Street Talk

BEHIND THE NUMBERS: Ravens offense not built for comeback victories

by Scot Kleinfeld

December 11, 2008
4:00 am

Reading Time: < 1 minute

BTN will provide the team rankings of the Ravens opponents for an easy comparison tool for the remainder of the season.

The rankings after week 14 have changed very little. Because the passing game is below average, the Ravens are not built to come from behind. A stretch run to the playoffs will be built on the defense creating turnovers and the offense cashing in…just like we saw in the Redskins game.

Check back each week to see if Cam’s new system is leading the boys in the right direction this year. Here’s where the offense stands after week 14.

Ravens offense

Statistic	2007 Rank	2007 Avg.	2008 Rank (thru week 14)	2008 Avg. (thru week 14)
Total offense (yds / gm)	22^nd	302.0	19^th	320.2
Pass yards per game	23^rd	189.7	28^th	176.2
Rush yards per game	16^th	112.3	5^th	144.0
Pts per game	24^th	17.2	T-11^th	24.3
3^rd down conversion %	18^th	38%	12^th	42.3%
Penalty yards per game	29^th	54.6	26^th	51.6
Penalties per game	27^th	6.7	27^th	6.7
Turnover ratio	32^nd	-17	T-4^th	+8
Red zone conversion %	27^th	42.2%	16^th	52.6%

Remaining 2008 schedule

Team (record)	Offense Ranking (PPG)	Defense Ranking (PPG)
Pittsburgh (10-3)	20^th	1^st
at Dallas (8-5)	13^th	17^th
Jacksonville (4-9)	24^th	20^th
Total winning %: 22-17 (.564)

Scot Kleinfeld

Scot is a Baltimore native, a Towson University graduate, and has followed sports since the early 1980's. Scot likes to go inside the numbers and get the real "411" on the wins and losses, hence his Behind The Numbers column. Besides being an avid sports fan, Scot has been involved with televison sports production as an Associate Producer since 1993 for WMAR, ESPN, ESPNU,ESPN2, and the former Home Team Sports network. In addition to his television work Scot has written articles for Baltimore Magazine, Lacrosse Magazine and Patuxent Publishing. These experiences make him a natural as the creator of the Media Watchdog, another of SK's fine contributions.