7:18 a.m. EDT, September 19, 2011
1. Prior to Sunday, the Ravens were adamant that they weren't going to overlook the Titans. John Harbaugh said he felt "embarrassed" for any reporter who suggested as much, implying it was such an absurd premise, he wasn't even going to entertain the question. For argument's sake, let say Harbaugh is correct. The Ravens may not have overlooked the Titans, but they certainly didn't match their urgency or their intensity.
 
Look, we all know it's difficult to win on the road in the NFL. Just because it's a cliche doesn't mean it should be dismissed. There are a number of reasons home teams win about 61 percent of their games historically, but the main one is, it's really hard to summon the same intensity on the road as it is at home. It takes remarkable discipline. It's not just about fiery pregame speeches. It's about feeding off your teammates when they make plays, and channeling your motivation into specific physical execution. It's not very easy to just flip a switch and make it happen.
 
But you know what? Really good teams are able to do it. They make a few plays early in the game, they don't let the crowd get too worked up, and they put all the pressure on the home team.
 
I don't think the Ravens slacked off during film study this week. I don't believe they traveled to Tennessee and assumed it would be an easy victory, even though the Titans looked miserable in Week 1 against Jacksonville. But I do believe they weren't physical enough early in the game, and that helped Tennessee control the game.
 
The Ravens talked a lot in the post-game about how they didn't want to blitz Matt Hasselbeck because he got the ball out of his hands so quickly, and that's a valid point. But in retrospect, maybe they should have blitzed him early and knocked him around a few times, even if he got the ball off and completed some passes, just to try and set the tone.
 
It's probably fair to say the Ravens aren't going to be the offensive and defense juggernaut we saw against the Steelers. Most of us -- myself included -- probably got a little carried away by the impressive beat down the Ravens delivered in Week 1. But this team won't be as bad as the one we saw against the Titans either. There was a decent lesson learned on Sunday. Many of the errors were physical as well as schematic (and we'll get to those in a second), but the Ravens can now point to this game as a cautionary tale for the rest of the season. 
 
"I don't think it's time to hit the panic button," Terrell Suggs said after the game. "They're professional athletes too. But what we need to ask ourselves is 'What was different from Week 1 to Week 2?"
 
It's fun to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It's fun to have to entire town talking about how you look young and fast and dominant, and to have your old coach saying "this might be the best Ravens team ever."  
 
It would have been more fun, though, to be 2-0 right now.  
 
2. Instead of rehashing our endless debate about Joe Flacco, let's say this instead: The Ravens will not be a great team this year if they can't run the ball.