The reason Ravens maybe the most difficult out for the Bills

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, clearwater cadet said:

I've been waiting 50 years, this bills team is as good as any I've ever seen, just once the ball needs to bounce our way.  Please god just once,  I've been let down some many times in the past.

[TH3]

6 hours ago, PoundingDog said:

The match-ups.

 

We don't need to go to the topic of Bills D against Ravens O, do we? Bills D is built to stop the pass and the Ravens O is built around running the ball. So it is kind of like fighting left-handed there.

 

Looking into Bills O against Ravens D. Ravens play 3-4 defense, all 3 linemen are big (over 300 lb). With Roquan Smith and Van Noy having a late career year at 33 year old, it's hard to run the ball --- Ravens is #1 against run in NFL. I think Connor McGovern against their NT Travis Jones is critical if we want to run the ball, or give Josh some room to step up in passing situations. Jones has 20lb over McGovern but believe me, the Bills are in better shape with McGovern against Jones than Morse. On the flip side, we are not likely to pull McGovern like we do with Morse to attack the edge on run plays. We need to run the ball effectively, like 3+ yards per attempt, can't allow the Ravens to tee-up on Josh with Oweh (10 sacks) and Van Noy (12 sacks). We will see Marlon Humphrey's status but he's perennial all pro. Hamilton to me is one of the best secondary player, not just on their team, but the entire league. I think Josh needs to pay close attention to him every snap.

 

It is a tall order - you know the Bills offense needs to find a way to move the ball and score, preferably in time consuming fashion. I know we ran the ball on Broncos which have a good D-line. But the Ravens are another level up. I see the Bills go pass heavy but I think it could lead to a disaster. The last thing we want is that our offense go 3 and out in less than 2 minutes and the Ravens run the ball to consume 7 minutes, even just to kick a field goal. Allen probably has to put superman cape on and just run the ball himself extensively, which means he could be beaten up pretty good this game and ... guess what, Mahomes is waiting at home with one extra days rest the following week.

 

I really want Cook to have his best game of his career. Is that in him? 

Just when I thought there weren’t enough threads and posts on the spooky ravens,

 

Bills had a better record and scored more points….so….there is that…..

[3rdand12]

5 minutes ago, boater said:

Derrick Freaking Henry. That's why they are difficult. 6'2" 247 pounds of difficult to stop.

 

186 yards against the Steelers. That's probably translates to 125 yards against the Bills---and that's when the Bills are playing well.

It's a concern.

If we miss a gap and he gets steam ....

discipline is critical

 Talking to you Jordan Phillips

[MJS]

Josh Allen might need to use his legs more in this game. And I expect Ty Johnson to have a heavy dose of passes come his way. Check downs and screens.

 

If Allen is willing to take the quick, 5-yard throws when they are there, the offense will be fine.

 

On defense, that odd mirror defense they ran (Milano was spying and they rushed 3 on third and long) was really effective. Both sacks came on that defense. I think it could work well against the Ravens, too.

 

The biggest thing about the Ravens is to stay disciplined and don't fall for the misdirection. Crash the line of scrimmage and hurry Jackson. Hit Henry at or behind the line of scrimmage. Make Jackson pull the ball and run it himself. Jackson could have a monster game running and passing, but also be forced into turnovers. He fumbles it a lot, too.

 

I don't think there is any way around them getting yards, scoring points, and getting big plays. That's going to happen. But you can force some bad plays, too, and that could be the difference if the offense is efficient and sustaining long drives again.

[bills6969]

27 minutes ago, VW82 said:

We're not even going to try to run the ball vs. Ravens like we did vs. Broncos. 

 

This game will look more like the Titans, Chiefs, and Dolphins games where we spread them out and play pitch and catch. Good luck covering us now that we have healthy receivers. 

 

All we have to do is not play 6 in the box vs. Lamar and Henry again and we should be good.

we’re not going to win this game with that gameplan.

 

the best defense against Balt’s offense is keeping them off the field.  To do that we need long sustained drives which can only be done with dominant run game that gets 5 ypc like it did against Denver 

Edited 8 hours ago by bills6969

[Scott7975]

19 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

It’s easy to be efficient when you pass for 140 yards.  

 

2019 - 16/25 for 145 3TD 1 INT - 11/40

2020 - 14/24 for 164 0 TD 1 INT - 9/34

2022 - 20/29 for 144 1 TD 2 INT - 11/73

2024-  13/18 for 156 2 TD 0 INT - 6/54

Like I said, Josh hasn’t played his best versus Baltimore and Lamar hasn’t played his best versus Buffalo.  Not sure how you can argue otherwise 

 

I don’t know if history will matter much though.  Both rosters are different and Lamar and Josh have grown considerably as passers

 

I mean, I don't even know why you are harping on this over a comment that I made that is factual. Josh has not had a good game against the Ravens yet. That is a fact. If we are going to win this football game then he needs to because the Ravens have a lot more than just some passing to worry about. Again, I give this game 50/50 because its a game that both teams are great and either can win. Out of all the teams I believe this is the Bills worst matchup. You are harping on me because I stated a fact. Do you think we are going to just easily beat them or something?

[Ethan in Cleveland]

If Brady was smart, Cooper should get 15 targets in this game. He can put up 200 yards against their corners.

[Big Turk]

Just count on Lamar being what Lamar has always been in big pressure moments in the playoffs.

 

A replacement level player.

 

Lamar will be getting ready to gather the troops for his favorite speech of the year after the game in the locker room

 

"Alright men, great effort, I appreciate y'all but you know what time it is...

 

Cancun on me, Cancun on 3...1, 2, 3...."

 

Teammates: "Cancun!!!"

[3rdand12]

2 minutes ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

If Brady was smart, Cooper should get 15 targets in this game. He can put up 200 yards against their corners.

If they were ever going to use him ... Sunday might be a good time. Agreed

[nosejob]

4 minutes ago, 3rdand12 said:

If they were ever going to use him ... Sunday might be a good time. Agreed

This is why I like the 2 back sets. Davis can pick up the blitz and Josh can send one down range...and Cook down the sidelines is ok too.

[asyranok]

1 hour ago, Solomon Grundy said:

I say to run the ball at Oweh. He's more of a speed rusher than a run stuffer. Wear him out with Dawkins/Brown and Anderson.

Oweh isn't the one doing the rush stopping though (not often). That's Pierce and Roquan primarily. The Ravens best strength is running straight up the gut, so I'd recommend against that. Wide runs that test speed tend to do better.

The keys to beating the Ravens:

1) The Ravens don't rush the QB often. Especially at snap. When they do, they get a high rate of sacks, so overall the sack total is around 5-ish, if I recall. But the percentage of pressure plays is insanely low. That, coupled with Allen's stout protection means he could have more time to wait for receivers to get open, which leads to #2

2) Pick on Stephens. He is a slow, unreliable corner. Don't try to force it into whoever Wiggins or Humphrey are covering. But try to force it into whomever Stephens has. He will eventually lose a step on most receivers, especially if you have an extra second to throw each play.

3) The Ravens defense has the most pathetic number of EASY dropped interceptions that you would have ever seen in a season. I know you might not know this if you don't watch every Ravens game, since they wouldn't be on the highlights. Other than Hamilton and Humphrey, the other Ravens defenders seem literally incapable of holding onto a balloon drifting gently in a breeze.

In one game alone, Eddie Jackson, who was released immediately after the loss, dropped 4 interceptions. Three of them, a geriatric old lady could have caught. Straight to his numbers. And the last three of them, if he had caught ANY of them, the Ravens would have beaten the Browns in that game. Additionally, Hamilton dropped the easiest interception of his career on the Jameis Winston pass one play before the touchdown that gave them their final lead. Four total game winning interceptions dropped in one game. 

Meanwhile, Wiggins dropped about 6 very easy interceptions this year before finally getting his first (a pick six) against the Browns in week 18. I also have counted at least 7 interceptions that most free safeties would have nailed, but Ar'Darious Washington must not have the ability to move his fingers since it looks like someone trying to catch a football with two 2x4's

The point: Don't be afraid to throw passes that would be easy interceptions for most NFL teams. The Ravens might get their hands on it but they almost certainly won't pick it off. Again, unless it's Humphrey or Hamilton (or apparently Michael Pierce and his could-have-been thick six).

Edited 8 hours ago by asyranok

[frostbitmic]

The Ravens are a run first team ... The Bills are designed to stop the long pass play... The Bills may have to adjust before the Ravens do.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

38 minutes ago, boater said:

Derrick Freaking Henry. That's why they are difficult. 6'2" 247 pounds of difficult to stop.

 

186 yards against the Steelers. That's probably translates to 125 yards against the Bills---and that's when the Bills are playing well.

Steelers looked like they straight up quit before halftime that was such a strange game. 

20 minutes ago, 3rdand12 said:

If they were ever going to use him ... Sunday might be a good time. Agreed

He might draw the Marlon Humphrey matchup…not sure if they’ll run him outside or in the slot against Shakir.  Kind of crazy to think about that we had neither of those guys last time 😂

[Big Blitz]

Detroit’s offense was a bad matchup for us to.  
 

Which D is better - or rank them:

 

Denver

Chiefs 

Ravens 

Houston 

[Johnnieo64]

2 hours ago, clearwater cadet said:

I've been waiting 50 years, this bills team is as good as any I've ever seen, just once the ball needs to bounce our way.  Please god just once,  I've been let down some many times in the past.

Really? Better than the 4 Super Bowl teams with Kelly, Thurman, Bruce, Lofton and Andre along with a great OL and Tasker. Not sure, but I hope you are right! GO BILLS!

[harmonkillebrew]

https://www.baltimoreravens.com/video/full-highlights-ravens-fall-to-bills-23-20

 

Ravens are still the same style team. Some different pieces, but there is no reason we can't shut down the run and force Lamar to win it in the air. 

[oldmanfan]

7 hours ago, PoundingDog said:

The match-ups.

 

We don't need to go to the topic of Bills D against Ravens O, do we? Bills D is built to stop the pass and the Ravens O is built around running the ball. So it is kind of like fighting left-handed there.

 

Looking into Bills O against Ravens D. Ravens play 3-4 defense, all 3 linemen are big (over 300 lb). With Roquan Smith and Van Noy having a late career year at 33 year old, it's hard to run the ball --- Ravens is #1 against run in NFL. I think Connor McGovern against their NT Travis Jones is critical if we want to run the ball, or give Josh some room to step up in passing situations. Jones has 20lb over McGovern but believe me, the Bills are in better shape with McGovern against Jones than Morse. On the flip side, we are not likely to pull McGovern like we do with Morse to attack the edge on run plays. We need to run the ball effectively, like 3+ yards per attempt, can't allow the Ravens to tee-up on Josh with Oweh (10 sacks) and Van Noy (12 sacks). We will see Marlon Humphrey's status but he's perennial all pro. Hamilton to me is one of the best secondary player, not just on their team, but the entire league. I think Josh needs to pay close attention to him every snap.

 

It is a tall order - you know the Bills offense needs to find a way to move the ball and score, preferably in time consuming fashion. I know we ran the ball on Broncos which have a good D-line. But the Ravens are another level up. I see the Bills go pass heavy but I think it could lead to a disaster. The last thing we want is that our offense go 3 and out in less than 2 minutes and the Ravens run the ball to consume 7 minutes, even just to kick a field goal. Allen probably has to put superman cape on and just run the ball himself extensively, which means he could be beaten up pretty good this game and ... guess what, Mahomes is waiting at home with one extra days rest the following week.

 

I really want Cook to have his best game of his career. Is that in him? 

You underestimate the Bills O line.  Most people do.

1 hour ago, Steptide said:

I agree to an extent. My fear is this team has no Tru number 1 receiver. I mean who is the guy that's gonna come up with that clutch play? Shakir? Maybe. If there's ever a game to go balls to the wall, it's this one. Let's hope Brady and McDermott don't over think this 

If the offense under Brady has not convinced you yet that a “true” #1 is not critical, it’s likely you simply refuse to see it.

[JohnNord]

2 hours ago, Scott7975 said:

 

I mean, I don't even know why you are harping on this over a comment that I made that is factual. Josh has not had a good game against the Ravens yet. That is a fact. If we are going to win this football game then he needs to because the Ravens have a lot more than just some passing to worry about. Again, I give this game 50/50 because its a game that both teams are great and either can win. Out of all the teams I believe this is the Bills worst matchup. You are harping on me because I stated a fact. Do you think we are going to just easily beat them or something?

I’m not harping on anything - just wondering why aren’t holding Lamar’s limited success against Buffalo, the same way you are with Josh. 
 

The fact is that neither has played their best football against each other’s team in the past, and I don’t think it will have any effect on Sunday.  

1 hour ago, harmonkillebrew said:

https://www.baltimoreravens.com/video/full-highlights-ravens-fall-to-bills-23-20

 

Ravens are still the same style team. Some different pieces, but there is no reason we can't shut down the run and force Lamar to win it in the air. 

Shutting down the run completely is probably not likely.  I do think they can do a much better containing their run game.  

[st pete gogolak]

Denver’s defensive metrics this year were on the whole better than Baltimore, significantly better in most regards, more sacks, #3 in rush defense (Ravens #1), much, much better in pass defense.  Ravens are very good but they certainly beatable.

[Chandler#81]

Nah, Piece of Cake. We got this!