Next up: Indianapolis

[PuRock]

The Colts O-Line could use some help.  So our pass rush should help negate some of Luck's success.  But he'll get his.  Our offense should fair pretty well too.  

 

Could be a back and forth battle to the finish.  

[rmcjacket23]

No, you don't understand, our guys do not do zone well. They simply do not. Against a QB like Luck, it will be a disaster. They simply do better in man coverage.

Completely disagree. I think the fan perception is that Jimmy Smith does better in man coverage, and therefore the entire defense does better in man coverage.

 

Name a single defender in the secondary, outside of Jimmy Smith, that you think is good enough to play man to man coverage against even decent NFL WRs? I mean I'm seeing guys like Wayne/Hilton/Roddy White/Julio Jones/Vincent Jackson/Mike Evans in our next 3 games, and Jimmy can't cover them all.

 

Don't know about you, but the idea of Roddy White or Reggie Wayne going man to man against Asa Jackson isn't exactly a matchup that benefits the Ravens in my opinion.

[ravensdfan]

I wonder if people would be able to pick out what zone schemes the Ravens are using on every single pass attempt during a game and when the Ravens are running man, and then to see the completion percentage of man vs zone to see if this truly is this problem the fans are making it out to be.

 

Need Callahan for those numbers. Has the patience of a saint and the precision of a surgeon when it comes to stats.

[GrimCoconut]

I wonder if people would be able to pick out what zone schemes the Ravens are using on every single pass attempt during a game and when the Ravens are running man, and then to see the completion percentage of man vs zone to see if this truly is this problem the fans are making it out to be.

I actually don't think we play that poorly in zone, but Jimmy Smith seems to be much better in man (though he isn't bad in zone either) and I think that just highlights the problem when other CBs aren't very effective. Combine that with Chykie Brown looking better in his limited action in man, and I think that's where the myth stems. I don't think Brown has the speed or the instincts to make plays on the ball in zone, and he does seem like a best fit in man coverage. Smith, I feel, can play either coverage just fine. I actually like Asa and Webb both in zone coverage. I think losing Graham hurts what Pees likes to do in the secondary, because Graham was a pretty nice CB overall, and could play both man and zone. Having Smith, Graham and Webb all being capable zone CBs was a true blessing we probably took for granted. 

 

Oh, and the lack of a true FS is really hurting this team. 

[GrimCoconut]

Completely disagree. I think the fan perception is that Jimmy Smith does better in man coverage, and therefore the entire defense does better in man coverage.

 

Name a single defender in the secondary, outside of Jimmy Smith, that you think is good enough to play man to man coverage against even decent NFL WRs? I mean I'm seeing guys like Wayne/Hilton/Roddy White/Julio Jones/Vincent Jackson/Mike Evans in our next 3 games, and Jimmy can't cover them all.

 

Don't know about you, but the idea of Roddy White or Reggie Wayne going man to man against Asa Jackson isn't exactly a matchup that benefits the Ravens in my opinion.

I think Asa would struggle in man coverage with those guys, but I don't trust him in man coverage 100% either. I actually think Asa is one of our better zone CBs at the moment. I don't think Chykie plays zone too well, though. He seems to do much better in man compared to zone, but that's without really going back and watching the tape to really analyze that. 

[redrum52]

I had this as a win. This will be the win where we start getting media attention and the Bucs loss after will get em saying how inconsistent we are (half joking about the Bucs loss).

[allblackraven]

It's going to be tough outing but I like our chances if we take care of the running game on both sides.

[GrimCoconut]

This game is going to be a good one. I actually see both defenses as lacking. Some people will look past Zach Kerr, but that guy has some real potential to be very disruptive. I'm not sure what is up with Arthur Jones, but I am guessing he won't play. That's a boon but again, I think Zach Kerr is a very talented player and I wouldn't be surprised if he is really, really disruptive and makes Yanda or someone earn their money. Redding is a good player, but he's getting older, too. I think with how the OL is playing this year, I expect them to continue to look awesome. We need to keep Werner in check. From what I understand, the Colts may be without Freeman as well, which is a nice plus for us. We know who Jackson is, but their secondary is arguably better than ours. Davis and Butler are pretty good. Toler is a nice #2 option. 

 

Luck, Wayne, Nicks, Hilton, Moncrief could cause us issues. Their OL isn't as bad as people say but it has some serious issues. I think Castonzo is a pretty good LT, but we will have to see how the entire OL does. Allen and Fleener are a very nice TE duo so that's something to really watch. I'm not very worried about Richardson, though I am concerned about him going against Daryl Smith. Same goes for Bradshaw. This is a game where I think we need very solid play from the LBs. I don't see the Colts OL getting a ton of push, so that will help, but Bradshaw and Richardson are both power backs, to an extent. 

 

Fleener and especially Allen need to be checked. Allen can do some serious damage if he is left unchecked. I'd like to say Arthur Brown should be in this one, but we all know how that will likely go. 

[GrimCoconut]

I had this as a win. This will be the win where we start getting media attention and the Bucs loss after will get em saying how inconsistent we are (half joking about the Bucs loss).

I would not be surprised to see us win against Indy and lose to the Buccaneers. I don't think TB will be an easy team. 

[Static]

I would not be surprised to see us win against Indy and lose to the Buccaneers. I don't think TB will be an easy team. 

 

I have the Bucs and Titans as trap games. But the consistency im seeing out of this offense they might not disappear on  the road like in years past. 

[ravensdfan]

Completely disagree. I think the fan perception is that Jimmy Smith does better in man coverage, and therefore the entire defense does better in man coverage.

 

Name a single defender in the secondary, outside of Jimmy Smith, that you think is good enough to play man to man coverage against even decent NFL WRs? I mean I'm seeing guys like Wayne/Hilton/Roddy White/Julio Jones/Vincent Jackson/Mike Evans in our next 3 games, and Jimmy can't cover them all.

 

Don't know about you, but the idea of Roddy White or Reggie Wayne going man to man against Asa Jackson isn't exactly a matchup that benefits the Ravens in my opinion.

 

Not certain of Asa either way right now tbh. Brown is clearly better in man, as is Smith. Webb was decent in either but not sure when he's ever coming back at this point, and do know he won't be 100% ready to play with all the time he's missed.

 

Stewart is bad bad bad in zone. Brooks is only a step above him, of course that is based on very limited action right now. Not saying Stewart is lights out in man but he is way better than when in zone.

 

The point is our players are not good at zone coverage. Couple that with a 4 man rush - it is just asking for failure and that is what we get. So far we have not played a really good QB imo and we've made the likes of Andy Dalton and Hoyer look like Peyton Manning.

 

In other words, we've been getting away with major zone coverage errors. Luck will take advantage. Not saying you abandon zone, that would be absurd, but you can't rely on it as Pees does.

[GrimCoconut]

I have the Bucs and Titans as trap games.

Buccaneers, Titans and Jaguars are all games we could lose. I know two of them are at home, but the Jaguars are that kind of team that can be dangerously bad. You know, you expect them to be bad and they end up playing out of their minds. You have to figure some of these teams are bad teams on the rise, and I can see any of those three teams rising in the coming years. 

[ravens rule]

I think we gonna lose at Indy or TB. If we win both those road games I'll be surprised.

[PuRock]

I have the Bucs and Titans as trap games. But the consistency im seeing out of this offense they might not disappear on  the road like in years past. 

 

Yea, this team seems to be more consistent than years past.  We don't seem to hit those same lolls as we did offensively in the past few years.  Bucs will be tough but we should fair fine against the Titans.  

[ravens533]

Which ever team makes the least mistakes will win this game. Playing clean with no penalties giving the Colts first downs will go a long way towards us getting the win. This may come down to who has the ball last. Am hopeful that we can get the win.

[ravens rule]

I think part of the reason we hired Kubiak was to help running game travel on the road. Too many times flacco had to throw the ball 40 times. If you can run in another teams house you will always be in the game.

[Mt. Crushmore]

The Indianapolis Football Team

[1/28/01]

Ravens - 37

Indy Team - 24

[jaege]

It seems like someone is concerned about every team we are about to play. Its comical. Is there not one team on the schedule that everyone figures we will likely win?

[3-4ravdef509]

Whoever protects the ball better, luck or Joe will win. And I like our odds.

The defense has to play better though

[ellicottraven]

Luck is playing really well the past couple of games. We can't have a bend but not break attitude playing Luck or we'll get beat in Indy.

[ellicottraven]

It seems like someone is concerned about every team we are about to play. Its comical. Is there not one team on the schedule that everyone figures we will likely win?

Nope! Any given Sunday any team can beat us.

[Cillmatic]

Indy has no run game and no defense, all they can do is pass. If we can hold Hilton and Wayne we can Limit Lucks effectiveness. If we can limit Luck all we'll have to do is score on their bad defense. Easier said than done however. We're gonna need to have one hell of a pass rush and our secondary can't slack off, our safties can't afford to get lazy. If Darrien Stewart as another brain fart like he had against the Panthers I wouldn't be suprised if they put Terrence Brooks in.

[DomMcRaven]

Nope! Any given Sunday any team can beat us.

Look no further than our "best friends of the day" Tampa doing the unthinkable (lol).

[K-Dog]

Okay...

A) Am I the only one who doesn't buy into the Andrew Luck hype?

2) I think we handled Indy fairly well in the playoffs a coupla years ago, so we at least have a battle plan to build off of.

All that said I fully expect severe blood pressure issues next week.

[funky141]

Look forward to the game discussion this week..

[1/28/01]

A) Am I the only one who doesn't buy into the Andrew Luck hype?

Yes, absolutely. Kids the real deal. Smart, mucho talented and athletic as hell.

[1/28/01]

Look forward to the game discussion this week..

Suck it! Ha, kidding.

Good luck, but hope Lucks head falls off (and then gets sucessfully reattached).

[ravensdfan]

Suck it! Ha, kidding.

Good luck, but hope Lucks head falls off (and then gets sucessfully reattached).

 

That's a bit extreme perhaps. Maybe he could just feel like his head fell off and was sucessfully reattached backwards?

[ludy51]

That's a bit extreme perhaps. Maybe he could just feel like his head fell off and was sucessfully reattached backwards?

Maybe get his arm twisted around with his head.