Behind Enemy Lines - "Keys to Beating the Bills" from Raven's Message Board

[jaybee]

Tons of great analysis here by both the Bill's Mafia and the Baltimore guys. But, what makes these games so fascinating to watch is even with great analysis you just never know how the game will go. Look at that Cleveland Pittsburgh game the other day. Who would have ever guessed. Playoff football. There is nothing like it. GO BILLS!!

[Rubes]

Personally, I think the biggest factors in this game for the Bills are the two lines.

 

If the offensive line can open some holes for RBs and keep pass rushers away from JA, we'll do fine on offense.

 

If the defensive line can plug up holes and get pressure on LJ without letting him spring loose, we'll do fine on defense.

 

Honestly, that should really be true for just about any game.

 

Edited January 15, 2021 by Rubes

[Cheektowaga Chad]

Its not a good sign when your game plan for our wr's  is "pound them" "make them pay" 

 

Youre already behind and trying to play catch up

[Pokebball]

1 hour ago, vtnatefootball11 said:

Saw this post on the Raven's message board regarding scouting report of the Bills from Raven's fan perspective. Thought it was interesting and worth sharing.  I could nitpick a couple things but overall his analysis is tough to disagree with.   He made some great points, but hopefully JA transcends all and puts the Bills on his back again this week!

 

"With Moss out the bad running game of the Bills is really bad. Singletary is really only effective when there are holes so job one is to plug those holes up. The Ravens have been very good at doing that this year.  

The biggest running threat is going to Josh Allen who is very dangerous especially in the red zone. Allen is 3rd on the team in rushing yards and has 8 rushing TDs. Without that other big rushing threat I would use a similar plan that we used against the Titans only keying on Allen as the rusher instead of Henry. This is how other teams have attacked Lamar this year and it works until Gus or Dobbins start going up the middle and blowing up those guys waiting on the edge. Singletary isn't Dobbins or Gus. They will be able to limit those bigs runs by Allen.

The Bills are going to be respond by throwing the ball. Allen has 7 games this year with 40+ passing attempts. In 2019 he had just 1. Allen is very comfortable passing and will start throwing down field. The Ravens have the DBs to handle even when blitzing. The Bills in general use a layered system of Diggs and Brown deeper, Davis in the middle depth, Beasley and Knox underneath. Everyone of them can catch and they use the whole width of the field. I think we all saw Allen fit perfect balls on the sideline to Davis at the end of half last week. It was textbook.  

Don't focus on pushing Allen into tough throws. Instead focus on making the receivers make tough catches. Play tight and hit hard. Diggs had the best season in the league this side of Devante Adams. He's going to make some catches. Make him pay on every single one. 8 catches for under 80 yards would be a big win against Diggs.

On the other side of the ball the Ravens just need to continue to do what they do. The Bills allowed 21 rushing touchdowns this year which is 27th in the NFL this year. They are 26th in yards allowed per attempt. Pound the ball in the red zone. They are middle of the road against the pass and rank 9th in both TDs and yards be attempt and 7th in getting interceptions. Running the ball just makes a ton of sense.

Both the Ravens and Bills are +4 in turnover margin so both understand the importance of turnovers. Bass has been a really good Kicker in the clutch but no one is on the level of Justin Tucker. The Bills punter has a great leg. Kicking and punting will be about mistakes since both teams are really among the NFL elite in those areas.

It should be a good game but I really like this matchup for the Ravens. As good as the Bills have been I really see this as favorable for the Ravens."

https://forum.russellstreetreport.com/showthread.php?207004-Keys-to-beating-the-Bills&s=5e4430fa0dd03ad736b8d386a8da5aba

The Ravens don't have enough DBs (including LBs in coverage).  That's the way I see it and the reason they will lose the game tomorrow.  I've been thinking, more and more as the week progresses, that Beas is going to be the Raven's killer.  I'm expecting a monster game from Cole.

[davspo]

If the Bills lose, it won't be because the Ravens and national media did not provide enough bulleting board material.  Their confidence borderlines arrogance.  They are a good team, but seem to be forgetting that the Bills are as well.  We will see what happens.  

 

[Pokebball]

1 hour ago, Big Turk said:

 

I like the way we match up. Their corners are good but so were Miami's. Allen will torch man coverage if that is what they think is going to work.

And don't forget the Rams.  Diggs had something like 130 yds vs Ramsey.

[Big Turk]

3 minutes ago, Pokebball said:

And don't forget the Rams.  Diggs had something like 130 yds vs Ramsey.

 

Diggs only had 4 catches for 49 yards in that game and only 1 catch for 4 yards when matched up on Ramsey but it was a TD

[spartacus]

1 hour ago, H2o said:

I mean, it does make sense. We don't really have a running game that's going to scare anyone. They will likely key on Josh every time we run a Read Option unless Singletary or Yeldon can gash them a couple of times causing them to do otherwise. That worries me for two reasons. I don't want Josh getting injured and the Ravens are ALWAYS trying to rip at the football. Even their DB's are among the best in the league at this. The one thing you can't really game plan for if you are Baltimore is Josh and his improv runs. He can see an opening then it's boom, off for 10-20 yards. They can try to spy him, but he's faster than people think and he's hard to get on the ground in a one on one situation (hey, Kyle Van Noy ). I also think we need to use their aggressiveness against them with some quick hitting plays that give our guys the chance to go get some YAC. If we can do this early, get a couple of chunk runs from our RB's and get some quick hitters that go for some nice YAC, then their defense is going to have a hard time dealing with all of the weapons we have on the field at any given time. Josh will be able to pick them apart like he did against SF, Seattle, game 2 against NE, and Miami. 

Bills unveil the completely novel concept of the RB draw play

followed closely by the screen pass to the RBs and Knox

 

then the seam pass to Knox, over and over

 

 

[Pokebball]

2 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Diggs only had 4 catches for 49 yards in that game and only 1 catch for 4 yards when matched up on Ramsey but it was a TD

I stand corrected.  I'm not sure what box score I called up.  Dang, can't get anything past you guys, and I'm happy for that.  Nonetheless, JA still threw for over 300 yds vs a really good secondary.  Now looking at the correct box score, I see Beas had 100 yds receiving vs the Rams.  As I mentioned in another post, I think Cole will have a big game tomorrow.

[buffalostu2]

If they want to line up blitz and play man, go ahead.  I guess their corners are better than friendly offensive rules.   The data says our excels against this.  I expect a few more runs and a few more screens against their blitzes.  Also if they think are receiver routes are that predictable they are crazy.   Isn't Davis the deep threat in avg yds per reception?   Josh makes 30 yard throws look intermediate I guess.

 

The one comment I was hoping for was a Cam Newton comparison.  That one always guarantees victory.

 

Bills 31-20

[LABILLBACKER]

2 hours ago, Mynamemike said:

I feel very similar about this game as i did to last weeks game.  It's going to be an absolute dog fight.   If our defense can keep them to 24 points or less we have a very strong chance of winning.   I think the loss of Moss is going to hurt more  than people think but I feel pretty confident in TJ Yeldon being serviceable.  Motor needs to have a strong game when he gets his touches to keep the defense honest.  I can't wait until tomorrow!!!

What little holes are there, Devin better explode thru them. We can't rely on Josh to do 75% of the running or he'll get hurt. Stop Lamar from escaping the pocket. 

[Not at the table Karlos]

1 hour ago, MJS said:

His point about hitting Diggs and making him pay for it is not correct. Diggs will feel slighted and punish them more for that. That's how he is. The way to keep him from doing that is to NOT slight him in any way. Just laugh and have a good time with him.

The dolphins were smacking Diggs around in the two games we played them. Worked really well for them lmao

[Straight Hucklebuck]

Keep throwing on the Ravens. Their corners grab, hold, clutch and hand fight down the entire field. Keep your nerve and keep throwing. 

 

Spread them out as far as possible, 4-wide with Singletary, 5-wide, someone will be open. 
 

The Ravens have one dangerous WR with game changing speed. We have a top flight corner and a turnover weapon. Stick White on Brown, this makes it easier on broken scramble plays to not get caught in switches and handoffs. 

[78thealltimegreat]

2 hours ago, vtnatefootball11 said:

Saw this post on the Raven's message board regarding scouting report of the Bills from Raven's fan perspective. Thought it was interesting and worth sharing.  I could nitpick a couple things but overall his analysis is tough to disagree with.   He made some great points, but hopefully JA transcends all and puts the Bills on his back again this week!

 

"With Moss out the bad running game of the Bills is really bad. Singletary is really only effective when there are holes so job one is to plug those holes up. The Ravens have been very good at doing that this year.  

The biggest running threat is going to Josh Allen who is very dangerous especially in the red zone. Allen is 3rd on the team in rushing yards and has 8 rushing TDs. Without that other big rushing threat I would use a similar plan that we used against the Titans only keying on Allen as the rusher instead of Henry. This is how other teams have attacked Lamar this year and it works until Gus or Dobbins start going up the middle and blowing up those guys waiting on the edge. Singletary isn't Dobbins or Gus. They will be able to limit those bigs runs by Allen.

The Bills are going to be respond by throwing the ball. Allen has 7 games this year with 40+ passing attempts. In 2019 he had just 1. Allen is very comfortable passing and will start throwing down field. The Ravens have the DBs to handle even when blitzing. The Bills in general use a layered system of Diggs and Brown deeper, Davis in the middle depth, Beasley and Knox underneath. Everyone of them can catch and they use the whole width of the field. I think we all saw Allen fit perfect balls on the sideline to Davis at the end of half last week. It was textbook.  

Don't focus on pushing Allen into tough throws. Instead focus on making the receivers make tough catches. Play tight and hit hard. Diggs had the best season in the league this side of Devante Adams. He's going to make some catches. Make him pay on every single one. 8 catches for under 80 yards would be a big win against Diggs.

On the other side of the ball the Ravens just need to continue to do what they do. The Bills allowed 21 rushing touchdowns this year which is 27th in the NFL this year. They are 26th in yards allowed per attempt. Pound the ball in the red zone. They are middle of the road against the pass and rank 9th in both TDs and yards be attempt and 7th in getting interceptions. Running the ball just makes a ton of sense.

Both the Ravens and Bills are +4 in turnover margin so both understand the importance of turnovers. Bass has been a really good Kicker in the clutch but no one is on the level of Justin Tucker. The Bills punter has a great leg. Kicking and punting will be about mistakes since both teams are really among the NFL elite in those areas.

It should be a good game but I really like this matchup for the Ravens. As good as the Bills have been I really see this as favorable for the Ravens."

https://forum.russellstreetreport.com/showthread.php?207004-Keys-to-beating-the-Bills&s=5e4430fa0dd03ad736b8d386a8da5aba

I think we kick their ass

[PrimeTime101]

2 hours ago, warrior9 said:

"Singletary is only effective when there are holes."

 

As are 99.9% of running backs... see Zeke Elliot who was once seen as the best in the game when he had one of the best offensive lines ever fielded.

To his point, Singletary is not a big guy that's going to run over people. This is why I wanted Williams to play,,, he has speed and runs over people.

[qwksilver]

Two things to note. Ravens and Lamar played a great game last week but only managed 20 points? Titans defense might have been the worst ranked in the playoffs (I did not look this up to confirm). I think 20 is our basement if we have a bad game.

 

No mention of snow. I hope its just enough for Lamar an Brown to think about.

[Buffalo Junction]

2 hours ago, Brit said:

Can you really blame them?

Yeah. They should have moved on to hard drugs somewhere around mid-October. 

[SCBills]

Good analysis, albeit a bit simplistic on their defense simply needing to make sure our WR’s have to make tough catches.  
 

Im sure every good defense we faced this year, after the first half of the year, realized our running game is simply for show and they need to either A) Get to Allen or B) lock up our WR’s.  
 

Indy did one of the better jobs I’ve seen this year by getting pressure with their Front 4 and flooding coverage down the field, yet Allen still had a great game with some help from their special teams continuously pinning us deep.  

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Pokebball said:

The Ravens don't have enough DBs (including LBs in coverage).  That's the way I see it and the reason they will lose the game tomorrow.  I've been thinking, more and more as the week progresses, that Beas is going to be the Raven's killer.  I'm expecting a monster game from Cole.

 

To me, the interesting question is where was Brown last week and why was he such a non-factor?  He played like 97% of the snaps.

 

Last year, the Ravens were very successful at limiting Brown and Beas by playing them very physical and bracketing them at times.  McKenzie and Foster were not a challenge.

 

This year, if everyone is rockin', the Ravens got to pick their poison.  Do they play to bracket or double and absolutely take away Beasley and Diggs?  If so, then the question is do Davis and Brown and Knox step up or do they vanish in single coverage?

 

2 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Good analysis, albeit a bit simplistic on their defense simply needing to make sure our WR’s have to make tough catches.  
 

Im sure every good defense we faced this year, after the first half of the year, realized our running game is simply for show and they need to either A) Get to Allen or B) lock up our WR’s.  
 

Indy did one of the better jobs I’ve seen this year by getting pressure with their Front 4 and flooding coverage down the field, yet Allen still had a great game with some help from their special teams continuously pinning us deep.  

 

Just a point here that our own ST unit had something to do with pinning us deep.  Hopefully they won't repeat that.

[Captain Hindsight]

1 hour ago, jaybee said:

Tons of great analysis here by both the Bill's Mafia and the Baltimore guys. But, what makes these games so fascinating to watch is even with great analysis you just never know how the game will go. Look at that Cleveland Pittsburgh game the other day. Who would have ever guessed. Playoff football. There is nothing like it. GO BILLS!!

That game didnt shock me so much so that Cleveland won. The Steelers are old and tired. I thought if the Browns got rolling like they can, it could get out of hand quickly

 

I did not expect the Steelers to spot Cleveland 28 points however