Bruce Arians came up short in leading the Cardinals to a win on the road in his old work place at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh last week, but the team still sits high on the NFC West totem pole. As they look to keep up pace with the strong Carolina and Green Bay teams that tower above the rest of the conference, more familiar acquaintances find their way into Arians’ life. The Baltimore Ravens come to town for what could turn into a true slug fest of a football game.
Flacco Elite?
The age old question about Joe Flacco is simple; Is the former Super Bowl MVP truly qualified to be labeled as an elite quarterback. Year after year the question is thrown around in jest as Flacco has yet to truly cement himself as a consistent threat under center. This season Flacco has thrown for over 1,600 yards but his 8 touchdowns are marred by his 7 interceptions and 1 fumble lost during the first six games of the season. His quarterback rating of 80.1 may be a sign of just how bad the talent around him is as well however as the lone threats in the passing game are Steve Smith Sr. and Crockett Gillmore. The two have done their best to beat out the coverages put against this squad, but the wide receiver and tight end are starting to find it more difficult in recent games to find those soft spots in zones and get away from their man to man coverage matchups. Smith Sr. is showed signs of brilliance last week gathering seven catches for 137 yards through the air, but against Patrick Peterson those numbers likely won’t be repeated for the 15 year veteran. If Flacco is truly elite, he will find a way to get Kamar Aiken and others involved down the field and force the Cardinals to drop more men into coverage to facilitate that threat.
Redeeming Act In Red-Zone
Against the Steelers, the Cardinals showed weakness in their red-zone offense. When the team gets into that final twenty yards of pay dirt they usually expect six points either from their quarterback’s arm or the running game. Neither came up big as they had in weeks past. Four red-zone trips for the Cardinals in Pittsburgh produced a single touchdown and while it was not in the red-zone, Carson Palmer did throw an ill-advised pass that would turn into the killing blow for the Cardinals when safety Mike Mitchell picked it off in the end zone. If the Ravens defense finds themselves pinned in those final twenty yards during the game, the Cardinals must take advantage of their weapons and stretch a limited Baltimore defense that is struggling to find itself after all the injuries and player movement that has stripped it of its former identity. Elvis Dumervil and Daryl Smith lead the unit that finds itself in the lower twenties in points, total yards and passing yards allowed in the league. And with the struggles last week that the Steelers presented to the Cardinals in the run game, look for the Ravens to do more of the same with their unit only giving up 94.5 yards on the ground a game.
Protecting Palmer
The offensive line has stood tall against most opponents this year outside of the Rams game where Palmer took four sacks through that sixty minute battle. While the front four of St. Louis is among the deepest in the league, the Ravens don’t rely on four blitzers to get after the quarterback. They send much more than that. Linebackers, nose tackles, corner backs and even safeties get into the mix on the blitzes that are sent out. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees has found a way to provide pressure after losing former All-Pro linebacker and former ASU Sun Devil Terrell Suggs to a season ending Achilles injury. Getting performances out of lesser known players like Lawrence Guy and Za’Darius Smith is exactly what the Ravens do when they need to fill gaps in their defensive unit. Add onto that the still solid play of potential Pro Bowl middle linebacker Daryl Smith leading the play calling duties with fellow inside backer C.J. Mosley, the Cardinals may find themselves looking at a lot of stunt blitzes that will cause confusion and uncertainty as to where the blitz will actually come from. If that discussion doesn’t get sorted after the first few drives, this Monday night game may prove to be a national embarrassment versus a national notice to the potential this Cardinals team has come December.
The idea that the Ravens finally get off the snide against a west coast team tonight is unlikely to say the least. The Cardinals are decent on the road, but at home this year they are a totally different kind of animal. Look to see Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu and the rest of the defensive back field to rough up the no-name receivers of Baltimore and make Joe Flacco play like the “Joe Fluke-o” persona so many in the AFC North tend to refer to him as. The game kicks off at University of Phoenix Stadium at 5:30 PM on October 26th on ESPN.
Ravens – 10 Cardinals – 31