Right Off Russell

In their week 4match-up with the Patriots, Joe Flacco threw the ball 47 times, and while he did amass 264 yards and 2 touchdowns, the Ravens did not move the ball consistently that day putting up only 14 offensive points.  I remember being surprised how much the Ravens looked to throw the ball against the Pats, and disappointed that Ray Rice was not utilized more.  Rice did average 9.4 yards per carry, but only ran it 11 times.  The Ravens have been run heavy as the weather has turned colder and as Flacco has struggled with inconsistency and injury.  The Ravens will need to be more effective moving the ball this time around as the defense would benefit greatly from an offense that keeps them off the field.

Passing Game:  The Pats will again try to keep the ball from Derrick Mason.  In week 4 Mason lit them up on the Raven’s opening drive that culminated in his 20 yard TD reception.  From that point forward Mason was relatively quiet and Flacco struggled with inconsistent Raven’s receivers.  The Ravens need to find other receivers to make plays against the Pats.  Kelley Washington is a good possession receiver and makes plays on 3rd down.  I am not sure what Mark Clayton brings to the table right now, but at least he is motivated to make up for his drop in the last game.  That leaves Demetrius Williams.  Williams was showing signs of opening up the Ravens passing game with his ability to make plays down field.  He was a missing man in week 17.  Some have speculated that the Ravens did not feel the need to use Williams against the Raiders.  Others think that with Clayton able to play, that Williams is back in the dog house.  I am hopeful the former explanation is correct.  The Ravens need him to open up the passing game and stretch the field against New England.  He creates match-up problems that no other Ravens receiver can create.  Look for Todd Heap to be a favorite target for Flacco in the red zone. Read more »

After wrapping up an 0-4 road trip record in Pittsburgh last week, I am thankful that Mark Brennan will not be accompanying the Ravens in Oakland this week. Although, Sunday represents the perfect opportunity to break the “Brennan Curse, ” I am glad fate is not being put to the test. In all seriousness the Ravens should have little trouble handling the Raiders in Oakland on Sunday. The Ravens have every reason to put forth max effort, while the Raiders have little to play for except for trying to knock the Ravens out of the play-offs. That was apparently enough motivation for the Raiders last season, but they Ravens are not the Tampa Bay Bucs and they outclass the Raiders in most phases and match-ups. Read more »

The Ravens enter this weekends battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming off two relatively complete offensive performances.  Those performances, however, have come against teams with poor defenses who both laid down pretty quickly as the Ravens turned up their intensity.  Now, no one will compare the Steelers defense this season to the unit that was thebest in the NFL last  year, but they are a major step up over what the Ravens have faced against Detroit and Chicago.  The question is are the Ravens that much improved, or will the level of the Steelers defensive play knock the Ravens down a peg or two?

On the Ground:  In the Ravens first match-up with the Pittsburgh Steelers they began to establish an effective rushing attack bythe 2nd half.  Ray RIce and Le’Ron McClain were delivering their own version of thunder and lightening until McClain was knocked out with a rib injury.  The Ravens will need a similar or better rushing attack in order to keep pace with the Steelers on Sunday.  The middle of the Steelers defense is almost as vulnerable as they are strong on the edges.  I am certain the Steelers will look to make every effort to neutralize Ray Rice, like the Bears did.  If the Ravens interior line can stifle Casey Hampton there will be running lanes for the Ravens back to chew up yardage.  If S Troy Polumalu is also out, there will be little run support from the Steelers secondary.  Like many weeks when the Ravens have matched up against a top flight QB, their best defense has been a running game that eats up the clock and engineers long drives.  Not only will the Ravens need to eat clock, but they will need to use the run game to keep the Steelers pass rush from pinning their ears back and getting after Joe Flacco.  Read more »

As I type, snow is falling heavily across the the Baltimore metro area, as it is much of the mid-Atlantic states. I am curious what effect that will have on the offensive game plan and how it is executed. I expect the snow to be cleared out of the area by Sunday, but conditions may still be harsh and this could be a perfect opportunity to feature a hard nosed rushing attack against a Bears defense that struggles to defend the ground game. The Bears are going to have an even tougher time stopping the run in Baltimore considering they cannot get to Baltimore due to the weather. This could end up being a Sunday or Monday night game.

Passing Game: As mentioned, cold and slippery conditions could limit the amount of times Joe Flacco drops back to throw and that may not be a bad thing. Flacco has had some troubles int eh passing game over the last 5 weeks. Some related to various injuries and some just the growing pains of being a 2nd year QB facing defenses that are geared more toward confusing him and limiting his opportunities to make plays. Flacco has also looked off with his timing and limited in his movement within the pocket, which can also be attributed to his injuries. The Ravens are also limited by the number of healthy wide receivers they will have come game time. Mark Clayton is out and Kelley Washington could be as well. That would leave just Derrick Mason, Demetrius Williams, Justin Harper and David Tyree available to play, the last two of the group have not caught a pass this year. Todd Heap and LJ Smith are banged up as well, which could mean that Ray Rice will be featured heavily in the Ravens passing attack. Because of RIce’s skill as a receiver using him as much as possible is a good thing, but if I were the Bears I would do all I could to limit his catches and keep him out of 1 on 1 match-ups with linebackers. 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 »

On the surface it would appear that Monday night’s game at Green Bay would be a game in which the offense will need to come up with a big performance. The Packers feature an offense that has the speed and size to stretch the field. Exactly the type of offense the Ravens defense has struggled with this season. The key to slowing the Packers offense down may be a shift in philosophy for the Ravens offense. Sunday night against Pittsburgh, Marshall Yanda was made a starter at the guard position and the Ravens line look much more physical in the ground game. A punishing running game is exactly what the Ravens need Monday night to keep Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense on the sideline. Read more »

It does not get more must win than this weeks match-up with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The atmosphere at M&T should be electric as the Ravens welcome their most hated rival. Add that to the extra buzz created by the prime time start on Sunday night and this should be another loud, hard hitting and close game. What else would we expect for a Steelers/Ravens game? Is the Ravens offense ready to rise to the occasion? It did not last week against Indy and has struggled against teams that appear play-off bound. In order to beat a Steelers team that is desperate for a win, after losing in Kansas City last week, the Ravens offense will need to carry its’ share of the load and take advantage of a depleted Steelers defense.

Passing Game: The good news is that the Steelers biggest play maker in the secondary is likely out for Sunday night’s match-up. Not having Troy Polamalu flying around and making plays is a huge advantage for the Ravens. The Steelers secondary seems ordinary without their leader and is less aggressive in pass coverage. The bad news for the Ravens is that they have not shown they have the weapons to hurt teams downfield. The Ravens will need a big effort out of all their receivers and they need to confuse the Pittsburgh defensive backs with route combinations designed to force quick decisions. The Ravens can exploit the Steelers secondary, but a big part of that will be giving Joe Flacco time to find receivers downfield. The Ravens offensive line was strong pass blocking last week against Indy, but this week they will be facing a pass rush that is more difficult to read. Indy primarily brought 4 lineman. Pittsburgh will vary its’ blitzes, bringing LB’s and DB’s in an attempt to confuse Flacco and the o-line. Tackles Jared Gaither and Michael Oher will need to contain LB’s James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley on the outside, while Birk, Chester and Grubbs need to improve their play. I am interested to see if the screen game could take advantage of an aggressive Steelers defense. They are aggressive, but also fast and fly to the ball well. The game may come down to how good a game Flacco has against the Steelers, who are much more vulnerable in the secondary. Read more »

Progression: the act of progressing; forward or onward movement.

Regression: the act of going back to a previous place or state; return or reversion.

Through the first part of the season, the Ravens offense showed quite a bit of progression from last season.  It was new. It was great. It was a dynamic offense scoring in different ways.  And it was scoring a lot. The line play was excellent.  The running game was steady and effective. And even though the receiving corps isn’t greatest, they were making plays when needed.

Enter regression.

So what in the world happened?  This team hasn’t scored a first half offensive touchdown since the Patriots game. That’s 5 games in a row without one.  Even more alarming to me is that in those 5 games, they’ve scored a total of nine points in the first half.  And the past two weeks they’ve scored exactly zero points in the first half.  That’s taking the term “slow start” to another level. Read more »

In week 3 the Cleveland Browns hardly put up a fight.  The Ravens had 3 rushing td’s of more than 5 yards where the running back was not touched.  Joe Flacco threw for 342 yards, leading the Ravens to 479 yards of total offense in a 34-3 route.  Is there any reason to believe the Browns are going to put up much more of a fight this time around?  Well a couple of things are going to come into play.  Playing in Cleveland in front of the Baltimore hating Browns fans should inspire the Browns D.  Also, the Browns should be able to make some adjustments based on what they saw in week 3 and what they have seen the Ravens do in recent weeks.  Cleveland also has theadvantage of having over 2 weeks to prepare for this game.  They should be rested and well game planned.  That said, the Browns still do not rush the passer well, they have little interest in stopping the run and they don’t cover all that well.  While I expect more fight out of the Browns, I do not expect the Ravens to have difficulty moving the ball on Monday night. Read more »

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. Read more »