Next Up: Ravens at Cowboys, Sunday November 20th 1300

[hn68wb4]

16 minutes ago, Rav'n Maniac said:

All we can ask for is that our D limits Zeke as we won't be able to shut him down. If we can accomplish that along with generating some form of pressure on Dak, I like our chances. I expect Joe to get up for this game and hope he can perform. Let's keep the hurry up going, our O seems to perform much better in it as we were able to establish a good rhythm.

Someone needs to knock Dallas off it's perch, may as well be us!

I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that we could shut down Elliott. There's no doubt in my mind that we'll shut down up the gut with BWill and Pierce, for me the concern is with outside stuff with injured Suggs and McClellan being an accident waiting to happen. But if all 3 levels of our defense are clicking on all cylinders then I definitely think their run game can be shut down, run stuffing is our specialty and I wholly trust Jimmy one on one with Dez and Young has gained some trust out there as well. If need be we can stack the box and force Dak to beat our secondary, that's a gamble I'm comfortable taking - but I don't think we'll have to, go out and let the best run D in the league operate, magical things will happen.

The onus is on the offense in this one, move the ball and we win. Don't move the ball and the D will get tired and hand us an L.

[Cillmatic]

Even if we can't shutdown Elliot like we did to Le'veon Bell we should at least be able to contain him. Our offense is WAY more of a concern than our defense going into this game.

[Doomville]

I think witten will be a big factor this game because he is always open in the middle of the field which is where we are weak when we play zone. Zeke is obviously a huge threat too but if we cannot pressure dak, he will torch us. I am really hyped about this matchup though.

[Militant X 1]

I believe that our defense is up for the challenge and will show up big time in this game.  We need the offense to show up though!  IF the offense can come out and establish a sense of urgency and purpose early and consistently move the chains and score we have a shot to win this.  The O-line needs to stand up...keep Joe upright and protected....Joe himself needs to protect the football and the receivers need to make play after play after play.  IF that happens?  The Ravens win and stops the Cowboys from sweeping the AFC North.

GO RAVENS!!!

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

After watching Pitt basically have their way against the Cowboys defense i feel a little bit better about our Offense being able to continue some momentum gained from the Browns game. 

Idk what the status for Barry Church, Claiborne and Scandrick are, but if all 3 will be out i actually am feeling really good about this game.

They are not going to do to us what they did to Pitt's D. I'm expecting a close, ball control type game where turnovers may very well be the deciding factor. This feels like a 21-17 or 17-14 type game regardless of which way it goes.

[Rav'n Maniac]

45 minutes ago, Doomville said:

I think witten will be a big factor this game because he is always open in the middle of the field which is where we are weak when we play zone. Zeke is obviously a huge threat too but if we cannot pressure dak, he will torch us. I am really hyped about this matchup though.

I agree, Witten scares me more against our LB's than their WR's do against our CB's, although Pitt held him pretty good with 6/56 and 0 TD's.

[hn68wb4]

I don't think Webb is getting as much credit as he deserves, since the bye he's really turned his season around and is playing great, but people still routinely go out of their way to exclude him when talking about how good our secondary has been. I think he'd be getting more credit if he hadn't dropped at early pick against the Steelers, but since the bye he's almost always where he needs to be and he made a great tackle on Bell to prevent a 1st down that game.

[edthehead]

I really think we can beat them, it's really up to us

     1. they are coming off a big win and we may be underestimated

     2. If our defense just play the way it has in the past, I see the win

     3. Joe has to come in ready to play, we can not afford a slo start during an away game.

the Squellers ran successful slants Constantly  ,  

we have the personnel to slant the heck out of dallas defense   

[Tank 92]

The Ravens have to make use of the no huddle/sugar huddle in ALL games moving forward. It's been a key to offensive success since Joe has been here and showed once again against the browns that it helps tremendously in establishing a rhythm. I know they want to burn clock and shorten games, but let's make getting the offense rolling and getting TDs on the scoreboard the priority!

[Rav'n Maniac]

Dallas definitely has a weakness in the middle of the field. Pitt had success exploiting it. Seems that they were more concerned with stopping Bell and the run, leaving the middle open.

[RavensRegime]

There's a few things that concern me about this matchup. Dak makes big plays when he scrambles from the pocket. Zeke is very dangerous coming out the backfield on screens and check downs. Flacco forcing throws or being stripped of the football. Hester decision making on special teams.  If we don't beat ourselves, we will win this game!

[Ravensfan23]

14 hours ago, Militant X 1 said:

Well, for me they're kinda one in the same.  The Cowboys offense has been able to "consistently" move the chains with very few punts therefore, controlling the time of possession while running the clock down and picking up scores here and there at the same time.  

One of my friends who is a huge Cowboys fan always texts me during their games with these messages; "It's time for Zeke!" and "Look at the clock Mili!"  And man, every time he has sent me those messages, it's exactly what seems to be happening.  The Cowboys and their fans thrive off of that!  I don't know if the Ravens offense can or will be able to match that type of production in Jerry's World.  Hopefully, the Cowboys offense themselves can't either due to our defense shutting them down!  Our offense has to show up and show up BIG!!

GO RAVENS!

 

 

Oh yea I definitely get that, but it'll have to be points scored to forced the Cowboys out of that time consuming style of offense. It's gonna be a tough one no doubt. But I will say this, we clearly see what the Cowboys look like when they play up to potential. Nobody really knows what the Ravens can be if they play up to potential because they haven't done it yet. However if this offense can actually match the defense, I think Dallas is in for a surprise. 

[Tank 92]

The O line is still a huge concern, even more so now with Lewis going down. How long will it be until Flacco is hurt again?

[PurpleCity5]

1 hour ago, Tank 92 said:

The Ravens have to make use of the no huddle/sugar huddle in ALL games moving forward. It's been a key to offensive success since Joe has been here and showed once again against the browns that it helps tremendously in establishing a rhythm. I know they want to burn clock and shorten games, but let's make getting the offense rolling and getting TDs on the scoreboard the priority!

I don't want us to run the no huddle, if we're talking about controlling TOP, then obviously you don't run the no huddle. This offense hasn't been good at all and when an offense has not been playing good, then why run the no huddle? Our defense will be gasping for air. Cleveland is a team that you can play the no huddle against because of their lackluster offense, same cannot be said about Dallas.

 

I honestly think you want to make the game slow against the Cowboys. Dallas is a balanced attack and when forced to pass the ball 40 or 50 times, Dak doesn't really play that well. He's so much better when he has Elliot going on the ground. We can't forget that Dak is still a rookie and he will make rookie mistakes. Why not put the pressure on their passing attack?

[balfan23]

19 hours ago, Ravensfan23 said:

For me it's not really the T.O.P, i think the Ravens have won T.O.P in most games, it's cashing in on scoring opportunities with TDs and not Tucker or even worse penalties that push you out of range. I think the Ravens can make life tough for that Cowboys offense and even force a turnover or 2, but the offense has to score TDs.

I think it's a good indicator that the Cowboys can get Dak happy at times. The Cowboys were up around 4.8 yards per carry early in the game, but they started cutting Dak loose a bit.I think because they haven't stuck with the run game, it has given that Steelers front 7 enough confidence to feel they can stop the run. They're doing a pretty good job on Zeke in the 4th quarter. 

If i'm the Steelers the frustrating part would be that Dallas really only has made 2 plays on offense. 80 yard screen and a 50 yard broken play. However this final drive is pretty impressive. I just think it'll be a really exciting game. 

Whether right or wrong, that's the part that's caused me the most frustration. Our red zone woes aren't new ... but man, this habit of getting into FG range and then getting penalized or sacked out of range is killing me. 

If I look at our previous games, I think we've had far more instances of blowing FG opportunities than we've had getting inside the 20 and failing to get a TD. The most notable being our loss to the Raiders. There is no way we shouldn't have been able to get 6 or 7 more yards and win that game. The reason for that one was a dropped pass by Moore. We just keep finding creative ways to keep Tucker off the field and we need to better utilize our 1/2 of the season "MVP"

[PurpleCity5]

I've seen Darren Waller get open plenty of times. I know Mike Wallace and Steve smith Sr. are more enticing options but when a mans open he's open.

[PurpleCity5]

2 hours ago, hn68wb4 said:

I don't think Webb is getting as much credit as he deserves, since the bye he's really turned his season around and is playing great, but people still routinely go out of their way to exclude him when talking about how good our secondary has been. I think he'd be getting more credit if he hadn't dropped at early pick against the Steelers, but since the bye he's almost always where he needs to be and he made a great tackle on Bell to prevent a 1st down that game.

Webb has been playing some good Football lately. The tandem of Weddle/Webb is really working at the moment.

[Cillmatic]

28 minutes ago, PurpleCity5 said:

I don't want us to run the no huddle, if we're talking about controlling TOP, then obviously you don't run the no huddle. This offense hasn't been good at all and when an offense has not been playing good, then why run the no huddle? Our defense will be gasping for air. Cleveland is a team that you can play the no huddle against because of their lackluster offense, same cannot be said about Dallas.

 

I honestly think you want to make the game slow against the Cowboys. Dallas is a balanced attack and when forced to pass the ball 40 or 50 times, Dak doesn't really play that well. He's so much better when he has Elliot going on the ground. We can't forget that Dak is still a rookie and he will make rookie mistakes. Why not put the pressure on their passing attack?

This offense has historically ran well via a no huddle. You saw how quick the game changed after the first half of the Browns game when we used it.

[usmccharles]

I think I've stated it before.  If we can't put pressure on Prescott this is going to be very tough.   Our pass rush is average and their ol is the best in the league.   Unless Pees can come up with some creative plays to generate a rush,  I think this could be a rough day.  

With our run game still struggling and our passing game so inconsistent,  the pressure will be on our offense get again

[jazz1988]

19 minutes ago, Cillmatic said:

This offense has historically ran well via a no huddle. You saw how quick the game changed after the first half of the Browns game when we used it.

The Browns are also a different team than The Cowboys. I think if The Ravens can run the ball effectively then there no need to get all flashy with the no huddle. If that indeed happens then i think it's best to  run the ball and use playaction .It will control the clock, keep the defense fresh and  keep the cowboys offense from seeing the field often.

[Ravenseconbeast]

57 minutes ago, Tank 92 said:

The O line is still a huge concern, even more so now with Lewis going down. How long will it be until Flacco is hurt again?

"How long will it be until Suggs is hurt again?"

Oh right...suggs only had an amazing game thus far with a torn bicep tear.  But lets worry about poor Flacco.  

[demBoys]

On 11/11/2016 at 5:03 PM, JoeyFlex5 said:

This is a prime matchup in our favor. I'll take our run D over any teams run O. I don't see how Dallas beats us on the ground, where I do worry though is our secondary holding up, because Dallas runs and passes from base formations, we can't key in on either. We need to hope that our front seven can adjust on the fly on every snap, we can't play in attack mode. Our line has to stay disciplined and not think they can pin their ears back and get after the qb, they gotta maintain gap integrity, plug holes, and not get excited and try to penetrate every play because it will leave a home somewhere and it will be exploites, we can't call a heavy blitz because we gotta be prepared for a run, paas, or dump off, we need man on the outsides and zone in the middle with a 4 man rush and a read and react game plan from our LBs. safeties can't bite, they have to stay the safety net to avoid giving up big chunks on the ground and they can't give up deep balls from play action. 

I think our offense will continue where they left off. The defense, for once, is what worries me here. It's a great strength on strength matchup but their run game is so good that we can't commit to their pass game and we gotta hope our secondary can win this game for us with no help.

This will be another great test for Dallas -lucky for us (that's right Cowboys fan crashing your threads) Romo's not QB1 as you guys noted (BirdsGottaFeed is his handle?) that the Squealer (isn't that what ya'll call 'em) game really showed the measure of our offensive fight and indomitable will to win. Whereas Romo chokes or flat-out loses every time he's played you guys, Dak is clutch! Time to flip the script, turn the page, move on and beat the Birds. I really wish this game was IN B-more - Packers, Squealers, and then Baltimore in Baltimore would be a trifecta (some AWESOME scalps) but it is what it is. Hey guys can't wait for the kickoff.

[Ravensfan23]

41 minutes ago, PurpleCity5 said:

I don't want us to run the no huddle, if we're talking about controlling TOP, then obviously you don't run the no huddle. This offense hasn't been good at all and when an offense has not been playing good, then why run the no huddle? Our defense will be gasping for air. Cleveland is a team that you can play the no huddle against because of their lackluster offense, same cannot be said about Dallas.

 

I honestly think you want to make the game slow against the Cowboys. Dallas is a balanced attack and when forced to pass the ball 40 or 50 times, Dak doesn't really play that well. He's so much better when he has Elliot going on the ground. We can't forget that Dak is still a rookie and he will make rookie mistakes. Why not put the pressure on their passing attack?

No huddle doesn't have to mean up tempo. You can run the no huddle or sugar huddle to keep the Dallas defense on the field opposed to allowing them to sub. For example, if the Ravens are in 12 personnel(1RB, 2TEs, 2WRs) and the Cowboys come out in a base defense to be able to defend the run, the Ravens can flex either Pitta or Waller if not both out wide to take advantage of them matched up on a LB or S. If Dallas is forced to put a Safety on Waller who is basically a WR, than that leaves single high coverage with plenty of room for Waller, SSS and Perriman to run those crosses and slants that have been successful the past 2 weeks. On the filp side if they choose to defend that flormation with a nickle package, the run game creates the matchup problem and playaction becomes huge. 

Of course this is easier said than done, just pointing out that no huddle can be used to force the defenses hand and still play ball control offense. On another note, if you can come out fast in no huddle, take advantage of scoring opportunities and shut down the run in the put pressure on Dak to carry that offense. No team in their 9 games have forced Dak to put the offense on his shoulders. Yes he was down by 10 vs Philly and lost to NYG, but neither game put Dallas in position to even think about abandoning the run. I can see this game playing out just like the Steelers game. The defense smothers the run enough to force Dak to make 3rd and long throws early in the game. The question is, can the offense actually capitalize on scoring drives where they didn't vs the Steelers.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

7 minutes ago, demBoys said:

This will be another great test for Dallas -lucky for us (that's right Cowboys fan crashing your threads) Romo's not QB1 as you guys noted (BirdsGottaFeed is his handle?) that the Squealer (isn't that what ya'll call 'em) game really showed the measure of our offensive fight and indomitable will to win. Whereas Romo chokes or flat-out loses every time he's played you guys, Dak is clutch! Time to flip the script, turn the page, move on and beat the Birds. I really wish this game was IN B-more - Packers, Squealers, and then Baltimore in Baltimore would be a trifecta (some AWESOME scalps) but it is what it is. Hey guys can't wait for the kickoff.

It'll be a good game, but you can bet we're not gonna give up the chunks to Zeke like the Steelers D did.

Remember, we didnt need a last second thriller to beat them. We handled them easily 21-0 up until garbage time.

[Ravensfan23]

9 minutes ago, demBoys said:

This will be another great test for Dallas -lucky for us (that's right Cowboys fan crashing your threads) Romo's not QB1 as you guys noted (BirdsGottaFeed is his handle?) that the Squealer (isn't that what ya'll call 'em) game really showed the measure of our offensive fight and indomitable will to win. Whereas Romo chokes or flat-out loses every time he's played you guys, Dak is clutch! Time to flip the script, turn the page, move on and beat the Birds. I really wish this game was IN B-more - Packers, Squealers, and then Baltimon Baltimore would be a trifecta (some AWESOME scalps) but it is what it is. Hey guys can't wait for the kickoff.

That was a great game no doubt and I give the Cowboys all the credit for pulling it out. It was definitely a clutch performance. However that Steelers defense is nowhere near the caliber of the Ravens D and they are playing at an extremely high level right now. I look at this like the Super Bowl last year. A high powered offense that's good no doubt but hasn't really be tested against a top notched defense that can take away your biggest asset. I'm very impressed with Zeke and that oline but they will have their hands full this game no doubt.

My question to you is, have you guys had any game where the run game was completely taken away from you guys and if so, how did your offense respond?

[demBoys]

17 minutes ago, Ravensfan23 said:

That was a great game no doubt and I give the Cowboys all the credit for pulling it out. It was definitely a clutch performance. However that Steelers defense is nowhere near the caliber of the Ravens D and they are playing at an extremely high level right now. I look at this like the Super Bowl last year. A high powered offense that's good no doubt but hasn't really be tested against a top notched defense that can take away your biggest asset. I'm very impressed with Zeke and that oline but they will have their hands full this game no doubt.

My question to you is, have you guys had any game where the run game was completely taken away from you guys and if so, how did your offense respond?

Good question. I think that Giants game was the closest to your scenario and we still would have won if T-Will had  enough football IQ to know to step out of bounds so we could kick the game winning field goal (good Lord, does the coach have to spell EVERYTHING out!???). Win or lose I expect an awesome game, and frankly an "L" could be better preparation for the Cowboys playoff hopes than a "W" - but you guys will really have to "bring it!". Cowboys have not peaked yet, not even close, as this team is still basically learning how to play with Dez in the lineup and still do what makes it great (spread the ball around) to stop the D from loading 9 in the box so Zeke can be Zeke...

 

Edited November 14, 2016 by demBoys

[flynismo]

Based on the matchups, it isn't extremely optimistic, but terrible either. We're going to find out exactly what Dak is made of, how he performs without a running game to take the load off of him. We will contain Elliot, that isn't my concern, my concern is our pass rush not getting pressure on time and letting that kid move around in the backfield.

[January J]

All we gotta do is do what we do best which is run defense. Cut the head off the snake and they will fall. The team runs through Zeke. Dak is good but he is going to eventually have a poor game, 7 or 8 wins in a row they are due for a loss. Coming off a hard fought battle against Pittsburgh and they barely squeaked it out.  We got 10 days rest And our defense is light years ahead of Pittsburgh, esp our rush defense. Sucks lewis is most likely down for a few games atleast but atleast we SHOULD get yanda back. I worry about our offense but if we can put up atleast 20 and play sound mistake free football we've got a good chance. Hopefully we build off last weeks performance, we looked absolutely dominant in that 4th quarter. Keep dak and Zeke contained, don't let them bounce outside and just clog the middle. Maybe Dixon can really get goin too and even outperform Zeke. Wouldn't that be something? Hoping west steps it up and bounces back BC he hasn't quite looked like himself. If he does then maybe we can just beat them at their own game. Pounding the ball down their throat, dominating the clock and spreading out a few big plays to perriman and Wallace. Keep using Waller in the redzone and feed SSS to move the chains. Don't know where Aiken disappeared to but oh well. I think those 3 tds kinda got flacco a little condfidence back as well. This is a very winnable game I don't care what their record is. Beat Dallas and we will make a huge statement that this defense is no joke and this team is for real.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

4 minutes ago, flynismo said:

Based on the matchups, it isn't extremely optimistic, but terrible either. We're going to find out exactly what Dak is made of, how he performs without a running game to take the load off of him. We will contain Elliot, that isn't my concern, my concern is our pass rush not getting pressure on time and letting that kid move around in the backfield.

See this is where I like the match up. Most teams have had to sell out to try and stop Zeke, and that's given Dak easy throws down field. 

Dez and Witten have run down field wide open more times than I can count. 

Not to take anything away from Dak... but we can stop the run without stacking the box. You don't run up the middle with BWill and Pierce in there. So we should be able to minimize their greatest asset while staying honest on the back end. 

Plus I don't think Dak has faced anyone like Weddle who can disguise things and move around pre-snap like he can. 

It had Big Ben befuddled all game. It'll be a challenge for young Dak to win that mental battle and put the ball in the right place. 

And i think Jimmy matches up about as well with Dez as almost any corner in the game. 

Its a game of strength vs strength and weakness on weakness. 

Pass rush vs their OL is the marquee. I agree there. 

But if they're without Church, Scandrick, and Claiborne again that might just give enough edge to balance out the pass rush vs OL matchup. 

[PurpleCity5]

1 hour ago, Cillmatic said:

This offense has historically ran well via a no huddle. You saw how quick the game changed after the first half of the Browns game when we used it.

Cleveland has the 31st ranked defense and there offense was no threat to capitalize on being on the field. Offense surely played better up-tempo but that doesn't.happen every given week. Dallas offense is the exact opposite. Saints did a good job of playing a patient offense against the Colts in the SB, slowing down the tempo and controlling the clock. A great example of what teams should do when playing elite offenses. Eagles did the same thing against the Falcons on Sunday.