When the RAMS 2007 regular season schedule came out the Ravens game was the one that I felt would be our toughest challenge. The Ravens were coming off of a 13-3 season for 2006 and they're especially tough at home. The last time they lost a home game was back on October 15, 2006. They have won 7 straight regular season home games since that loss.
The 2007 Ravens aren't who I thought they were. They are still a strong defensive team not as strong as recent years though. The offense has struggled scoring touchdowns. During the off-season and pre-season I heard a lot of Ravens hype via the NFL Network and Sirius Radio. How Steve McNair would now have a full off and pre-preseason with the Ravens. Most of the so-called experts felt McNair would be a lot more comfortable with the extra Ravens experience under his belt going into the 2007 season. Which in turn would translate to a much more efficient Ravens attack. The Ravens have added a new starting running back in Willis McGahee. The experts threw a positive spin on this also. McGahee would give the Ravens more of a speed and outside threat as far as the running game was concerned.
In my opinion schools still out on the Ravens offense so far this season.
RAVENS OFFENSIVE RANKINGS 2007
#11- Overall (346.2 ypg)
#21- Scoring (17.6 ppg)
#10- passing (233 ypg)
#14- Rushing (113.2 ypg)
The Ravens offense utilizes the ultimate "DINK & DUNK" approach. They're all about ball control and time of possession. Their offense leads the NFL with an average time of possession of 34:44 per game. The offense has had 2 problem areas this season. They're leading the NFL with 40 offensive penalties. Also they've only been in the end zone 5 times. They do have 2 special teams touchdowns both coming via the punt return. Needless to say kicker Matt Stover has been busy connecting on 13 of 16 field goal attempts. So what was with all the hype?
Our RAMS defense ought to be familiar with the "DINK & DUNK" style of the Ravens. After all they've watched our offense use a similar approach more than once this season. It will be interesting to see how we defend it.
As we all know the Ravens have been a very strong defensive team for many years.
RAVENS DEFENSIVE RANKINGS 2007
#5- Overall (274 ypg)
#14- Points Allowed (19.4 ppg)
#13- Pass D (207.4)
#2- Rush D (66.6 ypg)
Defending the rush is the strongest part of their defense. They've allowed only 1 rushing touchdown. Their pass defense though ranked #13 has some issues. They do have 9 sacks and 4 interceptions but (there it is "BUT") they've allowed 17 pass plays of 20+ yards and 5 plays of 40+ yards.They have also allowed 8 touchdowns through the air.
What do I think? I'm glad you asked.
In my optimistic opinion I feel very confident going into this game. The Ravens offense doesn't scare me at all. This is not the same Steve McNair that drove us nuts in SUPERBOWL XXXIV. They're wide receivers aren't very impressive. They rely on tightend Todd Heap a lot in their passing attack. Heap is hurting, he didn't play last week and may not play this week. The running game is about average.
We played more like the RAMS of old last week and I'm expecting more of the same. This will be Gus Frerotte's 2nd start in a row. He obviously has a handle on Linehan's offensive game plan and plays. I'm expecting him to be a little sharper than last week.
The o-line will be playing together again which is something we haven't been able to say all season. We're coming into this game as a 9 1/2 even 10 point underdog on some betting lines. I just don't see how the point spread could be that big. The Ravens struggle to score and have lost to the Bengals and Browns. Maybe we could be called the Ohio Rams for this one game.
We can't let the Ravens defense lead by dancing Ray Lewis intimidate us. I'm sure
Richie Incognito will helps us a ton in that area. I can't wait to see Cogs go after Ray Lewis and show him what our RAMS are made of.
We are due actually over due for a complete game and a few breaks. Whether the breaks come from calls that go our way or turnovers by the Ravens, we are due.
We need tp play a mistake free game, something we haven't done all season.
S.L.A.P. says not only will we cover the point spread, we will win outright. Chalk up our 1st win of the season on the road, outdoors no less.
:r
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