012 drafts.

A ton of injuries, but let's not give Harbaugh and Newsome a pass on the roster that they assembled. They weren't very good early in the year even when they were healthy anyways, the injuries just made them glaringly worse. Over the past couple years they've lost guys like Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Ellerbee, Kruger, Ngata... even Torrey Smith was a big loss because he was a vertical threat that could draw big P.I. calls. They need to reload and build around Upshaw and Mosely.

Injuries is #1. Literally, almost every primary guy on both sides of the ball ended up on IR. Flacco Smith Sr Forsett Suggs. What was left of their key guys had some kind of significant setback.

In addition, the team in general took a major setback after winning that championship with free agency, retirements, and trades. The Flacco contract maybe a scapegoat to many, but there are several thing s in addition to it.

Injuries, coaching changes and a lack of good WRs beyond Smith

Injuries.

Injuries. Almost every good player ended up on IR