The Ravens are a uniquely weird team in Week 14 of the NFL season.
They're weird because their QB position is a great unknown.
Joe Flacco is, of course, the world's most underwhelming Super Bowl MVP, and has sucked this year. We know who he is, we have millions of hours of underwhelming tape to depressingly watch. And he returned to practice this week, but did not play, Eric Berry style.
But that might change. He may see the field.
Which is interesting, because their backup QB, Lamar Jackson, a 1st round selection by the Ravens (albeit with the 32nd pick), is a very weird player. He runs, and runs, and runs with the ball. His completion percentage is a not-terrible 60%. And he's only played three weeks, so tape on him is slim.
We know this: he is fast, he is not afraid to run the ball, and he's a damn gazelle when he does.
The good news: we can probably spy him. His weapons are bleak. Alex Collins is his #1 RB, and he's averaging 3.6 yards a carry. His #1 receiver is John Brown, who initially looked like Tyreek Hill when he first hit the league, but has since statistically slowed down and is now just a good receiver with very difficult speed to account for. Michael Crabtree is their #2 alongside Willie Snead, and Tyreek Hill has more yardage than both of those guys combined, but Crabtree has had good games against us in the past.
As a result, the Ravens are still somehow 13th in the league in yardage, they are averaging 25 points a game.
The Ravens have good pass protection, as they've only given up like 25 sacks or something like that. Ronnie Stanley is their LT.
But really, the Ravens offense wins by trying to run the ball, passing decently, and then letting Lamar Jackson get creative.
As far as the defense is concerned.................. biggest test of the year right here folks.
#1 rated defense in yardage (they're allowing under 300 yards/game).
#1 rated defense in points (they're allowing 17 points/game).
I think it's safe to say we're going to beat those averages but they should still slow us down pretty significantly. I don't know if Patty will have another 4 TD game here.
The Ravens get good pressure on the QB -- they're 9th in the league in sacks, and the pressure comes from everywhere. Suggs has always played well against us but he only has 5.5 this year. They blitz a good amount.
Simply put, the Ravens pass defense will be the biggest challenge Mahomes faces all year. They're allowing under 200 yards passing all season. Eric Weddle is a goddamn general at the back of their defense, and they've got a solid corner or two despite the fact that none of their corners are true ballhawks. Brandon Carr will make a rare appearance against the Chiefs, which is whatever, but he's apparently playing well.
The Ravens have a mean defensive line, and maybe the meanest NT in the league in Brandon Williams. I'm willing to bet they drop everyone in coverage, smother Kelce, and dare Spencer Ware to beat their DL. That's a very tall order, and I don't think our run game is up to the challenge. Mahomes will need to tap every ounce of his MVP talent to get yardage.
In special teams, they have arguably the greatest kicker in modern NFL history in Justin Tucker. They've had one punt return for a TD.
They're 7-5. They're on a three game win streak. Lamar Jackson has started all three games.
Their wins: Bills, Broncos, @Steelers, @Titans, Bengals (no Dalton), Raiders, @Falcons
Losses: @Bengals (Dalton), @Browns, Saints, @Panthers, Steelers
That schedule is all over the place. They beat Pitt in Pitt, but pathetically lose to the Browns. The most damning game on the schedule is the Saints game, where they only lost by a point.
How is this team so good? I've asked before. They have no elite talent on offense and are still racking up yardage and point. They have a damn good defense but don't intercept the ball and they don't have any sack masters like the Chiefs do.
Originally Posted by Jaydee414:
Greetings.
Ravens season tix holder since inception, and BALTIMORE COLTS tix holder before that.
Couple of thoughts from the banks of the Chesapeake:
Ravens have been notoriously weak vs TE’s. Expect Kelce to have a huge day. CJ Mosely and our other ILB’s are NOT good in coverage.
Ravens S are slow. Yes, Weddle is an excellent Field General, but neither he nor Jefferson can cover Arthur Bryant, let alone the KC receivers. Chuck Clark is a better cover S, but very raw.
Spencer Ware scares no one. The Ravens DL should be able to minimize his impact. Hunt would have had a field day bouncing outside.
I have been at Arrowhead for a game. I have been nowhere else as loud as your place when you guys are rocking it. Lamar may well have issues communicating with the crowd noise.
IMO, the best chance the Ravens have for a W is to hog the ball, run up the TOP, and hope to put pressure on Mahomes. Otherwise, this could be real ugly. I see you guys winning 31- 17
If you guys can stick to running the ball, you have a very real chance to be there in the end. Denver was right there until they went derpy and Elway had to prove he's a genius by letting Keenum start tossing the ball all over.
That said, the formula for KC all season has been to defer the kickoff (I think they've only received in the 1st half twice all season...maybe three times (?)), get a stop early, get a quick score, get another stop (or field goal), get another score, then go straight derp on defense and force the offense to stay aggressive. It's worked 10 times. Basically if KC gets up 14 early, it's typically bad news because it forces other teams to try and catch up...which they can do because our defense is butthole. That said, our offense has pretty well kept pace all year; especially when needed.
The two losses we had came in the final 2 minutes of the game when our defense dropped a yam on the field and played "fling the pooh" with each other instead of playing defense.
Originally Posted by chinaski:
I just checked out the Ravens forum, purplepassiondrinkers.com or something like that, and we are in their heads. Mahomes is in their head.
In their head
In their hea-yyy-ed-ed
Zombo, Zombo, Zombo bo bo bobo
Mahomes causes damage on and off the field
Love that so many rival fans are “tired” of the Mahomes hype. It’s just getting started:-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by dwwataz:
Wait til he wins a Superbowl or two...
Rams and Saints forums had long threads discussing this. As if he didn’t deserve it. If a Kansas City quarterback is getting more hype than the Rams and an alltime great like Brees, then he probably deserves it.
But oh, KC is such a huge market (said the Rams fans) and KC is such a “historic and important franchise” said the Saints fans (you can’t make this stuff up):-).
Mahomes bringing more enjoyment (and tears to rivals) than I ever thought possible. We couldn’t have drafted a better QB. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mikezpen:
That's the disaster scenario I fear for the Ravens, your going up quick like that.In such a case, the crowd gets into it, you have all the momentum,and you could roll up a big score.
But what if we go up 7-0? Oftentimes, the Ravens D gives up a score on the opponent's first possession as they try to find what works.But even if you score, you're only tied, and we have the ball right back.Momentum isn't established, and we have a chance to re-gain the initiative.
That's why we need to start well in this one, not fall behind. We shouldn't defer if we win the coin flip. Keep the ball and come out throwing; hell, I'd go deep on the very first play.
You guys are supremely confident. I get it, that's cool. I think both teams will have to deal with new challenges. Turnovers will be the difference. [Reply]
Originally Posted by camdenyard:
You guys are supremely confident. I get it, that's cool. I think both teams will have to deal with new challenges. Turnovers will be the difference.
Originally Posted by camdenyard:
You guys are supremely confident. I get it, that's cool. I think both teams will have to deal with new challenges. Turnovers will be the difference.
You have lost, you just don't know it yet.
With the Chiefs of the past, I wouldn't say things like this. But with Mahomes, it's completely different now. Seriously, you are going to lose. [Reply]
Originally Posted by camdenyard:
You guys are supremely confident. I get it, that's cool. I think both teams will have to deal with new challenges. Turnovers will be the difference.
The confidence comes from having a guy like Mahomes under center. As for turnovers, KC is good at forcing fumbles (3 fumbles last week.
And most importantly, Lamar Jackson is more likely to throw an interception than Mahomes. Look at their TD/INT ratios. Plus he’s a rookie and I’m not certain if he can fully read defenses yet.
Ravens have a shot but when you have a guy like Mahomes it’s difficult seeing yourselves losing to any team at home [Reply]
Originally Posted by camdenyard:
You guys are supremely confident. I get it, that's cool. I think both teams will have to deal with new challenges. Turnovers will be the difference.
But even then teams need multiple TO to beat Mahomes.
Rams forced 5 and still only won by 3 in the closing seconds. You're going to have to cut off the arms, legs and head if a team is going to beat KC. [Reply]
