Someone said it elsewhere but our 3rd downs have to improve.. or at least go back to the way they were in the SD and NE games. We were monsters. If we can produce firsts out of 1st and 15/20s or 3rd and 6/7/8s like the Browns did last night (not that i'm wishing that upon us) we'd have an awesome game. It would negate the penalties that may get caused against us. I think the lines have to produce big time. If we can protect Pennington from the Ravens blitz schemes he'll be smart enough to pick them apart. If we pressure Flacco (probably the one time this year I won't be rooting for the U of D grad) he might make some mistakes. Our front seven have to come up huge in this (and future games) to pick up the slack on the secondary especially if Allen is injured. There were several picks we should have had the other day. If we get those back in this game we're golden. Time of possesion and all the normal cliche things still apply. Oh. Shutting down the run game and forcing him into pass situations, obviously. Anything you can think to add?
How about trying Ted at returner this week. I know Bess is shifty, but he doesnt have the speed to break one. I would like to see what Ginn would do FOR A WHOLE GAME.
The defense has to play solid for all 4 quarters and not allow big plays. The offense seems to be fine and I'm not worried about that (God, it's been forever since I could say that), but I don't have the same feeling about the D.
Yeah, that's huge IMO. Ginn did a hell of a job last year with a poor surrounding cast, he may be able to do even more this year if given the opportunity. Why he's not back there is a head scratcher.
Keep the offense on the field, not be behind 30-14 at one point in plays run, and attack the secondary and RG who is a backup and a finnesse one at that. All I can really say at this point without ruining all my work i do for the Keys to the Game writeup I do each week. Gotta get something for the work that goes into it.
Agree with this.. I was going to mention the defense not allowing big plays but I figured Baltimore offensively is anemic and cant really force big plays. Our offense needs to convert on more third and longs and keep our guys fresh.. Never thought Id say I wasnt worried about the offense either..
I think the #1 key to winning this game, is to bust Flacco in the mouth. We need to keep him on the ground. Even if we dont get one sack we need to hit him on every play. If we can do that, then we will be in good shape.
we outscore them...duh Dont give up big plays to that vanilla offense. No Defensive TDs for the Ravens Pressure on Flacco all day Win the TO battle Keep their running game in check
Baltimore is a very, very physical football team. This is a great test for our young guys up front. First, we need to win the field position battle on special teams. I don't see either team running up-and-down the field on either defense... so, we need a shorter field to work with if we expect to score any points against the best defense in the NFL. Second, we need to be more physical than they are up front. This is much easier said than done... however, if we're not able to push their defense off of the LOS, it's going to be near impossible to run the ball against that defense, and we're going to be looking at a lot of 3rd-and-long situations... and, with the lack of consistent WRs, we've been terrible at converting those. Fasano needs to have a solid day to take a little pressure off of the wideouts, and the WRs need to pick up the pace on their routes, and give Penny quick options to beat the blitz. Run Ronnie right at Ray. Let Ronnie lower his shoulder a couple of times on him. I don't see us scoring a lot of points. This will be a close one. So, the guys need to not get discouraged on offense when we get stopped. Keep the pressure on their defense, and stay in their face... all four quarters. I'd also like to see us try and get the ball down the field to Ted Ginn out of our base sets... even if it results in incompletions. Fast ball, fast ball, fast ball, curve ball... fast ball, slider, fast ball, curve ball, fast ball... make the Ravens defense think. That'll slow them down a bit. If we can run the ball consistently against the Ravens (against the Ravens, that'd be averaging over 3 yards/carry), and make a big play on defense or special teams, we should win this one. If we can't run... we're done.
Our offensive play calling must be aggressive all game long; attack, attack and attack some more. Also JP needs to get sack(s).
Good posts by all you guys. I think they hit it on the head. If I can just add one thing to it, it would be to run the no huddle offense as much as possible to off-set the ever changing Ravens defense. The Ravens have the most pre-snap adjustments and movements than any other team in the league and they do it to confuse the opposing line and Quarterback. However, I may have said this in another thread and If I did I apologize but with the constant no-huddle offense, the defense is forced to reveal their play. Also, try to establish the run game and stay away from Chris McAllister.
Hey there - Baltimore fan here - invited by debby, thank you by the way! I've been watching your team this season and you guys are looking really good. I think if both teams show up, we're going to see a real nail biter of a game. Good luck to you this Sunday!
Honestly I expect a low scoring game and who ever forces the most Turnovers will win. It will be key for the Miami offense to play with more urgency.
you guys owe us. we saved you from going 0-16 last season now if you could just give us the win we are even! jk, may the chips fall where they may
Hey man I'm just glad Billick didn't go for it on the goaline. You guys would have won the game how Smith was playing.
We need to establish the run. They have a good blitzing defense, so screens and draws (Ricky is good at running draws) to throw them off a bit. Keep Flacco on the bench and their defense on the field. When their offense on the field, we need to shut down McGahee and pressure the rookie in to making mistakes.
I think we're going to have a tough time scoring so I think we need to stay away from turnovers when we're on offense and just stack the box and make Flacco beat us when we're on defense. Oh and no special teams breakdowns please!
We beat the Ravens last year with a lot less talent, and we are facing a rookie QB. Just play smart and this should be a WIN.
Yea, hopefully Porter shows Cammy what he wanted to see last year. And im hoping Y.Bell plays fast and smart, looking to redeem himself after not making a play on the ball on 4th and 10 and going for the pick... thankfully, their leading reciever, Derrick Mason, isn't a physical threat like Andre Johnson is. Their o line has some injuries so our defensive front should penetrate. McGahee is injured.. flacco has 7 picks in 6 games.. their defense has injuries all over, including reed and lewis.. i like how our team matches up with them. both teams will be hungry for a win. i wont make a prediction and i always hope the phins win but i really like our chances..
Ted Ginn Jr goes back the reason we drafted him to being a kick returner We go out and convert on 3rd down Go for it on 4th and inches if we have good field position Play hard Do your job Come out with more passion Also hit them harder then they hit us no matter if we are on defense or offense Take care of the ball Make turn overs in to points. That is how you beat a team.
Stack the box to stop the run and make Flacco throw the ball. Offensively don't turn the ball over and take what they give you. The special teams can't give up any big plays if all this plays out Miami will win.
Honestly, I think this could be the toughest game we play all year. I think it will be the toughest team we have played so far this year also. We're kind of walking into a perfect storm here. The Ravens defense just gave up 30+ points and you know they're hungry and pissed off. Our offense must play mistake free and not give the defense a short field. We HAVE to stop the run. We can't give up any big STs plays either. I think this will be a low scoring, tough, physical game.
Not to mention, I'm sure Ray Ray will get them fired up about last year's loss. I fear this game much like last week's game. We responded well last week, but didn't get it done. Hopefully we play just as well, but finish on Sunday.
You guyz are overlooking an important fact here! We need to be smart on 1st and second downs and stay OUT of 3rd and long situations... IF we do that we're much more likely to succeed! 3rd and longs are what we don't need at all because it means we're not having success on 1st and 2nd down! Defense, blitz a LOT and change up the zone packages, keep them off-balance...
