Following the September 27th win over Cleveland, the 3-1 Baltimore Ravens emerge from their mini-break to face the 1-3 Chiefs in Kansas City tomorrow.
1) Kansas City enters the game 4th overall in Total Offense, leading the league with 172.5 rushing yards per game. With that rushing attack, the Chiefs are 6th overall in time of possession.
2) Jamaal Charles was awesome in 2010, with nearly 1,500 yards rushing (at 6.4 yards per carry), and another 468 yards on 45 receptions. His 2011 season was wiped out in Week 2 with an ACL injury. He has returned here in 2012 and had an interesting first 4 weeks. Week 1: 16 carries, 87 yards. Week 2: 6 carries, 3 yards. Week 3: 33 carries, 233 yards. Week 4: 17 carries, 88 yards. Again an impressive 5.7 yards per carry. In the 2010 Wild Card Game, Charles had 82 yards on 9 carries (including 1 41 yard carry) against the Ravens. For the Chiefs to have a chance to pull the upset tomorrow, Charles will have to produce.
3) Peyton Hillis is out of the game tomorrow with an ankle injury, leaving Shaun Draughn as Charles’ primary backup (22 carries, 119 yards).
4) Former 1st round pick Branden Albert starts at LT. Center Rodney Hudson was recently placed on injured reserve. Ross Hochstein and Bryan Mattison (former Raven have been signed as depth). Against San Diego, KC started LG Ryan Lilja (it was his 100th career game) at Center, and 2012 2nd round pick Jeff Allen at LG. The RG is 2010 3rd rounder Jon Asamoah, who started every game in 11. RT is Eric Winston, who was a Free Agent addition after being released by Houston in the off-season. Winston was in the 4th year of a 5 year $30M contract.
5) Leading the NFL with 15 Turnovers, the Chiefs spent this week working on basic ball security. In their first 4 games, KC has been outscored 41-6.
6) 6’2, 221 lb Dwayne Bowe remains a sizable weapon at WR. Two years ago he had 72 catches, followed-up by 81 last year. In 2010 he averaged 16.1 yards per catch, and 5.6 yards after the catch. Those numbers have decreased to 13.7, and 3.0 so far here in 2012. Dealing with a knee injury Steve Breaston is not taking a lot of attention off of Bowe. Breaston had 61 grabs last year, but has been limited to just 4 in the first four weeks of ’12. Whether he is lined up at WR or at RB, Dexter McCluster (a 2010 2nd rounder) will continue to receive touches. As a receiver, he has had 15 catches, and is averaging 4.9 yac. 2011 1st round pick Jon Baldwin has been dealing with a hamstring issue, but will play tomorrow. Baldwin has great size at 6’4, 230 lbs, that could test the Ravens secondary.
6a) TE Tony Moeaki had a strong rookie season in 2010 (47 catches, 556 yards), but was lost to injury all of last year. With Kevin Boss being placed on IR with concussion symptoms, Moeaki could be more of a factor tomorrow.
7) KC uses a 3-4 defense, with 2008 and 2009 1st round picks Tyson Jackson, and Glenn Dorsey (both out of LSU) starting at the ends. Neither is much of a pass-rusher. With the Chiefs currently ranked 21st against the run, neither might be much of a rush defender either. 2012 1st rounder Dontari Poe (who lots of talent evaluators compared to Ngata at the combine) seems ready to take over at NT.
8) ROLB Tamba Hali was a 2nd team All-Pro last year, and has had a combined 27 sacks the previous 2 years. He had 2 sacks against the Ravens in the 2010 Playoff Game. Next to Hali is Derrick Johnson, who is coming off of an All-Pro season of his own. At LOLB is Justin Houston, a 2011 3rd rounder out of Georgia who has 4 sacks in 4 games (including 3 vs. New Orleans) this year.
9) We talked above about the injuries KC had last year with Charles and Moeaki. Perhaps the most devastating injury overall was the loss of S Eric Berry. The 2010 1st rounder was a Pro Bowler his Rookie year, and was earning comparisons with Ed Reed. The corners are Stanford Routt (signed to a 3 yr $19.6M contract as a Free Agent this Winter), and Brandon Flowers (5’9), who signed a 5 year $50M extension with the Chiefs in September 2011.
10) Matt Cassel has never completed 60% of his passes in time with the Chiefs, and is at 58.4% so far in ’12. He has been picked off 7 times. Over the past 3 weeks he has had 42, 44, and 42 pass attempts. The Kansas City Star has reported that Romeo Crennel has voiced the possibility of Brady Quinn getting into the game. The former 1st rounder Quinn has not played in a game since the ’09 season.
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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.