New England Patriots Opponent Profile: Baltimore Ravens Provide Stiff Competition
By Danny Cox
The Baltimore Ravens were looking like complete and total busts earlier this season, but they have since righted the ship and are looking to not only head into the postseason, but also win the AFC North.
Heading into this Monday night's match-up with Joe Flacco and Co., the Patriots are on a three-game winning streak, but they need to keep that streak alive if they want to land a first-round bye.
Baltimore Ravens Opponent Profile: 7-5
Three straight wins to start the season made it seem as if the Ravens were on their way to a good year, but it's been a roller coaster since then. Four straight losses had them floundering and wondering if they were on their way to looking ahead to next year. Then, they won four of five games and now find themselves sitting on top of the AFC North, one half-game ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ravens On Offense
A slow start to the season made it hard for Joe Flacco to get his bearings and get things going for the Ravens, but he's turned that around. Still, the Patriots can expose a Baltimore weakness: The offensive line. Flacco has been sacked 23 times and hit 65 times this year causing some accuracy problems as he's been forced into throwing 11 interceptions.
The big problem for the Patriots is that he spreads the ball around a lot on offense. Mike Wallace leads the team with 57 receptions for 851 yards and four touchdowns. Steve Smith and Dennis Pitta each have more than 50 receptions and are over 500 yards. Five other players have more than 100 yards receiving this season.
The Ravens don't have a great running game; Terrance West runs hard, but he has just 650 yards on the season. Baltimore relies heavily on their passing game, and that includes West and running back Kenneth Dixon coming out of the backfield.
Ravens On Defense
Here is where the Patriots could have a big problem: The Baltimore Ravens are the No. 1 ranked defense in the entire league. They are allowing an average of less than 300 total yards-per-game and have allowed less than 900 rushing yards this entire season. Linebacker Zachary Orr leads a hard-nosed defense that knows how to shut down big-time offenses, and they do it with tight coverage and stiff hits.
The secondary of Eric Weddle, Shareece Wright, Lardarius Webb and Jimmy Smith is one of the best in the league, and they are could cause problems for Tom Brady on Monday night. While looking for openings, Brady will need to keep his eyes on Terrell Suggs as the 34-year-old linebacker has eight sacks this season.
Ravens Players To Watch: WR Steve Smith Sr. and S Eric Weddle
He may be 37 years old and on the verge of retirement, but Steve Smith Sr. is still one of the best wide receivers in the entire game. His numbers are down some, but that can be expected when you reach the 16th season of an amazing NFL career. Smith is so incredibly fast and his small size allows him to get behind and under secondaries when they least expect it. Even if double-covered by taller opponents, Smith still finds a way to make the catch, and that makes him dangerous.
After nine seasons with the San Diego Chargers, safety Eric Weddle is still playing at a very high level, and it shows—he's second on the team in total tackles. Weddle is tied for the team-lead with three interceptions, and leads the team in passes defended this season with 10. He's a prowler on defense and always ends up wherever the ball is going; he's sometimes there before the receivers even make it.
Outlook
The Baltimore Ravens have looked quite impressive in the past few weeks with their only loss coming to the Dallas Cowboys. Last week, they absolutely decimated the Miami Dolphins by 32 points, and that was a Fins team that had won six straight games. New England certainly isn't going to have an easy time this week with Joe Flacco and the strong Ravens' defense, so it's going to take all their attention and focus to come out with a win.
