« How to beat the Ravens | Main | Flacco not buying into QB cliche »

Ravens will need Rice vs. Titans

Rookie running back Ray Rice said he is about 95 percent healthy and is expecting to play Saturday against the Titans. Rice was activated for the Miami game but didn't see any action. His absence is noticeable because the Ravens don't throw as many screen passes or flares when he isn't in the lineup. The Ravens will need him on third downs against the Titans, especially if they don't get a good game from their receivers.

Comments


I agree, and I think Ray Rice will contribute vs Tennessee. Also, Flacco gave his best Maxwell Smart effort and "missed by that much" on a couple long throws to Mark Clayton against Miami. But this week I see him connecting with Clayton deep for one score and yet again on another deep pass to set up a short red zone touchdown. I also have this strange inkling that Jim Leonhard is going to score via punt, fumble or interception return.

lets go ravens say hi from chihuahua mexico and good luck their saturday in tennesse i waiting for this moment a long time see u soon

Agreed. It was part of the Jets gameplan that shredded Tennessee's D for over 400yds.

The Miami gameplan had Flacco trying to open up their D with 20+yd throws. He didn't connect on them, but Flacco better know that his A game will help put the Titans away early.

Favre's side kept the ball for 40mins in that game. That's how we'll crush Fisher's overrated team. They lost to the Houston for goodness sake! Can;t wait to see Titan fans cry all the way home.

I'll be happy when my team, the Ravens, win. I wouldn't waste two seconds getting jollies about the other team's fan's dissapointment. That's a loser attitude.

Ray Rice has been the missing ingredient in the last couple games. He adds a quickness/agility dimension to an otherwise bruising north-south running game. It will be great to have him back!

I must also give props to Willis McGahee, who has not been the most popular player, but he has gotten the job done when it counts.

I hope Cam sticks with the running game this week, even though it will be tough sledding against the formidable Titans D.

Go Ravens!

Mike - if you are the Titans, how would you attack our defense? Although the Ravens defense has been awesome, I'm concerned with how easily our opponents march down the field when they patiently stick to short yardage passing. In my opinion, very few teams can run up the middle on the Ravens defense or run at all - with the exception of the Giants and Colts this year. It's too tough to pass downfield on us too because of the pressure that that just the defensive line gets on the QB and the play of our cornerbacks. This was evident in the Redskins game as Campbell's deep drops spelled disaster. Naturally, this opens up opportunities for Ed Reed.

However, if I am the Titans - I would try to burn the Ravens with dink-and-dunk underneath short passing to running backs and tight ends. If Collins takes short drops and can get short passes off before the blitzing gets out of hand - the Titans could hurt us. Many teams have been successful here - especially late in the game when the Ravens are in a prevent defense. If they stick to this game plan for the whole game, it could be a tough day for the Ravens.

What are your thoughts?

Without a doubt, Ray Rice needs to get into the mix this weekend against the Titans. His quickness and impressive agility seen briefly this year looked a lot like the way Darren Sproles looked when he ran against the Colts. Definite key ingredient. Also, let Flacco loose with the long ball to the corners. Need to see some runs to the outside from McClain and Mcgahee. Go Ravens.

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Please enter the letter "r" in the field below:
About the bloggers
Mike Preston has been with The Baltimore Sun since 1983. Prior to becoming a columnist in 2000, he covered the Ravens for four years. Preston will appear every Monday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Fox Sports Radio (1370-AM) to answer any questions about the Ravens. Preston is a native of Essex and a graduate of Towson State University, where he played football.

Jamison Hensley has been The Baltimore Sun’s Ravens beat reporter since the 2000 Super Bowl season. He is a regular contributor to WBAL radio and ESPN2’s First Take. Hensley is a Baltimore City native and a graduate of the University of Maryland. Follow Jamison for additional updates on Twitter.

Ken Murray has covered Baltimore pro football teams in three leagues and two countries. He covered the Colts' departure in 1984, the Stallions' arrival in 1994 and the Ravens' Super Bowl championship in 2000. His warmup act was Roger Staubach's final season with the Dallas Cowboys in 1979.
Baltimore Sun coverage
Photo galleries
-- ADVERTISEMENT --

Blog updates
Recent updates to baltimoresun.com sports blogs  Subscribe to this feed
 
Classified | News | Maryland | Sports | Business | Entertainment | Life | Opinion | Blogs | Twitter feeds | RSS feeds
About baltimoresun.com | About The Baltimore Sun | Tribune | Get home delivery | Advertise | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Feedback