Ravens vs. Falcons: Previewing Baltimore's Preseason Week 4 Matchup

The 2015 NFL preseason wraps up with the fourth and final week as all 32 teams get their final warm-up game before the regular season opens.

That is, if teams like the Baltimore Ravens even play any of their starters this week when they hit the road to face the Atlanta Falcons. The fourth week of preseason action often sees teams resting their starters and letting the backups and fringe roster players get all of the snaps.

That allows teams to better evaluate which players should make up those final 10-15 spots on the 53-man roster they must have set by Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

According to BaltimoreRavens.com, it appears head coach John Harbaugh will rest his starters in hopes of getting a good feel for who should make up his roster.

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“It’s a tough game, but it’s also an opportunity,” Harbaugh said. “It’s an opportunity for those guys to show what they can do, and they’ll be excited to play.”

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That means we likely won't be seeing Joe Flacco, Steve Smith Sr., Marshall Yanda, Justin Forsett, Terrell Suggs or Elvis Dumervil this week.

However, it does mean we should be seeing more of rookies like Buck Allen, Za'Darius Smith and Carl Davis getting their first heavy doses of snaps in an NFL game.

It also means we'll see more of guys like Rashaan Melvin, Arthur Brown, Kapron Lewis-Moore and Darren Waller as they fight for those last few spots on the 53-man roster. 

With that said, here's everything you need to catch this week's game between the Falcons and Ravens. 

Game time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Location: Georgia Dome in Atlanta

TV: WBAL-TV in Baltimore

Online Stream: NFL Gamepass

Radio: Sirius XM Radio

Betting Line (via Odds Shark): Ravens (Even)

News and Notes

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Ravens get down to 75

Prior to their Week 4 preseason game, Baltimore had to get their roster down to 75 players by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. They did so by parting ways with several players while also placing several guys on season-ending injured reserve. 

The players they parted with were tackle De'Ondre Wesley, guard Leon Brown, receiver DeAndre Carter, cornerback Tramain Jacobs, guard Marcel Jones, punter Justin Manton, long snapper Patrick Scales, receiver Trent Steelman and receiver Aldrick Robinson, according to the team's transactions report. 

The team also placed safety Matt Elam, cornerback Chris Greenwood, linebacker Steven Means and tight end Allen Reisner on I.R. The most notable guy lost to I.R. was Elam, who was likely to play significant snaps this year but suffered a torn biceps muscle early in training camp. 

Baltimore will now have to get their roster cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. 

Timmy Jernigan avoids major knee injury

The Ravens had a big scare during their Week 3 preseason matchup with the Washington Redskins after defensive lineman Timmy Jernigan went down with a knee injury. 

It looked serious at first but now appears to have been only a minor injury that shouldn't sideline him for long. However, Jernigan's status for the regular-season opener against the Denver Broncos is now in question, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. 

This would be a big loss for Baltimore, which traded Pro Bowl defensive lineman Haloti Ngata this offseason, in part because they expected Jernigan to step up and replace him. Jernigan obviously can't do that if he's not on the field, and that would leave a major void on the Ravens defensive line. 

Lardarius Webb could play Week 1

The Ravens have been concerned about starting cornerback Lardarius Webb as he's continued to miss practice with a hamstring injury. It caused him to miss most of training camp and, assuming he doesn't play this week, the entire preseason.

That's never an ideal scenario for a guy who is expected to start and play significant snaps. Since 2011, Webb has started in 48 games while playing in 51 total. Over that span, Webb has 56 pass deflections—the most of any Raven over that span.

Needless to say, not having Webb would be a big loss for Baltimore's already-thin secondary, not to mention against a pass-heavy Denver Broncos offense in Week 1. 

However, head coach John Harbaugh doesn't seem concerned that Webb will miss Week 1 and was able to practice this week. In fact, he told BaltimoreRavens.com's Garrett Downing that Webb's injury was, "not something that’s going to keep him out."

That's good to hear, but at the same time, it's hard to see Webb being anywhere close to where he needs to be after missing so much time leading up to the game. 

Key Matchups to Watch

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Ravens LBs vs. Falcons Rushing Offense

As mentioned earlier, this game will likely feature fringe roster players getting the bulk of the snaps as they get one last chance to make their case for a spot on the final roster.

Baltimore will have several linebackers whom this applies to, so seeing how they do against a talented Falcons backfield will be intriguing to see.

The most notable linebacker fighting for his roster life is Arthur Brown. A second-round pick out of Kansas state in the 2013 NFL Draft, Brown has been a huge disappointment to this point. After playing sparingly in 14 games as a rookie, Brown appeared in just four contests last year.

He has just 11 career tackles after racking up 201 stops over his final two seasons at Kansas State, according to Sports Reference. He's just not finding ways to contribute to this team, and now he's fighting for his job. 

He's doing so while also looking to hold off several other linebackers who are making a push for roster spots. Among them are Zack Orr, Andrew Bose and Brennen Beyer. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Beyer (2.2), Bose (-0.3) and Orr (-3.4) all have better grades than Brown (-4.8) does through three preseason games. In fact, Brown has the second-worst defensive grade of any Ravens defender with rookie Za'Darius Smith being the only one that has a worse grade.

You can see why Brown is on the roster. Seeing how he and the other backers perform against the Falcons ground game could help determine their fates in Baltimore. 

Ravens corners vs Falcons Passing Offense

With the Ravens dealing with injuries in their secondary, that's put several defensive backs in line for a ton of snaps against the Falcons with hopes they'll help win a spot on the final roster.

Quinton Pointer, Tray Walker and Cassius Vaughn are all fighting for those last 1-2 spots at cornerback. They'll go against some quality Falcons receivers, who include veteran Leonard Hankerson and promising rookie Justin Hardy.

That's assuming star receiver Julio Jones and Roddy White sit out. If they play, it will be an ever better test for these corners looking to earn roster spots.

Pointer actually has three years of NFL experience, and Vaughn has five years under his belt. They've both looked better than Walker to this point in the preseason.

However, Baltimore spent a fourth-round pick on Walker in this year's NFL draft. Would they actually give up on him this quickly to keep an older corner who may be better but has less upside? 

At safety, undrafted free agent rookie Nick Perry is battling veterans Anthony Levine and Brynden Trawick for one of the final spots. Perry has had a good preseason, but he'll need another good performance Thursday if he wants to unseat either Trawick or Levine after both have been with Baltimore for multiple seasons now. 

If nothing else, Perry is a strong candidate for the practice squad, but he'd probably rather be on the 53-man roster with more potential to play on Sundays this year. 

Prediction

Gail Burton/Associated Press

The Ravens and Falcons both rest their starters, leaving the backups to get all of the snaps in this matchup. 

Looking at both rosters, Baltimore is easily the deeper team of the two, and that shows itself early and often. Ravens backup quarterback Matt Schaub picks apart the Falcons while also opening up the running game.

There, rookies Buck Allen and Terrence Magee are able to rip off several big runs and keep the Falcons on their toes. This balanced attack helps Baltimore take an early lead they manage for much of the game.

However, as has been the case much of this preseason, the deeper Baltimore goes into its bench, the weaker its defense becomes. They don't have enough bodies to keep Atlanta's passing game down for four quarters as the Falcons rally to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. 

From, there, Ravens third-string QB Bryn Renner guides Baltimore's offense down the field so that Justin Tucker can kick the game-winning field goal to give the Ravens a win to finish the preseason 2-2. 

Prediction: Ravens 23, Falcons 20