The on and off offensive struggles of the Ravens have been an oft debated topic throughout the franchise’s history but especially during the time Joe Flacco has been at the helm of the offense.

I said on Twitter last Sunday that Joe Flacco, is an average to above average quarterback and incurred the wrath of the Flacco fan club.  The reality is that at times he looks like an excellent quarterback.  At other times, however, he looks like he couldn’t even start for a high school team.

I have been a staunch defender of the 5^th year QB since his beginnings in the organization.  A defender that realizes that he is not elite, but that he is above average most of the time and is perfect for the offense that the Ravens have tried to implement since he began here.

Just as in previous years, the Ravens have seen their share of offensive struggles thus far in the season.  Most notably, the games against the Chiefs and Texans were offensive quagmires to say the least.

There are a few easily fixed but painfully obvious weaknesses I have seen as the reason for these struggles.

One, the no huddle offense that Cam Cameron has tried to institute this year has been a lateral move.  The pace at which the offense runs it is not near as fast enough to confuse the opposing defense  nor tire them out because it still allows the defense to make minor substitutions.

While they said they would still commit to running the ball out of it, Ray Rice is currently on pace for close to 50 less touches than last year.  One reason for this is the Ravens either inability or simple disregard for running the ball out of the shotgun formation.  It seems as if it is only reserved for making room for punts on third and long.  The fact is that running the ball out of the shotgun could do a lot to open up the passing game.

Furthermore, Flacco’s ability to sell the play action is one of the worst I have ever seen (one of the only things he truly does ‘bad’).  This is ability is very underrated and doing it well can make you considerably better as a player and an offense.  Tom Brady is a player who really does this well.

This has always been a weakness of Flacco’s but his tendency to stare down receivers has always hurt him; especially during pressure situations such as third down or when trailing.  Working with Jim Caldwell has made him a little better at this but there is still work to do.

The Ravens have another week to fix these shortcomings as well as the others I have missed or failed to point out.  While the team is in fact 5-2, they are not as good as their record indicates.

After his fifth loss in a row on Sunday (and being booed as he exited the game), Brian Matusz was sent down to AAA Norfolk.  It’s been an up and down season for the still very young left hander and the demotion was past due.  After his horrendous season in 2011 and little improvement this year the Orioles really had no choice in the matter.  The once promising savior of the Orioles has now officially hit rock bottom.  It seems like it’s been a long time since this picture captured the future of the Orioles.

Through all this doom and gloom though, I still don’t believe it’s the end for Brian.  He has shown glimmers of potential however short lived they are.  I think that being sent down could be the best thing for him.  He needs time to figure things out and the major leagues aren’t the place to do that.  Clearly it’s just a mental thing with Brian.  He needs to gain his confidence back and have a change in mentality.  He needs to adopt a bull dog like approach where he just doesn’t let things get inside his head.

Quite frankly, I think he should be sent all the way back down to Frederick and be made to work his way back up through the rotation.  This would give him some added confidence that he sorely needs at this point.  He has the skills and the proverbial “stuff”.  He just needs to learn how to avoid imploding on himself when things go wrong. He has said himself: “Right now, my confidence isn’t there because I haven’t been winning ballgames. I know I have the stuff, but I just have to put it all together.”

It’s not the end for Matusz.  He has the ingredients he just needs some tweaking.  This kind of comeback has been witnessed before.  I bet you’ll never guess who it was.  If you guessed Roy Halladay then you are correct!  Oh…you didn’t guess him?  Well I don’t blame you.  It’s hard to believe that probably the best pitcher in baseball struggled just as bad as Brian Matusz has.

After a promising first year for Halladay (3.92 ERA in 149 innings) he found himself struggling in his second year.  He posted a 10.64 ERA in 67 innings and then found himself sent down to single A in the middle of the season to work his way back to the majors.  Over the next year he jumped back up through the minors and rejoined the Blue Jays in the middle of the 2001 season.  I guess you can say the rest was history after that.

In Matusz’s first full year, he posted a 4.30 ERA in 175 innings and was tied for 5^th in A.L. Rookie of the Year voting.  The following year he melted down; posting a 10.69 ERA and going 1-9.

While Brian Matusz’s struggles might be a little more severe than Halladay’s, I believe that Matusz could make a similar type of comeback.  Obviously, he won’t ever be at the level Halladay is at but I believe he could eventually turn into a quality middle of the rotation type of starter.

Whether Brian has the where with all to come back from his struggles remains to be seen.  He hasn’t shown he has the mental fortitude to do so yet.  It would be a sad story if he never came back from such a disappointment but at least I could say I got to see his last start at the big leagues in person.  Although there is no indication that he can overcome this, I still believe he can for some reason.  I hope he proves me right.