While it’s hard to imagine Dennis Pitta coming back from a dislocated hip this season, we may have found out last night why the Ravens are willing to wait for him.
They opened the door for Pitta to return by placing him on IR/designated for return instead of shutting him down for the year, and they’re hoping he’s able to come back after a rough night from his replacements.
Ed Dickson and Dallas Clark were plagued by drops last night, making it hard for the Ravens offense to keep pace with the Broncos.
Dickson was targeted five times but caught one pass for 13 yards.
“It’s definitely embarrassing to lose this way,” Dickson said, via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. “Nobody is perfect, but I got to make those plays. I’m more harsh on myself than anybody. Those plays over the middle, I got to catch it and get down.
“Those are plays that I’m not putting on nobody but myself. I don’t blame it on Joe, I don’t blame it on nobody but myself. Those plays will be made. It’s a long season.”
Clark was even more egregious, dropping an easy touchdown in the second quarter. He caught seven passes for 87 yards, but was targeted 12 times — making his fantasy stats good but his reality impact less so.
“Yeah, obviously it’s frustrating,” Clark said. “It’s disappointing. First game you want to come out and play well, and we just didn’t make enough plays to give us a chance. We just have to keep everything in perspective. It’s week one, we have one loss and we have to move on. We just didn’t make enough plays to put ourselves in a position to win the game.”
Pitta may not be back at all this year, so Dickson and Clark are going to have to tighten things up, or the Ravens will be without a big part of what they do best.