Game plan: What would you do against Baltimore?

[joeshmo]

last thing I read was that Ray Lewis had a torn tricep muscle. Was that misdiagnosed? Because I see he is still playing? Anyone know?

It was never torn in the first place. It was a quote from Ray Lewis making his own diagonsis right after the game he hurt it in.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Protect Matt and the ball...... Get to McNair and stay aggressive on D.

It's that easy.

Turnovers are Baltimore's M.O.

Rey does have a torn Tricep. He admitted to it during the Maryland, West Virginia game on ESPN last week. He says he can play with the pain and I believe him.

 

[cardsfanmd]

One cool little thing about this game will be the special teams showdown. Baltimore lost their awesome return man, BJ Sams, in the first game and we will now face Yamon Figurs. He and Breaston were the 2nd and 3rd rated returners (behind Ginn Jr) in the draft this year.

 

[Lagerfilled]

The gameplan isn't all that different than how we defended the 9er's.

 

[cardsfanmd]

Pass, Pass, Pass - Over the top and underneath - Rolle has been getting beaten up pretty bad and Reed is not playing well at all. Their other Safety no one even knows his name. Their LB's are just average in pass pro and thats being nice. Go right at Suggs and the other OLB with Pope and JJ underneath, with long jump balls to Fitz when he is up against McCalister and intermediate routes when Boldin is up against Rolle. Then run some. A short passing game can take just as much time off of the clock as a good running game.

Ravens OL has been protecting the QB pretty well so far only giving up 2 sacks on 75 attempts. They are number 2 in the league in pass attempts per sack with us leading the way. You have to try and confuse the rookie Gaither with stunts and blitz packages.

They havent been running the ball well at all. I say we dont need to stop the run and make them pass. We can do a balanced D and stop their pass and run.

We need to cut down on Penalties and make the most penalized team in the league the Ravens pay for theirs. No wasted opportunites becuase the Ravens D can make you pay with bad field position and turnovers.

Their other safety is Dawan Landry and I am pretty surprised you dont know his name, considering he was in the running for DROY last year and is very good. Reed has been smashing people the last two games. He looks better than Wilson, or any other safety in the league at this point, so I dont get where you are coming from. And the Ravens have the best LB in football. There is no phase of the game where they are just average. What makes them so good is that they rotate 6 guys who are all very good, but have different strengths. Lewis is still a top 3 MLB, Bart Scott is maybe the most underrated player in the game and is definitely a top5 at his position. He is GREAT going into coverage too. He played safety in college and some of their alignments feature him in that role. Jarret Johnson has been great agianst the run and has been getting after the passer. Terrell Suggs may be the best ourtside pass rusher in the game today. Dan Cody is a former first rounder who has been injured his entire career but looks as though he may be coming out of his shell this season. Antwaan Barnes and Prescott Burgess are imensly talented rookies who have produced well. I see them as the replacements for Lewis and Suggs.

I would also put the long jump balls to Boldin, being as though he is faster and WAY stronger than Rolle. I would Fitz away from the action to get McAllister away from the ball. BJ could have a good game here.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

last thing I read was that Ray Lewis had a torn tricep muscle. Was that misdiagnosed? Because I see he is still playing? Anyone know?

Yep, He intercepted a pass to win the game last week.

Ed Reed has a punt return and an INT in his first two games. Don't underestimate Ed Reed.

And Lawan Landry is the Ravens SS and he is pretty good.

 

[red desert]

My guess is we will see a couple gadget plays involving Boldin.

That's my guess as well.

 

[red desert]

What worries me is how the center will play, whoever it is. Haoli Ngata is one of the best NT in football. We have faced nothing but backups thusfar in the season, SF and Sea's starters were hurt when we played. Ngata is a man child and is able to take on double teams and still regularly penetrate the pocket. He worries me.

He should. He really, really, should. The guy is probably the best NT in the game right now.

 

[Skkorpion]

The Ravens offense is bad. They still win with defense.

I agree with Jeff. Keep plugging away withe the run. Don't do anything stupid. Win a close one late.

By the way, Jeff's got a good breakdown of the matchup on the BRS at:
http://azcardinal.com/

I'm tempted by joeschmo's throwing game plan. If the game were here, I'd go that route.

 

[JeffGollin]

The Ravens offense is bad. They still win with defense.

I agree with Jeff. Keep plugging away withe the run. Don't do anything stupid. Win a close one late.

By the way, Jeff's got a good breakdown of the matchup on the BRS at:
http://azcardinal.com/

I'm tempted by joeschmo's throwing game plan. If the game were here, I'd go that route.

Thanks for the compliment re Breaking Down the Ravens. I just added a Matchup page and it reinforced my conclusion about our running game and the Baltimore "D"

Regarding the defense - in many ways "Baltimore is us." Both Rex Ryan and Pendergast run hybrid "anything goes", aggressive defenses which put pressure on the QB and attempts to blow up running plays in the backfield. (If there's any tiny difference, it's that Rex probably operates from a 46 base defense with a four man front whereas more and more Pendergast is operating from a 3-4 base).

But if we try to out-scheme Ryan, we allow him to get into our offense's head (not a good idea when you're going with 3 kids on the right side of the O-line)

I recall "scouting ourselves" vs. the Giants a couple of years back. I asked myself - "If you were Tom Coughlin facing Pendergast's "fast" chaotic defense, what would you do?" Answer: Leverage the Giants' one advantage - rely on physical dominance because, if you can do that, then all the scheming in the world can't stop you because you're just physically blacktopping the other team. (Coughlin put the ball in Brandon Jacobs' hands and blew us away).

So, despite the Ravens having a load like Ngata on their front 7 and only giving up 62 ground yards a game, I think we should steal a page out of the Al Davis ("We don't take what the defense gives us/We do what we want and let the defense adjust to us") playbook and give the Ravens a heavy dose of Edge and Marcel between the tackles with Terrelle Smith having at it with Ray Lewis. Just keep pounding away til we wear them down. I'd keep the line blocking as simple and physical as possible (to take the mental pressure off Lyle, Deuce and Levi).

 

[Dr. Jones]

Alot of it has already been said. It will come down to us not turning the ball over and protecting the QB at all times.

Great Stuff Jeff.

 

[CardLogic]

So, despite the Ravens having a load like Ngata on their front 7 and only giving up 62 ground yards a game, I think we should steal a page out of the Al Davis ("We don't take what the defense gives us/We do what we want and let the defense adjust to us") playbook and give the Ravens a heavy dose of Edge and Marcel between the tackles with Terrelle Smith having at it with Ray Lewis. Just keep pounding away til we wear them down. I'd keep the line blocking as simple and physical as possible (to take the mental pressure off Lyle, Deuce and Levi).

I agree. Take it right at them, play it close, avoid mistakes and turnovers, strong defense, win at the end! It's mentally challenging especially early in the game when Baltimore's D will have the advantage, keep at them and hope to wear them down and win out at the end. Additionally, by continually pounding away, straight ahead the eventual trick play will be that much more effective.

GBR!!!

 

[abomb]

Out of curiosity, here are Edge's career numbers against BAL;

Year	WK	OPP	RSH	YD	RECYD	TD
2002	6	bal	17	43	8	0 
2004	15	bal	22	69	23	1
2005	1	bal	23	88	26	0

 

[PrescottLooie]

Just out of curiosity, I checked last years games against the Ravens (i.e. Steelers vs Ravens). It was NOT pretty folks. Whiz didn't do so well against them last year. Me thinks we're in for a real ball buster of a game. Tighten that chin strap and lets go.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Trade him for Heap, TE!

fixed that for you.

 

[PortlandCardFan]

Just out of curiosity, I checked last years games against the Ravens (i.e. Steelers vs Ravens). It was NOT pretty folks. Whiz didn't do so well against them last year. Me thinks we're in for a real ball buster of a game. Tighten that chin strap and lets go.

Could be Whiz or it could have been because Big Ben decided to put his head through a windshield and the loss of Jerome Bettis.

 

[CtCardinals78]

Just like the last two games, whoever has the ball last will win.

We have a good chance. BAL is beat up thier offesne sucks, and I have a feeling Edge is going to have a huge game. If that happens Cards win, then I'll start to believe this will be a special season.

 

[Totally_Red]

Rod Woodson on NFL Network mentioned something interesting. He does think Leinart will be pressured like he's never been pressured before and holds one of the keys to the game.

But he mentioned an interesting matchup, using B.J. a little more in this game to exploit a favorable matchup against the third Raven CB, Corey Ivy. He specifically said that is a matchup that favors the Cardinals. B.J. had a couple of key third-down catches in the first half versus Seattle.

Also wouldn't it remove a LB from the game if the Ravens are playing nickle?

 

[Redsz]

Pressured like he has never been pressured before? lol.

Did Woodson happen to catch any of our games last year? Matt has played through this type of stuff before.

 

[CtCardinals78]

Rod Woodson on NFL Network mentioned something interesting. He does think Leinart will be pressured like he's never been pressured before and holds one of the keys to the game.

But he mentioned an interesting matchup, using B.J. a little more in this game to exploit a favorable matchup against the third Raven CB, Corey Ivy. He specifically said that is a matchup that favors the Cardinals. B.J. had a couple of key third-down catches in the first half versus Seattle.

Also wouldn't it remove a LB from the game if the Ravens are playing nickle?

Matt played well against a young talented Bears defense on a national stage as a rookie.

I am confident he can play well against an aging Baltimore defense. Besides the real key to the game is for the D to play good enough to stop BAL's weak offense. If our D can get a TD from a TO we should win.

 

[CardLogic]

Rod Woodson on NFL Network mentioned something interesting. He does think Leinart will be pressured like he's never been pressured before and holds one of the keys to the game.

But he mentioned an interesting matchup, using B.J. a little more in this game to exploit a favorable matchup against the third Raven CB, Corey Ivy. He specifically said that is a matchup that favors the Cardinals. B.J. had a couple of key third-down catches in the first half versus Seattle.

Also wouldn't it remove a LB from the game if the Ravens are playing nickle?

If the Ravens game plan is to blitz heavily, I think the Cardinals will be prepared and burn it badly!

Headline: Baltimore Dies by the Blitz!!!

 

[Wild Card]

...despite the Ravens having a load like Ngata on their front 7 and only giving up 62 ground yards a game, I think we should steal a page out of the Al Davis ("We don't take what the defense gives us/We do what we want and let the defense adjust to us") playbook... Just keep pounding away til we wear them down.

Jeff:

It's more than just 62 yards allowed on the ground per game. It's 2.5 yards per carry (tied with the Bears for #1 in the league), with a long of 15 and 0 rushing TDs. Opposing teams have averaged 25 carries a game against the Ravens without noticeable effect, so I'm a little dubious that we can count on "wear(ing) them down."

I'm hoping that Whis has a plan B on offense involving Matt Leinart and his two Pro Bowler WRs. Otherwise, we'd better hope that the Cards defense really is all that, or it's gonna be a long day at the office.

WC

 

[abomb]

Jeff:

It's more than just 62 yards allowed on the ground per game. It's 2.5 yards per carry (tied with the Bears for #1 in the league), with a long of 15 and 0 rushing TDs. Opposing teams have averaged 25 carries a game against the Ravens without noticeable effect, so I'm a little dubious that we can count on "wear(ing) them down."

I'm hoping that Whis has a plan B on offense involving Matt Leinart and his two Pro Bowler WRs. Otherwise, we'd better hope that the Cards defense really is all that, or it's gonna be a long day at the office.

WC

Along those lines, we have to see more of Shipp this week right? I dont know how Edge is going to keep up this pace.

 

[ajcardfan]

I'd go in with the mindset of pounding the rock early, and taking a shot deep early.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Along those lines, we have to see more of Shipp this week right? I dont know how Edge is going to keep up this pace.

I know you would like to see that, but I doubt it.