For the first time all season, no Ravens fan had to feel a sense of anxiety or fear. The Ravens came out of week 10 without suffering any major injuries or a loss… thanks to the bye week. Although, if we are being honest, the bye week truly should feel more like a loss because Marty Mornhinweg is still here as offensive coordinator of the Ravens and the Ravens appear to be operating under the same belief that they are almost there as a unit and can push themselves over the hump. I suppose ignorance really is bliss, is it not?
Fortunately for the Ravens, the offense should be mostly irrelevant this Sunday when the Ravens take on the Green Bay Packers because the defense should be able to carry the load. With Aaron Jones all but ruled out for Sunday, Ty Montgomery on the mend and not practicing, Bryan Bulaga not practicing, and Aaron Rodgers definitely out, the Packers are significantly weakened on offense. The strength of the defense lies in the secondary and with no run game to keep the defense honest, this could be a very ugly game for the Packers and one where we may see a return of week one and two for the Ravens defense where the Ravens were an absolute turnover machine.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the key match-ups that could cost Mornhingweg his job and turn this Ravens defense back into the league leader in turnovers.
Key Match-Ups
Joe Flacco vs Joe Flacco: In every sense of the word, the Green Bay Packers have an absolutely putrid secondary this season. Add in the fact that Morgan Burnett is injured and an already bad secondary just gets worse. This should be an incredibly favorable match up on Sunday. However, as Ravens fans are all too aware, that is not always the case.
Unfortunately, the play of Joe Flacco is erratic and unpredictable from week to week and what should happen is generally far from reality come game time. While Flacco should have a monster performance, he is his own worst enemy every single Sunday. With a gun shy mentality and a propensity to check the ball down too often, Flacco has made this Ravens passing game a laughingstock in the NFL. Add in extremely inconsistent mechanics week to week and decision making that is all but sound and reasonable and we just do not know what will happen this Sunday in Lambeu.
By all accounts, Flacco should walk out of this game with the potential to be the FedEx Air player of the week and make an appearance on Kurt Warner’s top 5 quarterbacks of the week. However, what should happen is likely not what will happen. Instead, Ravens fans will probably face a bevy of excuses as to why Joe Flacco is still struggling against one of the worst secondaries in the league.
The Ravens Secondary vs the Packers Receivers: While the Packers may be unfortunately without the league’s best quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, they do still have many weapons to do damage with. With top receiver Jordy Nelson leading the charge and drawing most of the attention, Devante Adams has quietly had a very quality season. He currently leads the Packers trio of receivers, which also includes Randall Cobb, in receptions, yardage, and touchdown catches. Adams also appears to be the receiver with the best chemistry with new quarterback Brett Hundley.
Given the size and the ability of Nelson and Adams, the Ravens will get yet another quality test on Sunday. Jimmy Smith and Brandon Carr match up incredibly well on paper with size based receivers and this Sunday should be no different.
What I am more looking for is whether or not these two receivers can force more turnovers. They have five interceptions, a fumble recovery, and two touchdowns between the two of them and are playing like one of the league’s best tandems. Can they up their turnover totals on Sunday and officially be placed on the national media map?
The Ravens Pass Rush vs the Packers Offensive Line: The Ravens as a team had, on paper, one of the more promising pass rushing groups. With Brandon Williams re-signed to a contract that would indicate more pass rushing opportunities and new arrivals in Tim Williams and Tyus Bowser, the Ravens appeared poised to have an extremely strong pass rush. The secondary was going to buy lots of time for the pass rush to hit home and Terrell Suggs was going to be the wily vet that led the rejuvenated pass rush. Fast forward nine weeks and 22 sacks later and the Ravens have been far from what was expected. Fortunately for the Ravens, Sunday yet again appears to be the place for change.
When Brett Hundley was coming out of UCLA, I was highly critical of Hundley’s ability to sense pressure and release the ball to avoid pressure due to his internal clock letting him know when his time was running out. Despite all his athletic gifts and ability to maneuver the pocket incredibly well, Hundley was taking too many sacks. In the NFL, this has proven to still be true. In just four starts, Hundley has taken 11 sacks on the season. It would likely be many more if he were not so mobile. Of course, not all the blame can be placed on Hundley. The Packers lost TJ Lang and JC Tretter to free agency and are currently without Bryan Bulaga due to injury. Much like the Ravens, the Packers have been ravished by injury or loss in the offseason. What was once strength of the Packers has now become a glaring weakness.
Expect Dean Pees to dial up pressure early and often to rattle the new starting quarterback in Brett Hundley and take advantage of a severely weakened offensive line. If there were ever a game for a team to break the sack record, it might be this one.
Final Score Prediction:
I know I jokingly (or not so jokingly) talked about reverse psychology being the route to go, I am going to actually just outright predict a Ravens victory. Nothing on paper says that the Ravens should lose. The Packers are facing significant injuries on offense and their defense is playing about as poorly as you could hope if you are a struggling Ravens offense. By all means, the Ravens should just cruise to victory.
Baltimore Ravens: 21, Green Bay Packers: 13
Lost_In_Translation: Whom are you taking this week?
Fortunately for the Ravens, the offense should be mostly irrelevant this Sunday when the Ravens take on the Green Bay Packers because the defense should be able to carry the load. With Aaron Jones all but ruled out for Sunday, Ty Montgomery on the mend and not practicing, Bryan Bulaga not practicing, and Aaron Rodgers definitely out, the Packers are significantly weakened on offense. The strength of the defense lies in the secondary and with no run game to keep the defense honest, this could be a very ugly game for the Packers and one where we may see a return of week one and two for the Ravens defense where the Ravens were an absolute turnover machine.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the key match-ups that could cost Mornhingweg his job and turn this Ravens defense back into the league leader in turnovers.
Key Match-Ups
Joe Flacco vs Joe Flacco: In every sense of the word, the Green Bay Packers have an absolutely putrid secondary this season. Add in the fact that Morgan Burnett is injured and an already bad secondary just gets worse. This should be an incredibly favorable match up on Sunday. However, as Ravens fans are all too aware, that is not always the case.
Unfortunately, the play of Joe Flacco is erratic and unpredictable from week to week and what should happen is generally far from reality come game time. While Flacco should have a monster performance, he is his own worst enemy every single Sunday. With a gun shy mentality and a propensity to check the ball down too often, Flacco has made this Ravens passing game a laughingstock in the NFL. Add in extremely inconsistent mechanics week to week and decision making that is all but sound and reasonable and we just do not know what will happen this Sunday in Lambeu.
By all accounts, Flacco should walk out of this game with the potential to be the FedEx Air player of the week and make an appearance on Kurt Warner’s top 5 quarterbacks of the week. However, what should happen is likely not what will happen. Instead, Ravens fans will probably face a bevy of excuses as to why Joe Flacco is still struggling against one of the worst secondaries in the league.
The Ravens Secondary vs the Packers Receivers: While the Packers may be unfortunately without the league’s best quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, they do still have many weapons to do damage with. With top receiver Jordy Nelson leading the charge and drawing most of the attention, Devante Adams has quietly had a very quality season. He currently leads the Packers trio of receivers, which also includes Randall Cobb, in receptions, yardage, and touchdown catches. Adams also appears to be the receiver with the best chemistry with new quarterback Brett Hundley.
Given the size and the ability of Nelson and Adams, the Ravens will get yet another quality test on Sunday. Jimmy Smith and Brandon Carr match up incredibly well on paper with size based receivers and this Sunday should be no different.
What I am more looking for is whether or not these two receivers can force more turnovers. They have five interceptions, a fumble recovery, and two touchdowns between the two of them and are playing like one of the league’s best tandems. Can they up their turnover totals on Sunday and officially be placed on the national media map?
The Ravens Pass Rush vs the Packers Offensive Line: The Ravens as a team had, on paper, one of the more promising pass rushing groups. With Brandon Williams re-signed to a contract that would indicate more pass rushing opportunities and new arrivals in Tim Williams and Tyus Bowser, the Ravens appeared poised to have an extremely strong pass rush. The secondary was going to buy lots of time for the pass rush to hit home and Terrell Suggs was going to be the wily vet that led the rejuvenated pass rush. Fast forward nine weeks and 22 sacks later and the Ravens have been far from what was expected. Fortunately for the Ravens, Sunday yet again appears to be the place for change.
When Brett Hundley was coming out of UCLA, I was highly critical of Hundley’s ability to sense pressure and release the ball to avoid pressure due to his internal clock letting him know when his time was running out. Despite all his athletic gifts and ability to maneuver the pocket incredibly well, Hundley was taking too many sacks. In the NFL, this has proven to still be true. In just four starts, Hundley has taken 11 sacks on the season. It would likely be many more if he were not so mobile. Of course, not all the blame can be placed on Hundley. The Packers lost TJ Lang and JC Tretter to free agency and are currently without Bryan Bulaga due to injury. Much like the Ravens, the Packers have been ravished by injury or loss in the offseason. What was once strength of the Packers has now become a glaring weakness.
Expect Dean Pees to dial up pressure early and often to rattle the new starting quarterback in Brett Hundley and take advantage of a severely weakened offensive line. If there were ever a game for a team to break the sack record, it might be this one.
Final Score Prediction:
I know I jokingly (or not so jokingly) talked about reverse psychology being the route to go, I am going to actually just outright predict a Ravens victory. Nothing on paper says that the Ravens should lose. The Packers are facing significant injuries on offense and their defense is playing about as poorly as you could hope if you are a struggling Ravens offense. By all means, the Ravens should just cruise to victory.
Baltimore Ravens: 21, Green Bay Packers: 13
Lost_In_Translation: Whom are you taking this week?
