Big Challenge Ahead!

[Florida Ravens Fan]

The play calling this week was awesome, IMO I do not think we will be able to pull these kind of plays against the browns. This game will be a must win for us to stay in second or move up to first if Steelers lose! Plus is a divisional game which we all know its a LITTLE more important . Hopefully we can get Landry and Rolle back this week. What do you guys think will be the key in getting the W this week??

[Troy SmiTH Xx]

I think the key to victory this week will be the same for last week against the Raiders:

1) Protect the football
2) Establish the tempo early
3) Get Flacco comfortable early
4) Defense needs to play solid and STOP GIVING UP BIG PLAYS
-There were a couple of long passes Russell was able to execute, we need to stop giving up those kind of plays
5) Keep the Brown's Offense off the field and keep their D confused
-i.e. Wildbird

But remember, it is a Brown's defense, they're not the best in the league, but I'm not taking anything for granted

[Rinbee]

[quote name='Troy SmiTH Xx' post='80502' date='Oct 27 2008, 08:29 AM']I think the key to victory this week will be the same for last week against the Raiders:

1) Protect the football
2) Establish the tempo early
3) Get Flacco comfortable early
4) Defense needs to play solid and STOP GIVING UP BIG PLAYS
-There were a couple of long passes Russell was able to execute, we need to stop giving up those kind of plays
5) Keep the Brown's Offense off the field and keep their D confused
-i.e. Wildbird

But remember, it is a Brown's defense, they're not the best in the league, but I'm not taking anything for granted[/quote]


Agree with all of the above. We need to establish control of the game from the start, especially on the road. the offense was a little slow getting started against the lowly Raiders. I'm not suggest going Wildbird on the first play from scrimmage, but something to put the Browns on their heals.

[FerrariFan87]

Run the ball effectively, stop the run, get a pass rush on Anderson, and most importantly, protect the football.

[H8R]

Run the Ball with SUCCESS, control time of posession, and limit turnovers. I think we match up with them very well (in our Favor). I feel like if they can't get a running game going, they (Cleve.) are dead in the water.

[BrownsFan]

[quote name='Troy SmiTH Xx' post='80502' date='Oct 27 2008, 08:29 AM']But remember, it is a Brown's defense, they're not the best in the league, but I'm not taking anything for granted[/quote]

You can say they're not the best in the league which is true but our last 4 games (Cincinnati, Giants, Redskins, Jaguars) we've given up 6, 14, 11 and 17 points. The "weak" Cleveland defense isn't the same as it was last year and while we lost earlier in the year to Baltimore it certainly wasn't the defense's fault either.

[BrownsFan]

Of course I hope this time around the results are different but I also believe this time around will be a different matchup as well.

When you flashback to Week 3 while yes the Ravens won the game the Browns certainly aided that effort with their abysmal 3rd quarter performance. Cleveland is 3-1 in their past 4 games with their lone loss coming on a horrendous showing at Washington that despite how bad we looked we STILL had a chance to send it into OT for a possible win. Baltimore had a bit of a skid but seems to have righted the ship with consecutive wins and in a convincing fashion and maybe Flacco is coming into his own? He is still a rookie QB of course but has looked solid lately and his play could make the difference.

It's hard to say what the result will be but I think this will be a completely different game than last time. I think Baltimore can have success in both aspects but especially running as overall we've been poor against it. Cleveland can keep themselves in the game if their young secondary keeps playing as well as they have since week 2. Eventually the offense has to put up 30+ you would think..

Here's to a good game!

[FerrariFan87]

If we have our full complement of DBs back for this game, I don't see Cleveland having much of a shot. Joe is 10x better than in Week 3 and I wouldn't expect 2 gift INTs again. Ray Rice is coming into his own and will dominate along with Willis and McClain as our O-Line continues to get better every week. All that being said, anything is possible in the NFL and you are at home, so I expect a hard-fought game with the Ravens coming out on top 24-14...

P.S. I'd say that "footlong" is more like a 5-foot long party sub

[Shawn`]

If Cleveland plays Baltimore like they played the Giants then it'll be a tough match. But that won't happen with our defense and while Clevelands struggling defense isn't getting any better over the past few weeks.

Wild cat/wild bird/wild night formation should prevail over the Browns.

[BrownsFan]

Can you explain to me exactly how our "struggling" defense isn't getting any better? I will admit that yardage wise they do give up quite a bit and it's usually either about 70/30 rushing and passing or the other way around.

However, when you look at the scores of our last few games while we lost 28-10 to you all the defense only gave up 21 and after that the numbers go like this: 6, 14, 14 and 17.

So please explain how our defense hasn't kept us in games.

[Shawn`]

The yardage situation is what I mean by struggling, not so much passing yards but rushing yards, which should be what Baltimore aims at via Mcgahee and Rice

[BrownsFan]

Which is true I'll give you that. I was highly impressed that Jones-Drew and Taylor didn't run all over us like we were high schoolers yesterday. Garrard may have been their leading rusher with how many times he burned us.

[Bullrush]

I'm not sure why you would say the trick plays won't work anymore. Did you watch the Dolphins play? They've been doing this all season. Just because opponents know that we're going to make use of the wildcat formation that doesn't mean they know what type of plays we're gonna call. Flacco caught a 45 yarder. If he lines up at WR again what do you think will the Browns do? Of course, their safeties will drop back, they will put a real corner on Flacco. What does this? It gives us a chance to just run the ball. Either Smith or Rice.

There are so many different things we can do now it's not even funny anymore. Think about flea flickers with 2 QB's on the field. That's ridiculous. Defenses would have no clue who to cover or where to go or whether to play the run or the pass because if none of our receivers are open we can just scramble for a 1st down.

We will destroy the Browns. Derek Anderson is a terrible QB. Once you punch him in the mouth he will lose all confidence and the game is basically over. He'll be intimidated by our defense.

[FerrariFan87]

[quote name='BrownsFan' post='80552' date='Oct 27 2008, 10:43 AM']Which is true I'll give you that. I was highly impressed that Jones-Drew and Taylor didn't run all over us like we were high schoolers yesterday. Garrard may have been their leading rusher with how many times he burned us.[/quote]

Ravens O-Line > Jags O-Line

[BrownsFan]

It has nothing to do with their O-Line it has to do with our terrible defense against the rush and the fact that almost any NFL team can walk all over us.

Even if their O-Line *is* worse than yours we've been bad all year until yesterday stopping the run.

[itscbm5042]

"There are so many different things we can do now it's not even funny anymore. Think about flea flickers with 2 QB's on the field. That's ridiculous. Defenses would have no clue who to cover or where to go or whether to play the run or the pass because if none of our receivers are open we can just scramble for a 1st down."

Picture this:

Smith lines up at QB, Flacco at WR, Clayton at WR, Rice as the RB. Smith hands off to Rice who laterals back to Flacco who hands off a double reverse to Clayton, the former QB, who throws downfield to the original QB in Smith. Did your mind just get blown? Mine did. But things like that are now possible.

[Lets_Go_Joe]

[quote name='itscbm5042' post='80577' date='Oct 27 2008, 12:12 PM']"There are so many different things we can do now it's not even funny anymore. Think about flea flickers with 2 QB's on the field. That's ridiculous. Defenses would have no clue who to cover or where to go or whether to play the run or the pass because if none of our receivers are open we can just scramble for a 1st down."

Picture this:

Smith lines up at QB, Flacco at WR, Clayton at WR, Rice as the RB. Smith hands off to Rice who laterals back to Flacco who hands off a double reverse to Clayton, the former QB, who throws downfield to the original QB in Smith. Did your mind just get blown? Mine did. But things like that are now possible.[/quote]


You officially just scared me with that play. If we do it, hopefully it'll work lol, who knows, sounds slow developing

[RavensIQ]

[quote name='BrownsFan' post='80549' date='Oct 27 2008, 10:40 AM']Can you explain to me exactly how our "struggling" defense isn't getting any better? I will admit that yardage wise they do give up quite a bit and it's usually either about 70/30 rushing and passing or the other way around.

However, when you look at the scores of our last few games while we lost 28-10 to you all the defense only gave up 21 and after that the numbers go like this: 6, 14, 14 and 17.

So please explain how our defense hasn't kept us in games.[/quote]


I know you're trying to hold onto hope and convince yourself the Browns "might" have a slim chance this game but let me bring you back to reality with a few facts.

-Over the span of the last 4 games (cinci, giants, skins, jags) Cleveland has averaged 118 yards of rushing offense. Do you really think they will be able to run the ball against the Ravens, who are ranked 1st in the NFL in Total rushing yards allowed per game (64.3)?

-Over the span of the last 4 games, Cleveland's defense has allowed an average of 139 rushing yrds a game. Do you really think your run defense is going to shut down the Ravens run game, Ranked 5th in the NFL (142.4 average yards per game)?

So, if the Browns can't run the ball, that would mean Derrek Anderson will have to pass the ball even more? Right?

-When Derrek Anderson has to throw the ball more than 30 times in a game his completion percentage is 43.96...

-When Derrek Anderson is sacked 1 or more times in a game he averages a Qb rating of 61.6. The Ravens defense has averaged 2.3 sacks per game (same defense that sacked Anderson 4 times in the last match up).

-In the last 4 games Derrek Anderson has averaged a 53.3 completion percentage and at least 1 turnover.

-When Derrek Anderson has Faced a top 15 Pass Defense the Browns have lost 4 out of 6 games. (Ravens are ranked 2nd in pass defense)

So lets review: Ravens are ranked 5th in rushing offense. Browns are ranked 24th in rushing defense.....The Ravens defense is ranked 2nd in total yards allowed. The Browns offense is ranked 30th in total yards per game......Last time the Browns played the Ravens they had 3 turnovers, only 69 rushing yards, a total of 169 yards of net offense, and only had possession of the ball for 22 of the 60 minutes that game. hmmm...I'm starting to understand why you think the Browns have a chance....

[baltiMORE RAVENS]

[quote name='itscbm5042' post='80577' date='Oct 27 2008, 12:12 PM']"There are so many different things we can do now it's not even funny anymore. Think about flea flickers with 2 QB's on the field. That's ridiculous. Defenses would have no clue who to cover or where to go or whether to play the run or the pass because if none of our receivers are open we can just scramble for a 1st down."

Picture this:

Smith lines up at QB, Flacco at WR, Clayton at WR, Rice as the RB. Smith hands off to Rice who laterals back to Flacco who hands off a double reverse to Clayton, the former QB, who throws downfield to the original QB in Smith. Did your mind just get blown? Mine did. But things like that are now possible.[/quote]


We have to remember this is the NFL. Trickery can work on occasion but this play looks a little extreme. When I picture this, I picture the entire defense in the backfield hammering our players before anything can develop. Sorry to burst your creative bubble, but I just don't think this play would work on this level.

[Raven07]

we may not be able to do the same plays as we did against the Raiders this past week but i guess thats just one of the reasons why we hired Cameron to run this offense dont you think? Creativity is one of Cameron's strengths to bring to an offense and as such you see such things that either you've never seen before OR havent seen in quite a number of years. To Think that Cameron would run/do the same exact thing week after week opponent after opponent is just ludacris to think, Cameron knows that doing the same thing over and over again, means that the opposition will eventually learn and adjust and eventually stop what they are trying to do out there, so to counter act that aspect, you never Quite see the same play run over and OVER and OVER again from cameron, you might see a play or two run more than once but not on a constant basis, thats just stupid to think such a though. Plus you heard it first from the players then from the coaches themselves " this is just the tip of the ice berg" meaning there is ALOT more plays and alot more attributes and routes that can be used to go against the opposition that noone's seen from us before.

i'll say this again...... when the Raiders were game planning, did you honestly think that they were also game planning on such plays that involved both Flacco AND Troy? and when in a goal line stance, did they honestly gameplan for Haloti Ngata being inserted into the Offensive Line and just run people over to result in a McGahee TD? i would hardly think so, i would imagine that as soon as the opposition saw players out there they werent used to seeing out there, ready to go, a sense of nerves and an un-easiness feeling surely followed.

you can surely expect that same type of trend to continue this week as well in the far future. ALSO, even when they start game planning for those different packages and schemes and players and whatever else Cameron thinks of to throw at the defense, it all depends on WHEN those players will get inserted into the game, so for our opponents its sort of like a clueless guessing game, in which they never know when exactly a player they havent seen out there, will be inserted into the play......as a result????? Confusion and Big plays for us, and even without the BIG plays, the yardage still adds up MOVIN those chains and getting first downs, grinding out the clock.

[PuRock]

[quote name='baltiMORE RAVENS' post='80649' date='Oct 27 2008, 03:06 PM']We have to remember this is the NFL. Trickery can work on occasion but this play looks a little extreme. When I picture this, I picture the entire defense in the backfield hammering our players before anything can develop. Sorry to burst your creative bubble, but I just don't think this play would work on this level.[/quote]

I hear ya. I have to see these type of plays working on a consistent basis over a length of time. We had the Raiders Defense offguard when we pulled this stuff out of nowhere. I'm sure our upcoming opponents will plan for all these different type of sets now. I'm sure we can push the bar even further, but how far can we go before we start creating turnovers, injuries, penalties, et al.

I won't shoot down anybody's thoughts on it, but I find it hard to believe that our offense can revolve around these plays. But what do I know, I'm only a fan and Harbs proved me wrong a bit during the last game.

But like always if Harbs thinks it will help us win, I'm aboard.

[rayvenfan_52]

I think the main thing during this game is our defense.
If they stop Anderson early then the game is ours.
As well as our offense scoring early.

[PuRock]

[quote name='rayvenfan_52' post='80668' date='Oct 27 2008, 03:17 PM']I think the main thing during this game is our defense.
If they stop Anderson early then the game is ours.
As well as our offense scoring early.[/quote]

Like always it will be interesting to see what the injury report is looking like come Thursday and Friday. Your right though, we just need to make sure Anderson doesn't have a break out game agains our secondary. If we can hush that we have a great chance.

The Browns unlike many teams that have played us recently, know we can stop the run since they play in our division. So they will probably try to get the aerial attack working against us.

[RavensIQ]

[quote name='itscbm5042' post='80577' date='Oct 27 2008, 12:12 PM']"There are so many different things we can do now it's not even funny anymore. Think about flea flickers with 2 QB's on the field. That's ridiculous. Defenses would have no clue who to cover or where to go or whether to play the run or the pass because if none of our receivers are open we can just scramble for a 1st down."

Picture this:

Smith lines up at QB, Flacco at WR, Clayton at WR, Rice as the RB. Smith hands off to Rice who laterals back to Flacco who hands off a double reverse to Clayton, the former QB, who throws downfield to the original QB in Smith. Did your mind just get blown? Mine did. But things like that are now possible.[/quote]

Sounds cool to me I can see how that would work. But I think I can up you 1. How about Smith at qb who tosses a right sweep (then rolls out 10 yards in the backfield near the right hash mark casually taking himself out of the play) to Ray Rice who hands the ball of to Clayton(lined up on the right side of the field) on a reverse, Clayton runs a lil bit (3-4 steps) then throws the ball in front of him across field to Joe Flacco (lined up 5 yards behind the line of scrimage on the left side of the field)as a lateral pass...Flacco then throws the ball half way across the field back to Troy Smith (who is still causally standing on the right hash mark 10 yards in the backfield) as a lateral pass who then hits Ray Rice on a delayed streak pattern for a touchdown?

But only after several plays have been ran in the this exact formation where the ball is only ran to the right side and Flacco is used as a decoy WR who just stands there each play. Which would then setup the Clayton to Flacco lateral pass without looking suspicious to the DB.

LOL back to reality. That was a fun dream.

[CTravenfan]

protect the football and continue to pound the ball to setup the play action. i think our defense will great like always. although i am worried because it is a division game on the road i think we will be able to pull it out

[rayvenfan_52]

[quote name='PuRock' post='80674' date='Oct 27 2008, 10:25 AM']Like always it will be interesting to see what the injury report is looking like come Thursday and Friday. Your right though, we just need to make sure Anderson doesn't have a break out game agains our secondary. If we can hush that we have a great chance.

The Browns unlike many teams that have played us recently, know we can stop the run since they play in our division. So they will probably try to get the aerial attack working against us.[/quote]

Only the teams in our division know we can stop the run perfectly.

Unlike the fans. We are the only fans that know our team will stop the run.

The aerial is kinda nail bitting to watch.

1. Sometimes big throws in close games lead to big completions.
2. They kill us fast and take us out early (Colts Game)

[bossman419]

[quote name='RavensIQ' post='80627' date='Oct 27 2008, 02:49 PM']I know you're trying to hold onto hope and convince yourself the Browns "might" have a slim chance this game but let me bring you back to reality with a few facts.

-Over the span of the last 4 games (cinci, giants, skins, jags) Cleveland has averaged 118 yards of rushing offense. Do you really think they will be able to run the ball against the Ravens, who are ranked 1st in the NFL in Total rushing yards allowed per game (64.3)?

-Over the span of the last 4 games, Cleveland's defense has allowed an average of 139 rushing yrds a game. Do you really think your run defense is going to shut down the Ravens run game, Ranked 5th in the NFL (142.4 average yards per game)?

So, if the Browns can't run the ball, that would mean Derrek Anderson will have to pass the ball even more? Right?

-When Derrek Anderson has to throw the ball more than 30 times in a game his completion percentage is 43.96...

-When Derrek Anderson is sacked 1 or more times in a game he averages a Qb rating of 61.6. The Ravens defense has averaged 2.3 sacks per game (same defense that sacked Anderson 4 times in the last match up).

-In the last 4 games Derrek Anderson has averaged a 53.3 completion percentage and at least 1 turnover.

-When Derrek Anderson has Faced a top 15 Pass Defense the Browns have lost 4 out of 6 games. (Ravens are ranked 2nd in pass defense)

So lets review: Ravens are ranked 5th in rushing offense. Browns are ranked 24th in rushing defense.....The Ravens defense is ranked 2nd in total yards allowed. The Browns offense is ranked 30th in total yards per game......Last time the Browns played the Ravens they had 3 turnovers, only 69 rushing yards, a total of 169 yards of net offense, and only had possession of the ball for 22 of the 60 minutes that game. hmmm...I'm starting to understand why you think the Browns have a chance....[/quote]
you win

[Gwaihir]

[quote name='PuRock' post='80665' date='Oct 27 2008, 03:15 PM']I hear ya. I have to see these type of plays working on a consistent basis over a length of time. We had the Raiders Defense offguard when we pulled this stuff out of nowhere. I'm sure our upcoming opponents will plan for all these different type of sets now. I'm sure we can push the bar even further, but how far can we go before we start creating turnovers, injuries, penalties, et al.

I won't shoot down anybody's thoughts on it, but I find it hard to believe that our offense can revolve around these plays. But what do I know, I'm only a fan and Harbs proved me wrong a bit during the last game.

But like always if Harbs thinks it will help us win, I'm aboard.[/quote]


I think you hit the nail on the head here without realizing it!! From now on, Opposing Defenses will have to waste a lot of time gameplanning and practicing against these bizarre formations & Plays. They'll be spending so much time against the BS, when we smash them up the middle with our Running Game, It will catch them "Off-Guard"!!

I think it's beautiful that Cam can get opposing teams to work on our finesse packages, while our Bread & Butter will still be the SmashMouth Up the Gut Runnig Game!!

I also notice, we haven't run that Double Reverse for a while, he seems to be letting teams forget about that one and giving them other things to focus on. Don't be surprised to see that play make a re-appearance in the coming weeks!

[march4superbowl]

The Browns weren't ready for us week 3 and still aren't ready. Ravens move to 5-3

[PuRock]

[quote name='Gwaihir' post='80703' date='Oct 27 2008, 04:01 PM']I think you hit the nail on the head here without realizing it!! From now on, Opposing Defenses will have to waste a lot of time gameplanning and practicing against these bizarre formations & Plays. They'll be spending so much time against the BS, when we smash them up the middle with our Running Game, It will catch them "Off-Guard"!![/quote]

Good point. That's the name of the game, keeping the D on their toes, even if it means reverting to 'normal' plays.