Ravens Prepare For The Battle Of The Beltway Against Redskins
By Samuel Njoku
After a tough loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore will turn their attention toward the Washington Redskins. There may not be a hotter team in the NFL right now than the Redskins. The electrifying RGIII is set to face Baltimore for the first time. Based on what he was able to do against the Giants, the Ravens may have their hands full. Baltimore began practice this week with one goal in mind: Contain Robert Griffin III. The Ravens have already played a quarterback with his skill set in Week Two albeit in a losing effort against the Eagles. If the Ravens want to come out of Washington with a much needed win, they'll need to do a better job than the one they did against Michael Vick.
"Obviously, [Robert Griffin III] is smart," stated Harbaugh. "He's got a lot of athletic ability, but he also has a lot of quarterback awareness. They run a basic, fundamentally-sound NFL offense with some added juice with the option game, the dive option, the option-pass stuff and all the things he can do with that."
For the Ravens to handle all the different looks that Washington brings, they'll need to be patient. If Baltimore is a little over-aggressive in pursuit, RGIII could make them pay. Luckily for Baltimore, one of their premier pass rushers has a chance to play on Sunday. It appeared that Terrell Suggs may have been lost for the season, but Suggs was seen at the facility on Wednesday and will attempt to play against the Redskins.
"We have to see how it goes," Suggs told reporters on Wednesday. "You all pretty much know [that] the creed is, 'If you can breathe, then you can play.' We just have to check it out and see how it holds up throughout the week. It will definitely be a game-time decision on Sunday."
Suggs tore his bicep muscle on Sunday against the Steelers. If he can play, it'll be a boost for a team that needs to get after RGIII. What makes him so special is his ability to make plays with his arm when he is unable to make plays with his legs.
The Ravens will play two rivalry games on back-to-back weeks. It doesn't hold the intensity of a Steelers/Ravens brawl, but it's always been fun for the players. Not as much fun for the fans.
"They call it the ��Battle of the Beltway,'" stated Ray Rice. "I think it's safe to say, but I don't know if you call it bragging rights or whatever. We are two different divisions, but it's also good to know if you can get a win when you are that close apart. It's going to be a slugfest. It's going to be two teams that are going out there and fighting. We are fighting for a playoff berth. They are fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive. You are talking about two different teams that have a lot at stake with this game."
Rice is spot on with his assessment of the situation. Baltimore still controls their destiny in their quest for the division and bye. But a loss will most assuredly cost them in playoff seeding. For a long time, only bragging rights were at stake when these two teams met on the field. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.
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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.
