Ravens at Browns Reaction

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Well, this was not a good one. The Browns snapped their 11 game win street vs the Ravens. The Birdss ran for 55 yards on 21 carries. Rice and Pierce were non factors as the oline continued to struggle. The Browns ran for 73 yards on 28 carries. The worst part of this game: the Ravens defense was handeld by Jason Campbell. 23/35 262 yards 3 TDs O INT. This is the line I would expect from Brady, Manning, or Breese vs. The Ravens defense.

With another road loss, the Ravens fall to 1-4 on the road (2-1 at home) and 3-5 overall. If the Ravens continue their woes on the road, there is no chance they make the playoffs. Raven defensive front played well sacking Campbell 3 times and stopping the run. The secondary played poor all game, allowing Greg Little 122 yards. They did shut down Josh Gordon(3 rec 44 yds), but they couldn’t limit the damage. Ladarius Webb has been picked on all year. Same with Elam and Ihedigbo. They must improve.

The 9 penaltys for 80 yards didn’t help, as well as the -1 turnover ratio. Joe Flacco was pressured all game, including 5 sacks for 27 yards. 24/41 with a 56.1 QBR was terrible, although the Browns defense is very good. The Ravens offensive line may be the worst in the NFL. This game came down to if Flacco could outplay Jason Campbell in the second half and he was unable to. The defense struggling with the pass game and the poor offense need to change soon or the Ravens may be picking in the top 10. Luckily 4/5 next games are home, including CIN, NYJ, PIT, and MIN. This could be 3-4 wins that could put the Birds in wild card contention. Get it together Flacco, let’s get a 100 yard rusher this season please.

Ravens at Browns Preview

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The Ravens won week 2 vs Cleveland at M&T Bank, 14-6. Some notable changes have occurred since week 2 for the Browns, including Jason Campbell starting this week and Trent Richardson being traded to Indy. The Ravens defense has been improving each week, especially the front 7 which has been able to pressure QBs.

While it would be easy to chalk this down as a win for the Ravens, don’t forget this game is being played in Cleveland. The Dawg Pound is always rocking, regardless of the teams success, so I expect this game to be a close one. Ravens should shut down the Browns rushing game, but I’d expect Jason Campbell to have a few scrambles out of the pocket. Limiting Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron will be essential. Their explosive play ability is in the tops in the league.

The Browns defense is one of the best in the league. 6th in passing and 11th in rushing. They have also played Green Bay, Detroit, Kansas City, Cincinnati  and Minnesota(only rushing attack), all teams with top offenses. The Ravens will not be able to run the ball, so this game should depend of Flacco and the defense.  The Browns secondary is pretty good, including All Pro Joe Haden, so Flacco needs to stay calm in the pocket and make smart, quick decisions. They also have one of the better front 7 including Kruger, D’qwell Jackson, Phil Taylor, and rookie  standout from LSU Barkevious Mingo, who has 4 sacks.

This is a tough call because I think it’s really a toss up, but I’m going to guess a 20-13 Raven’s victory. Suggs, Dumervile, and Ngata apply pressure and close running lanes all game, Flacco does enough in a defensive battle to get the W in Cleveland.