Ravens Have To Get Ray Rice Involved Against Giants
By Samuel Njoku
The Baltimore Ravens will match up against the New York Giants on Sunday. Here's the scouting report:
New York Giants: Tied for 1st place in the NFC East (8-6-0)
Offense:
The Ravens were beaten pretty handedly by one Manning. Perhaps they'll have better luck with another one. After losing to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos last Sunday, the Ravens turn their attention to Eli Manning. Like Flacco, the 2-time Super Bowl Champion has struggled this season. He's currently thrown 20 TD's and 15 INT's with two games left on the schedule. That doesn't mean the Ravens will underestimate the signal caller. Their running game has been inconsistent with the injury to Ahmad Bradshaw. Though he may play in their game against Baltimore, Bradshaw may not be healthy enough to shoulder the load. This means that the Giants will looks to test a Ravens secondary that has been torched the last few weeks.
Look for New York to test the secondary with deep passes to Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. Those two playmakers can make life difficult for any secondary, let alone a unit that is limping onto the football field. If the Ravens have any hope of containing Manning, it'll be done by generating a decent pass rush. The Ravens could get the services of both Ray Lewis and Dannell Ellerbe. Both additions should pay immediate dividends for the defense. But even that may not be enough to stop Eli Manning from putting points on the board.
Defense:
The defensive coordinator of New York hopes that the Ravens take Ray Rice away from the game. That's because the Giants are doing a poor job of stopping the run. The Ravens' best weapon wears the "27" and can put a game on his back if necessary. The issue with Baltimore is that they have done a poor job of getting him the football. If the Ravens finally come to their senses, the Giants could be in big trouble. The Giants will look to put points on the board in a hurry in order to force the Ravens to throw the football. When Baltimore becomes one-dimensional, they aren't a very good team. The Giants have struggled recently when it comes to getting to the quarterback, but the talent is there to get the job done.
The front four of New York remains one of the best in football. And with the way the offensive front of Baltimore has played, the Giants will probably smell blood on Sunday. Jim Caldwell will need to implement the no-huddle attack to keep the defense on its heels. When the Ravens went to a no-huddle attack last week, the Broncos weren't able to keep up. But they implemented that style of play a little too late. Denver had already taken over the game and Baltimore couldn't catch up. They'll need to start fast in order to keep it from happening again.
Coaching:
Tom Coughlin remains one of the best coaches in the NFL. He is a big reason why the Giants have won 2 Super Bowls in such a short period of time. Baltimore lost their last meeting against New York 30-10. But the Ravens have a 3-1 All-Time record against the Giants which includes a 34-7 victory in Super Bowl XXXV.
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Samuel Njoku was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and is a graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Samuel has covered the Ravens for Examiner.com since 2010. Prior to 2010, Samuel was an avid blogger and radio personality in Salisbury, MD. He can be reached for comments at SamuelN870@gmail.com. His work can be found on Examiner.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Ravens_Examiner.
