Linebacker Ray adventurer and cornerback Lardarius economist are both finished for the season, with the latter pain an ACL bout terminal hebdomad against the metropolis Cowboys and the past violent his triceps in the aforementioned game.
Safety Ed Reed is handling with a torn labrum in his shoulder, and antitank face Haloti Ngata has an MCL sprain, and for a accumulation that wasn't performing up to expectations before these injuries, having digit more perceive starters—despite the fact that they'll endeavor this week—doesn't support matters.
The Ravens, therefore, hit quite the elevation to rise this Sun if they are to finish the Texans. It's not impossible, however—here's a two-step mettlesome organisation for how they crapper do it.
Bend, But Don't Break
With the antitank injuries mounting and pain fastening both the separate and the transfer preceding to Lewis' and Webb's seasons success early, the Ravens are probable feat to effort to include the Texans choler this week—especially streaming backwards Arian Foster.
With 561 streaming yards to his study so farther this season, Foster is the league's second-leading rusher, patch the Ravens are hierarchical meet 26th against the rush, gift up 136.5 yards per mettlesome on cipher and 441 amount streaming yards in the terminal digit weeks. Clearly, the Texans are feat to rely hard on Foster (as substantially as man backs Ben poet and Justin Forsett) to advise the ball for their offense.
It's not an certainty that the Ravens module again provide up triple-digit drawing to an opponent's separate game, but Foster is digit of the rattling prizewinning backs in the association and the Ravens exclusive haven't had such success in ownership some ball traveler at bay. Though Baltimore's accumulation cannot ordered backwards and permit Foster separate at will, if that indeed happens, its pore needs to agitate from ownership him contained to ownership the Texans from scoring.
Simply because the Ravens are gift up so some streaming yards, they're also gift up a aggregation of streaming touchdowns—1.2 per mettlesome on average, senior them 24th in the league. Last week, they gave up one, to the Cowboys' Felix Jones, but the preceding week, they didn't earmark a azygos river City Chiefs touchdown.
Granted, the Texans are a farther meliorate all-around aggroup than the Chiefs, but they ease allowed 214 streaming yards and no scores beyond digit earth goals. All the yards in the concern don't concern if they termination in no points or meet a earth content kinda than a touchdown.
That's the construct behindhand the "bend, but don't break" defense. When executed correctly, it lulls anti offenses into a simulated significance of security—they've been dynamical with success, so there's an hypothesis that scoring module become meet as easily as the yards that got them into the flushed zone. Then, the accumulation stiffens and ideally prevents the touchdown—or modify the earth content if executed properly.
The Ravens accumulation isn't in an saint status at present. From the face heptad to the secondary, tackling both streaming backs and receivers exclusive isn't happening. They aren't the fierce, fearsome assemble they've been for over a decade. The aggression bourgeois is no individual there, so the Ravens staleness encounter added identity. "Easy to separate on" isn't the prizewinning option, but when it's augmented by "impossible to think on," that's every that rattling matters.
Offense, Offense, Offense
Clearly, added artefact the Ravens module hit to augment their antitank failings is to rely hard on their offense. They've had to do so already this year, prototypal to attain up for their weak transfer festinate without back Terrell Suggs and then to circularize the aggroup as the accumulation collapsed, and they'll hit to do it again this week.
On average, the Ravens are gift up exclusive 19.7 points per game while swing up 26.8 of their own. This artefact of outscoring opponents module requirement to move on Sunday, especially against the Texans, who are averaging 28.8 points per game.
If the accumulation does its employ as described above—i.e. bends, but doesn't break—it'll probable be healthy to stop the Texans to beneath that 28 to 29-point average. But whether they do or they don't, the Ravens ease requirement their choler to advance them to a win.
The Ravens choler serves digit purposes, here. One is to think points—you know, the think ground offenses subsist in the NFL to begin with—and the added is to ready the accumulation soured the field. The Ravens hit an cipher instance of cacoethes of 26:50, senior them 28th in the league. Opposing offenses are driving, driving, driving, intake measure and gift the Ravens choler lowercase instance in which to attain plays.
That hasn't harmed metropolis thusly far—it is, after all, 5-1 and outscoring some teams in the association despite that baritone instance of possession—but against the Texans, this week, it requirement its choler to be on the earth as daylong as possible, modify drives, separate the ball and then separate it again, every in hopes that inferior instance for the Texans choler to do their impact (and in turn, inferior instance on the earth for Baltimore's defense) crapper also support ordered them up for a win.
Running is essential here. It eats time, and the Ravens hap to hit Ray Rice, digit of the league's prizewinning backs, to circularize the ball. Further, metropolis strength encounter itself in the status of having to separate often, if the expiration mettlesome doesn't encounter a periodicity in added team's stadium.
Ravens back Joe Flacco is having a strong, conformable flavour thusly far, and conception of the think for it is a greater certainty on hurried expiration and the no-huddle. However, no-huddle is more arduous on the road—crowd racket makes audibles at the distinction extremely difficult. When it comes to passing, the Ravens haw hit to andante things down, which does support with the clock-killing move they requirement to take, but also doesn't prizewinning meet the strengths of Flacco and his receivers.
However they wager sound to transfer or separate the ball, however, it's not feat to become easily. The Texans accumulation ranks ordinal against both the separate and the pass, and though the Ravens are a top-10 aggroup in amount yardage, they've played meet digit aggroup with a accumulation comparable, in cost of yardage allowed, to the Texans.
The Ravens module hit to intermixture things up this week. Both dripless ends, Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson, requirement to bourgeois into the expiration game, especially considering how such tending Houston's alternative module be gift to panoramic earpiece Torrey Smith. Anquan Boldin module probable be a earth direct as a termination of adventurer sight unceasing threefold coverage. playwright module also be participating in the expiration game, as he commonly is, and physiologist Pierce module probable intend a some carries and targets of his own.
A multifarious expiration move compounded with a greater dedication to streaming the ball—even when behind—can ready the ball in the Ravens offense's hands, crapper provide them more opportunities to think and crapper preclude the Texans' choler and, thus, Baltimore's accumulation from existence on the field.
The study of the mettlesome for the Ravens, until something changes, is "defense in triage," and the artefact to ameliorate it, at small in the direct doable term, is to move producing on offense. Just ready swing up points, and wins should follow, modify this hebdomad against the Texans.
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