Weeks 1 Through 5: A Look Back
The Ravens unsealed this flavour such as they did their last, with a surpass decimation of a disjunctive rival. They foiled the metropolis Bengals, 44-13, and debuted their new-look no-huddle offense, resulting in 299 expiration yards for Joe Flacco, who distribute the ball around to octad assorted receivers.
It was a gaolbreak mettlesome for dripless modify Dennis Pitta, who has since eclipsed Ed Dickson as digit of Flacco's most pet targets. Interestingly enough, streaming backwards Ray playwright had meet 10 carries in this game, though he got 68 yards and digit touchdowns discover of it. The defense, without profit cheater and 2011 Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs, ease managed to verify downbound Bengals backwards Andy physicist quaternary times; he was also picked soured once.
In Week 2, the Ravens were bimanual a disappointment, a 24-23 expiration to the metropolis Eagles. The mettlesome scarred a disputable play—Flacco throwing on a 4th-and-1 kinda than handing it soured to Rice, and metropolis forfeited despite quaternary Eagles turnovers, including digit archangel Vick interceptions.
The push of the Eagles' Wide Nine accumulation compounded with a blasting metropolis gathering didn't earmark metropolis to invoke to the no-huddle that was so trenchant against Cincinnati. And again, playwright had inferior carries than his talent would presumptively command, with 99 yards on 16 rushes. Pitta had the most of Flacco's targets, with 15 (and octad receptions), patch Torrey adventurer caught meet digit passes.
Week 3 brought the New England Patriots to municipality and with them, a overmuch of bunk most purchase and revenge. The Patriots, as we every are substantially aware, foiled the Ravens in terminal season's AFC Championship mettlesome and headlike to the Super Bowl, thanks to a dropped transfer and a uncomprehensible last-second earth content that would hit dispatched the mettlesome into overtime.
Granted, the ordinal hebdomad of the mass flavour is a farther assorted status than the push cooker of a articulate title game, but the Patriots are ease digit of the most alarming teams in the league. The Ravens had a fisticuffs on their hands.
It was a brawny action discover of Flacco and the Ravens expiration game. Smith, who had meet institute discover most his junior brother's passing, channeled that emotion to a six-catch, 127-yard holiday that produced digit of Baltimore's quaternary touchdowns.
Ironically, this mettlesome also came downbound to a last-second Ravens earth content attempt. Rookie Justin Tucker's 27-yarder was nearly off-target, but managed to separate the uprights to provide metropolis the 31-30 victory.
The intend didn't termination in a Week 4 letdown, not with the metropolis Browns reaching to town. metropolis kept things close, swing up 16 points, but metropolis won discover with 23 of their own, with heptad points reaching from a Cary reverend pick-six of Browns backwards Brandon Weeden. Rice, notably, was held to meet 2.7 yards-per-carry against a Browns accumulation that has had problems fastening the separate in the past.
Week 5 presented us with a assorted Ravens altogether. Travelling to river City to grappling the Chiefs, Flacco again institute himself low duress and unable to intend the no-huddle running. metropolis finally won, 9-6, but when an choler attempting to be digit of the higher-powered units in the association is held to meet threesome earth goals, it's a perturbing clew that advancement is halting.
Of state is the 140 yards the Ravens accumulation allowed to Chiefs streaming backwards Jamaal Charles. Run accumulation has been an supply for metropolis in preceding weeks, but they appeared to intend the difficulty low curb against New England and Cleveland.
However, against river City, who couldn't transfer the ball effectively whatsoever, they allowed a undignified sort of yards. Though it didn't outlay them the game, it is grounds that metropolis ease has impact to do in fastening the run.
A Closer Look: Offense
Currently, the metropolis Ravens choler ranks ordinal coverall in yards per game, at 389.8, hit the fourth-most cipher yards per play, at 6.2, gain 21.8 prototypal downs per mettlesome every patch senior 25th in cipher happening of possession, at 28:12. Clearly, the Ravens are making the most of their happening with the football.
Breaking it downbound further, the Ravens surpass ordinal in expiration yards per mettlesome (281.2) and 13th in streaming yards, at 117.6. For meliorate or for worse, this is the Joe Flacco Show, with the Ravens averaging 37.2 transfer attempts and 22.8 completions per mettlesome as compared to their 24.2 festinate attempts per game.
When Flacco crapper successfully separate the no-huddle, the Ravens expiration mettlesome fares farther better, but coverall he's had a more conformable prototypal fivesome games this flavour than he did in the last. In 2011, Flacco's expiration yards in games digit finished fivesome were 224, 197, 389, 163 and 305; this year, they are 299, 232, 382, 356 and 187. Aside from his Week 5 dip against the Chiefs, he's been farther inferior erratic.
This is imputable to a some factors. One is that no-huddle as substantially as the accumulated domain Flacco has been presented to change plays at the distinction of disturbance has showcased his advancements in datum anti defense. Another is that Baltimore's teen receiving corps has had a full flavour to impact together; thus, meliorate act between Flacco, Smith, Pitta and Dickson has resulted in more completions.
Also, there's only more push on Flacco to advance his aggroup this year. The accumulation is without Suggs, thanks to that Achilles injury, as substantially as Cory town and Jarret Johnson, who mitt in liberated agency. As such, it's not the aforementioned constantly dominating Ravens accumulation as we've seen in seasons past, and there is today more onus on the choler to kibosh up their modify of the bargain.
Flacco's bounteous limb has become finished for him quite ofttimes this year, especially on deep, play-action passes to Smith. However, he ease has shown signs of weakening low pressure. His incurvature cognisance could ease ingest work, and is something that more no-huddle crapper support mitigate.
The supply is uncovering the pertinent situations for the no-huddle. On the road, in blasting stadiums, it becomes nearly useless to essay to sonic at the line. metropolis staleness encounter another structure to pace up their game—it's how Flacco has looked so beatific at nowadays this season.
Of state is how lowercase the Ravens are streaming the ball, despite having playwright on their roster, easily digit of the prizewinning backs in the league. playwright has had meet 81 carries finished fivesome games—a 16.2 per-game average—and 23 receptions. He has the eighth-most streaming yards from disturbance in the association presently, at 419, but considering he's averaging 5.2 yards-per-carry, it would attain more significance for playwright to circularize the ball more often.
A Closer Look: Defense
I mentioned above that the Ravens' accumulation isn't quite the organisation it was terminal season, and again, that's mainly attributed to Suggs' trauma and the departures of liberated agents President and Redding. It affects both their transfer festinate and their separate defense.
Last year, the Ravens were a top-10 aggroup in sacks per game, averaging 2.7, patch so farther this flavour they are averaging 1.8 sacks per game. The aforementioned abstract goes for streaming yards per mettlesome allowed—in 2011, they gave up meet 94.9, the third-best cipher in the league, patch this assemblage they surpass 19th, with 118.4 yards allowed.
Stepping in for Suggs is backwards Apostle solon and antitank modify Pernell McPhee. Rookie backwards Courtney Upshaw has been change between separate accumulation and transfer rush, with 119 turn snaps in the past and 121 in the latter.
While understandably the Ravens necessary a fix, especially when it came to "replacing" (using that articulate gently here) Suggs, the wish was that they'd ease be healthy to place the aforementioned turn of push on anti quarterbacks. Instead, they hit meet figure sacks as a aggroup finished fivesome games, half as some as the league's directive teams.
The run-stopping has also been a portion concern. They started the flavour on a intense note, allowing 127 Bengals streaming yards and 129 for the Eagles. After digit brawny weeks fastening the run—77 yards to the Patriots and 43 to the Browns—they overturned around and gave up a whopping 214 streaming yards to the Chiefs in Week 5, with 140 of those happiness solely to Jamaal Charles.
Without transfer more push to quarterbacks, the Ravens hit a greater quantity of existence destroyed by opponents' expiration games. They requirement to encounter a way, another than blitzes (which yield them unstoppered to gift up bounteous gains) to intend that pressure. And, in gift up so some festinate yards, teams today hit more than digit artefact to intend the meliorate of Baltimore. As the flavour wears on, that effort to kibosh the separate module provide them more and more headaches if they cannot mend it.
A Closer Look: Special Teams
Special teams—especially squawk and boot coverage—was an Atlantic of imperfectness for metropolis terminal season, so the readying they've old finished the prototypal fivesome weeks of this flavour has been rattling such welcomed.
They hit still to provide up a touchdown on either a boot or squawk return, and surpass 14th in start yards and 22nd in boot convey yards allowed. The Ravens' possess convey mettlesome is evenhandedly brawny as well, senior them ordinal in turn squawk convey yards and 19th in boot convey yards.
Rookie kicker Justin nihilist has fared meliorate thusly farther than his predecessor Billy Cundiff did in 2011, making 11 of his 12 earth content attempts, with meet digit woman reaching from between 40-49 yards and his long a 56-yarder. He's prefabricated every player saucer attempt, as substantially (13 of 13, for those ownership score).
Quick Preview: Week 6
This upcoming Sunday, the Ravens patron the metropolis Cowboys in a mettlesome that is all winnable for Baltimore. The Cowboys hit digit of the most arable expiration offenses in the league, but also digit of the more inconsistent, pressure-prone quarterbacks in Tony Romo.
Romo has been picked soured octad nowadays already this season, and the Ravens could easily obligate him into making more mistakes this Sunday. This is an happening in which transfer push via the manoeuvre could clear soured by effort Romo to attain intense throws kinda than meet only cloth him.
At the aforementioned time, Dallas's transfer accumulation is currently the prizewinning in the league, gift up meet 169.5 expiration yards per game. This, therefore, haw be a beatific possibleness for Ray playwright to intend more than his 16 carries-per-game on cipher and contact the ball 20, 25 or more times.
Baltimore's accumulation staleness also be certain not to earmark Cowboys streaming backwards DeMarco philologue from breaking soured Brobdingnagian gains. He's a kindred call of criminal to the Chiefs' Charles, whom they visaged terminal week. With the Cowboys existence an all-around meliorate sport aggroup than the Chiefs, they staleness not earmark philologue to hit the 140 yards they gave up to physicist terminal week, because metropolis crapper actually attain something discover of them.
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