Offense 1. Ball Control Offense To beat Brady, you might be better off not facing him at all. For the Ravens, the mission will be to hog the ball to win the time of possession (TOP) battle and keep the Golden Boy off the field. Much has been made of how the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to “out-Brady” the Patriots’ offense by mixing controlled passes with some power runs. The result was the Steelers controlling TOP for 39 minutes. In that game, Roethlisberger was masterful and hit on a lot of short passes. The Steelers’ passing game was an extension for their running game. The Ravens have to take a page from Pittsburgh’s plan, although there certainly won’t be 50 pass attempts coming from Flacco. Instead, tailback Ray Rice will be heavily involved both as a runner and a passer. The passing game will have to be built on underneath routes, including bubble screens to spring the wideouts and Rice in the open field. The intermedi...

Offense 1.      Isolate the outside backers Although much of the focus of Houston’s pass rush has turned to their down linemen, the edge rushers – Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed – can’t be overlooked. The Ravens should not only look to neutralize these two backers, but to attack them. Barwin and Reed are athletic, but they are better moving forward than backward. The Ravens have the right personnel to isolate these two defenders in space, forcing them to drop and run. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron should look to use some delayed routes and chip plays for his tight ends, as well as tailback Ray Rice, and target the edge rushers as much as possible. 2.      Draws and delays        After putting on a pass-rushing show last Saturday against the Bengals, one has to believe that defensive ends Antonio Smith and J.J. Watt have the Ravens’ undivided attention. The ends showed...

Offense 1.      Pass from power sets     It’s clear that without receiver Anquan Boldin in the lineup, the Baltimore passing game is in a state of flux. Moreover, with the potential loss of guard Marshall Yanda as well, the pass protection could be in serious question against a formidable front seven. To overcome these issues, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron must look to pass from predominant run-heavy fronts. Showing the Bengals run-action, only to pass off the fake could be the most effective move to slow down the Cincinnati rush and spring a few plays. Look for these plays to pay dividends on first down, when defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer will commit to stuffing the run. 2.      Pitta in the slot        Without Boldin, the Ravens lacked any semblance of an intermediate passing game. The next man up was tight end Ed Dickson, and he proceeded to drop two critical passes t...

Offense 1.      Motion Evans   With the impending loss of receiver Anquan Boldin, it’s time for offensive coordinator Cam Cameron to dust off Lee Evans and put him to work. The burner from Buffalo has yet to make a mark due to injury, but he has enough left in the gas tank to help the Ravens down the stretch. Evans and the rest of the pass-catchers will have their work cut out for them against a Cleveland pass defense that has been unbreakable all year. Still, with the potential focus of corner Joe Hayden shifting to Torrey Smith, Evans should have a chance to make plays on the other side. Evans should me moved around to create favorable matchups against the other Cleveland defensive backs. Although Evans isn’t an ideal slot receiver, he should also take some reps on the routes that Boldin ran, leaving Smith as the primary flanker. 2.      Pass on first down Against a Cleveland defense that is going to be geare...

Battle Plans: Ravens vs. Chargers Offense 1.      Misdirection running game Over the past four games, the Ravens have built the type of complete ground attack that the front office wanted to see on the field since the offseason. Specifically, the Ravens have dialed up a running game that goes inside and outside, off an assortment of run designs. The Chargers rank eighth in overall defense but they are only 23rd against the run and haven’t proven that they can maintain their gap integrity. The Ravens movement, especially with the fullback and interior lineman leading the way, should prove a challenge to deal with. In this game, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron should use as much misdirection movement as possible – whether that means having Vonta Leach pull to the opposite side of Ray Rice, or using more fake dive, pitch plays – to generate a few big plays on the ground. 2.      Pick on Cason The San Diego c...

Offense 1.      Double down    Regardless of their record, the Indianapolis pass-rushing duo of Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis is still lethal. The offensive game plan should begin with devising effective blocking schemes to bottle up arguably the best rush duo of the last decade. This is a game that will call for a lot of two-tight sets. By keeping tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta on the line – even if they don’t stay in to block – Freeney and Mathis won’t have a direct launch path to quarterback Joe Flacco. The guards and tailbacks will also have a prominent role on Sunday to provide help in the event that the rushers spin back to the inside. 2.      Play-action fakes        Along with a whole cast of other characters, the Indianapolis linebacker corps has been decimated by injuries. As a consequence, inexperienced replacements have had to step up. The pr...

Offense 1.      Don’t press Quarterback Joe Flacco’s patience will be tested on Sunday. The Browns play a more conservative scheme than what Flacco has seen from other defenses this season. They are not nearly as exotic and keep their safeties back, which is a big reason for why they are ranked first in pass defense. The Browns try to generate a rush using their line and sparingly using their backers. Although they haven’t exactly generated a consistent rush (22 sacks), they’ve been able to force quarterbacks to hold the ball for coverage sacks. This is the type of game in which Flacco doesn’t need to take unnecessary chances. Although he’s gotten better and better with fitting the ball into tight windows, he’ll need to pick his spots carefully against an underrated Cleveland secondary. If he stays patient, takes the underneath options – dumpoffs, screens – the offense should stay on course. 2.&n...

Offense 1.      Quick screens and draws   The Ravens were able to tap back into their screen game against the Bengals, with varying success. However, when they were able to hit on a play, it went for a first down. Against a fairly aggressive San Francisco front seven, screens and draws to Rice might be the best way to get him the ball. The 49ers are the best in the league against the run, so using Rice to run straight ahead will be a tough proposition. On the other hand, getting Rice involved in space on the perimeter could be an advantage, especially if he catches a quick screen from an empty formation. Cam Cameron will need to get creative with how he gets the ball in Rice’s hand. That could mean using him on an end around handoff or a quick screen from the bunch formation. Along with Rice, look for the other receivers – particularly tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta – to be involved on quick patterns from the backfield. ...

Offense 1.      Return of the jump ball Against the giant Seattle cornerbacks, the Baltimore receivers were mostly ineffective. The same high-traffic catches that receivers Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith have made all year along the sidelines weren’t in play. There should be better chances for these two pass catchers to operate against veteran cornerbacks Nate Clements and Kelly Jennings. If the Bengals use more man coverage on the outside – which defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has been known to do against Baltimore -- Boldin and Smith will have the height and overall size advantage to go up for the football. Quarterback Joe Flacco should be able to put the ball up and trust his receivers to snare it.  2.      Prepare for the double barrel blitz        The Bengals don’t blitz often. But when they do, the “A” gap blitz – commonly referred to as the “doubl...

Offense 1.      Fast start After two big wins against the Steelers and the Texans, the Ravens took to the road against inferior opponents and fell apart. Now, with a third such opportunity looming in Seattle, it’s imperative that the offense is ready to start fast. This is a prime opportunity for the passing offense to get a rhythm established against a Seattle pass defense and a pass rush that is subpar. Even entering the noise of the Seattle stadium, quarterback Joe Flacco should be able to engineer an effective hurry-up attack from a two tight, two wide, one back shotgun set. The offense should be aggressive, spread the field, and strike early and often. 2.      Off-tackle running game     If there is anything that Seattle has done consistently, it’s stopping the run. The Seahawks have a solid set of defensive tackles in Brandon Mebane and Alan Branch. Collectively they’ve been a driving for...