'Fins To Defend Road Perfection In Baltimore
BALTIMORE (CBS4) ― The most successful traveling show in the NFL does not receive frenzied cheers or standing ovations. The visiting Miami Dolphins prefer the sound of silence. If they can elicit a smattering of jeers, all the better. They expect that Sunday as they take on the Ravens in Baltimore, hoping to keep their perfect record on the road.
"That means you're doing something right and that means as a football team, we're on the right track," running back Ronnie Brown said. "It just says you're doing the right thing as far as taking care of your business."
Miami, 4-0 on the road this season, is booked Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium for a game against the Baltimore Ravens. It could be the toughest gig yet for the Dolphins (4-3) after stopovers in Green Bay, Buffalo, Minnesota and Cincinnati.
Baltimore (5-2) has won six straight and 13 of 16 at home. The Ravens, who just had a refreshing week off, are 5-0 at home since 2001 after a bye. Playing in Baltimore means facing a defense led by linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed in front of 71,000 fans, most of whom begin yelling hours before kickoff.
"It's a tribute to them that they're able to win on the road," Baltimore linebacker Jarret Johnson said of the Dolphins. "They've won at some tough places, but to me, there's nothing like coming to M&T Bank."
For Miami, it's just another business trip.
"I think that our leaders are outstanding. They do a great job of keeping our team's focus," coach Tony Sparano said. "We have a lot of football guys on the team that enjoy talking it, watching it, any of those things. When you get them all together and you get them on the plane or you get them to the airport ... they're talking football, constantly."
Miami's success on the road has been the main topic of conversation this week among the Ravens. During a rare Sunday off last weekend, many of the players watched the Dolphins win at Cincinnati, where Baltimore lost 15-10 earlier this season.
"It's very impressive. You go on the road and beat good teams at their place, that's a feat," Ravens center Matt Birk said. "It's not by accident. They move the ball, they haven't turned it over a whole lot, they have a tough defense. That is a very good football team."
The Dolphins would be even better if they had a solid finishing move. Miami has been proficient getting into scoring range, but the offense has nearly twice as many field goals (18) as touchdowns (10).
"As we get down into that area of the field we've had the untimely penalty, we've had the miscommunication, we've had one of those type of things or maybe it's a double-team that left a body in the hole," Sparano said. "All these things lead to not so good minus plays in that area of the field. When you get in down there in that area you can't have minus plays to be successful. The defenses are too good."
Baltimore's defense is usually better than good, but when last the Ravens played they surrendered more than 500 yards and 34 points to the winless Buffalo Bills. A similar performance against Chad Henne, Ricky Williams, Brown and the potent pass-catching duo of Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess on Sunday could spell the end of Baltimore's run of success at home.
"Third down is going to be real important for us," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "(The Dolphins) have managed to stay on the field and extend drives. They're going to be very intent on scoring touchdowns if and when they get down there. First of all, we're going to try to keep them out of there. That's the No. 1 goal. And, if they get in there we've got to keep them out of the end zone. That will be a big part of the game."
Two weeks ago, Reed celebrated his injury-delayed season debut with two interceptions. Afterward, however, he acknowledged that his body was still in training camp mode. Coming off a welcome break, the six-time Pro Bowl safety is eager to resume his role as Baltimore's last line of defense.
"They have Ed Reed back. He's a ball hawk. You've got to be aware of where's he at," Henne said. "And you know they got a good front so it's going to be a good challenge for us."
If Henne and Marshall can outdo Reed and Lewis, Miami just might become the first team to win in Baltimore since Indianapolis escaped with a 17-15 victory nearly a year ago.
"It's got kind of a championship atmosphere to it," Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "Something's got to give. They're a great road team, and we've got to do our job at protecting our house — taking care of our business at home. Plus, this is an AFC game and down the stretch every game counts."
