Ravens @ Bills Preview
Optimism is something every Bills fan is lacking right now. The Bills are coming off a humbling performance and the Ravens look to have finally hit stride. This game has the makings of a beat down all over it.
Quarterback:
Flacco has yet to show he’s worthy of that huge offseason contract. He opened the season in dismal fashion, rebounded the last two weeks, but his performance has been very mediocre (1TD in his last two games). Still he has this match-up well in hand as EJ is coming off a sporadic performance against the Jets. = Ravens
Joe Flacco: 72/119 – 744 yards – 60% – 3TD – 2 INT – QBR 80
EJ Manuel: 64/108 – 689 yards – 59% – 4TD – 1INT – QBR 86.5
Running back:
Ray Rice may be out but to be honest he doesn’t scare me either way. Both Ravens backs are tallying up a dismal 2.8 YPC average, and only one play of 20+ yards. Spiller has been frustrating as well but to put the Ravens numbers in perspective CJ is averaging 3.6 YPC. One thing I look to see from Hackett this week is a little less loyalty. If Fred Jackson is playing better he’ll see the rock more they have to take the pressure of EJ. = Bills
Fred Jackson: 32/169 – 5.3 YPC – 1TD
Bernard Pierce: 52/144 – 2.8 YPC – 2 TD
Wide Receivers/Tight ends:
Torrey Smith has been shut out of the endzone this season but he does have 6 plays over 20 yards (2nd). Smith is backed up by rookie Marlon Brown who is going to be a total nightmare for this Bills secondary. Expect him to go off on whoever they try to cover him with. Stevie Johnson is starting to click with Manuel and despite a solid Ravens defense I think he’s going to have a big week as well as the Bills know they need to succeed in the passing game to get any kind of balanced attack going. I also look to see another receiver step up as TJ Graham is not finding his role in this offense (2 catches on 9 targets for 13 yards). = Ravens
Torrey Smith: 16/269 – 0TD
Stevie Johnson: 17/236 – 2TD
Dallas Clark: 12/141 – 0TD
Scott Chandler: 12/127 – 1TD
Oline:
EJ Manuel was sacked 8 times last week. = Ravens
Dline:
I was very disappointed that the Bills dline didn’t make more of an impact against the Jets. This week they’re coming in a bit banged up, Bills fans are going to be watching this group closely. They need to pressure Flacco for Buffalo to have any kind of chance. The Ravens dline is more focused on gap control than pressure but they’ve still gotten to the QB 4x this year. Judging this group without the support of the backers is tough. Still I give the edge to the Ravens. = Ravens
Linebackers:
Everyone is talking about Kiko Alonso this week. I’m not surprised. This is exactly what I expected from this kid in April. I am still looking to see him improve against the run, but he has taken a lead on this defense and he’s exciting to watch. Smith, Suggs and Dumervil have 6.5 sacks between them, each of them are disruptive, the Bills are going to be forced to keep guys back in protection. Guys like Summers and Jackson should see increased reps. = Ravens
Daryl Smith: 25 Tackles – 1.5 Sacks – 1 INT – 1TD – 5PD
Kiko Alonso: 27 Tackles – 1 Sack – 2 INT – 1FF/1FREC – 2 PD
Defensive backs:
If the Bills are forced to dip deep into their depth chart on Sunday this is going to be almost impossible to recover from. Justin Rogers showed zero awareness last week, he couldn’t find the ball or his receiver, we would’ve been better off if he couldn’t find his helmet. Leonard and Williams both continue to play well but the weakness at corner is giving this secondary very little chance. On the surface it looks as if the Ravens secondary has struggled as well. They’ve actually allowed more yards receiving than the Bills, mostly at the hands of Peyton Manning, they’re in the bottom of the league in (passing) TD’s against with 7 (all from Manning) but the one stat you can look at is the average QB rating against them is 105. You can rest assured they’re going to press and allow man coverage deep, no one is going to be afraid of EJ until he connects on his deep ball. = Ravens
Lardarius Webb: 17 Tackles – 2PD
Aaron Williams: 25 Tackles
Coaching:
Where all still trying to figure out what kind of coach Doug Marrone is. He’s corrected discipline issues (penalties), he’s yet to successfully make in game corrections and he’s being challenged by depth. He’ll be judged severely if Manuel looks like he did against New York. = Ravens
John Harbaugh: 65-31 (.677) (1-0 against Buffalo 37-34 OT – 2010)
Doug Marrone: 1 – 2 (.333)
My Prediction: In typical Bills fashion we’ll keep this one close and lose. 35-24 Baltimore
