Right Off Russell

The Lions are who we thought they were…. and the Ravens pounded them into submission.  So what can we really take from a game against an over matched opponent that gives up half way through the 2nd quarter?  The Ravens should have and did win this game by a good margin.  But it does not necessarily mean that the Ravens have found that magic formula to carry them into the play-offs over the next three weeks.  With that said, let’s take a look at the positives and negatives.

Positives:  Where to begin?  I guess I will start with Ray Rice.  The Ravens 2nd year RB is proving more and more that he is one of the biggest dual threats in the NFL.  Rice is hard to tackle to begin with.  Add rain and the Lions defense and he was near unstoppable.  The Ravens put up 308 on the ground at 7.7 per carry.  Rice led the way with 166 of those yards at an astounding 12.8 per carry.  Joe Flacco made the throws he had to and came out of the game no worse for wear injury wise as the line kept him upright for most of the game.  It was smart for the Ravens to keep the ball on the ground and decrease the chances that Flacco would take more hits.  The offensive line played well and O’Neil Cousins filled in admirably at RT while Michael Oher moved over to LT to play for the injured Jared Gaither.  Running lanes were plentiful andthe Ravens pushed the Lions around all game on offense.  Defensively, the Ravens took away the one big play threat on the Lions in Calvin Johnson.  Kudos to Dominique Foxworth and Tom Zbikowski who were tasked with shadowing Johnson for most of the game.  Chris Carr and Dawan Landry chipped in as well and the secondary played a solid game against a poor offense.  Also, after struggling early the Ravens took away the ground game in the 2nd half.  If not for some missed tackles the Ravens could have dominated this phase of the game a lot earlier.  Overall, a dominant performance in a game the Ravens should have and needed to win. Read more »

The NFL is a strange league.  It seems like every week a sure “lock” of a game turns into a debacle for the favorite.  All one has to do is look at the Steelers to see what can happen to a season in the blink of an eye.

Playing the Lions at home seems like exactly what the Ravens need right now doesn’t it?  At first glance I’d agree.  But then I realize that the term “Any Given Sunday” isn’t some overused cliche.   The Ravens are 13.5 point favorites this Sunday which makes them the biggest favorite of the week.  Why do I get the feeling it’s not gonna be that easy?

The Ravens defense is really banged up right now.  They might be a lot lighter in the wallet to if you ask Terrell Suggs.  Ed Reed, who is listed as doubtful, is in danger of missing another game.  I would be shocked if Suggs played.  Jarret Johnson is questionable but should play. Read more »

The performance of the Ravens offense can basically be broken into a tale of two seasons: Pre-Minnesota and Post-Minnesota.  There are some who would argue that many of the Ravens problems on offense can be tied back to the injury to Joe Flacco’s ankle/foot in the game against he Vikings in week 6.  To be fair the Ravens had a strong offensive performance in week 8 against the Broncos following their bye.  Through their first 7 games the Ravens averaged 28.4 points per game, compared to only 14.4 in the last 5 weeks.  Perhaps Flacco’s nagging injuries are having a greater effect on his performance and the performance of the offense as a whole.  But let’s not end the discussion there.  The Ravens have also struggled to run the ball in the last five games, averaging only 3.6 yards per carry; and they have turned the ball over too often in the red zone.  The Baltimore Sun took a closer look at the Ravens red zone problems in this article.  So what do the Ravens need to do to beat the Lions this Sunday? Read more »