Am I The Only One Who Feels Like The Houston Defense Is Being Disrespected?

[Ravenslifer]

A lot of people/analysts keep pointing to the lack of offense in our win over the Texans and saying the Ravens don't have the offense to compete with the Patriots. But here's my issue with that - have we played a defense that gives up as many yards as the Patriots have all season? The Houston Texans finished the regular season top five in passing defense, run defense, opposing quarterback rating, and points per game allowed. The Patriots finished 20th in opposing quarterback rating, 15th in PPG allowed, 31st in total yards per game, 31st in passing YPG, and 17th in rushing yards per game. I mean I respect the Patriots defensive players, but I don't see them the same caliber defense as Houston's, even in the same class. Houston was almost as good as we were this year, but New England, I don't see it. Why don't they think we'll be able to score more on the Patriots? Why don't they think the Houston defense was a real test for [i]any[/i] offense?

[izvoodoo]

There was St.Louis...

[1/28/01]

Cause its the Patriots and Tom Brady compared to the Ravens. Whatever pumps up the publics view of the golden boy!

[PuRock]

[quote name='Ravenslifer' timestamp='1326812887' post='954991']
A lot of people/analysts keep pointing to the lack of offense in our win over the Texans and saying the Ravens don't have the offense to compete with the Patriots. But here's my issue with that - have we played a defense that gives up as many yards as the Patriots have all season? The Houston Texans finished the regular season top five in passing defense, run defense, opposing quarterback rating, and points per game allowed. The Patriots finished 20th in opposing quarterback rating, 15th in PPG allowed, 31st in total yards per game, 31st in passing YPG, and 17th in rushing yards per game. I mean I respect the Patriots defensive players, but I don't see them the same caliber defense as Houston's, even in the same class. Houston was almost as good as we were this year, but New England, I don't see it. Why don't they think we'll be able to score more on the Patriots? Why don't they think the Houston defense was a real test for [i]any[/i] offense?
[/quote]

Come on. This isn't about the Texans defense as it is about the lack of respect for the Ravens offense.

That's just the way it is. Its a what have you done lately league. The Pats scored 45 and the Ravens 3 points in 3 quarters. We all know what our offense can do. The Pats have no edge rushers, they are thin in the secondary. They have one good LB. They are not the Texans D by any stretch of the imagination. I fully expect us to move the ball on them.

I am not looking for respect. I am hoping the Pats buy into the hype that our offense will struggle. We know how this team plays against adversity and when the cards are against them. They do a hell of a lot better than when people trust them.

[JoeCool#5]

To think Pats defense will do the same thing Houstons defense did last week is ridiculous. New Englan doesnt have the personnel or the ability to get that much pressure on Joe and shut down Ray Rice

[Ravenslifer]

[quote name='PuRock' timestamp='1326813269' post='955001']

Come on. This isn't about the Texans defense as it is about the lack of respect for the Ravens offense.

That's just the way it is. Its a what have you done lately league. The Pats scored 45 and the Ravens 3 points in 3 quarters. We all know what our offense can do. The Pats have no edge rushers, they are thin in the secondary. They have one good LB. They are not the Texans D by any stretch of the imagination. I fully expect us to move the ball on them.

I am not looking for respect. I am hoping the Pats buy into the hype that offense will struggle. We know how this team plays against adversity and when the cards are against them. They do a hell of a lot better than when people trust them.
[/quote]

True, I love the lack of respect this offense, and Joe in particular, is getting right now. But it's just weird to me that everybody is saying what a sucky job [s]the offense[/s] Joe did against Houston, when he actually had decent numbers, and they are a very good defense.

[Militant X 1]

umm..who cares what's being said? that game is over! the Ravens advance!

~Mili

[Ravenslifer]

[quote name='izvoodoo' timestamp='1326813061' post='954997']
There was St.Louis...
[/quote]

Yep and we killed them. But nobody remembers that.

[izvoodoo]

[quote name='Ravenslifer' timestamp='1326814314' post='955023']

Yep and we killed them. But nobody remembers that.
[/quote]
We faced 12 top 10 defenses this year. 5 top 5 defenses. And we only lost 2 games. San Diego and Jacksonville.

We need the lead though. We can't let this become a 14-3 game.

[PuRock]

[quote name='Ravenslifer' timestamp='1326814220' post='955019']

True, I love the lack of respect this offense, and Joe in particular, is getting right now. But it's just weird to me that everybody is saying what a sucky job [s]the offense[/s] Joe did against Houston, when he actually had decent numbers, and they are a very good defense.
[/quote]

Haters going to Hate. I hear all those remarks and brush them aside. That was game A, now this will be game B. We know our offense can switch gears from one game to the next. In fact we rarely put up two clunkers in a row. Which is GREAT news heading into this game.

I realized there was going to be an onslaught of no respect threads this week. But we must realize that the Ravens suck when they do get the respect. Let this team work on earning it, that's when they play their best.

[funky141]

Yes the Texans have a very good defense but the Ravens offense looked sluggish, out of snic and really only mustard one good TD drive last Sunday.
I'm pretty confident that Flacco and Ray Rice will have a good day this Sunday as the Patriots defense is dead last in the NFL.
I've been saying if the Ravens can score about 25 points and get pressure on Brady they will win Sunday.

[Fricknmaniac]

The OP is absolutely 100% correct. I mentioned this in another thread about how it was the Texans defense that played great, as opposed ot the Ravens offense playing terrible.

The offense has shown on a number of occassions that they can be explosive and put up big numbers, this year more than previous years.

By bringing down the Ravens offense and saying that they played terrible, they're also diminishing how well the Texans defense played on Sunday. And they played amazing on Sunday.

So yes, it's disrespectful to the Ravens offense and the Texans defense by saying that the Ravens offense played terrible.

[1/28/01]

[quote name='Militant X 1' timestamp='1326814276' post='955021']
umm..who cares what's being said? that game is over! the Ravens advance!

~Mili
[/quote]
This is your response to any post you don't like...too funny!

[PWNEDbyDEANO]

I'm perfectly happy for our offense and our chances on Sunday to be questioned. It seems that whenever we're expected to win we either make it uncomfortable for ourselves or lose.

[A Fish Called Yanda]

I definitely agree, to a certain extent. There were quite a few dropped passes/miss-throws from our offense, however, so not all of the credit should go to the Houston defense.

But in the end, I much prefer all of the pundits saying how much our offense sucks all week, then we have an offensive game similar to Game 1 vs Pitt. Makes me smile just thinking about it.

[Militant X 1]

[quote name='1/28/01' timestamp='1326815257' post='955051']
This is your response to any post you don't like...too funny!
[/quote]

it's not that i don't like the post...that game is over!

~Mili

[1/28/01]

[quote name='Militant X 1' timestamp='1326815677' post='955063']


it's not that i don't like the post...that game is over!

~Mili
[/quote]
I hear ya, but its a valid topic. They are discrediting the Texans and crediting our offense as a joke that can't put up points on the freakin Pats....REALLY? The Pats? Come on!!

[Gtown Purple]

The media can't paint us as the underdog all they want. I prefer that to be honest. The ravens usually play their best when they are underrated.

I was listening to Ross Tucker this morning and he based his chances of winning the super bowl simply on how each team looked this past week. Something that overlysimplistic only shows how simple of a mind you have. He had the Ravens last of course because our offense looked sluggish, nevermind we were playing a top 5 defense.

In their heart of hearts the Patriots know they are in for a dog fight.

[Ed_Reed20]

The Texans defense deserves a lot of credit. They've legitimate talent all over the field and would give any offense problems. Still, the offense producing only three points on the last seven possessions can't be overlooked. Especially not with how they've struggled against lesser defenses this season.

I'm relatively confident they'll be able to move the ball efficiently against NE's D. But they've been far too inconsistent this season.

[theblackdog]

After being at the game, the Houston D played their hearts out and they did show why they were the #2 ranked defense going into this game. Fortunately, instead of repeating some of our worst performances this year against top D's, we managed to hang on to the lead and win the game, despite a number of dropped passes and a lot of pressure on Joe. We got it done, and now we're going up against a not so hot D in NE. I think we can win it, I'm sure the Ravens think they can win it, and they will be putting the pressure on to get it done.

[callahan09]

Here's a comparison of the Texans' D to the Patriots' D in terms of ranking among the 32 teams in the 2011 Regular Season...

[left]2011 Regular Season Defensive Rankings: Texans / Patriots[/left]




[left]Opposing QB Rating: 2 / 20[/left][left]Yards Per Attempt: 2 / 29[/left][left]Yards Per Carry: 11 / 24[/left][left]Yards Per Play: 3 / 29[/left][left]Passing TDs: 6 / 27[/left][left]Rushing TDs: 3 / 19[/left][left]Touchdowns: 4 / 25[/left][left]Forced Fumbles: 16 / 27[/left][left]Fumbles Recovered: 14 / 7[/left][left]Interceptions: 13 / 2[/left][left]Takeaways: 12 / 3[/left][left]Points Per Game: 4 / 15[/left]




Here's what I gather: First of all, in terms of the passing game, the Texans are significantly better on defense than the Patriots, and easily one of the best in the NFL this season. In terms of the running game, the Texans are still a lot better than the Patriots, though they didn't make the top 10 in yards per carry allowed, however they were very good at preventing the rushing touchdown all season, ranking 3rd in that category. Overall, the Texans are 4th best in the NFL at preventing the opposing team from getting into the end zone, whereas the Patriots are 25th.

Here's where things get dicey, though: the Patriots are much more opportunistic than the Texans, ranking 2nd in interceptions and 3rd overall in takeaways.

Given that information, the Ravens protecting the football and limiting turnovers is going to be a priority focus, because while that Patriots defense gives up a lot to opposing offenses, they make up for it by taking the ball away.

[PuRock]

[quote name='callahan09' timestamp='1326819456' post='955174']

Here's where things get dicey, though: the Patriots are much more opportunistic than the Texans, rankings 2nd in interceptions and 3rd overall in takeaways.

[/quote]

And they were dead even at 0 when they lost to the Giants and were 5-3. Since then they are plus +17 (or+12). They are definitely opportunistic. We can't give them any additional opportunities on offense than whats needed. We must protect the football.

[reediddy]

[quote name='PuRock' timestamp='1326819983' post='955192']

And they were dead even at 0 when they lost to the Giants and were 5-3. Since then they are plus +17 (or+12). They are definitely opportunistic. We can't give them any additional opportunities on offense than whats needed. We must protect the football.
[/quote]

No question. Their corners are just flat out bad and as such our receivers need to take absolute advantage. Our running game needs to control the clock, establish approximately 4.0 YPC on 30-35 carries to win this game

[PuRock]

[quote name='reediddy' timestamp='1326832768' post='955592']

No question. Their corners are just flat out bad and as such our receivers need to take absolute advantage. Our running game needs to control the clock, establish approximately 4.0 YPC on 30-35 carries to win this game
[/quote]

I thought about their defense being opportunistic a little more. I feel that their ranking of 3rd in the league is overrated for a simple fact. They often get ahead on teams and opposing teams end up having to force the ball in the pass game.

Hell look at us yesterday. We were up and forcing the Texans to pass the ball and we forced turnovers. If you get up on the Redskins, Jets or Dolphins. Guys like Grossman, Sanchez and Moore will ultimately force the ball and make bad decisions.

[Ravenslifer]

[quote name='PuRock' timestamp='1326833687' post='955636']
I thought about their defense being opportunistic a little more. I feel that their ranking of 3rd in the league is overrated for a simple fact. They often get ahead on teams and opposing teams end up having to force the ball in the pass game.

Hell look at us yesterday. We were up and forcing the Texans to pass the ball and we forced turnovers. If you get up on the Redskins, Jets or Dolphins. Guys like Grossman, Sanchez and Moore will ultimately force the ball and make bad decisions.
[/quote]

I was actually thinking the same thing. How much are their takaways a result of a good defense, and how much is simply teams get behind early, are forced to take more risks to get back into the game, and as a result they make mistakes and turn the ball over?

[ravensdfan]

[quote name='Militant X 1' timestamp='1326814276' post='955021']
umm..who cares what's being said? that game is over! the Ravens advance!

~Mili
[/quote]

Amen. A win is a win and WE know exactly what this team is capable of when they come to play. There is not a chance this team is going to underestimate the Patriots. I have all confidence they will bring their A game.