Baltimore Homework

[Cali-Falcon]

The Ravens have a really good Pass D, so this means that Turner and Snelling must have BIG days. We got to expose their rush defense and keep pounding it down their throat.

Matt Ryan has to be extremely careful while playing this talented Ravens D.

NO MORE SPECIAL TEAMS BLUNDERS.

The Ravens offense is at best subpar in my opinion.

These Joe Flacco to Matt Ryan comparisons must come to an end because the answer should be obvious now.

Here is why, Flacco is a game manager and Ryan is a leader. I wonder if Flacco will ever fire up his team at Pittsburgh in OT to win the game the way Ryan did with our troops at New Orleans.

Ray Rice has only rushed once over 100 yards and that was against the Denver Rush Defense which ranks second to last against the run.

Hopefully Spoon will be back so we can account for him in the passing game.

Robinson must bring his A-game as he will have his hands full with Boldin, I think its time to start seeing Blanks 295k per week put to good use. I won't rag on him for today's game because it was his first game back after a pretty serious injury, hopefully he's back to normal Thursday night.

The first place of the AFC North and the first place of the NFC South clash, both share the NFL best record of 6-2, both have 2008 1st round QBs, both are very good teams, but it's going to come down to, which Bird can fly higher?

RISE UP ATL SHOW THE WORLD WHAT WERE ALL ABOUT !!!!!

[Clark Kent™]

I don't think that the Ravens pass defense is that great. Fitzpatrick did well against them and if im not mistaken didn't they just bench one of their starting CB's for poor performance? I think their pass defense can be exploited by us easily.

I am worried about their pass rush. Our O line could have trouble blocking against this front 7. It will definitley be a test.

I also disagree that their offense is subpar. There offense is way above average. They have a very strong running game, Boldin, Mason and Houshmanzadeh at WR and Heap at TE. And Flacco is no slouch either. Today against the Bucs, Spoons absence was not THAT noticeable, but it will absolutely be noticeable Thursday. Having to cover Rice and Heap is going to be a handful.

Its a given that Boldin is going to get his. He will juke Robinson if he covers him and he is way to physical for Grimes to cover so we are going to need pass rush to be spot on THursday.

[papi]

Im most concerned about establishing the run. Could be a long day if we dont. If we have to resort to being pass heavy, the hall of fame free safety may give us problems like the other one did at pittsburgh.

I hope were clicking on all cylinders and the crowd is extra loud

[maxatlanta]

Im most concerned about establishing the run. Could be a long day if we dont. If we have to resort to being pass heavy, the hall of fame free safety may give us problems like the other one did at pittsburgh.

I hope were clicking on all cylinders and the crowd is extra loud

I think we should pass to set up the run. Ryan is good against the blitz, but our run game has stuttered vs good defenses, especially the 3-4. Turner will have a better shot if we move them off of loading up for the run. I am not sure that we can be the ball control offense we want to be against this defense. But I feel like we can take advantage of their secondary and get vertical- especially if we are doing it on 1st down or 2nd/3rd & short.

[Surfin'_Bird]

The Ravens offense is at best subpar in my opinion.

These Joe Flacco to Matt Ryan comparisons must come to an end because the answer should be obvious now.

Here is why, Flacco is a game manager and Ryan is a leader. I wonder if Flacco will ever fire up his team at Pittsburgh in OT to win the game the way Ryan did with our troops at New Orleans.

Ray Rice has only rushed once over 100 yards and that was against the Denver Rush Defense which ranks second to last against the run.

Hopefully Spoon will be back so we can account for him in the passing game.

Forgive me but I'm a little confused about that particular reasoning. The idea that Flacco is just a game manager is a gross misconception, teams have been game planning against Flacco for that last few weeks and all he's done is have the highest QB rating in the league since the Bengals debacle.

I've been lurking around the boards for a while an understand this need to constantly compare Flacco and Ryan but c'mon lol no need to completely downplay Flacco's comeback win in Pitt in order to make Ryan look better. Coming out of college the scouting reporting on Ryan and Flacco was the Ryan was head and shoulders the most pro-ready QB therefore not much of a learning curve while Flacco was the one who had more of a ceiling.

Ray Rice had 83 yds. rushing against the 4th ranked Dolphins rushing D and 97 yds. receiving.

The cornerback responsible for 3 touchdowns while in man coverage against the Bills,Fabian Washington, was given a chance to redeem himself against the Dolphins but in the first half started to struggle again and in the second half was replaced by Josh Wilson who we traded for when Foxy went down, he proceeded to have his first pick as a Raven. The pass defense defense and pash rush needs to improve but I'm happy that they've managed to have 5 picks in the last two games.

Edited November 8, 2010 by Surfin'_Bird

[IronHead34]

Sub par offense?

Maybe average to slightly above. They are ranked 15 overall and have weapons galore.

Houshmanzada

Boldin

Ray Rice (and Mcgahee is a decent number 2 back)

Derek Mason

Flacco is a decent QB (his stats are pretty close to Ryan's)

Trust me, I am a fan of Atlanta, but Baltimore scares me. Both teams are clicking well. Any given (thursday) things can go down. I hope our "d" steps up and owns this one.

[freebird310]

It just kinda sux they got Ed Reed back .....

[MagnusXXIII]

I think we should pass to set up the run. Ryan is good against the blitz, but our run game has stuttered vs good defenses, especially the 3-4. Turner will have a better shot if we move them off of loading up for the run. I am not sure that we can be the ball control offense we want to be against this defense. But I feel like we can take advantage of their secondary and get vertical- especially if we are doing it on 1st down or 2nd/3rd & short.

Bingo. With White, Jenkins, Douglas, and Gonzo ... We should be able to loosen things for the run game.

[paulitik]

I'm really worried about the screens to Rice and McGahee. I expect some deep ball, and Boldin to give our secondary fits. I'm really concerned our D will make Flacco look better than he is. That said, historically he struggles against 4-3s in Cover 2 and Tampa 2 schemes.

[OilFuturesTrader19]

I'm worried about Ngata at NT. If Falcons can handle him in the run and pass game, then it should be a win.

[Captain Falcon]

The Ravens have a really good Pass D, so this means that Turner and Snelling must have BIG days. We got to expose their rush defense and keep pounding it down their throat.

Matt Ryan has to be extremely careful while playing this talented Ravens D.

NO MORE SPECIAL TEAMS BLUNDERS.

The Ravens offense is at best subpar in my opinion.

These Joe Flacco to Matt Ryan comparisons must come to an end because the answer should be obvious now.

Here is why, Flacco is a game manager and Ryan is a leader. I wonder if Flacco will ever fire up his team at Pittsburgh in OT to win the game the way Ryan did with our troops at New Orleans.

Ray Rice has only rushed once over 100 yards and that was against the Denver Rush Defense which ranks second to last against the run.

Hopefully Spoon will be back so we can account for him in the passing game.

Robinson must bring his A-game as he will have his hands full with Boldin, I think its time to start seeing Blanks 295k per week put to good use. I won't rag on him for today's game because it was his first game back after a pretty serious injury, hopefully he's back to normal Thursday night.

The first place of the AFC North and the first place of the NFC South clash, both share the NFL best record of 6-2, both have 2008 1st round QBs, both are very good teams, but it's going to come down to, which Bird can fly higher?

RISE UP ATL SHOW THE WORLD WHAT WERE ALL ABOUT !!!!!

Flacco a game manager? The dude is not that. He is maybe one of the top ten in the league. You are crazy to say that Flacco is only a game manager. And I LOVE Ryan, but the debate of who is better is still a great debate and its hard to say that either is better than the other.

[Jen]

Flacco is awesome and definitely more than a game manager. This will be a very difficult game to win. The Ravens offense kind of reminds me of ours in that they have a lot of weapons, but don't always use them as well as they should.

I do believe we can pass on them, but I think their defense will still get their licks in. I'm not into predicting scores but I bet this one is decided by less than a touchdown.

[jluk]

here is the problem with this game:

1.) our teams have not matched up.

this is more of an advantage to the ravens, especially their defense because they can interchange between a 4-3 and 3-4. this means exoctic looks and pressure packages (run and pass). the ravens are a team that can blitz at will. in fact they are known to have bltized 70% of the time on some games.

how do we counter? 3 words... matt ryan, matt ryan and matt ryan.

he needs to stand tall in the pocket and make the ravens pay with their pressure. i am hoping todd mclure and baker can handle ngata. todd's health is questionable and i hope he heals up.

[MilleniumFalcon]

I watched the Bills-Ravens game and the Bills should've won that game, if not for their turnovers the Bills could've easily won. The Bills spread the field and picked on the Ravens weakest corner, the coaches should take a good long hard look at that film and emulate what they did.

[matty72780]

The Ravens have a really good Pass D, so this means that Turner and Snelling must have BIG days. We got to expose their rush defense and keep pounding it down their throat.

Matt Ryan has to be extremely careful while playing this talented Ravens D.

NO MORE SPECIAL TEAMS BLUNDERS.

The Ravens offense is at best subpar in my opinion.

These Joe Flacco to Matt Ryan comparisons must come to an end because the answer should be obvious now.

Here is why, Flacco is a game manager and Ryan is a leader. I wonder if Flacco will ever fire up his team at Pittsburgh in OT to win the game the way Ryan did with our troops at New Orleans.

Ray Rice has only rushed once over 100 yards and that was against the Denver Rush Defense which ranks second to last against the run.

Hopefully Spoon will be back so we can account for him in the passing game.

Robinson must bring his A-game as he will have his hands full with Boldin, I think its time to start seeing Blanks 295k per week put to good use. I won't rag on him for today's game because it was his first game back after a pretty serious injury, hopefully he's back to normal Thursday night.

The first place of the AFC North and the first place of the NFC South clash, both share the NFL best record of 6-2, both have 2008 1st round QBs, both are very good teams, but it's going to come down to, which Bird can fly higher?

RISE UP ATL SHOW THE WORLD WHAT WERE ALL ABOUT !!!!!

I live in Baltimore so I watch the Ravens and hear about them allot. The Ravens dont have a good secondary, that's the weakness of their defense so I disagree with your opening statement. Ray Rice is more of a threat catching passes out of the backfield, he may not rush for 100 yards but he averages 150+ total yards nearly every game. It's going to be really tough to run against the Ravens, but the Bills lit their secondary up with subpar WR's, Roddy should have a career day against their subpar CB's.

[jluk]

I live in Baltimore so I watch the Ravens and hear about them allot. The Ravens dont have a good secondary, that's the weakness of their defense so I disagree with your opening statement. Ray Rice is more of a threat catching passes out of the backfield, he may not rush for 100 yards but he averages 150+ total yards nearly every game. It's going to be really tough to run against the Ravens, but the Bills lit their secondary up with subpar WR's, Roddy should have a career day against their subpar CB's.

ryan needs to stand tall and spread the ball to make reed guess. i have to tell you though, i have never seen a player like ed reed that could actually change the game. hes older but smarter.

[matty72780]

ryan needs to stand tall and spread the ball to make reed guess. i have to tell you though, i have never seen a player like ed reed that could actually change the game. hes older but smarter.

Ed Reed is sick! The guy is a true ball hawk. Matt Ryan needs to put allot of velocity on all his throws Thursday so Reed doesnt have time to make a play on the ball. I'm sure we will have allot of decoy deep routes to take Reed out of plays... It should be a good game but were pretty darn good in the Dome so I hope we pull away with this one. The key is to hit Flacco, the guy gets really flustered and WILL make mistakes if you put a few good licks on him.

[MilleniumFalcon]

I live in Baltimore so I watch the Ravens and hear about them allot. The Ravens dont have a good secondary, that's the weakness of their defense so I disagree with your opening statement. Ray Rice is more of a threat catching passes out of the backfield, he may not rush for 100 yards but he averages 150+ total yards nearly every game. It's going to be really tough to run against the Ravens, but the Bills lit their secondary up with subpar WR's, Roddy should have a career day against their subpar CB's.

Yes, I'm more scared of Ray Rice as a receiving threat more so than running. Have to contain him and the Ravens secondary isn't that great. Bills exposed them and we need to follow that blueprint they laid down.

[bighurt]

I think the key is pass protection, Ravens are missing their top 2 corners to injuries, I would like us to be aggressive against them. We need to run the ball and go deep, but look out for Ed Reed. Also Ravens have been tough to run on, so I don't think Turner will have a great game. But if he does, our run game has really got on track. Defensively we can't give up the big play. Flacco loves to go deep. We need the pass rush to get going this week. Falcons have been successful against AFC teams. Ryan needs to control the defense with his snap count. I think our offense will be successful since we have given Ryan more control lately. He has been changing alot of plays at the line. Which has lead to the more explosive offense. This will be a good game.

Edited November 8, 2010 by bighurt

[baltimoreravens]

I don't think there's any doubt that this will be a great game.

A few points on what's been said here:

-As some others have said I don't think the Ravens offense is subpar. We're developing and a lot of individuals believe that the identity of the Ravens is changing from the strong defense/below-average offense team that it's been for years to a more balanced and stronger team. Are we terrific? No. But our offense has actually won us a few games this year, which could never be said in the past, and people have taken notice that our offense is growing, especially with weapons like Boldin, Rice, Heap and Mason.

-In some respects I can agree that Flacco is not a leader in the way Ryan is. He is not the person to get the team jazzed up: that would be Ray Lewis. But, lets look at the facts: Flacco has the highest QB rating in the NFL since his horrendous game against the Bengals. He's developing. Flacco has talent. Of course he has areas to work on: facing pressure, especially, but so do Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.

-Ray Rice had a great game against the Dolphins: he has the ability to move the ball when we need him. Other teams have limited him big time this year because last year he showed the league what a threat he can be. He can rush and he can receive. I don't think the Falcons D would make the mistake the Dolphins did especially since they'll have the footage to see for themselves.

-Our defense is in transition. Unfortunately there's been a few mishaps especially in the two OT games the past few weeks with our CBs. (I believe that's why Washington has been replaced by Wilson.) We got back Ed Reed only two games ago and he's been able to help the team score some INTs, but there are still issues with the defense especially when we Rush 3. However, our pass defense is still pretty good.

Should be a good game.

Edited November 9, 2010 by baltimoreravens