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Crystal Ball - BATTLE PLANS: RAVENS V. BUCS

Photo by Sabina Moran
Posted On: 9/15/06
Written By:  
Dev Panchwagh
BATTLE PLANS: RAVENS V. BUCS
Offense
 
1.             Misdirection and confusion: Heading into a week two match-up against the Ravens, the Raiders are a little bit banged up, especially in the secondary. Nnamadi Asomugha may not play due to a foot injury. Even if Asomugha does play, that should not change the way that the Ravens attack the Raiders through the air. Baltimore should use play-action and pump fakes to test Oakland safeties Stuart Schweigert and Michael Huff. While Huff is destined for greatness, he still tends to make mistakes in coverage. His over aggressiveness can be taken advantage of. Schweigert does not have the quickness to cover a lot of ground, so he is caught out of position, he’ll have a tough time recovering. If quarterback Steve McNair is able to influence these safeties, the Raven wideouts should be able to make some big plays down the field.
 
2.            Gashing the edges: While Oakland has a defensive front capable of generating a strong pass rush and stopping plays in the backfield, they tend to over shoot gaps, and that gives a running back opportunity to gain large chunks of yards past the first layer of defense. Last week against the Chargers, the Raiders tried to use a lot of stunts and twists up front in order to confuse Philip Rivers, but in doing so, LaDainian Tomlinson consistently found the vacated gaps and was able to punish Oakland on the ground. Look for Baltimore to try and exploit that defensive strategy on Sunday by using a lot of counter and trap runs off the perimeter to catch the Raider lineman, especially the ends, out of position.
 
3.            Fast but too fast: The Raiders emphasized speed at the linebacker position by drafting Thomas Howard in the offseason and inserting Kirk Morrison at the inside linebacker position. While both players along with Sam Williams have the ability to chase and make plays side-to-side, they are green and tend to overrun plays. They can be moved out of position using play-action or misdirection. In addition, they are light and if they are forced to take on blocks head on, they may struggle against a bigger Ravens’ offensive line, much the same way that Tampa Bay did last week.
 
Defense
 
1.             Blitzing off tackle: Last week, San Diego had a lot of success attacking Oakland’s front line using multiple blitzes, and there is no doubt that defensive coordinator Rex Ryan will use the same type of strategy to test Oakland’s line once again. With Robert Gallery questionable, the Ravens will likely use more one-sided blitzes off of his side to get to quarterback Aaron Brooks. The Ravens were successful in getting pressure off the perimeter using their linebackers last week, so it’s likely that they will be active again this Sunday.
 
2.            Doubling Moss: The Ravens usually don’t focus on bracketing one receiver, no matter how good that receiver is, because they want their safeties free to move all over the field. But against the Raiders, it is probably advisable for the corners and the safeties to play together in order to keep Randy Moss from burning them deep, especially if Ryan takes chances by using a lot of defenders to attack the quarterback off of blitzes. Simply put, Randy Moss cannot make a big play against the Ravens. The other receivers in Oakland’s scheme have to be the ones who hurt the Baltimore secondary. Moss should be given some space underneath, and a safety should be in position to play over the top of him on most downs, especially in obvious passing situations.
 
3.            Keeping an eye on Jordan: The Ravens’ number one goal as a defense should be to shut down Lamont Jordan and the Oakland rushing attack. Against the Chargers, Jordan only carried the ball 10 times for 20 yards. That output should change against the Ravens, as Oakland will make a concentrated effort to run the ball more. However, as much as the Ravens need to stop Jordan on the ground, they also have to account for Jordan as a receiving threat. Jordan is solid at leaking out of the backfield on flare and swing passes, and he is also effective on screens. The Raiders will probably attempt to run some screens to slow down the Ravens’ blitz assault.
 
One-on-One Battle to Watch: Todd Heap versus Michael Huff: There should be enough times when Huff is forced to deal with Heap, especially in single coverage situations, and it should be interesting to see how Huff tries to cover the multi-talented Pro Bowl tight-end. For Huff, this is a great litmus test early in the season. Heap is a tremendous pass catching threat down the seams. Huff has the physical tools to stay with Heap in coverage; it’s just a question of whether he has the awareness to not get beat by Heap.

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Posted On: 9/15/06
Written By:  
Dev Panchwagh

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