Offense
1. Attack from the jump: The Ravens remain a predominant first down rushing attack. There has been very little change up in their approach. They run the ball up the gut with Ray Rice, hoping for a quick three or four yard gain. Opposing defenses are packed in to stop the Baltimore rushing attack and more times than not, they hold the Ravens to a modest gain.
On first down, the Ravens need to take advantage of their natural play-action opportunities. They don’t need to set up the pass by running the ball because they’ve already established that respect factor. Moreover, the Bills rank dead last in the league against the run so they will be more geared to stop it, especially on early downs.
The offensive line should move and pull as if they are blocking for the run, only to set up the run fake. From the base set, quarterback Joe Flacco should be able to hit on some open pass plays off of the play-fake.
2. Vertical game: This is a prime opportunity for Baltimore to work out the kinks of their downfield passing game against a Buffalo secondary that is speedy, yet undersized. All of the Buffalo corners are 6-feet and under, and weigh less than 200 pounds.
With Anquan Boldin, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and tight Todd Heap (when he is flexed), the Ravens will have the clear size advantage on the perimeter. All three receivers have the ability to win jump ball opportunities. If Flacco has enough time to throw the ball, there should be some one-on-one matchups for him to work with.
When Flacco gets the chance, he will need to be aggressive and attack the sidelines, away from safety Jarius Byrd.
The Ravens should implement the hurry-up approach to keep the Bills in their base defense and to tire out their front four. The goal should be to test the Bills’ ability to keep pace.
Defense
1. Perimeter run defense: The Bills have not exactly been cranking out a productive running game. They have been behind in a few games and the lack of a passing game has enabled defenses to pack the box to stuff the run. But they have the capability to produce on the ground, given their stable of backs led by Fred Jackson and rookie C.J. Spiller.
Spiller has had a tough time running behind a Buffalo line that is young and in flux. However, the explosive back from Clemson only needs so much room to operate to rip off of a long gain.
The Ravens will need to do a good job of maintaining contain against Spiller, especially off the edges. He is a dynamic tailback with the speed to erase angles. If he is given room to maneuver off tackle, Spiller will gain yards in chunks.
If the outside backers do a good job of maintaining their gaps, they should be able to funnel Spiller to the inside, where he is not as dangerous.
2. Defend the deep ball: With quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in the lineup, the Bills are a more capable passing team than they were with Trent Edwards. Fitzpatrick has the arm strength and the touch that Edwards lacks to open up the deep passing game.
With the vertical game in play, the Bills are a more dangerous team. They have the outside weapons to get past a secondary and strike big downfield.
The Ravens haven’t given up big plays in the secondary, which is a stark contrast from the opening six games they played in a year ago. This is a secondary that keeps everything in front of them and the safeties stay 20 yards deep.
The emphasis of protecting the corners should be the same. The safeties will need to stay disciplined and converge on the deep routes.
Unlike some of the more dynamic offenses that Baltimore will face, the Bills lack the intermediate weapons to take advantage of openings underneath. Therefore, taking away the Bills’ deep game should be enough to suffocate their passing game.
3. Away from the prevent defense: If the Ravens do establish an early lead, the defense has to play with much better killer instinct than they have in those previous situations. So far this season, the defense has vacated leads against the Browns, Steelers, and Patriots. In two of those contests, the offense bailed out the defense by coming back.
Whether a switch needs to be made with the sub packages on third down, or the blitzes need to be dialed up at a higher level, defensive coordinator Greg Mattison needs to find a way to protect the lead. The defense should continue to play aggressively up front, while playing zone defense behind them to prevent against the quick strike.
Until Mattison finds the right combination with the four-man pass rush, he will need to use more five and six-man pressure packages to get after the quarterback in obvious passing situations.
One-on-one Matchup to Watch
