Ravens Part Ways With Cameron

Earlier today, the Baltimore Ravens gave many of their fans an early Christmas present when they announced the firing of Cam Cameron. The offensive coordinator has been heavily criticized pretty much since the day he arrived in Baltimore. It seemed a bit ironic to me that Cameron was hired by the Ravens in 2008 considering that that he was 1-15 as Miami's head coach in 2007 (by the way, the Dolphin's lone win that season was against the Ravens). But since he and Raven's head coach John Harbaugh are good friends, it's understandable.

On the surface, it might seem rather odd that an offensive coordinator who has taken his team to playoffs every year would be on the hot seat. And this year, the Raven's broke their single game scoring record when the beat the Oakland Raiders 55-20. Baltimore is currently 9-4 and two games in front of the Steelers and Bengals. In all likelihood, they will win the AFC North for the second straight year and go to the playoffs for the fifth straight season. And let's not forget that the Ravens were one dropped pass from going to the Super Bowl last year.

So, with three regular season games remaining, was letting Cameron go at this particular time the right move?

In the past two losses, the Ravens scored 20 and 28 points respectively. Perhaps not indicative of an offensive Juggernaut, but decent enough numbers nonetheless. You  would think that a team with even an average defense should  be able to win with 28 points.

Hey look, I hate to see anyone lose their job, especially two weeks before Christmas. But this has been a long time coming. Admittedly, I have have been a huge critic of Cameron's play calling over the past two seasons. Personally, I'm glad he's gone. I'm just not so sure about the timing.....

In my opinion, the offensive play calling hasn't helped Joe Flacco develop into the top-tier quarterback that many hoped he would be. After almost five full season in the league, many people feel that Cameron has stunted Joe's growth. I dunno, maybe some of the blame can be shared by the quarterback's coach?

Drum roll please.......

Cameron's former position will be filled by none other than Raven's quarterback coach Jim Caldwell. Although Caldwell has never worked as an offensive coordinator, he was head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2009 to 2011. Prior to that, he was Peyton Manning's QB coach. As luck would have it, the Raven's will face Manning and the Denver Broncos this Sunday.

In my opinion, Cameron's departure will more than likely prove to be a good thing for the Ravens. However  they still have some serious issues on the defense. With the absence of Tyrell Suggs, the pass rush leaves a lot to be desired (although Paul Kruger has had some good moments). And the run defense continues to have issues. They really need to improve if they're going to get to the next level. We automatically assume that the defense will be stellar, year after year. But not this season.....

Constantly making the playoffs in the NFL is certainly an impressive feat that can not be ignored. But Raven fans (and I assume the ownership) desperately want that second trip to the Super Bowl. You can only dangle that carrot in front of them so many times. If the Ravens fail to get past the first round of the playoffs (or somehow fail to make the post-season altogether!), expect to see even more heads rolling.....

kw