Oldfaithful
Hall of Famer
Coming off an extremely disappointing loss, the Baltimore Ravens find themselves in a pivotal game in only the third week of the season. I have a stake in this game as a Denver resident, some of my best friends are Broncos fans. The Broncos look mighty impressive with a 2-0 record, a solid defense, and a new Quarterback and running back corps that looks significantly better than last season. But are they enough to be a threat to Baltimore and have us start off our season with a 1-2 record, or will we come out of this game with a serious chip on our shoulders, hungry to take on our hungry division rivals? Let’s look at the three key matchups for the week.
The Baltimore Ravens Offensive Line vs. Von Miller
The Broncos front seven is one of the more impressive ones in the game. Newly drafted Bradley Chubb has all pro potential as an edge rusher, Derek Wolfe is a quality defensive lineman Shane Ray is a good pass rusher, and linebackers Todd Davis, Brandon Marshall, and Shaquil Barrett form an impressive group before you add Von Miller, a perennial all-pro and arguably the most potent edge rusher in the league. Von Miller is a problem for every team in the league, and even if you have an elite right tackle, stopping him is close to impossible. The rest of the defense may be very good, but if the Ravens can contain Von Miller, I have the utmost confidence in the team to pull out a victory. If we cannot contain Von Miller, he’s dominant enough to win this game for Denver single-handedly. The man is a Super Bowl MVP for a reason: he’s that good. Who the Ravens field at RT this game could be the x-factor. Hurst is still not a quality option, but Harbaugh is likely not going to want to throw a rookie against one of the game’s best pass rushers. Either way, leaving Brown or Hurst on an island against Miller is a recipe to lose the game. We are going to need to chip a significant amount. But I think Greg Roman is up to the task on this one. We effectively neutralized Khalil Mack last season, and I think a repeat performance is possible here.
Marty’s game plan vs. The Denver Defense
Denver’s defense is a very good unit. Aside from having an impressive front seven, they also have a solid secondary. Chris Harris is one of the game’s best corners, and Adam Jones is a solid option as well. Attacking the defense deep is not going to be an effective strategy. However, if you look at last week’s game where Denver played Oakland, Derek Carr was able to be effective vs. Denver’s defense with quick strikes over the middle. A strategy we used effectively vs. Buffalo, but seldom implemented vs. Cincinnati. To be entirely fair to Marty, no one on offense except for John Brown showed up, but it appears that once again, the middle of the field could be wide open for Flacco. The frustrating aspect of all of this is that all three of our new wide receivers are all very adept over the middle. Marty and Joe should exploit the middle in the passing game. Flacco missed plenty of open looks, but I expect a bounce-back performance this week. It’s not only Flacco that we need to play better, we straight up need to give the ball to Alex Collins more. Collins can create his own yards whether it’s as a running back, or as a receiver out of the backfield. He may not have elite long speed, but he is very effective in the short to intermediate game, which does have value. We have an effective personnel that is capable of countering any unit, it’s a diverse group we have. Flacco and Marty need to take advantage of that, and I personally think they will.
How will the defense respond to losing CJ Mosley?
I am of the belief that if the Ravens had CJ Mosley the entire game against The Bengals, we would have won. Losing the quarterback of the defense caused it to fall apart in the first half. The defense gave up 28 points, though 7 of those are on Flacco for throwing a horrible interception in his territory. However, I think the defense is going to be fine moving forward for a few reasons. Kenny Young looks like a very good weakside linebacker and looks nothing like the player I scouted in college. I don’t want him to have the mic but having him is a clear-cut upgrade over Peanut from last season. Eric Weddle is going to have the mic this game, and he is honestly the perfect player for this. Weddle is very familiar with how Denver operates having played in their division for most of his career, and like CJ is akin to having another coach on the field. The defense got noticeably better when we transferred mic duties from Peanut to him Weddle, and for a good reason: Weddle is a smart football player who knows what he’s doing. That said, Denver is a pretty good test. They have a good wide receiving corps, with Thomas and Sanders both being quality options that could test our corners. I think our corners had an off week last season. Tavon Young and Marlon Humphrey are both quality players who match up against both wideouts very well. Denver also has two impressive running backs in Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman. However, the key to the game might be taking Lindsay and Freeman out of the game, which is easier said than done, but very doable. Denver, like Buffalo, has one of the weakest offensive lines in football. Cincinnati’s is noticeably better. Our pass rush did not show up against the Bengals, but against the Broncos I expect that to be different. If we can effectively stop the run, we will force Case Keenum to throw, which could have our defense winning the game single-handedly, rendering the other two factors irrelevant.
Final Verdict: Ravens 24, Denver 17. I have a lot of respect for this Broncos team, and I think they could be a wild card team if Keenum could repeat his magic from last season. I don’t see that happening yet. Although this is a test for us, we are the first real test for them too. The Raiders and Seahawks are both bad football teams this year. Ultimately, I see this as a win for us. We are at home, likely pissed off that we are coming off of a loss, and while I think Denver has a good football team, I simply think we are better across the board. Even with the injuries sustained on the defensive side of the ball, I think our defense has the edge against their offense, and I think our offense has a bounce back day. This game is not going to be an easy win, but that’s the beauty of it. Denver has a good football team, and I expect this to be an entertaining defensive showcase with our offense coming out with the win.
The Baltimore Ravens Offensive Line vs. Von Miller
The Broncos front seven is one of the more impressive ones in the game. Newly drafted Bradley Chubb has all pro potential as an edge rusher, Derek Wolfe is a quality defensive lineman Shane Ray is a good pass rusher, and linebackers Todd Davis, Brandon Marshall, and Shaquil Barrett form an impressive group before you add Von Miller, a perennial all-pro and arguably the most potent edge rusher in the league. Von Miller is a problem for every team in the league, and even if you have an elite right tackle, stopping him is close to impossible. The rest of the defense may be very good, but if the Ravens can contain Von Miller, I have the utmost confidence in the team to pull out a victory. If we cannot contain Von Miller, he’s dominant enough to win this game for Denver single-handedly. The man is a Super Bowl MVP for a reason: he’s that good. Who the Ravens field at RT this game could be the x-factor. Hurst is still not a quality option, but Harbaugh is likely not going to want to throw a rookie against one of the game’s best pass rushers. Either way, leaving Brown or Hurst on an island against Miller is a recipe to lose the game. We are going to need to chip a significant amount. But I think Greg Roman is up to the task on this one. We effectively neutralized Khalil Mack last season, and I think a repeat performance is possible here.
Marty’s game plan vs. The Denver Defense
Denver’s defense is a very good unit. Aside from having an impressive front seven, they also have a solid secondary. Chris Harris is one of the game’s best corners, and Adam Jones is a solid option as well. Attacking the defense deep is not going to be an effective strategy. However, if you look at last week’s game where Denver played Oakland, Derek Carr was able to be effective vs. Denver’s defense with quick strikes over the middle. A strategy we used effectively vs. Buffalo, but seldom implemented vs. Cincinnati. To be entirely fair to Marty, no one on offense except for John Brown showed up, but it appears that once again, the middle of the field could be wide open for Flacco. The frustrating aspect of all of this is that all three of our new wide receivers are all very adept over the middle. Marty and Joe should exploit the middle in the passing game. Flacco missed plenty of open looks, but I expect a bounce-back performance this week. It’s not only Flacco that we need to play better, we straight up need to give the ball to Alex Collins more. Collins can create his own yards whether it’s as a running back, or as a receiver out of the backfield. He may not have elite long speed, but he is very effective in the short to intermediate game, which does have value. We have an effective personnel that is capable of countering any unit, it’s a diverse group we have. Flacco and Marty need to take advantage of that, and I personally think they will.
How will the defense respond to losing CJ Mosley?
I am of the belief that if the Ravens had CJ Mosley the entire game against The Bengals, we would have won. Losing the quarterback of the defense caused it to fall apart in the first half. The defense gave up 28 points, though 7 of those are on Flacco for throwing a horrible interception in his territory. However, I think the defense is going to be fine moving forward for a few reasons. Kenny Young looks like a very good weakside linebacker and looks nothing like the player I scouted in college. I don’t want him to have the mic but having him is a clear-cut upgrade over Peanut from last season. Eric Weddle is going to have the mic this game, and he is honestly the perfect player for this. Weddle is very familiar with how Denver operates having played in their division for most of his career, and like CJ is akin to having another coach on the field. The defense got noticeably better when we transferred mic duties from Peanut to him Weddle, and for a good reason: Weddle is a smart football player who knows what he’s doing. That said, Denver is a pretty good test. They have a good wide receiving corps, with Thomas and Sanders both being quality options that could test our corners. I think our corners had an off week last season. Tavon Young and Marlon Humphrey are both quality players who match up against both wideouts very well. Denver also has two impressive running backs in Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman. However, the key to the game might be taking Lindsay and Freeman out of the game, which is easier said than done, but very doable. Denver, like Buffalo, has one of the weakest offensive lines in football. Cincinnati’s is noticeably better. Our pass rush did not show up against the Bengals, but against the Broncos I expect that to be different. If we can effectively stop the run, we will force Case Keenum to throw, which could have our defense winning the game single-handedly, rendering the other two factors irrelevant.
Final Verdict: Ravens 24, Denver 17. I have a lot of respect for this Broncos team, and I think they could be a wild card team if Keenum could repeat his magic from last season. I don’t see that happening yet. Although this is a test for us, we are the first real test for them too. The Raiders and Seahawks are both bad football teams this year. Ultimately, I see this as a win for us. We are at home, likely pissed off that we are coming off of a loss, and while I think Denver has a good football team, I simply think we are better across the board. Even with the injuries sustained on the defensive side of the ball, I think our defense has the edge against their offense, and I think our offense has a bounce back day. This game is not going to be an easy win, but that’s the beauty of it. Denver has a good football team, and I expect this to be an entertaining defensive showcase with our offense coming out with the win.
