Last week was a perfect example of how important the pass rush can be. Lamar Jackson was a perfect 15/15 when he was unpressured. However, when he was pressured, he was 2/7.
This week gets even more complicated, as the Ravens will be without LT Ronnie Stanley and C Tyler Linderbaum.
Welcome into Trench Notes folks, where we’re going to get you ready for the big hogs to go to battle on Sunday!
Adjusting to Injuries on the Offensive Line
Patrick Mekari will step in for the injured Ronnie Stanley and hold down the blindside, but this matchup isn’t going to be easy. He’s going to be going against Trey Hendrickson for most of the night, who aligned over the LT for 100% of his 44 snaps in week 1.
Hendrickson is a two-time Pro Bowler who is a throwback power rusher. It will be a battle of leverage and hand placement, as Mekari will seek to use quick sets and consistent hand technique to gain the upper hand and keep Hendrickson at bay.
Sam Mustipher will step in at C and face one of the marquee NTs in the NFL in D.J. Reader. The Ravens are going to have to use a mixture of doubles with John Simpson and Kevin Zeitler to get hands on Reader and stress their other three linemen in one on one battles to help Mustipher out.
This Bengals defense pressured Deshaun Watson 20 times in Week 1 and did it without blitzing.
Sam Hubbard and Cam Sample provide excellent depth on the edge, as both had three pressures in Week 1.
The key to this matchup is going to be containing Reader and Hendrickson, who can takeover a game. Look to Todd Monken to be creative in his play calling, and hopefully establish the run early.
The Browns were able to exploit the Bengals edges in the run game, where they gained 123 of their 206 rush yards on rush lanes outside the OTs. This is an opportunity for the Ravens to establish a run game and use PA to contain the pass rush and get Lamar Jackson comfortable.
Attacking Burrow Without Blitzing is key to Success
Under the defensive playcalling of Wink Martindale and Mike MacDonald, the identity of the Ravens pass rush has been through the blitz. However, Joe Burrow has been able to use his talented trio of WRs to beat the blitz.
As such, the Ravens need to rely on matchups against this Bengals OL to attack Burrow without sending the house.
In Week 1, Burrow was pressured on 12 of his drop backs, which resulted in 3/10 for 24 yards and two sacks. That compared to 21 non-pressured drop backs where he went 11/21 for 58 yards and 0 sacks.
Not surprising, efficiency drops under pressure. However, the key is to get home without blitzing. The Browns only blitzed on 13 of his 33 dropbacks, and the majority were five-man pressures.
Orlando Brown Jr. is a face that Ravens fans remember well. He was one of the most pressure-proned players while in Kansas City, and 2023 is off to a similar start. He allowed two QB hits and a hurry. Opposite Brown Jr., Jonah Williams has struggled early as well at his new RT spot, allowing three pressures (1 sack, 1 QB hit and 1 hurry) in Week 1.
On the interior, Ted Karras and Cordell Volson have struggled to find chemistry together, while Alex Cappa has continued his solid play that he brought from the Bucs.
The key to the defensive line is going to be the use of stunts and the way the Ravens can create confusion with their speed up front.
In Week 1, Odafe Oweh and Justin Madubuike showed their explsoiveness up field and we know what a disruptor Jadaveon Clowney can be.
Heavy stunts, utilizing that athleticism and capitalizing on communication mistakes is one tangible way Mike MacDonald can attack with four- or five-man pressures to keep more defenders in coverage.
2 Responses
Really great stuff, look forward to these every week. Thanks
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