Packers Week!

[packfntk]

It has been a long wait, but it is here. Want to discuss yet, or are you still celebrating another victory? If not, let's break it down, I will give my insight on the Packers, and what I have seen from your Ravens.

ARod TD.jpg

It all starts with ARod for us, as you all know. Rodgers hasn't hit the top of his game this year but he can be lethal. He is accurate, and doesn't make mistakes if he isn't frazzled. You must apply pressure quickly and try to knock him off of his groove. In WR's Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and James Jones you get three players that are good at making plays after they catch the ball. Rodgers is good at getting them the ball in space. Watch out for the back shoulder throws as they utilize them early and often.

JFin.jpg

Our X Factor: Jermichael Finley.

JFin is a big bodied mismatch. He was an absolute priority weeks 1 and 2 and was knocked out on the first drive of the 3rd game before our bye. This is the guy that opens everything up on the outsides. Teams often use a linebacker and a safety over the top to defend him. He leaps, he is physical. Had a horrible case of the dropsies last year, but has played well as of late.

Lacy.jpg

We finally have a back that can pound. No, Lacy is not the guy that will rip you for 200 yards in a game, or even 80 at a crack, but he does the trick in our offense. He gives us a legit threat to gain yards up the middle where we have lacked for years. He keeps defense honest, and believe it or not Mike McCarthy loves to run the ball (106 runs, 151 passes).

Line.jpg

Our main weakness on offense in our OLine. We have 2 1st Round picks (Bulaga, Sherrod) that have not played this year. We have given up 11 sacks through 4 games and should have many more, but ARod gets out of the pocket well and releases quickly. Believe it or not, the line has improved from last year.

Defense-

CM3.jpg

Clay is a monster, but is being bothered by a hammy, as so many are. Teams double and sometimes triple him. He has been creating opportunities for newly healthy Mike Neal and 2nd year (Out all last year) LB Nick Perry. Perry has been coming into his own as of late, and forcing his own pressure on the other side. Our DLine is stout against the run (Giving up only 86 yards a game, 5th in the league). We have some size with Ryan Pickett, DaTone Jones and BJ Raji in rotation.

LBers-

Hawk.jpg

Yeah, that's the shocker. HAHA. Hawk, Perry, CM3, and Brad Jones make a serviceable LB crew. Brad Jones is our best cover LBer, and Hawk is after that. He makes plays from side to side and is solid but not the big playmaker all of us Packer fans expected.

DB's-

Tramon.jpg

Tramon Williams and Sam Shields are strong on the outside, but in my opinion we are missing our best CB in Casey Hayward. He has been out and may be returning, but he is shutdown. The Packers often take criticism for how poor our defense is. Last year we finished 11th overall, and this year we are 18th thus far. But one thing to remember is that our offense usually gets off the field pretty quickly, and we give up a ton of yards in garbage time. (Well unless we play SF which only Vince Lombardi himself could help the Packers against). The weakest unit on our team is at the Safety position. Morgan Burnett is middle of the league and we have a glaring hole on the other side. Fans are livid we didn't address it. We don't force as many turnovers as needed, but things are trending in the right direction.

Your Opportunities from my perspective:

1- Get Ray Rice the ball out of the backfield in the flat. We tend to commit through the middle and try to cover deep.

2- Torrey could have a big game. Like I said, we have a giant hole on one side of our secondary. If Torrey can beat Shields or Tramon with speed on the outside, things could get ugly.

3- Stop the short passes to Cobb. He makes plays with his feet and lives on YAC. Detroit did a good job of this yesterday, but we hit James Jones and ate up the other side.

4- Play with Physicality- The Ravens always do, and that is what scares me about this game. We struggle with overly physical teams, (Seattle SF) that beat us up in the trenches and knock us off of our line.

5- Put a spy on Rodgers- Rodgers is one of the best QB's in the game and if he coasts at first it is hard to stop him. Too often I watch teams blitz too often, and he is fantastic finding seams. He goes through his reads quickly, and finding Finley and Cobb in the middle is his fallback and a Spy in the middle would take a lot of that away.

6- Don't put it all of Flacco. Joe is a good QB. Is he top tier, probably not. But if he hits a lot of shorter higher percentage passes, the Packers will give him some over the top.


So that is just a few topics to hit, I leave on Wednesday night so we have a couple days to talk. JACKED UP and can't wait to experience your stadium! Should be a good game!

[Mista T]

Before the season started, I was afraid that our team was going to get destroyed by the Packers. Now, after seeing both teams muddle through the first 5 weeks, I don't think that we'll be destroyed because the Packers look human, but our glitzy home team winning percentage is susceptible to a hit. Putrid running game and a weak bunch of receivers ... the only way I see the Ravens in the game would be the rush really getting to Rodgers.

[GOTA]

Finley is more X-files than the X-factor. That guy has the same talent as Jimmy Graham but lacks the heart to be a great player.

[RobAtSGH]

The key is going to be the pass rush. If the DL and the linebackers can tee off on a soft Green Bay OL like they did in Miami, that could be the breathing room needed to keep Rodgers under control.

Now, on the offensive side... if Monroe starts and can contribute more than McKinnie (shouldn't be hard, really), and if we get 4-5 healthy WRs back into rotation, it could get interesting. Smith and Doss (or Jones, if he's ready) out wide with Brown in the slot as the big over-the-middle route runner could get interesting, with Thompson available to spell Torrey to keep from wearing him out by Q3. But to make that passing threat credible, we need keep the running game on an upward curve. Not necessarily busting off 15-20 yard burners, but run blocking credibly to keep defenders out of the backfield to tackle for losses would be a good start.

[packfntk]

Finley is more X-files than the X-factor. That guy has the same talent as Jimmy Graham but lacks the heart to be a great player.

I know that all too well as I am a big Finley supporter, and he has been bagged on to no end here in town. The thing that goes unspoken though is Jimmy is the most targeted player on the Saints offense. Last year Jimmy lead the league in drops with 14. He was targeted 135 times. Finley was credited with 7 drops on 87 targets. So Jimmy was targeted about 50 more times and had a higher drop rate. Jimmy caught 85 balls, while JFin caught 61.

Finley just has too many strong options around him to be "The Guy". The Saints have Colston, and guys like Kenny Stills, Jed Collins. They throw to their backs a bunch as well where we are more talented at the WR position so there is more mouths to feed. But yes, I also feel as he is underachieving. He has the physical tools to be one of the best TE's in the game, but his head is not always there.

[sopranocorleone]

To me, this game really boils down to whether the Ravens can apply pressure against Rodgers. Looking at A-Rod's history, his biggest struggles have come against really good fronts that can rush without blitzing. The Ravens have that ability and they will really test Green Bay's protection scheme.

[RavenScallywag]

This is a good test for our D. If you look at the teams we played up until now, I don't know if we've faced a passing offense as potent as the Packers since Week 1 vs the Broncos. The Texans have some of that ability, but we caught Schaub at the beginning of his current slide. The key for our D against Rodgers is going to be the pass rush. If Sizzle and Doom can pressure Rodgers and force quick throws, we may be able to limit the Packers from the big play and focus on bend don't break defense. If they can't get to Rodgers quickly, I hesitate to think of what he could do to Jimmy Smith, who has a reputation for never knowing where the hell the ball is.

Finley is a great X-Factor, especially since we have shown time and time again this season, we can not cover a good receiving TE. Julius Thomas, Jordan Cameron, Charles Clay...all of them found big holes on us. Finley could be the best one we've seen yet.

Packers D hasn't been very potent, but Clay Matthews and BJ Raji are guys who make me nervous with out OL. That being said, we should hopefully get a nice boost with Monroe making his debut, which is what I'd expect.

[GirlsKickButt]

Thanks for the write up, packfntk. It should be a great game.

I think the keys for the Ravens are

1. We must run the football successfully. 3+ yards/carry is what I consider successful.

2. Protect Flacco. Given reasonable time, Flacco can pick apart any defense. And we should have a full compliment of WRs going into this game, including Jacoby Jones.

3. Pressure Rodgers with a 4 man front and carefully pick when blitzing 5 or more players. Rodgers is a top 5 QB in the NFL and has every single quality an NFL QB should possess. NTM, the second best set of WRs/TEs in the NFL next to Manning's Broncos. If Webb is 100%, then I expect one of the WRs (probably Nelson) to be shut down nicely. If Jimmy Smith can learn to locate the ball, then I expect minimal production from a second WR (probably Jones). I expect 1 WR (probably Cobb) to have a monster game and expect at least one TD from Finely. (Though, seeing Authur Brown back in action yesterday was a great sight as he is our best coverage LB.)

Check your PMs, packfntk.

[pslholder96]

If we can drop 7 back and get pressure with our front 4 it will be a long day for Rodgers however if we can't score points it will be a long day for us. Right now we have no offensive continuity. If we can run the ball, win the TOP battle and keep Rodgers off the field we'll be in good shape.

[Baltimoreboy]

packfntk,
Can you recommend a good Packer forum to check out?

[Tolucaraven]

Can they protect Rodgers?. Is the key. Thier defense isn't that good, especially if Matthews is hurt, or can't play. Ravens will win a close one at home. Like to see what Monroe does for the line this week.

I have a feeling Ravens good sugar huddle this week.

[Stealthbirds80]

It's gonna be another good game.

I see this similarly to the Bengal game where if the Ravens apply pressure with just the four upfront, it may be tough sledding trying to pass the ball.

For the Ravens, its more of who is going to show up on offense catching the ball instead of Torrey? Maybe we can run on them too.