Following the loss last Sunday to the Cleveland Browns, many Baltimore fans have come to the conclusion that the Ravens will not be able to get past the Offensive Line issues plaguing this team this year.
If the Ravens have any chance of earning a trip back to the Playoffs for the 6th consecutive season, beating the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend is the first thing which must occur.
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1) The Bengals enter Sunday leading the AFC North with a 6-3 record. (Their 4 game winning streak ended with a 22-20 loss at Miami this past Sunday.) After back-to-back Playoff appearances the past two years, aspirations were high in Cincinnati coming into 2013. Expectations were ratcheted up further Nationally by the Bengals appearance on HBO’s Hard Knock series this Summer. One of the primary questions for the Bengals, is about their QB Andy Dalton. In his first two years in the league, he has been good enough to help Cincinnati get to the Playoffs. The question asked by many has been, is Dalton he good enough to win in the Post-season with?
So far this year, Dalton is completing 64.8% of his passes (a career high). He has 16 TD’s, vs. 10 picks. His QB rating is 92, and his his QBR (ESPN’s measurement for QB Rating) is 59.6. That’s good for 13th overall.
2) Cincinnati comes into Sunday ranked 5th in Total Defense (11th in Passing Defense, 10th against the Run.) The Bengals are 10th in the league with 25 sacks. Offensively, Cincinnati is 9th overall in Total Offense. (7th in Passing Offense, 19th Rushing Offense.)
3) The tandem RB’s for the Bengals are Rookie Giovani Bernard, and the ‘Law Firm’ Bernard Green-Ellis. Bernard is getting weekly touches, but not a lot of carries (season high is 15, just 21 total the last 3 weeks). He is averaging 4.5 yards per carry, and does have 30 receptions (8.9 yards per catch). Green-Ellis is coming off a 21 carry outing vs. Miami, but averages just 3.2 yards per carry. Green-Ellis is not a receiving threat, with just 2 receptions on the year.
4) The Bengals have a pair of extremely talented pass-catching TE’s in Jermaine Gresham, and Rookie Tyler Eifert. Gresham is in his 4th year, and is a 2x Pro Bowler. In his first 3 years, he has had at-least 52 grabs each season. So far this year, he has 33. Eifert, a 1st rounder out of Notre Dame; has 27 catches in his initial campaign.
5) WR AJ Green is one of the premier talents in the NFL. The 6’4 207 lb 3rd year player is a monster. Coming off a 97 catch campaign last year; Green has 57 catches so far this year and is averaging 15.1 ypc. While Green understandably commands the most attention, there is other talent in the receiving core. 2012 5th rounder Marvin Jones has 7 TD grabs on the year, including a 4 TD outing vs. the Jets 10/29. 2012 3rd rounder Mohamed Sanu has been dealing with a shoulder injury, but has 31 receptions. AJ Hawkins (who had 51 receptions last year) returned to action for the first time Sunday vs. Miami.
6) 2012 Pro Bowler Andrew Whitworth is the anchor of the Bengals Offensive Line at LT. At RG is 2012 1st rounder Kevin Zeitler. At RT is 2009 1st rounder Andre Smith.
7) In the off-season LDE Carlos Dunlap signed a 6 year $40M extension. He currently has 4 sacks. Domata Peko is seen as a run-stopper at DT. Next to Peko is Devon Still who has missed the last couple of games with an elbow injury. 2012 3rd Brandon Thompson backs-up both. AT RDE is 6’7 Michael Johnson. Johnson had a breakout 2012 season with 11.5 sacks, but currently has just 2.5 here in ’13.
8) LOLB James Harrison spent much of the game vs. Miami lined up at DE. The former Steeler has had his first 2 sacks as a member of the Bengals over the past 4 weeks. In the middle is typically Rey Maualuga – but Maualuga suffered an MCL injury and is out for another couple of weeks. 2nd year player Vontaze Burfict moves inside, with Michael Boley replacing Burfict outside.
9) The current starting Bengals Corners are Terrence Newman (turned 35 in September) at one corner, and Pacman Jones. The Safeties are 2012 5th rounder George Iloka at SS, and 2007 1st round Reggie Nelson.
10) This is a much different looking Bengals defense without All-Everything DT Geno Atkins. The Bengals are also dealing with the loss of starting CB Leon Hall (2009 All-Pro), and SS Taylor Mays. Certainly the Bengals still have some defensive talent, but the current group is a group the Ravens offense should have some success against at home.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.