Right Off Russell

In week 5 the Cincinnati Bengals defense slowed the Ravens offense down like no other team has this season.  The key to the Bengals success, you ask?  They took away down-field looks, especially toe Derrick Mason, and forced Joe Flacco to consistently throw underneath.   Cincy was great at flying to the ball and making tackles.  The Bengals defense ruled the day and only allowed the Ravens 7 offensive points, coming on Ray Rice’s dazzling 48 yard TD reception.  How do the Ravens solve the Bengals defense this go ’round?

Running Game:  Last week against the Broncos, the Ravens showed more of a commitment to move the ball with a pounding rushing attack.  this is something the Ravens will need to emphasize as the weather turns colder and I expect them to do more of that this week.  The Ravens did have some success running the ball on Cincy in the first meeting, rushing for 4.6 yards per carry.  The problem was that they only ran the ball 18 times.  Look for the Ravens to invest more int eh running game this week, because, if successful, it will accomplish two things: 1) it will slow down the Bengals pass rush and, 2) it will keep Carson Palmer on the sidelines.  Having Jared Gaither back healthy should also give the Ravens an added advantage over the Bengals in the run game.

Passing Game:  Success in the passing game may come down to one thing: Joe Flacco’s ability to get th ball down-field to his receivers.  The Bengals shutout Derrick Mason in Baltimore by shadowing him with 2 defenders for most of the game and for some reason Flacco was not able to find many other targets in one-on-one coverage down-field.  Flacco is going to have to work the middle of the field if Cincy goes with a cover 2 zone again, or he will have to use play action or a another method of moving the safeties around.  Todd Heap could play a big role, and might this be the week LJ Smith sees more action?  The Bengals also did a good job of pressuring Flacco in Baltimore.  This is another area that having Gaither back will really help.  The Bengals are also without Antwan Odom, who was their best pass rusher.  The o-line needs to find ways to give Flacco more time.

Quite simply the Ravens need to perform well on offense to win this game.  They need to put up in the range of 24+ points.  If they can do that and win the time of possession battle they have a great shot of making the Vegas odds makers look like geniuses for favoring the Ravens on the road.