Harbaugh is without question a top ten coach in this league, and is probably top five. Coughlin, Payton and Belichick are pretty unquestionably top three. After that there's a clump, but Harbaugh is undoubtedly in it. He's the only coach who's gone to and won a playoff game four straight years, and they're highly likely to at least go again (which they'll likely host) if not win one against one of the other weak-sister wild cards.

But this team has two big problems.

1) Cam. Duh. He obviously needs to go and I'm having trouble seeing a scenario that doesn't end in the Ravens in the Super Bowl where Cam comes back next year.

2) This team has a personnel deficit. Certainly the OL is awful. Oher and Birk almost have to be replaced. LG is a huge hole. Osemele needs to develop but he's not playing well right now. Yanda's the only decent OL and he may now be injured.

But defensively there are just huge, gaping holes. Reed has turned into a full-blown liability. Lewis wasn't playing great when he was in, but his absence certainly hurts. The entire LB corps is a disaster...Ellerbe is hurt. Suggs - the DPotY - has missed more of the season than he's played. Ngata doesn't look right and we know he's played hurt if not still playing hurt. Losing JJ to free agency was a big loss in run defense. Webb and Smith are both out at corner.

Today, we had half our start-of-season projected starting D miss the game due to injury. Say "Next man up" all you want, but that includes two future Hall of Famers and one of the better shut-down corners in the league...that's a lot to try to overcome.

So maybe not so much trying to lay this on Harbaugh. 24 teams in this league have more losses than the Ravens do. Hyperbole is unbecoming.

- C -