Ravens at Broncos
Invesco Field at Mile High
Denver, Colo.
Sunday, Sept. 30
AT A GLANCE: The Ravens are coming off a shocking 21-10
loss to the Bengals, while the Broncos rolled over the Cardinals 38-17. Baltimore knocked
Denver from the playoffs last season with a 21-3 win in the wild-card round.
|
| OVERVIEW: The Ravens’ swarming defense meets up
with one of the league’s most efficient and well-balanced offenses in a difficult
place to play on the road. The Ravens shut down the Broncos in the postseason a year
ago, but QB Brian Griese wasn’t available for that game, and he is currently on a
tear to start the season.
It’s difficult to know how the Ravens will respond to losing their first game
since Oct. 29, 2000. The locker room was remarkably upbeat after the loss to the Bengals,
but if the Ravens make the same type of costly mistakes they made in Cincinnati, the
Broncos will bury them.
The Broncos, despite being dealt serious injuries to two major components of the
offense, seemed to pick up right where they left off in crushing the Cardinals.
When the Ravens have the ball:
QB Elvis Grbac was brought in to ignite the passing game, but it’s doubtful the
Ravens ever anticipated throwing 63 times in a game. However, the fact the Ravens fell
behind and the continued question marks at the RB position left the Ravens with few
options but to throw.
Grbac has done a nice job of spreading the ball around, as he hit nine different
receivers in each of the first two games. Second-year WR Travis Taylor caught a pass last
week for the first time since he broke his clavicle in Week Nine of last year.
The run blocking from the interior of Baltimore’s offensive line has not been very
fruitful. The struggles of C Mike Flynn and OGs Edwin Mulitalo and Kipp Vickers to move
people out could be a major factor in this game because the Broncos’ DT trio of
Chester McGlockton, Trevor Pryce and Leon Lett can wreak havoc at times. Even when they
aren’t making plays themselves, any of the three often requires a double-team, which
can free up aggressive LBs Bill Romanowski, John Mobley and Al Wilson to track the
ballcarrier. |
|
|
| Invesco Field at Mile High |
| Denver, Colo. |
| Date: Sunday, September 30, 2001 |
| 2:15 p.m. Mountain Time |
| Type Of Turf: Natural |
| Meeting Of The Year: Only |
| Season Record: |
| |
Baltimore |
1-1-0 |
| |
Denver |
2-0-0 |
| Season Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
Baltimore |
1-1-0 |
| |
Denver |
2-0-0 |
| Home/Road Record: |
| |
Baltimore (R) |
0-1-0 |
| |
Denver (H) |
1-0-0 |
| Home/Road Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
Baltimore (R) |
0-1-0 |
| |
Denver (H) |
1-0-0 |
| Record On Natural Turf: |
| |
Baltimore |
1-1-0 |
| |
Denver |
2-0-0 |
| Record On Natural Turf Vs. Spread: |
| |
Baltimore |
1-1-0 |
| |
Denver |
2-0-0 |
|
| There is an increasing chance that that ballcarrier could be either Moe Williams or
Jason Brookins. Terry Allen has received the majority of the work to this point, but the
Ravens would like to see the other two become more a part of the mix. The Broncos’
new CB tandem of Denard Walker and Deltha O’Neal would seem to be an upgrade over
last year, but the Broncos have allowed Amani Toomer and David Boston to get loose
downfield for several large gains in successive weeks.
Ravens rookie TE Todd Heap left last week’s game with an ankle injury, and ORT
Sammy Williams suffered a sprained knee. Their status was considered uncertain at
presstime. If Jermaine Lewis, who sat out Week Two with hamstring trouble, can return, it
would be a huge boost for the Ravens’ special teams.
When the Broncos have the ball:
If another team in the league had lost its top running back and a receiver who caught
101 passes a season ago to injury, it wouldn’t know which way to turn.
The Broncos, however, having lost Terrell Davis (knee) for another 3-5 weeks and Ed
McCaffrey (leg) for the year, seem to pick up the pieces with fill-ins as well as any
team. RBs Mike Anderson and Olandis Gary combined to rush for 148 yards last week, and WR
Rod Smith picked up the slack in a big way with 14 catches for 162 yards and two
touchdowns.
It’s clear that when defenses start giving Smith a lot more attention in the
coming weeks, Denver will need another receiver to step up and assume some added
responsibility. The Broncos typically have had great success throwing play-action passes
to their tight ends and receivers, but the Ravens’ linebackers and safeties recover
faster than most, so the effectiveness of those plays may be limited to an extent.
It’s also imperative that speedy WR Eddie Kennison take some pressure off Smith in
McCaffrey’s absence because there is not a lot of experience at the WR position.
Denver’s offensive line runs its zone-blocking scheme to near perfection, and the
quick feet and athleticism of its members have helped keep Griese off his back.
For Baltimore, FS Rod Woodson has come up short in the playmaking department so far
this year and could have newcomer Carnell Lake looking over his shoulder for playing time.
The Ravens’ vaunted defense also has shown to be somewhat susceptible to no-huddle
offenses, though the Broncos have yet to show that aspect of their offense.
All game previews and depth charts were compiled as of Sept. 23. |
|
OFFENSE |
| WR |
87 Ismail, 89 T. Taylor |
| OLT |
75 Ogden, 77 Vickers |
| OLG |
64 Mulitalo, 66 Anderson* |
| C |
62 Flynn, 61 Rabach* |
| ORG |
77 Vickers, 74 Bobo |
| ORT |
78 S. Williams, 78 E. Williams, 72 Searcy |
| TE |
82 Sharpe, 86 Heap*, 88 Jones |
| WR |
80 Stokley, 83 P. Johnson, 84 J. Lewis |
| QB |
18 Grbac, 7 Redman, 1 Cunningham |
| RB |
29 Allen, 44 Brookins, 32 M. Williams |
| FB |
32 Gash, 30 Ayanbadejo, 39 Ricard |
DEFENSE |
| DLE |
90 Burnett, 96 Thomas |
| DLT |
95 Adams, 79 Webster, 73 Gregg |
| DRT |
98 Siragusa, 91 Dalton |
| DRE |
99 McCrary, 96 Thomas |
| LLB |
58 Boulware, S. Taylor |
| MLB |
52 R. Lewis, 56 Hartwell* |
| RLB |
55 Sharper, 50 B. Jackson |
| LCB |
22 Starks, 24 Porter* |
| RCB |
21 McAlister, 38 Trapp |
| SS |
45 Harris, 37 Lake, 42 Mitchell |
| FS |
26 Woodson, 37 Lake, 28 Baxter* |
SPECIALISTS |
| PK |
3 Stover |
| P |
5 Richardson |
| H |
5 Richardson, 18 Grbac |
| PR |
84 J. Lewis, 22 Starks, 80 Stokley |
| KR |
84 J. Lewis, 45 Harris, 44 Brookins |
| LS |
59 Maese*, 61 Rabach* |
* Rookie |
|
|
OFFENSE |
| WR |
80 R. Smith, 82 Kasper*, 84 Cole |
| OLT |
70 Teague, 65 Carlisle |
| OLG |
64 Friedman, 63 Diaz-Infante |
| C |
66 Nalen, 63 Diaz-Infante, 50 Hamilton* |
| ORG |
62 Neil, 79 Herndon |
| ORT |
78 Lepsis, 65 Carlisle |
| TE |
89 Carswell, 88 Clark, 86 Hape |
| WR |
85 Kennison, 83 McGriff, 81 Poole |
| QB |
14 Griese, 12 Frerotte, 17 Jackson |
| RB |
30 Davis, 38 Anderson, 22 Gary |
| FB |
86 Hape, 37 Carter |
DEFENSE |
| DLE |
97 Washington, 92 Berry |
| DLT |
91 McGlockton, 90 Johnson |
| DRT |
93 Pryce, 94 Lett, 99 Reagor |
| DRE |
95 Pittman, 69 Hayward* |
| WLB |
51 Mobley, 54 Woodall |
| MLB |
56 Wilson, 55 Burns |
| SLB |
53 Romanowski, 52 Gold |
| LCB |
24 O'Neal, 25 Davis, 23 Middlebrooks* |
| RCB |
27 Walker, 33 Spencer |
| SS |
28 Kennedy, 32 Jenkins |
| FS |
26 Brown, 48 Coghill |
SPECIALISTS |
| PK |
1 Elam |
| P |
16 Rouen |
| H |
16 Rouen |
| PR |
24 O'Neal, 93 McGriff |
| KR |
84 Cole, 15 Kasper* |
| LS |
70 Teague |
* Rookie |
Back to Handicapper's Corner |
