A gallery of the Ravens’ 3rd down defense. This will include personnel, formation, and result. Meant to be a supplement to my larger article.
First Quarter, 13:35, 3rd and 12
- Steelers using 11 personnel (1RB, 1TE)
- Ravens using 1-6-4 personnel (1DL, 6LB, 4DB)
- Result: The Ravens dared the Steelers to run. The Steelers obliged but only picked up 8 of the 12 necessary yards after HB Dive to Bell. Fourth Down.
First Quarter, 7:44, 3rd and 6
- Steelers in 11 personnel
- Ravens in 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens use Cover-1 Man Pressure (Rush 6). They get pressure on Roethlisberger who throws the “Shallow” to Brown on a “Levels” concept. Webb misses a tackle. Gain of 8.
First Quarter, 6:16, 3rd and 7
- Steelers in 11 personnel
- Ravens in 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens run Cover-1 and rush 4. They don’t get pressure on Ben. The receivers run a “Flood” concept. The 9-route (Sanders) is targeted but overthrown. Dumervil was offside. Gain of 5 (via penalty).
First Quarter, 6:10, 3rd and 2
- Steelers in 11 personnel
- Ravens in 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens run standard Cover-3. Steelers throw a shovel pass to Cotchery. Gain of 5 yards. First Down.
First Quarter, 3:14, 3rd and 6
- Steelers in 11 personnel.
- Ravens using 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens use Combination Man/Cover-6 while rushing 5. They pressure Ben to throw the Slot Option (Cotchery). The ball is underthrown resulting in a Fourth Down.
Second Quarter, 9:22, 3rd and 9
- Steelers in 11 personnel
- Ravens using 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens run standard Cover-2 zone (rush 4). They get pressure on Ben who scrambles and throws a freelanced in-breaking route to Sanders. Gain of 15. First Down.
Second Quarter, 7:31, 3rd and 6
- Steelers use their 11 personnel
- Ravens counter with 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens run Cover-1 Combo (In/Out bracket of the slot WR). Ravens rush 4 and get no pressure. The Steelers use “Smash-7” and Ben targets the “Smash” route (Sanders). The ball is thrown low and falls incomplete. Fourth Down.
Second Quarter, 2:07, 3rd and 8
- Steelers use 11 Personnel
- Ravens are in 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens run “2-Man” and rush with 4. They get pressure and Ben throws the “Shallow” as a part of the “Levels” concept (again). The pass is complete to Sanders but he is held short of the first down marker. Fourth Down.
Third Quarter, 7:26, 3rd and 2
- Steelers in 11 personnel
- Ravens in 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens appear to Run a man-blitz coverage but it is tough to determine as the play is “Double” (HB Dive). Bell breaks free for 43 yards. First Down.
Third Quarter, 6:33, 3rd and 8
- Steelers use 11 personnel
- Ravens in 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens run Tampa-2 using Ngata as a QB Spy (Rush 3). Suggs and Dumervil get pressure on Ben and forces him to step up in the pocket. This elongates the play and allows Sanders to break free in the endzone for a touchdown.
Third Quarter, 2:16, 3rd and 3
- Steelers in 11 personnel
- Ravens use 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens run Cover-1 Combo (Bracket Slot) while rushing 4. The defensive front does not pressure Ben. The route combination is Slant/Wheel. The “Wheel” (Bell) is overthrown with Daryl Smith in coverage.
Fourth Quarter, 13:13, 3rd and 3
- Steelers in 11 personnel
- Ravens use 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens use Cover-3 Sky with 4 rushers. The front 4 do not get pressure. “Smash-7” is used again and the “Smash” is open (Sanders) for a gain of 5. First Down.
Fourth Quarter, 10:33, 3rd and 10
- Steelers in 11 personnel
- Ravens in 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens run Cover-6 (Cover-4/2-Man) and rush 4. Steelers use the “Sail” concept where the usual 9-route converts into a Comeback. Ben is pressured but hits the Comeback (Brown) for 19 yards. First Down.
Fourth Quarter, 1:11, 3rd and Goal
- Steelers in 22 personnel
- Ravens counter with 4-4-3 Base
- The coverage is 2-Man and the Ravens rush 5. Ben is not pressured as he is rolling to his right. The play-call is “Sprint Out“. Will Johnson (Flat) drops the pass.
Fourth Quarter, 1:06, 4th and Goal.
- Steelers use 11 personnel
- Ravens are in 2-4-5 Nickel
- Ravens use Cover-0 Blitz (Rush8). Ben is pressured but the Slant/Flat switch confuses the man-coverage. Touchdown.
Dan played high school football at Wilde Lake and graduated from McDaniel College with a degree in Psychology. Dan is currently a Maryland Terp working on his PhD degree in Neuroscience. He has experience writing published scientific material as well as blogging for SBNation via Baltimore Beatdown. Beginning in the 2012 season, Dan has been writing about the Ravens focusing on the X’s and O’s of the game of football with heavy use of overhead (All-22) film analysis. The Columbia, MD native currently lives in Silver Spring.