Week 3 Opponent Analysis: Baltimore Ravens

[HUbison]

The question this week is not about "how". How will the Rams stop Rice? How will Bradford step up to attack the Reed-led secondary? How much pressure can Long/Hall/Quinn put on Flacco?

No, no, my friends.......the real question is "who". As in, Who will do the most to hurt the Rams? The Ravens, or the Rams?

Or, who will be the other team in this game? The Week 1 Ravens, or the Week 2 Ravens? Because those are two very different teams.

Bradford vs. the Ravens secondary --- Ed Reed notwithstanding, that Ravens secondary has been getting picked on. First rounder Jimmy Smith is a no-go, and Chris Carr is a slow-go. Tom Z is basically a 5th LB on the field. Even with Ed Reed playing Centerfield, that's a lot of pressure for LaDarius Webb and Cary Williams. They have had problems with bigger WR's so far this year, so maybe DX and MSW can have a breakout day. That is, if......

O-line vs. Ravens pass rush --- ...the line can slow down the Ravens pass rush. So far this season, almost the entirety of the pass rush has come from Terrell Suggs. But this is the Ravens, and the Rams have never handled a 3-4 very well. Redding and Cody are both limited, but Ngata is a load all by himself. Hopefully, the line has come to play because they will be facing a whole lot of humanity in that front 7 with the ageless Ray Lewis on the inside and the ever present Suggs on the outside. And might there be a Kindle sighting Sunday?

Long et al. vs. Ravens O-line --- There's plenty of talent on that Ravens front 5, but they have yet to show the hard nosed attitude the staff is wanting. They let the Titans get to Flacco last week, and it showed. Grubbs and Birk were both limited this week; good sign for Robbins and Bannon. The Long-Oher matchup should be a thing of beauty, and honestly I like the speed of Quinn against McKinnie on the other side.

Secondary vs. Flacco --- Remember, the question this week is "who". So who will QB for the Ravens? The Flacco that stands tall in the pocket and slices up DBs like a surgeon? Or the Flacco that gets flushed out of the pocket and has a tendency to force the ball where it shouldn't go? Of course, we're looking for the latter. He's got a couple of big targets in Boldin and Dickson, and he loves to dump to Rice. However, if the pass rush can put pressure on him, he can make mistakes.

Run D vs. Rice --- Speaking of Rice, the Rams run D has already had two dress rehearsals in preparation of Rice. Bradshaw and McCoy are very similar backs, but Rice is just......well, better. He's a very agile runner who can make tacklers miss, and handles the ball well in receiving. He will be the numero uno option for the Ravens D all day long. The run D has to lock it up this week, and to be quite honest, they've done a poor job of that so far this year.

Norwood/Porter vs. Ravens run D --- It can't possibly be two weeks ago that I was saying S-Jax with a dose of Caddy was the run recipe. How did that become all the Norwood and Porter you can stand? That recipe doesn't sound as tasty. Folks, honest truth? The Offense will be one-dimensional this week. No use crying over it. Bradford and Co. just have to embrace the horror and make it work. But it's a passing league anyway, right?

And the grand finale.....

Rams vs. Rams --- I mean let's keep it real here. This is a short analysis of various positional units that will attack our Rams. And has there been any unit more devastating to our Rams than.......our Rams? The D has to be disciplined. Rice can cutback with the best of them, and if gap integrity is not maintained, he's off to the races. Receivers have to catch the ball, because......well, they're position name kind of implies it. Bring the stick'em with you, whatever it takes. "Coach, you know this don't look natural."

[laram0]

If we have a Norwood/Porter runningback tandem this week we are doomed!

[Trevor]

We need Jackson!

[GROUND DOG 39]

We have done are best this season playing below are potential, their's no reason to think we cant start playing too are potential.? On offense in particular.? I feel like the Ravens are beatable as long as the Rams can score touchdowns in the red zone.? With or without Jackson I feel the Ravens would most likely have the Rams run game under wraps. Its again in the red zone where not having his threat will probably cost us in this game. I feel this is a game where the Rams must take some chance's, open up the playbook somewhat, and still play mistake free football. IT'S A BIG ASK.??
The Rams need to give the D the chance to play with a lead, otherwise by the fourth quarter I foresee Ray Rice and his Ravens running the Rams ragged.!
I do not think the Rams match up too well with the Ravens in all honesty. The pressure the Ravens D will bring is what worries me, but I thought the same last year versus San Diego for different reasons.? Any Given Sunday, I know one thing for sure, I feel the Rams have a bit of credit regarding their luck factor. Unfortunately, the Rams have not got an awful lot going for them in this game.? Our Defense will need too have the game of their lives, for the Rams to win. The special teams PR/KR unit isnt going to scare anyone.?
GO RAMS

[TekeRam]

Unlike what some people around here think, we've gone from an "any given Sunday we might get a winnable game" team to a true "Any Given Sunday" team under Spags. No, we're not elite, nor even guaranteed to win any given week, but we are now a team who can win against any team and it not be surprising.

That said, this is going to be a hard enough game if we don't make mistakes and beat ourselves. If Jax can't go(he's still GT decision, yes?), it's going to be exactly as Hub said, a one dimensional game against, thankfully, their defensive weakness. MSW and DX need to step up big time. On defense, we need to button up that run defense and hope that Fletch can cover Boldin. We don't have to worry about Evans going long, so just keep everything in front of us and hopefully we can pressure Flacco into some mistakes of his own.

We can win, but we need to play flawless football to do so.

[BlackSunday]

Speaking as a Ravens fan who, like a politician, shows up once every four years, I'm impressed with your analysis. Andre Gurode (#65) will apparently sub in for Grubbs @ LG. Evans is out @ WR, making it easier for your DB to move up in the box. Newly acquired FB Vonta Leach (#44) has impressed with his physicality. RB Ricky Williams (#34) compliments Rice (#27) and appears content with his role.

Game should provide Bradford with "an opportunity to excel" - if he can get time and exploit the Ravens' depleted secondary, he may be able to offset the potental mismatch posed by the Ravens running game.

Here's to a clean and injury-free game.

Good work,

BlackSunday