Offense
1) Smith’s offense: In Troy Smith, the Ravens will have a quarterback on the field that can make plays outside of the pocket. Smith is a more gifted athlete than Kyle Boller. As such, the offense should be tailored to showcase Smith’s strengths as a runner and a passer on the move.
The opportunity is ripe to implement a lot of misdirection pass plays against Seattle. The Seahawks have a fast flowing front seven that may be susceptible to over pursuing. These plays will have more bite with Smith in the backfield, as the Seattle pass rushers will try to stay true to their backside assignments. But if they bite, Smith can make them pay off the bootleg.
2) Draws up the gut: Last week, Miami’s pass rush was so live that the Ravens had to run a couple of draw runs to prevent the Dolphins defensive ends from tearing Boller’s head off. The plays worked extremely well, although for some unknown reason, the coordinators did not consistently calls those running plays in the fourth quarter.
That said, the Ravens face a similar front on Sunday. The Seattle down line is as quick and athletic a group as there is in the NFL. They will look to stop plays in the backfield. Using a delayed rush attack could lead to solid gains on the ground, especially in obvious passing situations, when the Seattle line is angling to get to the quarterback in a hurry.
3) 30 carries for Willis: For the first time this season, McGahee registered the right amount of touches. He carried the ball 29 times against the Dolphins. Although McGahee did not consistently gash the Miami front, he did eventually wear it out in overtime.
The magic number for Sunday should be 30. If the Ravens have a lead and need to keep the clock rolling, McGahee should be fed the ball in the fourth quarter, and that feeding process should translate to 30 carries overall.
Defense
1) Zone blitz: Blitzing against the pass happy Seattle offense is a must. But how the Ravens design their blitz packages is more important than simply blitzing altogether. Specifically, this is the type of situation in which disguising plays before the snap to influence Matt Hasselbeck’s decisions after the snap is key.
Hasselbeck is very comfortable changing plays at the line-of-scrimmage. In order to keep the veteran quarterback on his toes, the Ravens will need to show him certain formations before the snap, and then alter the deployment of defenders after the snap.
In addition, there will need to be times when defensive linemen drop into the coverage to cut off the short five yard hot routes that Hasselbeck likes to turn to in order to exploit the blitz.
2) No confusion: A couple of weeks ago against the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens defensive unit looked dazed and confused whenever the Colts motioned players around or ran a quick count. As a result, players were out of position to stop certain plays.
Some of those mistakes were cut down against Miami, but persisted in certain situations, especially on third down. In fact, once the Dolphins figured out where to attack the Baltimore secondary when there was no safety help, they hit on those pass plays over and over again.
In this Sunday’s match, the secondary will need to play with more cohesion and discipline. They cannot be moved out of their designated spots. In fact, Seattle’s offense is predicated on using motion and play-fakes to create mismatch opportunities for their receivers to exploit. If the Raven defenders get sucked into those traps, it will be another long day for the defense, and another breakout performance for the opposing quarterback.
3) Checking the backs: One thing Seattle will do is use its backs as receivers. Given that the Seahawks have gone away from pounding the ball 25 times a game, they will look to throw passes to their backs as an extension of their ground game.
When the Seahawks target their backs in the passing game, they don’t simply use outlet routes to get them the ball in open space. Their backs will line up wide and run designed routes.
It will be imperative for the backers to play with sound technique when they cover. Simply being able to drop into zone pockets will not cut it. They will have to be ready to turn their hips and run downfield.
One-on-one Matchup to Watch: Jonathan Ogden versus Patrick Kerney: After being on the mend for the first half of the season, Ogden has rounded into form over the last couple of games. Although he plays in pain, the blindside blocker is still playing at an efficient level, especially in the running game. Kerney is having a banner season as a Seahawk. He is tough to handle because he has a quick burst and plays with a non-stop motor.
