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Sneak Preview - SNEAK PREVIEW: RAVENS V. BROWNS

Posted On: 12/15/06
Written By:  
Tony Lombardi
SNEAK PREVIEW: RAVENS V. BROWNS SNEAK PREVIEW: RAVENS V. BROWNS
REMEMBER THE TIM COUCH GAME? You know the game in December 2002 when the Browns rallied to knock the Ravens out of the playoff race? Yeah that one! He got his I suppose didn’t he. The former first pick in the 1999 NFL Draft is about as relevant to the NFL landscape as Scott Mitchell these days.
 
Well that was the last time the Browns defeated the Ravens at The Vault. The Ravens have won 3 of their last 4 against the Browns, and 3 in a row at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens are also winners of 6 of their last 7 and they are 10-3, good for a 2-game lead in the AFC North. The Browns are 4-9, with 2 of those victories on the road (at Oakland, 24-21, on 10/1 and at Atlanta, 17-13, on 11/12).
 
FORGET HDTV THIS WEEKEND ~ As CBS goes deep in their broadcasting bench to pull out Ian Eagle and Solomon "Bengals Forever" Wilcots, it is doubtful that CBS will use their limited high def resources for what is likely to be a snoozefest at The Vault. Thankfully the Ravens appear to be focused and they are undefeated on CBS this season. By the way, Hollywood star and Baltimore native Josh Charles will be the celebrity sideline reporter for the Ravens radio broadcast on Sunday.
 
BROTHERS IN ARMS ~ "We know some people, including here, don’t want to hear us say this, but our defense doesn’t hide from anybody. Period. We’re going to play hard, smash-mouth football and see if you can deal with it. And, we’re not going to do it for just the 1st quarter or 1st series. We bring it all day long. That’s truth, not bragging. We think like an offense. Teams have to stop our defense, not us stopping them. Togetherness is part of who we are. We stop the run because we all fly to the ball. We take pride in that. We all have that ‘I’m my brother’s keeper’ mentality. We have each other’s backs." RAY LEWIS ON THE RAVENS’ DEFENSE
 
AD IT UP ~ "He does so much for us. He’s probably one of the most underrated guys in the league. Everybody knows he’s tremendous, but I think he’s better than that." "We call him ‘The Coordinator.’ Because he knows everything about our defenses. He knows every position. Nobody in the league is asked to do as much as he is." DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR REX RYAN ON LB ADALIUS THOMAS
 
SPEAKING OF THE RAVENS DEFENSE ~A friend of mine called me this morning. He was on a business trip in Boston and he happened to be tuned into a local sports talk show. One caller asked the host if he had seen the Ravens game against the Steelers. Impressed with the league’s No. 1 defensive unit the caller suggested that instead of deploying the National Guard to protect our nation’s borders that they should send the Ravens defense instead because no one gets by them. Think about that when conjuring up a nickname for the Ravens vaunted "D".
 
WHEN YOU'RE HOT YOU'RE HOT ~ Dating back to the Titans game on 11/12/06, QB Steve McNair has now attempted 142 passes without throwing an INT. That mark ranks as the best streak in the signal-caller’s 12-year career. Before the current streak, McNair's best string of avoiding the wrong colored jersey was in 2003 when he attempted 132 passes without a pick in games 1-5. The Ravens’ record for most consecutive pass attempts without an INT is held by Eric Zeier, who had 175 passes between 11/9/97 and 9/20/98. However, that streak played out over 2 seasons, while McNair’s current mark is the best for a single Baltimore campaign, beating out Vinny Testaverde’s 93 attempts from 11/3-12/1 of the 1996 season.
 
MCNAIR IS SANTA CLAUS? Like jolly old St. Nick, Steve McNair delivers in December. During his 12-year career, McNair has thrown for more yards (8,461), TDs (48) and less INTs (21) in December than any other month of the season. His 87.4 rating in month No. 12 is also his best. Thanks to his great play late in the season, Steve McNair’s winning percentage in December is greater than any other month. In December as a starter, he’s racked up a 25-13 record (.658). Also his longest career TD passes happen during the season of giving. In 1996 McNair connected on an 83 yard strike against the Jets. Then in 2001 he torched this week's opponent, the Cleveland Browns on a 71 yard TD pass. In a return to Houston in 2003, No. 9 picked up 73 digits on a pass against the Texans and of course there's the 87 yarder to Mark Clayton last week in Kansas City.
 
CLICK YOUR HEELS THREE TIMES ~ For the Ravens there's no place like home since 2000. In this millenium the Ravens are tied with the Broncos for the NFL's best home record, with a 40-14 record (.741). Down at The Vault the Ravens have won 8 of 10, 13 of 16 and 23 of the last 28. GO BENGALS!
 
THEY GIVETH AND THEY TAKETH ~ The Ravens are certainly giving Steve McNair time to throw the football. On the season the Ravens have allowed a NFL 3rd best 16 sacks while they've taken down opposing QB's 46 times. That nets out to a league best +30 sack ratio followed by the Chargers (25), Saints (20), Packers (15) and Bears (13).
 
HIT THE SACK! The Ravens sackmasters are Adalius Thomas (10), Trevor Pryce (10) and Bart Scott (8.5). The three are among the top 16 defenders in the league in the sack department and those takedowns have resulted in 196.5 yards of losses by Ravens' opponents. Terrell Suggs is ranked 22nd in the league with 7 sacks. Only one other team has as many as two players in the top 16, the Chargers with Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips. FYI, Pryce leads the team with 58 QB hits.
 
 THE "J" TRAIN: Jamal Lewis has rushed for more yards (1,415) versus the Browns than he has against any other NFL team. In his 11 career games against Cleveland, Lewis has 7 TDs and 53 1st downs on 249 carries. Lewis' 5.7 yards per carry average is also his highest against any team he has played in his 7-year career (min. 35 carries). Lewis set an NFL all-time single-game record with his 295 yards against the Browns on 9/14/03. In that game, Lewis also set a franchise mark with an 82-yard TD burst on the 2nd play of the game. During the 2003 season, Lewis had at least 200 yards rushing in both meetings with the Browns (295 and 205), totaling 500 yards vs. Cleveland that season. That mark stands as the NFL record for most rushing yards against a single opponent on a season by a single player.
 
OLD BROWNS, CURRENT RAVENS ~ When the Browns became the Ravens in 1996, Ozzie Newsome was named the VP of Player Personnel. Vice president of football administration Pat Moriarty has also been around since the days in Cleveland, beginning his career as a rookie free-agent running back for the Browns in 1979 and then working closely with Newsome since 1994 on the personnel staff. Also remaining with the franchise since the relocation from Cleveland are George Kokinis (director of pro personnel), Vincent Newsome (assistant director of pro personnel), Kevin Byrne (senior vice president of public & community relations), Bob Eller (senior director of operations), Bill Tessendorf (vice president of medical services), Bill Jankowski (director of IT), Mark Smith (assistant athletic trainer), Francine Lubera (senior director of publications) and Ed Carroll (equipment manager).
 
OLD RAVENS, NEW BROWNS ~ Former Ravens 2005 6th round draft choice Derek Anderson is the Browns’ backup quarterback. Like Anderson, Browns P Dave Zastudil will also return to Baltimore for the 1st time to face his former teammates. The former 4th-round draft pick spent 4 years with the Ravens driving yours truly insane with touchback punts before he was signed by the Browns this offseason. The Browns also have 2 other former Ravens on their current squad: CB Gary Baxter (IR, knees) was a Raven for 4 years (2001-04) and TE Darnell Dinkins was with the team from 2004-05.
 
SUBSTANCE OVER STYLE ~ While not as aesthetically pleasing as Zastudil, Sam Koch is getting it done when it comes to managing field position. While averaging 43.2-yard per punt, Koch has been an ace nailing punts inside the 20. Koch is tied for 4th with 24 punts inside the 20. Perhaps even more impressively, Koch has dropped 10 punts inside the 10 yard line and 5 inside the 5. Last season Zastudil had a total of 11 punts inside the 20.
 
NOW THAT'S SPECIAL ~ Gary Stills earned a trip to Hawaii for his outstanding special teams play in 2003 (29 stops, 2FFs, 1 FR). From 2002-05, no player in the NFL totaled more special teams tackles than Stills, who boasted 113 stuffs, including 25 last year. This season, he has totaled a Ravens’ franchise-record 38 special teams stuffs, breaking the previous high of 26 by Corey Harris in 2000. Stills has also set a new personal mark, smashing the 34 tackles he had in 2002.
 
STANDING ON A CORNER IN WINSLOW ARIZONA? Maybe not in Winslow but the Ravens and Browns have a couple of Arizona State connections. Former Sun Devils Todd Heap and Terrell Suggs played with Browns LB Mason Unck and FB Terrelle Smith at ASU. In fact, Unck and Heap were roommates their sophomore and junior years (1999-2000). Heap set TE school records with 115 career receptions and 1,685 career yards. The 2-time Pro Bowler maintains his friendship with Unck today. Wonder if Heap's toddlers call him Uncle Unck? According to the two-time Pro Bowler, "We still like to go to Suns and Diamondbacks games together. He is like a family member, so when he is in Arizona, we always have him over for dinner." Heap also became good friends with Smith, who he likes to call "T-Rex."
 
During the 1999 season, Suggs remembers when Smith was a senior team leader. "He molded me," Suggs said. "He was my mentor, and he told me I could be great."
 
GET OUT OF THE ZONE ~ The Ravens are 1st in the NFL in red zone defense, giving TD's 28.6 percent of the time. The 86 points they have permitted in the zone are the lowest in the NFL. The Ravens are also first in the league in percentage of passes intercepted, having picked off 5.5% of opponents’ attempts. Rex' boys are ranked 2nd in 1st downs allowed per game (15.2) and third in 3rd-down percentage (31.2), holding foes to a conversion rate of 31.2% (53 of 170).
 
HEADS OR TAILS? The Ravens have lost the coin toss in 8 of 13 games and are 3-2 when they win it. It might be safe to say then that the defense sets the tone for the team. Here are a few other interesting stats during the Billick Administration:
 
> When leading at halftime: 52-7
> When leading after 3 quarters: 56-6
> When scoring 1st: 43-18
> With a 100-yard rusher: 32-9
> With a 100-yard receiver: 14-6
> When playing at home: 44-18
> When leading by at least 14 points: 46-1
 
A TALE OF THE TAPE ~ Here’s how the Ravens and Browns compare in key statistical categories:
 
RAVENS
CATEGORY
BROWNS
10-3
2006 Record
7-5
W1
Current Streak
L1
W 20-10 @ Chiefs
Last game
L 7-27 @ Steelers
276
Points Scored
208
30
Touchdowns Scored
22
9
Rushing Touchdowns Scored
7
16
Passing Touchdowns Scored
13
5
Touchdowns on Returns
2
170
Points Against
293
17
Touchdowns Allowed
33
5
Rushing Touchdowns Allowed
11
12
Passing Touchdowns Allowed
18
0
TDs Allowed by Return
4
+16
Turnover Ratio
-12
42.9%
Red Zone TD Pct. For
50%
28.6%
Red Zone TD Pct. Against
56.4%
24.2
KOR Avg. For
24.1
22.2
KOR Avg. Against
22.3
9.2
PR Avg. For
10.9
9.7
PR Avg. Against
7.8
 

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Posted On: 12/15/06
Written By:  
Tony Lombardi

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