Ravens Week

[emoney_33]

Denver can't run the ball at all. They are terrible on the ground. And Shonne Green couldn't hold onto the ball in week 1 to go along with Slausson being eaten alive by Ngata.

Cleveland had no problem running the ball, and I think we can be successful running the ball out of 12 personnel. Especially if Brady hits a few passes out of it early. If that works early then we can hit them with 13 personnel which is going to be tough for any defense to cover against us. Gronk and Crumpler in tight with Hernandez split out on one play, then all 3 tight on another and finally you can go with a 4 "WR" set out of it with Gronk and/or Hernandez split out. The great part is we can run or pass out of that all day long.

This offense is going to be fun to watch and it is all because of the TE's and the young TE's quick growth.

Mendenhall and Benson couldn't do much against them.

 

[mgcolby]

Mendenhall and Benson couldn't do much against them.

And neither of those teams presented much of a passing threat either. Palmer is struggling and the Steelers had Charlie Batch. Not saying the Ravens run d isn't good, just that against the two teams you mentioned they were able to load the box without worrying about being beat deep. Same could be said for the Jets game as well. Sanchez didn't do anything down field. And Denver is simply terrible at running the ball right now.

 

[Rosdaman]

I was gonna start a Look-alikes thread, but i don't have enough posts to start my own thread?

Ya'll like this one? From your friends down South.

 

[Nikolai]

 

[ravensgamer]

Thanks for the scouting report. If you were coaching the Pats how would you attack the Ravens? Would you pack it in the box to stop Rice and make Flacco beat you? Would you come with constant pressure or sit back and make him fit it into a small window? On offense would you try to run on the Ravens given the success other teams have had or do you believe that to be an aberration (I haven't watched the Ravens play other than against the Jets so I only have the numbers to go on).

Another Ravens fan here. Stacking the box doesn't work as well against the Ravens as it used to because the upgrades to the WR's leaves you very vulnerable to play action. They've also worked out the problems they had with multiple guys playing out of position on the O-line, so unless your front seven is physically superior, the Ravens will get their rushing yards.

On passing downs, Flacco does better against the blitz, partly because the backs are doing a good job picking it up, but also because he seems to be more comfortable with fewer people downfield. Cincy caused him fits because they were able to drop seven into coverage and still get pressure, and it was much harder for him to decide where to throw. The result was four picks.

When the Pats are on offense, the tight end is going to be the star, because the Ravens are weakest when their linebackers are in coverage. The D-backs have gotten a lot of bad press, but they are much better than advertised, and they go five-deep with guys who could start for half the teams in the league. I don't think you'll have a lot of success running, but you can occasionally get to the edge when the OLB overplays.

I see a close game in the mid to high 20's, with your bye week maybe giving you the edge.

 

[SVN]

the most difficult matchup to begin with IMO is going to be for our O-Line vs ngata+suggs..
they really set the game up in the playoff loss and considering how light and vollmer struggled vs the fins wake...its the biggest thing iam concerned about

 

[PatriotsInGA]

I am not extremely concerned about the Ravens to be honest. Yes they have a great D, yes they can run the ball; so what? They could do all of the same last year in the regular season and we still found a way to win. This team showed it could still play Patriot football against the Fish. I am GUARANTEEING that the Ravens will lose on Sunday.

 

[jmt57]

Another Ravens fan here. Stacking the box doesn't work as well against the Ravens as it used to because the upgrades to the WR's leaves you very vulnerable to play action. They've also worked out the problems they had with multiple guys playing out of position on the O-line, so unless your front seven is physically superior, the Ravens will get their rushing yards.

On passing downs, Flacco does better against the blitz, partly because the backs are doing a good job picking it up, but also because he seems to be more comfortable with fewer people downfield. Cincy caused him fits because they were able to drop seven into coverage and still get pressure, and it was much harder for him to decide where to throw. The result was four picks.

When the Pats are on offense, the tight end is going to be the star, because the Ravens are weakest when their linebackers are in coverage. The D-backs have gotten a lot of bad press, but they are much better than advertised, and they go five-deep with guys who could start for half the teams in the league. I don't think you'll have a lot of success running, but you can occasionally get to the edge when the OLB overplays.

I see a close game in the mid to high 20's, with your bye week maybe giving you the edge.

Thanks much for your (and Tucker's) commentary. Always enjoy reading a critical analysis from the fan of an upcoming opponent, it really helps to know what to look for once the game starts.

By the way, if you are wanting to know more about what is going on with the Pats, if you haven't done so already then be sure to check out this post-game thread: http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...-dolphins-vs-patriots-breakdown-analysis.html

 

[ravensgamer]

Thanks much for your (and Tucker's) commentary. Always enjoy reading a critical analysis from the fan of an upcoming opponent, it really helps to know what to look for once the game starts.

By the way, if you are wanting to know more about what is going on with the Pats, if you haven't done so already then be sure to check out this post-game thread: http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...-dolphins-vs-patriots-breakdown-analysis.html

Very cool; thanks for the link. Having still frames to go with the analysis is excellent.

Enjoy the game.

 

[flynismo]

Ravens(4-1) at Patriots (3-1)

no doubt this will be a tough game for us. However, the baltimore secondary is not great, especially without Ed Reed.

Today the Ravens D gave up 314 yards passing and 2 TDs to KYLE ORTON. However, the Ravens D only gave up 40 yards rushing or so. It may not bode well for law firm on next sunday.

I think it's relevant to note that 86 of those yards came on two passes. One was a 48 yard hail mary at the end of the game during garbage time. Those 314 passing yards are very misleading...Denver did next to nothing until the fourth quarter, when we were up 31-10 and pretty much packed it in for the day.

 

[flynismo]

I'm not sure their run D is lacking. Didn't Denver only get about 50 yds on the ground yesterday (of course, we know part of that is Denver's personnel ) and the Jets couldn't do anything against them on the ground in Week 1. I would still say the Lawfirm is going to have a tough time against them, unless our passing game really gets going early so that they have to put more DBs in.

Cleveland (go figure) is the only team who has had success running against us this year.

I'm not too concerned about stopping NE's ground game, it's stopping Brady & company that will be the true challenge.

 

[BSR]

Just to throw some statistics into the discussion. Here is where Football Outsiders ranks the Pats and Baltimore teams using their Defense adjusted Variance Over Average (DVOA) statistics.

NE O vs BAL D

NE Pass O #1 65.6%
BAL Pass D #14 .07%

NE Run O #2 25.9
BAL Run D #17 -4.5%

BAL O vs NE D

BAL Pass O #13 18.8
NE Pass D #24 20.1%

BAL Run O #8 6.4%
NE Run D #22 2.8%

If these statistics are to be believed, they would seem to indicate that a shootout would be in order with the NE running gaming having a bit more success and possibly being able to control the clock a bit more.

In the case of special teams both are solid with the only meaningful difference coming when NE returns kicks.

 

[flynismo]

Just to throw some statistics into the discussion. Here is where Football Outsiders ranks the Pats and Baltimore teams using their Defense adjusted Variance Over Average (DVOA) statistics.

NE O vs BAL D

NE Pass O #1 65.6%
BAL Pass D #14 .07%

NE Run O #2 25.9
BAL Run D #17 -4.5%

BAL O vs NE D

BAL Pass O #13 18.8
NE Pass D #24 20.1%

BAL Run O #8 6.4%
NE Run D #22 2.8%

If these statistics are to be believed, they would seem to indicate that a shootout would be in order with the NE running gaming having a bit more success and possibly being able to control the clock a bit more.

In the case of special teams both are solid with the only meaningful difference coming when NE returns kicks.

Way too early in my opinion for stats to be truly meaningful...but, I do agree that this game is surprisingly very likely to turn into a shootout.

I will note that regardless of what stats may or may not say, New England's special teams is playing far better than ours is at this point in the season...we have been average, at best, on our returns, but on the flip side, we also have done a terrific job of squelching returns against us.

I think we have a decided edge on defense, NE has a big advantage on ST...and god only knows who has the edge on offense. Both of our offenses have the talent to be top 5 units, but both have been somewhat disappointing so far. A lot of our fans say that is due to defenses we've had to face, but something about that just doesn't sit right with me.

I'm sure NE fans are probably viewing this game as a "test" to see how the team looks without Moss; any early thoughts/speculation on NE's game plan?

 

[HKusp]

Hello, another Ravens fan stopping by. I want to say that I have been reading this thread for a few days and I am impressed with the quality of football knowledge being expressed. We have a guy ( Filmstudy) who breaks down the Ravens games and post notes on the defense as well as the offense. He has just posted his breakdown of the defense a little while ago and I thought you guys would be able to glean some good info from it. He is a Ravens fan so there is certainly some bias in his observations but still the info is good.

Enjoy and good luck next week. Here's to a great game.
Baltimore Sun talk forum - View Single Post - Defensive Notes vs. Broncos 10/10/10

 

[Modest]

I have yet to see a Ravens fan come here to be a douchebag. Bravo.

 

[Patspsycho]

I have yet to see a Ravens fan come here to be a douchebag. Bravo.

I agree. always happy to read what educated fans have to say- am enjoying what I read in this thread. Hope there is more to come.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Both of our offenses have the talent to be top 5 units, but both have been somewhat disappointing so far.

Other than the Jets 2nd 1/2 vs an outstanding D and the 1st 1/2 vs Miami, the Pats O has been excellent. Could it be better? Sure. They have moved the ball pretty consistently for a team with a few new faces and young players.

 

[jmt57]

I have yet to see a Ravens fan come here to be a douchebag. Bravo.

Yeah, as I recall from last year the two best weeks of pre-game back and forth discussion with opposing fans were before the regular season games with the Ravens and the Falcons.

 

[MassPats38]

Welcome to the board Ravens fans.

I'm sure NE fans are probably viewing this game as a "test" to see how the team looks without Moss; any early thoughts/speculation on NE's game plan?

Belichick lined up Wilfork at tackle (Wright at nose) against Miami to "direct" the run to a certain side. It actually worked fairly well, and Miami's running backs are decent. I believe the Pats tried a 4-man front in the playoffs, and that was a mess. The faces have changed on the D-line, so it might be interesting to see that again with the new cast. I tend to think they will stick with the 3-4.

As Edelman was the only bright spot in the playoff game, and Welker did fairly well in that role in the first game, I would suspect an emphasis on short, quick passes to move the chains and avoid Brady taking damage (with Faulk out, I am not sure how the Pats will do in terms of blitz pick-up). If Branch is ready, he was good for intermediate timing routes so there may be some plays designed to test the Ravens secondary using his skills. As the Broncos were able to get one past the deep secondary of the Ravens, Tate may be used to spread the field as he is now the burner without Moss.

Flacco has not killed the Pats, so you have to believe the running game is the primary concern. The Miami game may have been something of a test case, but most QBs with 300 yards tend to put more points on the board so I do not expect the Pats would hope for 3 more interceptions from Flacco.

The one thing you can predict with Belichick is he is difficult to predict. You expect him to go one way, and he takes his game plan in a different direction. The expectation would be to take Rice out of the game (take away the strength of the offense) with a run defense emphasis and invite Flacco to win the game, but he might offer something a little more balanced.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I have yet to see a Ravens fan come here to be a douchebag. Bravo.

Don't worry,It won't be long before the douche fans from SD come into Patsfans...enjoy the week of peace