What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Baltimore D overrated? (1 Viewer)

footballnerd

Footballguy
Why do people fear this defense? Look at the teams they have been playing. CLE, CIN, PIT, HOU (without Schaub), PHI (during their slump), WAS. But when they do play a good offense like NYG or INDY, they give it up big. Are they an overrated defense?

 
Yes, they are overrated.

They were picked apart by the best offenses they played this year, and letting the Steelers march down the field for a 92-yard drive to beat them last week is not something an awesome defense would have let happened. They are really good, but not great.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Why do people fear this defense? Look at the teams they have been playing. CLE, CIN, PIT, HOU (without Schaub), PHI (during their slump), WAS. But when they do play a good offense like NYG or INDY, they give it up big. Are they an overrated defense?
Have you watched them play? I'm not trying to be an horse's rear end, but they put an amazing amount of pressure on the QB. They completely shut down all but the very best running games. And probably most importantly, when they get the ball loose, they all know what their jobs are to get that thing down the field. The Colts beat them because the O-line played out of their minds early, and Peyton burned them on double moves early and often...putting the D back on it's heals for the remainder of the game. I have to think the only "outlier" is the NYG game....they flat out got it put on them that game. They just didn't come to play that week...if you listened to them after that game; they knew it too.I'd agree with "very good" but not "great". Either way, the OP asked why teams fear them. It's because they WILL get after the QB, pound on the RB, and if/when you slip up...they know how to make you pay for that mistake better than just about anyone.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
letting the Steelers march down the field for a 92-yard drive to beat them last week is not something an awesome defense would have let happened. They are really good, but not great.
In the 4th quarter D's get tired and can be banged up at that point. Letting the Steelers drive 92 yards at the end of a hard fought game was not shocking. Considering the injuries the Ravens have had on D this year, especially to their secondary, they have played extremely well.
 
Why do people fear this defense? Look at the teams they have been playing. CLE, CIN, PIT, HOU (without Schaub), PHI (during their slump), WAS. But when they do play a good offense like NYG or INDY, they give it up big. Are they an overrated defense?
Doesn't Pittsburgh play those same teams? Are they overrated? Yes, Baltimore gave up more yards to NYG & Indy than Pittsburgh did (about 100 total yards more between the 2 of them) and allowed a combined 16 more points. This in my book puts them right behind Pittsburgh, which is where they are so, no they're not overrated.
 
If you consider them one of the NFL's 2 or 3 best defenses this year, a team that plays great run D and can be very opportunistic with turnovers, then they're not over-rated. If you consider them an all-time great D, or think of them as a terrifying, physically dominating unit, then you might be overrating them.

They're #3 in points allowed, #2 in total yards, # 1 in INTs, #2 in defensive TDs, #2 in pass yards, #3 in rush yards, #1 in completion percentage against, and allow a 51.9 opposing QB rating. I'm not sure what more you're looking for.

Also, they are playing without 3 starters who have been on IR for all or almost all of the season -- DT Kelly Gregg, S Dawan Landry, and CB Chris McAlister. I'm amazed they've done so well without CMac. His ability to match-up vs. #1 WRs made possible a lot of their pressure schemes.

The 92-yard drive by Pittsburgh happened when McAlister's replacement, Fabian Washington, left the game. The Ravens only had 4 CBs active for the game and when Washington went out, the Steelers went to 4WRs and torched Washington's replacement, Frank Walker. Also, Reed had to stop playing Safety and matched up in man coverage on the slot WR. The loss of 2 of the top 3 CBs they started the season with was too much for them to overcome in that situation.

I will say that the Ravens haven't played any of the top passing attacks, other than Indy -- and they got torched. It will be very interesting to see if they can shut down another top passing attack. If not -- I think they're home for the playoffs, because it's going to take an 11-5 record to get the last AFC Wild Card spot.

 
Why do people fear this defense? Look at the teams they have been playing. CLE, CIN, PIT, HOU (without Schaub), PHI (during their slump), WAS. But when they do play a good offense like NYG or INDY, they give it up big. Are they an overrated defense?
Doesn't Pittsburgh play those same teams? Are they overrated? Yes, Baltimore gave up more yards to NYG & Indy than Pittsburgh did (about 100 total yards more between the 2 of them) and allowed a combined 16 more points. This in my book puts them right behind Pittsburgh, which is where they are so, no they're not overrated.
PIT D shut down the hot NE and DAL offenses right in the middle of their streaks of putting up big numbers. While BAL gave up a nice day to Derek Anderson. No doubt they strike fear in opponents with all the sacks and big hits, we can ask Mendenhall about that. But just wondering how this team fairs against good offenses."a team that plays great run D""I will say that the Ravens haven't played any of the top passing attacks, other than Indy -- and they got torched. It will be very interesting to see if they can shut down another top passing attack. If not -- I think they're home for the playoffs, because it's going to take an 11-5 record to get the last AFC Wild Card spot."Thats a good point because BAL did do well against the TEN offense.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
PIT D shut down the hot NE and DAL offenses right in the middle of their streaks of putting up big numbers. While BAL gave up a nice day to Derek Anderson. No doubt they strike fear in opponents with all the sacks and big hits, we can ask Mendenhall about that. But just wondering how this team fairs against good offenses.
Fair enough. But they haven't played Dallas yet, so we'll get more of an answer after this week. I'm not sure why you're saying NE was in the middle of a hot streak. They were 3-2 in the 5 games heading up to that Pittsburgh game. 2-2 in 4 games before, alternating wins and losses. Other than Cassel putting up 400 yards in back to back games, I'm not sure you'd say they were on a hot streak. To me that game was as much an anomoly as the NYG game was to Baltimore. NE was moving the ball pretty well on them in the 2nd Quarter (drives of 49 yards to the Pitt 11 and 63 yards to the Pitt 9) and only came away with 3 points. And a decent drive to start the 3rd of 39 yards before punting. When NE turned the ball over twice in a row after that (one KO one Sack/Fumble) that turned the game with Pitt having a 13 point advantage, NE was forced to throw allowing Pittsburgh defense to just tee off on them (and they did). And the nice day to Derek Anderson was the 219 yard, 2Td 1 Int Game? The game where they were without 3 of their starters in their secondary(McAllister, Rolle, Landry)?
 
Using Data Dominator (and some Excel work) I looked at teams who faced Baltimore this year (HOU, MIA, PIT, CIN, CLE, IND, MIA, NYG, OAK, PHI, TEN, WAS) and compared how those same teams fared against the rest of the league (ROL).

Rushing Yards per game

vs Bal: 77.9

vs. ROL: 116.2

Difference: -38.4

Rushing First Downs per game

vs. Bal: 3.4

vs. ROL: 6.4

Difference: -3.0

Rushing TD

vs. Bal: 0.2

vs. ROL: 0.9

Difference: -0.7

Receiving Yards per game

vs. Bal: 195.7

vs. ROL: 221.4

Difference: -25.7

Receiving First Downs per game

vs. Bal: 9.6

vs. ROL: 11.0

Difference: -1.4

Receiving TD per game

vs. Bal: 1.0

vs. ROL: 1.1

Difference: -0.1

Offensive Fantasy Points per game

vs. Bal: 47.4

vs. ROL: 62.7

Difference: -15.3

 
PIT D shut down the hot NE and DAL offenses right in the middle of their streaks of putting up big numbers. While BAL gave up a nice day to Derek Anderson. No doubt they strike fear in opponents with all the sacks and big hits, we can ask Mendenhall about that. But just wondering how this team fairs against good offenses.
Fair enough. But they haven't played Dallas yet, so we'll get more of an answer after this week. I'm not sure why you're saying NE was in the middle of a hot streak. They were 3-2 in the 5 games heading up to that Pittsburgh game. 2-2 in 4 games before, alternating wins and losses. Other than Cassel putting up 400 yards in back to back games, I'm not sure you'd say they were on a hot streak. To me that game was as much an anomoly as the NYG game was to Baltimore. NE was moving the ball pretty well on them in the 2nd Quarter (drives of 49 yards to the Pitt 11 and 63 yards to the Pitt 9) and only came away with 3 points. And a decent drive to start the 3rd of 39 yards before punting. When NE turned the ball over twice in a row after that (one KO one Sack/Fumble) that turned the game with Pitt having a 13 point advantage, NE was forced to throw allowing Pittsburgh defense to just tee off on them (and they did). And the nice day to Derek Anderson was the 219 yard, 2Td 1 Int Game? The game where they were without 3 of their starters in their secondary(McAllister, Rolle, Landry)?
Okay, that makes more sense for the CLE game. I was wondering how that happened.
 
So is their d healthy coming into Saturday's tilt?
The big question is CB Fabian Washington's hamstring. Right now, it looks like he will be ready to go. If not, this game will be a complete blowout -- either the Ravens' 3rd CB will try to match up with TO and get burned, or they'll give him help and have to back off their usual attacking style.Reed is also dinged up, but that's been the case all season so he should be o.k.
 
Hopefully we get a PIT BAL rematch in the playoffs so that the overtime can be played. It will be 4 quarters instead of 1 :banned: Go Ravens

 
Using Data Dominator (and some Excel work) I looked at teams who faced Baltimore this year (HOU, MIA, PIT, CIN, CLE, IND, MIA, NYG, OAK, PHI, TEN, WAS) and compared how those same teams fared against the rest of the league (ROL).Rushing Yards per gamevs Bal: 77.9 vs. ROL: 116.2Difference: -38.4 Rushing First Downs per gamevs. Bal: 3.4vs. ROL: 6.4Difference: -3.0Rushing TDvs. Bal: 0.2vs. ROL: 0.9Difference: -0.7Receiving Yards per gamevs. Bal: 195.7vs. ROL: 221.4Difference: -25.7Receiving First Downs per gamevs. Bal: 9.6vs. ROL: 11.0Difference: -1.4Receiving TD per gamevs. Bal: 1.0vs. ROL: 1.1Difference: -0.1Offensive Fantasy Points per gamevs. Bal: 47.4vs. ROL: 62.7Difference: -15.3
That pretty much sums up what I was going to say... much more eloquently than I, too... :goodposting:
 
So is their d healthy coming into Saturday's tilt?
The big question is CB Fabian Washington's hamstring. Right now, it looks like he will be ready to go. If not, this game will be a complete blowout -- either the Ravens' 3rd CB will try to match up with TO and get burned, or they'll give him help and have to back off their usual attacking style.Reed is also dinged up, but that's been the case all season so he should be o.k.
both QB's should see plenty of pass rush. both teams should have a tough time running the ball. i'm not for a moment discounting the Ravens D. their system is sound. this one comes down to Romo v. Flacco. dam i cant wait, should be a good one! GO COWBOYS!!!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top