Defensive ranking projections?

[52520Andrew]

Truth. Also factor in that Denver enjoys the benefit of Peyton Manning .. So more often than not, the defense gets to play with a lead. Von and Ware get to pin their ears back and rush; Their sick secondary gets to ball hawk. Definitely a recipe for success. 

 

I actually think that hurts their stats more than anything. A lot of garbage time stats could be had since they will be holding leads more than anything.

[Drew P]

Truth. Also factor in that Denver enjoys the benefit of Peyton Manning .. So more often than not, the defense gets to play with a lead. Von and Ware get to pin their ears back and rush; Their sick secondary gets to ball hawk. Definitely a recipe for success. 

 

Despite this they will still play the season and have to compete in that brutal division lol...Besides I thought this was the Ravens forum not the Denver Idol forum

[gabefergy]

Despite this they will still play the season and have to compete in that brutal division lol...Besides I thought this was the Ravens forum not the Denver Idol forum

Brutal division? oh. 

[TDubbs]

I actually think that hurts their stats more than anything. A lot of garbage time stats could be had since they will be holding leads more than anything.

 

It can go either way depending on the team really .. When you know a team has to play catch up, you have more chances to ball hawk and boost those INT's. 

[gabefergy]

It can go either way depending on the team really .. When you know a team has to play catch up, you have more chances to ball hawk and boost those INT's. 

Yeah, sacks and TOs will probably be higher for a team that has a lead most of the time, but total yards and even points could be higher as well. I think the Ravens were hoping to be a team last year that could play with a lead and the pass-rushers go to work, but because the offense was so bad it never really worked out that way.

[52520Andrew]

It can go either way depending on the team really .. When you know a team has to play catch up, you have more chances to ball hawk and boost those INT's. 

 

Yeah that could help in those areas but the basic stats like yards and points hurt. Rush defense will look good(as it did last year) since everyone will be passing but the pass defense will take a hit. They will be better than last year but it won't be an elite area for this team just because they will be holding leads and the other teams will essentially go into pass first. Plus there is usually a garbage time TD in the makes and taking risks going for the flashy plays can leave you vulnerable on the back end. It won't matter to the team since the lead would be good enough that they aren't coming back but the stats won't look great just because of that.

 

Now the good news for the defense is that if the Denver offense actually has a bad out(who knows, maybe the Seattle game?), the team would still have a chance since the defense is better than last year. That was the goal with the team because as we saw in the Super Bowl, when the offense couldn't do anything, the team just looked lost. Now at least when the offense doesn't show up, the defense can provide that extra spark. 

[TDubbs]

Yeah, sacks and TOs will probably be higher for a team that has a lead most of the time, but total yards and even points could be higher as well. I think the Ravens were hoping to be a team last year that could play with a lead and the pass-rushers go to work, but because the offense was so bad it never really worked out that way.

 

I'm very confident the Ravens will be that team this year. An improved running game (hard not to improve) to set the tone for the offense is going to be huge. We should be able to hit some quick strike play action TD's on teams early in games. IF our defense can play with a lead here or there, our rotation of pass rushers will be lethal. 

[ravensdan]

Truth. Also factor in that Denver enjoys the benefit of Peyton Manning .. So more often than not, the defense gets to play with a lead. Von and Ware get to pin their ears back and rush; Their sick secondary gets to ball hawk. Definitely a recipe for success.

Actually, the Denver offense scoring tons of points will likely be the biggest reason their D won't Finnish that high statistically. They will surrender a lot of garbage yards and points.

[sflegend89]

Our defense just didn't feel like it was up to Baltimore Ravens' standards last year. Only natural I suppose when you lose 2 HOFers and the offense is a 3 and out machine.

 

I think we can and will get back to being a top 10 defense this season. The offense is going to keep the chains moving more and give even more scoring support so the D can really pin their ears back and get after teams, the offensive improvements both from a coaching and personnel stand point will have a great synergistic effect on the defense. I also think CJ Mosley is in for a big rookie campaign, the trio of Smith, Mosley, Brown is going to be money.3 LB's who can chase down ball carriers all day and more importantly they can all drop into coverage and that's a great asset to have in today's NFL.

[Ravenseconbeast]

Our season will depends on how our 2nd year guys show up this season. We spent pretty much our whole draft last season to show up and pay off this year. Guys like juice, Brandon, Elam, KLM, Simon has to make some eye pop and stand out.

[Cillmatic]

I think the best defenses on paper are

1. Seattle

2. SF

3. Cincinatti

4. Buffalo

5. Denver

6. St. Louis

7. Carolina

8. Baltimore

9. Arizona

10. Cleveland

I think we'll have a better D than Denver, they have an overrated defense IMO

[GrimCoconut]

I think we'll either be top five or just outside of it.

[Ravensfan23]

I think we'll either be top five or just outside of it.

 

I easily see this happening. The biggest thing that will help the defense this year is continuity. Everyone should be another year comfortable in their positions(not including rookies). Suggs, Doom, Webb and D. Smith should all be much more comfortable in their leadership roles another year in and Ngata should be able to stick to his, lead by example style as we shouldn't be searching for leadership like we were last year.

 

Guys just didn't seem real sure of themselves on defense last year and that showed up often. This year I think we greatly improve in that area and that will lead to the defense making more game changing plays and getting off the field on 3rd downs more. I think the defense will be much more aggressive and faster this year and that'll lead to us getting back to that top 5 status.

[GrimCoconut]

I easily see this happening. The biggest thing that will help the defense this year is continuity. Everyone should be another year comfortable in their positions(not including rookies). Suggs, Doom, Webb and D. Smith should all be much more comfortable in their leadership roles another year in and Ngata should be able to stick to his, lead by example style as we shouldn't be searching for leadership like we were last year.

Guys just didn't seem real sure of themselves on defense last year and that showed up often. This year I think we greatly improve in that area and that will lead to the defense making more game changing plays and getting off the field on 3rd downs more. I think the defense will be much more aggressive and faster this year and that'll lead to us getting back to that top 5 status.

I agree. Communication should be solid throughout. With Elam, Webb, Smith, Williams, Canty, Ngata, Suggs, Dumervil, Smith all having starting experience in the NFL will be huge. That's likely 8 of your starters having existence communicating on the field together in real games. That's huge.

[Ravensfan23]

I agree. Communication should be solid throughout. With Elam, Webb, Smith, Williams, Canty, Ngata, Suggs, Dumervil, Smith all having starting experience in the NFL will be huge. That's likely 8 of your starters having existence communicating on the field together in real games. That's huge.

 

Yea and lets not forget our backups like Brown, Tyson and Chykie are at least used to playing major snaps on defense so those guys should be more comfortable as well. Don't see Cody making the team so I didn't include him.

 

Also to speak on that communication a bit more, the good thing about our rookies is that they all have a connection to our current defense and the terminology is very similar to what they had to do at Alabama and FSU, so CJ, Timmy and TB should all be able to play a bit faster then most rookies are.