Browns Fan’s Thoughts as the Ravens Come to Town
September 19, 2014Watch Terrance West celebrate like LeBron James
September 21, 2014Now that we’re a couple weeks into the season, there’s some game tape available on upcoming Clevealnd Browns opponents. This week, WFNY’s own Joe Gilbert and I watched the first two Ravens games and will get you prepared for the Browns match-up this Sunday.
Craig’s observations…
Coming off a big win over the New Orleans Saints, things don’t get any easier for the Cleveland Browns. They might get Jordan Cameron back. They might get Barkevious Mingo back too, but the Ravens are probably the best team the Browns have played so far in this young season. Despite having identical records at 1-1, the Ravens are (or at least have been some places) a slight favorite (-1.5) in Vegas.
The Ravens are going through an offensive transformation similar to the Browns. The Browns hired Kyle Shanahan on February 1, 2014 just one month after the Ravens hired Gary Kubiak, who Shanahan worked for in Houston.
Let’s just say Baltimore’s running game is experiencing the same kind of resurgence the Browns’ is. Through two games, Justin Forsett and Bernard Pierce have carried the ball 47 times for 239 yards. Forsett’s average yards-per-carry is a gaudy 6.6. The Browns have carried the ball 57 times with their running backs for a total of 295 yards. Ben Tate’s average was 6.8 yards before he got hurt, Terrance West is at 4.8 yards and Isaiah Crowell is at 5.4. Needless to say, both teams are running the ball a lot and doing so successfully.
From a receiving standpoint, the Ravens are officially loaded. No, they don’t have a superstar receiver like A.J. Green or even Antonio Brown, but they’ve finally replaced the tough-nosed Anquan Boldin with Steve Smith Sr. Anyone who thought Smith might not have anything left in the tank at age 35 (Craig points at self) was sorely mistaken. He leads the Ravens with 189 yards and 13 receptions. The Ravens have the speedy Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones, but their biggest threats might just be tight ends Dennis Pitta and Owen Daniels. Daniels also has played this offense before in Houston.
Watching tape of the Ravens’ victory against the Steelers (after I finished putting Band Aids on my eyes,) what I noticed most was the energy and ability of those two tight ends causing problems between linebackers and safeties. Especially considering the new-found success in the running game, those tight ends are really dangerous in play-action across the middle or even in the screen game. The play-action draws in the linebackers and both Pitta and Daniels have been better than average at finding open space. Joe Flacco has a huge arm, but I was surprised to see how well he was executing screen passes and throws to the flats to give skill players a chance to work outside with the ball in their hands.
The Ravens defense is still formidable as well, despite my inklings that they were too old and living off a past reputation. They experienced some of the same aging and turnover that the Steelers have had to deal with, but they’ve done so more gracefully. The Ravens have 22-year-old C.J. Mosely in there to go with veterans Elvis Dumervil and Terrell Suggs. I always assumed Suggs was close to done after hurting his achilles, but he must be in the top percentile of all athletes in the world because he’s still a monster at age 32. Speaking of monsters, Haloti Ngata is still collapsing the middle of offensive lines and I expect him to force Alex Mack to earn his money this week.
Lastly, despite retirements and departures of signature players, the Ravens still play a style of defense that accentuates the big play, specifically forcing fumbles. Their helmets are on the ball and their hands are always active trying to strip it. Pittsburgh had three turnovers and I know the two that I remember seeing were excellent defensive plays as much as they were mistakes by the offense.
So now that I’ve scared you all half to death, let’s talk about the matchup.
Of all the things you’ve seen the Browns do in the opening weeks, what are the keys for them on offense?
Mike Pettine said in his press conference that part of his gameplan against the Saints was to entice them to run a bit because he didn’t want Drew Brees going crazy throwing the ball. What tactic would you recommend for the defense against Flacco and the Ravens?
Do the Browns have any key mismatches in their favor on offense that the coaching staff should try to exploit?
Joe’s observations…
I believe the key for this week is the run game, pass blocking, and the slot receivers. The Browns need to continue their stellar running game this week against the Ravens. The Ravens are pretty good at defending the run, but watching their game versus the Steelers, Baltimore missed a couple tackles that extended runs. Both Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell are adept at fighting through tackles and getting extra yards after contact. If they can continue this trend, the Browns could have another good week of running the ball.
The pass blocking is key versus the tough pass rush of the Ravens. The Browns have been very good at pass blocking this season. But the team is probably facing the best pass rush so far. The key matchups on the line will be Mitchell Schwartz versus either Terrell Suggs or Elvis Dumervil and Alex Mack versus Haloti Ngata. Those are the three best pass rushers for Baltimore, so Mitchell and Mack will need to be strong against these guys.
If the team does get good pass blocking, then it bodes well for the pass offense, especially in the slot and middle of the field. The Ravens have struggled defending the middle of the field because of the poor coverage ability from their linebacker and safeties this year. The Ravens linebackers are definitely an area where the Browns should exploit throughout the game. Andrew Hawkins, Jordan Cameron (if he plays), Gary Barnidge, and the running backs can make plays when matched up against the linebackers or safeties.
The Ravens offensively are not a team that takes a lot of shots. They rely heavily on the intermediate and screen passes to gain yards through the air. They want their receivers to make plays after the catch, so the Browns will need to wrap up and bring the receivers down immediately. The secondary’s tackling, especially the linebackers’, will be huge. The tight ends are a big part of the Ravens passing game, so I think having Karlos Dansby and Chris Kirksey is the biggest advantage for the Browns. They both are pretty good in coverage and can stay with these tight ends. This will be a key matchup for the Browns’ defense.
I think the Browns can withstand the rushing game of the Ravens. A lot of the yards versus the Steelers came in the fourth quarter when the Steelers defense was tired and the Ravens had a big lead. The key to stopping the run will be for the offense to win the time of possession and allow the defense to stay fresh throughout the whole game. The Browns, though, need to improve their run defense from last week in order to subdue the Ravens running game.
I think the Browns have the personnel who match up well with the Ravens. These are not the Ravens of the past who are dominant on defense. The offense has not looked the same since its Super Bowl season. I believe the team will win on Sunday and move to 2-1 going into the bye week.
5 Comments
I like the pictures Craig after my comment on your TV appearance 🙂
The Browns will need to complete some passes preferably a few longer then say 15 yards. I expect the Ravens stout defense to key and load up for the Browns baby backs. Hoyer is going to have to find some guys. Cameron returning would be huge. As for the Browns defense they better be weary of the Smith’s because both have yet to explode especially Torrey who has been awful. I expect another close game quite possibly another decided by a field goal.
I personally think that the outcome of this game will come down to coaching and that there will be some
unconventional warfare at play in this game. This is a division game and the winner has a strong reason to be a contender in the division. Their are match-ups galore(from coaches to players) in this game that will make it interesting and if it comes down to the last few plays we will know how good we are from a player and coaching perspective based on a win or loss at the end of the game.
In my opinion this will be a game where special teams and one or two deep plays might be the deciding factor. And I think both teams know it and will take their shots. We’ll see who weathers the storm..
I don’t share a lot of optimism here. I think the Ravens matchup better against us. I’ll take their corners against our receivers. I’ll take their receivers against our corners. I’ll take their TE’s against our linebackers. Dansby and Kirksey matchup a lot better than DQ and Robertson, but not sure what LB’s can contain their TE’s.
I’ll take Flacco’s deep ball over Hoyer’s.
I’d take our running game over their front 7, but I don’t see the Ravens playing it that way. The way Hoyer threw the ball last week, I would put 8 in the box, stuff the run and make Hoyer throw into man deep on the outside. Hawkins could have a big day in the slot if he can release quick enough.
And can we have a plain old mundane day on special teams please. No more surprises.
Not being a Debbie Downer here. I think the Ravens are a really tough team and pose some difficult matchups for the Browns.
The Browns’ defensive line is going to have to do a little better at tackling on run plays. Also, we need Haden and Whitner to step it up in this one. Hoyer, I dig ya, but you need to be more accurate.