Good first post, we like respectful fans of the opposition. Welcome to the Crowd.
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It will never happen maybe the other way around
As a Ravens fan, I'll admit that Bowe is better than any of our receivers. As for Larry Johnson, he may be better than any of our guys, but I don't know another team that rotates between their running backs (all of who have unique styles of running) as much as we do - so I'm not sure you have an advantage there.
One advantage that nobody is talking about is that our best players - especially Ed Reed - are notorious for their film preparation. But considering that we have no video of Cassell with the Chiefs, and that there is even a possibility that one of your others starters will start, it's going to be impossible to scheme in advance. Ed Reed even admitted as much recently saying that they don't have any film to examine so they ar just focusing on being sound defensively.
The biggest advantage that your team has is that I can already sense a good bit of complacency around Baltimore heading into this game. Even our greatest critics are saying this should be an easy win. With a huge game coming up next week, this is the perfect opportunity to come in and steal one from us.
I agree with almost every word. We do have a fairly decent RB rotation, LJ being a powerback and Jamaal Charles being a speed freak. Charles just fumbles too much for my taste.
I'll say this, if Croyle plays, all your secondary will have to do is double cover Dwayne Bowe and get pressure on him. Reed will probably pick Croyle off at least once. If Cassel plays, I'd just put everyone in the box. Cassel hasn't proven that he can hit anyone deep, so take away the checkdowns and short passes, and he'll be in deep trouble.
If Thigpen plays, just blitz the OLBs and make sure they don't go too far inside, so that Thigpen can't run. You won't have to worry about him throwing at all, since he can't.
As for the complacency issue, I do agree that even Raven players are getting a little bit ahead of themselves. This Chief defense is MUCH better than last year, the only obvious weakness that I can find is our zone defense in the middle of the field. Our run defense is at least 10x better.
I should also add though that its not just the Ravens that won't have any tape on what their opponents are going to do. It has seriously gone under the radar and nobody in the media is talking about it, but from preseason indications and from a few practice insights, it appears that the Ravens are switching back to a base 4-3 (like they had in 2006). That is not to say that they will abandon the 3-4 altogether, but there should be a significant shift away from it. This will create all kinds of new looks with Terrell Suggs primarily being a DE. Might be a bit of a shock for the Chiefs if they had been anticipating a defense that looked like last year.