RavensFan

You all need to track down the Dalai Lama. Big hitter, the Lama.

Here's what some coaches have said: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2863553-what-nfl-defenses-must-do-to-try-to-stop-lamar-jackson-and-the-ravens That kind of scared me, and he's on my team. His ability to quickly recognize and counter defensive schemes is a complete surprise. And it was written before he carved up the Rams.

He's a run-stuffer who can get some pressure on the QB. He's not your man. He also came into camp seriously out of shape, but made a pretty miraculous recovery for a big guy. But who knows what he'll do once he signs that big contract?

Offer him enough money this offseason, and he'll be a Bill.

I hadn’t factored in the noise (and weather). You’re all convincing me. The Rams was as close to perfection as I’ve ever seen, but there was no drama.

Thanks, I'll definitely stop by after the game. This is a great forum, with intelligent discussion about football; none of the nonsense of Browns or Steelers boards. BTW, Flacco's 5-pick game was in 2013, right after winning the Super Bowl and signing the massive contract. Talk about your bad omens.

Please sell tickets.

My take is that this is the best dream I've ever had, and I hope I don't wake up until late February. Seriously, if you've seen the Ravens over the past five years, they've been painful to watch on offense: win the field position battle, and bring in the ultimate weapon (Tucker) for 3 points. Now, it's Christmas every Sunday. We honestly don't know if there's a particular scheme that will slow down this offense, or if it has to be done with superior talent and disciplined play, or by hoping for turnovers. I had expected Belichick to expose it, but even he had no answers. On defense, they've gone from being hot garbage through Week 4 to what may be a top 5 unit. We're impressed by how the Bills seem to be improving every week, especially at QB. The experts seemed to get almost everything wrong about that QB class. The only doubts are: 1) their ability to handle the large bodies the Ravens' offense will throw at them from all angles, and 2) Bills' strength of schedule. But, as they say, you can only play who you're schedule to play, and it counts the same in the win column. I still have flashbacks to when Flacco threw 5 picks in a game at Buffalo. But Lamar reads defenses better than Joe ever did, so I'm optimistic. It should be fun to watch.

Yes, that must be why it happened.

Since they emphasized Seattle's poor rating against the pass, I didn't think it was based on quality of opponent. And the Rams are still #12 in overall defense even after that beating, while Seattle is #24. Regardless, going 6 TDs in 6 drives against a team with a winning record would still be more impressive.

I would have thought the most impressive road win was 285 yards rushing and 5 TD passes in the dissection of the Rams, who were #5 against the run at the time.

If you want to insult Mike Preston, you’ll have to wait in line behind about a million Ravens fans. He’s a tool.

Bingo. Because most of the press is lazy, and don't want to work for their clicks. Glad he handled them well.

I can't access the interview at the moment. How many questions did the Buffalo media ask Allen about the Ravens defense? Or maybe the questions were from national media, who only seem interested in the QBs. I'm not sure who attends these pressers.

He's on the injury report because of the standard "veteran's day off" that Harbaugh gives to the older guys almost every week, not because of injury. It means he'll be fully rested. His "pitch count" is due to them having Gus Edwards, who has 460 yards @5.1 YPC (and over 700 in only 11 games last year), not because he's old. Late in the game, they're still both fresh.

Ingram has rush for 837 yards with a 5.0 average; why wouldn't a DC be worried about that? And falling behind won't make them change their game plan, unless it's by 17 or more (maybe 14 in the 2nd half). They're not the Cowboys; they won't stop running unless the defense can stop it. (I need to send Jason Garrett a Christmas card for not taking the Ravens HC job.)

The 305lb fullback you'll see Sunday planted a couple of 49er DBs; he can handle just about any S, no matter how fast. He also catches passes in the flat; I think four Niners jumped him after a catch and were barely able to stop his forward progress. He's good enough that he got a 2 year $7.5 million extension this morning. He also plays DT. I don't think going lighter everywhere is the way to play against this offense. Last year, yes. Not any more.

They don't have to rough him up; they just have to wrap him up in case he has the ball. And you're right, a QB who's trying to deceive the defense on a handoff should be fair game.

They absolutely did over-pursue and bite on the play action. That's why two of the LBs are no longer with the team, and another LB was demoted and the green dot was shifted to S Tony Jefferson (who's now on IR). They also didn't have Brandon Williams in that game; he's a huge part of the run D. They still occasionally over-pursue, but the current defense is worlds better than the trash they rolled out in Week 4.

That worked against last year's Lamar and last year's Ravens offense, neither of which resembles this year's model. That offense was thrown together almost overnight after Flacco went down, and Lamar was not nearly skilled enough as a passer to make up for its shortcomings. But play seven DBs now, and half of them might end up on IR. They sometimes put 900 pounds of blockers in the backfield with Lamar. What no team has done consistently is something several of you have mentioned: have your edge guy commit to tacking Lamar on every option. Forget the RB; take your chances that your interior line can control him. You cannot let Lamar have the edge. On pass plays, the TEs are definitely the strength; all three can find the holes in the zone, run good routes, and have good/great hands. They've also been using Ingram more in the passing game recently, which they should have done sooner. Against the Ravens defense: I don't think you have the edge blockers and speed back that allowed the 49ers to run so well, and running up the middle doesn't work. The pass rush isn't great, with many of the sacks due to coverage by the very strong secondary. Allen will have to make quick decisions and take what's available. They'll probably try to bottle him up with a disciplined pass rush, as they did sucessfully with Watson a couple weeks ago. They will definitely try to confuse him with fake blitzes and last-second alignment changes. After looking like garbage through week 4, they're at least a top 10 unit now.

Don't base your opinion on one d-bag (who might not even be a Ravens fan). We respect the Bills, and are glad your team is causing problems for Darth Hoodie and his minions. I think the Ravens will win, but we're so new to this "high powered offense" thing that we're still expecting someone to at least slow it down, without the benefit of superior talent everywhere (49ers) and/or the weather. We've gone half a decade with the kicker being the team MVP every year, so this habit of scoring touchdowns is pretty foreign.