By Totals 4U
Baltimore (6-3) The Ravens continued their 4-game stretch of racking up big points against poor defenses (36.0 points per versus Dolphins, Raiders, Browns, and Texans) last week, crushing Houston 41-13 and now face their toughest test of the season for 6’6” 230 rookie QB Joe Flacco (151 of 243 for 1449 yards, 7 TD, 7 INT). Little could be more important to this kid’s success than his offensive line and it will be a man down this trip. Coach John Harbaugh most often uses a 6-man unbalanced line to protect Flacco (17 sacks) and bash the ball on the ground but RT Willie Anderson left in the 3rd quarter against the Texans with a ankle injury which slides 6th lineman 6’8” 330 RT Adam Terry into his slot. There’s nothing wrong with Terry – he was the protected starter before Baltimore picked up Anderson – but that likely eliminates the 6-man line or puts either 6’4” 310 UTEP rookie T/G Oniel Cousins or 6’6” 315 Weber State rookie David Hale in the game against a level of competition they have never faced. Either way, rushing the ball will primarily be the focus and Running Backs Coach Wilbert Montgomery has a dynamite trio that can all produce on the ground and sneaking out for short passed. Willis McGahee (125 for 463 yards and 5 TD rush, 14 for 113 receive), 5’8” 205 rookie Ray Rice (77 for 356 rush, 20 for 190 receive), and 6’1”250 rookie Le’Ron McClain (96 for 366 and 5 TD rush, 15 for 88 receive) rotate for an offense that grinds out the league’s 3rd-best 150.2 rush yards per game at 3.9 yards per carry. Quaterbacks Coach Hue Jackson has done a phenomenal job with not just Flacco but also Troy Smith and Todd Bouman but stretching the field just hasn’t been part of the plan. WR Mark Clayton (20 for 225 yards and TD) and WR Derrick Mason (46 for 598 and 2 TD) – who returned to the game to catch 3 balls after suffering a 1st quarter separated shoulder against the Texans – have had to share the balls with the backs while TE Todd Heap (18 for 195 and 2 TD) has been used primarily in the blocking game as a 7th lineman. It seems a waste for a talent like Heap but he did finally have his first big game of the season last week, grabbing 5 balls for 58 yards and his first 2 scores of 2008.
As lacking in big plays as Baltimore’s offense has been, the defense has piled them up. 19 sacks, 14 interceptions, 6 fumble recoveries, and 3 touchdowns can keep a crew in most games and are certainly enough to win against the bad defenses they have faced the last month. Then decision was finally made this week to place both SS Dawan Landry and LCB Chris McAlister on the IR with knee injuries which is actually a plus because neither has played in weeks and were just taking up roster spots. 5’8” 186 SS Jim Leonard (36 T, S) has outplayed his size alongside 5’11” 200 FS Ed Reed (21 T) while the cornerback trio of 5’11” 196 Frank Walker (23 T, I), 5’11” 180 Fabian Washington (16 T), and 5’9” 190 Corey Ivy (33 T, S) have pieced together the rest of the unit in place of McAlister and 6’0” 175 RCB Samari Rolle (6 T, 2 I) who missed time earlier in the season. The obvious question is with this overall lack of size, just who the hell is going to cover the 6’5” 232 Burress, 6’3” 203 Toomer, and 6’6” 253 Boss? Pressure on the pocket will be all the more critical this week and the front line of Baltimore’s 3-4 defense is dynamite. 6’5” 290 LDE Trevor Pryce (17 T, 4 S), 6’3” 310 NT Justin Bannan (27 T, S, INT), and 6’4” 345 RDE Haloti Ngata (27 T, S, 2 INT) does much more than hold the point. This group also gets to the quarterback themselves better than most from threes plus bat a ton of balls that have racked 3 picks by the line plus a pair each by ROLB Terrell Suggs (39 T, 5 S, 2 INT) and LILB Ray Lewis (63 T, S, 2 INT). RILB Bart Scott (41 T, S) and LOLB Jarret Johnson (34 T, 2 S) have been solid but also keep your eye out for 6’1” 250 Syracuse rookie OLB Jameel McClain (9 T, 2 S) who has demonstrated he has real outside skill for a guy that has an inside build. By the numbers, the Ravens allow 16.7 points (#5 NFL) on 258.4 yards (#2) per game with just 65.4 of those yard coming on the ground at 2.9 yards per carry with only a single rushing TD surrendered through 9 games.
New York (8-1) The Giants pounded the Eagles into submission Sunday night, 36-21, with 219 rushing yards as 4.9 yards per carry in a dominating performance by the offensive line of Diehl, Seubert, O’Hara, Snee, and McKenzie (11 sacks for the year) who allowed Jim Johnson defense only a single sacks while getting flagged not one time. That makes 4 games in which New York has surpassed the 200 yard mark through 9 games and a tip of the hat must also go to receivers Plaxico Burress (32 for 407 and 4 TD), Domenik Hixon (13 for 220 and TD), Amani Toomer (29 for 356 and 2 TD), and Steve Smith (35 for 340 and TD) plus TE Kevin Boss (19 for 217 and 4 TD) who unquestionably block downfield better than any group in the National Football League. Behind these cats, bruisers 6’4” 264 RB Brandon Jacobs (153 for 806 and 9 TD) and 5’11” 228 Derrick Ward (89 for 490 and TD rush, 23 for 212 receive) led by extremely physical 6’3” 266 Madison Hedgecock have been given the extra stride to unload on defenders, often creating reach-tacking come the second half. Mix in a speedy kid like 5’9” 198 2nd-year back Ahmad Bradshaw (36 for 205 and TD) and big plays are inevitable. With the league’s #1 ground attack at 168.9 yards per game on 5.2 yards per carry, it’s a wonder why Coach Tom Coughlin even bothers to throw and with Eli Manning at the trigger it’s clearly a second option. Ok, Manning (170 of 281 for 1926 yards, 14 TD, 6 INT) has won his share of fans but who couldn’t succeed in this situation? With 64 games in the career books, kid brother has completed 1154 passes in 2077 attempts for 13, 245 yards with 91 scores and 70 picks. That’s basically 4 full regular seasons with average 16-game marks of 288 of 519 (55.5% completion rate) for 3311 yards with 22.8 TD versus 17.5 INT and an overall passer rating of 75.5. Pretty pedestrian behind this kind of rushing game and the single weakness that opponents have a chance to exploit. By the numbers, New York’s offense piles up 29.1 points (#2 NFL) on 347.7 yards (#4) per game.
Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuola’s group is our selection from the best in pro football. The numbers of 17.8 points (#6 NFL) on 264.8 yards (#3) per game may indicate that as a slight exaggeration but watching this crew play, you can’t help but surmise that the Giant stoppers can crank it down any time they wish and in a playoff situation we suspect you would see this unit play at a gear that other good defenses just don’t have. Up front, the foursome of 6’5” 274 LDE Justin Tuck (39 T, 8 S, 2 FF), 6’4” 306 LDT Barry Cofield (24 T, 2 S), 6’4” 317 RDT Fred Robbins (21 T, 6 S), and 6’5” 265 RDE Mathias Kiwanuka (26 T, 6 S) plus backups DT Jay Alford (6 T, 2 S) and DE Dave Tollefson (15 T, 4 S) are the most productive bunch in the country, racking up 28 of the team’s 32 sacks, and getting 10 from the tackle position shows what double-teaming gets you. SLB Danny Clark (37 T) and MLB Antonio Pierce (47 T, 2 S, 2 FF) have been free to roam behind this wall while backup Chase Blackburn (27 T, S) has been sharp in rotation and 6’2” 237 BYU rookie OLB Bryan Kehl has impressed all with his speed to the ball in relief of WLB Gerris Wilkinson (8 T) with 27 stops plus an interception. If you get past the front 7, don’t expect to play patty-cake with a bunch of self-styled “athletes” and “entertainers”. The New York defensive backfield can flat-out shake your teeth loose. 6’2” 210 Miami-Florida rookie S Kenny Phillips (40 T, INT) got his first start last week in place of 6’3” 215 James Butler (37 T, 2 INT) against the Eagles and finished 2nd on the team with 5 solo tackles. He will play alongside 6’2” 207 S Michael Johnson (37 T, 2 INT) to provide major punch across the middle. Little corners? Not a chance! LCB Aaron Ross (36 T) and RCB Corey Webster (25 T, S, 3 INT) measure in at 6’0” 197 and 6’0” 202 – big enough to play safety on most squads. Not much depth? Guess again! Try veteran players like DB’s Sam Madison, Sammy Knight, and RW McQuarters to fill out the nickel and dime. Offensive coordinators must feel like Sisyphus, but in reality he was cursed to ceaselessly roll his rock up the hill for eternity while opponents only must face this mountain for the 26 minutes and 36 seconds per game that the Giants allow you to hold the rock.
FREE SELECTION: Playing a defending Super Bowl Champion against the spread has rarely been a great 16-game strategy but just who is going to beat the Giants when they don’t want to be beaten? Not the Ravens and not this Sunday. Take New York –6 ½.