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Sneak Preview - SNEAK PREVIEW: RAVENS V. BILLS

Photos by Sabina Moran
Posted On: 12/31/06
Written By:  
Tony Lombardi
SNEAK PREVIEW: RAVENS V. BILLS SNEAK PREVIEW: RAVENS V. BILLS
ALL KNOTTED UP: Under Brian Billick the Ravens are 1-1 when they go up against the Buffalo Bills. Back on Halloween in 1999 the Bills scared the Ravens to the tune of 13-10. Then on October 24, 2004 the Ravens returned the favor beating the Bills 20-6.
 
During that game, Deion Sanders intercepted 2 passes, including 1 he returned 48 yards for a TD (hey I thought that was Burger King), to key the Ravens’ 20-6 victory over Buffalo. In total, the Ravens forced Bills QB Drew Bledsoe into 5 turnovers – 4 INTs and a fumble – to win for the 4th time in 5 games. The Baltimore front 7 pressured Bledsoe all day, recording 4 sacks and countless more QB hits. In addition to Sanders’ 2 INTs, S Ed Reed and S Chad Williams each recorded picks, while DE Jarret Johnson recovered a fumble that LB Terrell Suggs forced.
 
After falling behind by a FG in the game’s 1st 4 minutes – a result of a fumble by QB Kyle Boller on the Ravens’ 22-yard line – the offense embarked on scoring drives of 54 and 83 yards. Boller had perhaps his best stretch of the season, completing his 1st 8 passes, including a 47-yard bomb to WR Travis Taylor. But a big reason the Ravens’ offense held its own was the emergence of RB Chester Taylor, who started in place of Jamal Lewis and rushed for 89 yards on 21 carries. Taylor churned out 22 yards on the Ravens’ 2nd drive, putting the Ravens in position for Matt Stover to tie the game with a 24-yard FG. On the Ravens’ series following Sanders’ INT for TD, RB B.J. Sams scored his 1st offensive TD, going into the end zone from 5 yards out.
 
ON A ROLL: The Bills, who have won 4 of their past 6 games, enter The Vault with a 7-8 record and determined to reach the .500 plateau in Dick Jauron’s 1st year as head coach. The Bills dropped a 30-29 contest in Buffalo against the streaking Tennessee Titans last Sunday.
 
NOBODY GOES TO THE GAME ANYMORE BECAUSE THERE’S TOO MANY PEOPLE THERE: When the Ravens host a playoff game – either on the weekend of 1/6 or 1/13 – it will be in front of a capacity crowd at The Vault. The 700 tickets made available to the general public sold in fewer than 5 minutes. In case you’re counting that’s one ticket every .42 seconds, slightly faster than Kelly Gregg’s time in the 40. 2,859,476 fans who have attended the Ravens’ 41 wins at M&T Bank Stadium since 2000, witnessing Baltimore post the best home winning percentage (41-14, .745) in the NFL (tied with Denver) over that span. Over 10,000,000 claim to have been there.
 
BRIAN BILLICK ON THE RAVENS‘ ORGANIZATION: “We all go through our careers when you elevate to a certain position, and you love all the challenges that come with that. But to get back to what got you into the profession in the 1st place – the teaching and hands-on coaching – has been a great joy. It has changed the way I work with the staff, and it has changed what some of them have to do. Everyone has stepped up, including assistants, players and people in the front office. From Ozzie [Newsome], to PR, to operations, everyone works to let the coaches focus on coaching. That can’t be said in every organization. I’m fortunate to work with such high quality and efficient people. We have a good team here, both on the field and off.”
 
STEVE MCNAIR SEES THE BIG PICTURE: “One thing I think I’ve helped this offense with is getting over bad plays. Everybody is going to have them. All you have to do is watch on Sundays, and you’ll see the best offenses making mistakes. They’re going to happen. I’m big on amnesia. Forget the bad. Move on from a bad play or a bad series. You can’t do anything about them once they happen. There’s always the next play and series and the chance to make good plays.”
 
PARTY LIKE IT’S 1999? When asked how he might celebrate New Year’s Eve, Ovie Mughelli said, “We’re actually moving Christmas back to New Year’s. I think a lot of guys on the team have to do that: move the holiday either up or down. For me, the entire family is coming in for the Bills ‘game, and we’re going to exchange Christmas presents then.”
 
HE’S MORE THAN JUST A FORMER OKLAHOMA STATE WRESTLING CHAMP: “The Ravens have that star-studded defense, but talk to anybody in their locker room about their most valuable guy on that side of the ball and Gregg’s name will come up more than anyone else’s. Built like a fire hydrant at 6-feet, 310 pounds, Gregg is a space-eating, block-absorbing staple who consistently wins the point of attack in the middle of Baltimore’s defensive line. Without him holding the fort, LBs Bart Scott and Ray Lewis wouldn’t be quite so free and clear to roam to the football and wreak havoc. Gregg is almost anonymous to NFL fans, but he’s nearly irreplaceable in Rex Ryan’s defense.” – SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’S DON BANKS ON NT KELLY GREGG NOT MAKING THE PRO BOWL
 
SPEAKING OF HONOLULU SLIGHTS…Here’s ESPN’S John Clayton on Ray Lewis not making the Pro Bowl: “Those who voted in favor of Al Wilson [Broncos] need to step into Ray Lewis’ office and have a little physical chat. Lewis may not be the playmaker he was six or seven years ago, but he bounced back this season with Pro Bowl-caliber play. The Ravens have the league’s top-ranked defense. Wilson is one of the game’s best middle linebackers, but the Broncos rank 13th on defense and are giving up 26 yards a game more than the Ravens. We need a recount.”
 
TO WHICH CBS SPORTSLINE WRITER PETE PRISCO ADDED: “Yes, he got robbed. Lewis is still one of the best linebackers and the Ravens have the best defense in the league. There’s no way Zach Thomas should be in ahead of Lewis.”
 
TIME TO HIT THE SACKS: Currently, DT Trevor Pryce (12, just 1 off his career high from 1999) and OLB Adalius Thomas (11) have each surpassed the 10-sack mark this season. If ILB Bart Scott (9.5) and OLB Terrell Suggs (8.5) can each hit 10 sacks in the final game this week, it would mark the 1st time since the NFL recognized sacks as an official stat in 1982 that a single team boasted 4 players with at least 10 sacks each in a season. The last team to have 3 players with 10 sacks apiece was New Orleans in 2000, when La’Roi Glover (17), Joe Johnson (12) and Darren Howard (11) led the Saints.
 
Meanwhile Ray Lewis has 4 sacks and Kelly Gregg 3 ½. The Ravens as a team have compiled 395 yards of losses via the sack, the most tallied in the NFL since 1997 when New Orleans had 408 yards in a full season. The Ravens’ “D” is on pace to reach 421 sack yards, which would be the most in an NFL single-season since Kansas City’s 421 yards in 1990.
 
The Ravens have given up just 17 sacks this season, the 2nd fewest (Colts, 15) in the NFL. Additionally, Baltimore has sacked its opponent 57 times, good for the 2nd most (Chargers) in the league. Those marks compile a +40 sack ratio, ranking as the NFL’s best mark this season.
 
Rank
Team
Sacks
Sacked
Ratio
1
Ravens
57
17
+40
2
Chargers
60
24
+36
3
Packers
44
22
+22
4
Saints
38
18
+20
5
Bears
38
23
+15
 
SAFETY IN NUMBERS: Ravens rookie safety Dawan Landry has 5 interceptions on the season, the most in the NFL for a rookie in 2006. Last week at Pittsburgh, tallying his 5th INT on the year, Landry tied a Ravens' rookie record for picks in a single season, with S Ed Reed (2002), CB Chris McAlister (1999) and CB Duane Starks (1998).
 
NFL RANKINGS:
OFFENSE  
DEFENSE
RAVENS
 
 
Total
17
1
Rush
25
2
Pass
11
6
BILLS
 
 
Total
30
19
Rush
27
29
Pass
29
7
 
 
HOW HAS MCNAIR “AIRED” AGAINST THE BILLS? In 3 career games v. Buffalo McNair has thrown for 487 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT in those games. He has also rushed 12 times for 76 yards (6.3 avg.) and has 2 TDs. In his only game at home against the Bills, McNair completed 62.5% of his passes for 167 yards, 1 TD and no INTs. He also carried the ball 6 times for 45 yards and tied a career high with 2 TDs in the win. For his career, McNair has completed 60.9% of his passes for 11,409 yards and 66 TDs against AFC opponents at home. He has also rushed 250 times for 1,384 yards (5.5 avg.) and 15 TDs at home versus AFC foes.
 
LET’S GET TOGETHER AND FEEL ALRIGHT: Ravens WRs coach Mike Johnson spent 4 seasons with the Falcons, from 2001-04, working with the Wrs and QBs. During Johnson’s stint with Atlanta, he crossed paths with current Bills WR Peerless Price during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Don’t be surprised if Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle are picking MJ’s brain.
 
Price was also teammates with Ravens RB Jamal Lewis at the University of Tennessee in 1997 and 1998. During their 2 seasons together, the Volunteers went a combined 24-2, winning the National Championship in 1998.
 
GOING BACK TO MY OLD SCHOOL: Speaking of college chums, Ravens RB P.J. Daniels, S Dawan Landry and Bills DE Anthony Hargrove played together at Georgia Tech from 2001-02…Bills WR Sam Aiken and Ravens G/C Jason Brown were teammates at North Carolina from 2001-02…Bills OL Brad Butler and Ravens LB Dennis Haley played at Virgina from 2002-04…Ravens S Gerome Sapp and Bills OL Mike Gandy were teammates at Notre Dame in 1999 and 2000…Ravens S Ed Reed and Bills RB Willis McGahee were teammates at Miami in 2001…Bills CB Jabari Greer and Ravens DT Aubrayo Franklin played at Tennessee from 2001-02…Ravens T Tony Pashos and Bills OL Duke Preston were teammates at Illinois from 2001-02…Ravens OLB Jarret Johnson and Bills RB Shaud Williams played together at Alabama from 2000-03.
 
THE TRENDS THAT TRANSCEND under coach Brian Billick:
  •  When leading at halftime: 54-7
  • When leading after 3 quarters: 58-6
  • When scoring 1st: 44-18
  • With a 100-yard rusher: 33-9
  • With a 100-yard receiver: 16-6
  • When playing at home: 45-18
  • When leading by at least 14 points: 48-1
  • When scoring a rushing TD in the 1st quarter: 16-3
IN WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW TOO: Though the Ravens have 11 players on their roster with significant NFL experience (at least 100 games played), Baltimore also boasts a fine crop of young talent. Based off rosters through Week 14, the Ravens have 11 rookies on their team, which ties as the 3rd most in the NFL. Only the Cowboys (12) and Packers (15) have more rookies on their 2006 rosters.  The Browns, Chiefs, Jaguars and Panthers also have 11 rookies each.
 
Note: Baltimore has had 5 rookies start at least 1 contest, with DT Haloti Ngata (15), S Dawan Landry (13), G Chris Chester (3), TE Quinn Sypniewski (3) and WR Demetrius Williams (1) receiving opening game action. Of the 11 rookies, 9 have played this year.
 
A TALE OF THE TAPE ~ Here’s how the Ravens and Steelers compare in key statistical categories:
 
RAVENS
CATEGORY
BILLS
12-3
2006 Record
7-8
W3
Current Streak
L1
W 31-7 @ Steelers
Last game
L 29-30 v. Titans
334
Points Scored
293
37
Touchdowns Scored
32
11
Rushing Touchdowns Scored
9
21
Passing Touchdowns Scored
18
5
Touchdowns on Returns
5
194
Points Against
292
20
Touchdowns Allowed
34
5
Rushing Touchdowns Allowed
14
15
Passing Touchdowns Allowed
18
0
TDs Allowed by Return
2
+15
Turnover Ratio
-3
45.8%
Red Zone TD Pct. For
44.1%
34.4%
Red Zone TD Pct. Against
58.8%
23.4
KOR Avg. For
24.1
21.8
KOR Avg. Against
21.4
8.0
PR Avg. For
11.1
9.4
PR Avg. Against
7.6

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Posted On: 12/31/06
Written By:  
Tony Lombardi

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