When CBS Television kicks off their coverage of the Ravens vs. Colts game tomorrow; there will be a couple of obvious story-lines they use to lead off their coverage. As always, they will mention the horseshoe, and of course they will talk about Peyton and Ray as Offensive and Defensive Gladiators.
While watching Manning call a million audibles, and Lewis barking out counter-moves to the defense is always entertaining; there are other match-ups I will be watching for.
1) Gaither, and Oher have to win their individual battles against the Colts Defensive Ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. The Indy duo has combined for 18 sacks this year, and they simply can not be that disruptive if the Ravens want to win the game.
2) Ngata vs Center Jeff Saturday. After missing the previous two weeks, Ngata should be back in action tomorrow. Due to that rest, Ngata should have a little extra burst, even with recovering from the injury. Manning gets rid of the ball too quickly to regularly get sacks, but if you can disrupt his pocket at the point of attack, you have a chance to rattle him. This is another match-up where the Ravens have to win convincingly.
3) Tavares Gooden vs. the Colts running-backs Joesph Addai, and Donald Brown as pass-catches. Manning has a 96.1 % passer-rater on 3rd down, often finding Addai and Brown out of the backfield. Addai, and Brown have a combined 44 receptions, and Brown is averaging 18 yards per catch. Gooden has the speed to match these two, and can limit what they do after the catch. You can not let Manning extend drives by dropping it down underneath to the RB’s.
4) Ravens run-offense vs. the Colts run-defense. The Colts are 14th overall against the run. Manning will get his yards and points even if he has limited time, but keeping him off the field has to be the goal. The Ravens have 3 good backs, and each should be used to control the clock, and keep Manning on the sidelines.
5) Dallas Clark is averaging 85.3 yards per game, and has 64 catches heading into tomorrow. That means Clark has averaged 7 receptions per game for the Colts. If Reggie Wayne beats your cover corners down the field, you live with that. You can not allow Clark to simply march the Colts down the field. If I am the Ravens, I use my best play maker in Ed Reed to simply cover Clark 1×1. Clark at 6’3, 252 lb would be a tough physical match-up for 5’11, 200 lb Reed, but Reed would have the athletic, and speed advantage.
Reed is at his best forcing opposing QB’s into mistakes. I would not count on Manning making a mistake.
If the Ravens were able to effectively take away Clark, I think that would severely cripple what the Colts were intending to accomplish.
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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.