Patspsycho
Veteran Starter w/Big Long Term Deal
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1) Establish/ control the run games: Baltimore has a hard time with the run game and tends to allow 100+ yards runners more often than not. When we first played them, they had not surrendered a rush TD, and we scored two on them, and that led to them getting unraveled. Maroney is rested, Taylor is fresh, and Morris is uninjured. So hopefully we will get solid big games from all three. My binky for tomorrow is Taylor who has traditionally performed well against the Ravens. On the other end, our run defense in the RZ must be solid, because Ravens are tied with most rush TD.
2) fast start/solid offense: It's that same old tired adage, get out to a fast start, but in this case, it is even more important, because the Ravens have an undisciplined defense that loves to gamble and try to intimidate (they lead with most penalites). Their defense, however, excels in the lateral game, so look for us to veer away from the screen game, and playing more vertical short gains, especially when we draw Lewis inside. Baltimore is terrible when playing from behind- when they are in such a position, they tend to abandon their game plan. We must enable this. I see us fake zone and go to man under, especially if Heap becomes Flacco's binky for the day, because Heap is awful when identifying coverage. He can get caught in running zone routes in man coverage. Look for us to mix it up on our fronts, especially throwing them zone looks which makes Flacco drool.
3) Seal the edges: That is the one awful weakness we have on defense, and one that Rice will be sure to exploit. He lives by the sideline gains. We have had a lot of trouble neutralizing the kick out block because of lousy two gap technique from our linebackers who have had too much trouble shedding the block and grabbing ahold of the runner. My hope is that BB will have a safety slant in behind the kickout to kill the gain, as a secondary stopgap, in run plays. We will be camping out on the edges anyway (see #4) so I am sure there will be multiple responsibilities up front. We'll probably divide our time between the 3-4 and 4-3 with the occasional dime, and don't be surprised to see the zero five dime to try to get in Flacco's head, especially if their OL doesn't play a sharp game.
4) Flush Flacco from the Pocket/take away Mason: Like Brady, Flacco stinks once he is outside the pocket. Those of you who love the sexy looks we put out on defense will be happy to see more of that coming tomorrow- with multiple blitzes and rushes, especially on the outside. For all the hubbub over Oher, he just desn't pick up the edge rusher very well at all. Make all the guys hot and force Rice into protect to reduce his impact. 3-4 OLB is overrated as a blitzer, but in this particular game and scheme, it will be critical; watch for safeties to come to the LOS in dime with McGowan in spy on Rice. If we can force Flacco out, his propensity for turning the ball over just spikes. When we take away Mason, Flacco's game takes a dip, so I would say, look for the over/under bracket type of coverage we brought in the Atlanta game against Gonzalez.
5) Edelman/Faulk picks up Welker's slack: It is not as obvious as it looks- not only must they pick up the offensive slack, they must also contribute to taking heat off Moss and Brady the way Welker did. Without Welker, Moss has zero TD's. That's a testament to how much attention Welker draws to himself. Brady's comp % really drops without Welker in there, especially on 3rd downs. Welker is the king of the underneath routes with his uncanny feel for coverage and his hands, and nobody can duplicate this. Look for Faulk and Edelman to share the duty of forcing Baltimore to respect the underneath game and try to take the heat off the deep game, e.g., Moss.
2) fast start/solid offense: It's that same old tired adage, get out to a fast start, but in this case, it is even more important, because the Ravens have an undisciplined defense that loves to gamble and try to intimidate (they lead with most penalites). Their defense, however, excels in the lateral game, so look for us to veer away from the screen game, and playing more vertical short gains, especially when we draw Lewis inside. Baltimore is terrible when playing from behind- when they are in such a position, they tend to abandon their game plan. We must enable this. I see us fake zone and go to man under, especially if Heap becomes Flacco's binky for the day, because Heap is awful when identifying coverage. He can get caught in running zone routes in man coverage. Look for us to mix it up on our fronts, especially throwing them zone looks which makes Flacco drool.
3) Seal the edges: That is the one awful weakness we have on defense, and one that Rice will be sure to exploit. He lives by the sideline gains. We have had a lot of trouble neutralizing the kick out block because of lousy two gap technique from our linebackers who have had too much trouble shedding the block and grabbing ahold of the runner. My hope is that BB will have a safety slant in behind the kickout to kill the gain, as a secondary stopgap, in run plays. We will be camping out on the edges anyway (see #4) so I am sure there will be multiple responsibilities up front. We'll probably divide our time between the 3-4 and 4-3 with the occasional dime, and don't be surprised to see the zero five dime to try to get in Flacco's head, especially if their OL doesn't play a sharp game.
4) Flush Flacco from the Pocket/take away Mason: Like Brady, Flacco stinks once he is outside the pocket. Those of you who love the sexy looks we put out on defense will be happy to see more of that coming tomorrow- with multiple blitzes and rushes, especially on the outside. For all the hubbub over Oher, he just desn't pick up the edge rusher very well at all. Make all the guys hot and force Rice into protect to reduce his impact. 3-4 OLB is overrated as a blitzer, but in this particular game and scheme, it will be critical; watch for safeties to come to the LOS in dime with McGowan in spy on Rice. If we can force Flacco out, his propensity for turning the ball over just spikes. When we take away Mason, Flacco's game takes a dip, so I would say, look for the over/under bracket type of coverage we brought in the Atlanta game against Gonzalez.
5) Edelman/Faulk picks up Welker's slack: It is not as obvious as it looks- not only must they pick up the offensive slack, they must also contribute to taking heat off Moss and Brady the way Welker did. Without Welker, Moss has zero TD's. That's a testament to how much attention Welker draws to himself. Brady's comp % really drops without Welker in there, especially on 3rd downs. Welker is the king of the underneath routes with his uncanny feel for coverage and his hands, and nobody can duplicate this. Look for Faulk and Edelman to share the duty of forcing Baltimore to respect the underneath game and try to take the heat off the deep game, e.g., Moss.
