Ravens vs. Browns Preview: Happy Learned How To Putt

When previewing the Cleveland Browns games in the past, I have made a habit out of waiting until the end of the article to give my prediction. This week, I think I will just dispense with the formalities and get right to it. The Browns are going to lose, and lose big.

My Prediction: Baltimore Ravens 31, Cleveland Browns 13

I don’t think I am going out on a limb here, but let’s take a trip down the Baltimore Ravens roster for the reasons why anyway.

The Ravens defense has the well-deserved reputation as one of the league’s stingiest, but the much-improved offense is what is sending out chills among the NFL’s elite. There was once a time when the Ravens defense would play its heart out and the offense would let them down. That time is no more.

As the line in one of my favorite movies ("Happy Gilmore") goes, “Uh-oh, Happy learned how to putt.”

It all starts with second-year quarterback Joe Flacco. The youngster is quietly developing into one of the league’s better signal-callers. While Baltimore handled him with kid gloves in 2008, they have taken the training wheels off and let him roll so far this season.

After a tremendous preseason, Flacco has followed that up with two solid starts. Flacco has five TD passes and has thrown for almost 500 yards in leading the Ravens to a total of 69 points. That is getting the job done.

What is most amazing about what Flacco is doing is that he is doing it without the help of a big-time receiver. The addition of Kelly Washington to "Old Reliable" Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton has helped. But none of them strikes fear in opposing defenses. Washington’s size and speed do give the Ravens the hint of a deep-threat.

A healthy Todd Heap at tight end adds another weapon to the offense. He has two touchdown grabs thus far, and it appears that Flacco will look to him near the goal line.

Second-year running back Ray Rice and veteran Willis McGahee have formed a solid one-two punch in the backfield. Both will benefit from the sharing of duties—McGahee because of his injury history, and Rice because of his lack of size.

The Ravens coaching staff seems to have just the right recipe when handling the backfield. McGahee has 123 yards rushing on 4.9 yards per carry with three touchdowns. He also has six receptions and a touchdown in the first two games. He’s not strictly the “goal line back.”

Meanwhile, Rice has become the starter and has garnered pretty impressive stats in a limited role himself (144 yards, 5.3 yards per carry, seven receptions, 8.3 yards per catch). The Ravens will most definitely use him in the passing game to create a matchup problem with a linebacker.

Le'Ron McLain has been moved from halfback to fullback and is a load when carrying the ball in short yardage situations.

The offensive line has improved immensely over the past two years. Matt Birk was brought over from the Vikings to provide some stability to the center position. He may no longer be the player he was when he earned his sixth Pro Bowl in 2007, but he is intelligent (Economics Degree from Harvard) and plays with an edge.

Left tackle Jared Gaither is a mountain. Standing at 6’9” and weighing in at 340 pounds, he is developing into a first-class, blind-side tackle in his third year.

Former first round pick Ben Grubbs mans the left guard position. Also in his third year, Grubbs is on his way to developing a Pro Bowl reputation.

The right side of the offensive line is not quite as talented. Marshal Yanda and Michael Oher start at guard and tackle respectively. Both are young with room to grow, but neither consistently stands out.

Overall, the Ravens offense is finally giving the Baltimore faithful something to get excited about. For far too long, Baltimore fans have had to root for their defense to put some points on the board and hope their offense just didn’t make a mistake.

Thus far, the Ravens have really made teams pay in the red zone. They have scored seven touchdowns in eight trips inside the 20-yard line. After wins against San Diego and Kansas City, the Ravens lead the AFC in scoring and their offense is ranked fourth overall with 403 yards per game.

The Browns linebackers better come to play this week or it could get ugly in a hurry. Because the Ravens offense keeps you guessing and incorporates the backs and tight ends in the passing game, they have been especially adept at keeping the linebackers on their heels.

This is no longer a one-dimensional team and it certainly is not a one-dimensional offense. There is no one sure way to scheme against the Ravens.

The best advice is to let the cornerbacks play on an island and devote the rest of the team to stopping Baltimore’s ability to utilize McGahee and Rice in both the running and passing games. But even that, given Flacco’s recent play, is no guarantee for success.

Ironically, while the offense has soared, the defense has taken a small step backwards. While the yardage totals are still among the league's best, they have surrendered 24 and 26 points in their two games. Those are not alarming numbers for most teams, but it has not been the dominance we have come to expect out of Ray Lewis and his cohorts.

Lewis, who has somehow found the fountain of youth, is still playing at a high level. His fourth quarter, bone-crushing stop on fourth down against the Chargers perhaps saved the game last week. After 18 tackles in two games, he is showing no signs of slowing down.

DE/OLB Terrell Suggs may be an even better linebacker than Lewis at this point in his career. He already has 54 sacks after only six full seasons. At 28-years old, he will be putting the fear of God in quarterbacks for years to come.

He came into the league as strictly a pass-rusher, but is developing the ability to stop the run and play in coverage as well. Suggs is what the Cleveland Browns have hoped Camerion Wimbley would become when they drafted him in the first round in 2006.

Except for Lewis and Suggs, linebacker was a big area of concern heading into this season after losing Pro Bowl OLB Adalius Thomas and ILB Bart Scott (2006 Pro Bowl). Filling their spots are seventh-year veteran Jarret Johnson and Taveres Gooden. Special teams ace Brendon Ayanbadejo will also spot Gooden in certain packages.

The jury is still out on Gooden and/or Ayanbadejo as regulars at inside linebacker. Johnson is a 265-pound hybrid who had two sacks on opening day. He has had limited success in a limited role for his career.

Although all of these three are unproven, some believe that it was the system that made Scott and Thomas anyway, and not the other way around.

The front three of Trevor Pryce, Kelly Gregg, and Haloti Ngata is stout. Although Ngata and Gregg are primarily run-pluggers, they can collapse the pocket. Pryce is getting long in the tooth, but still can rush the passer. Ngata and Gregg are especially strong at holding the point of attack and keeping the linebackers free to pursue ball-carriers.

Add All World safety Ed Reed to this mix and you have the makings of one of the best defenses in the NFL. Reed is the most dominant ball-hawking safety in the league, if not ever. With 43 interceptions, an astounding 11 career touchdowns (special teams and interception/fumble returns), and four blocked punts in 108 games, he has a bust waiting for him in Canton, Ohio.

The opposite safety, Dawan Landry also is a big-play threat. Landry has had an injury-plagued last two seasons in the league. However, he looks to be finally over those health concerns and was voted to the all-rookie team in 2006.

The one area that the Ravens can be exploited is at the cornerback position. Dominique Foxworth was signed to a rather large off-season contract. It was a move that left some NFL scouts scratching their heads, as Foxworth has played four rather non-descript seasons with the Broncos and the Falcons.

Fabian Washington starts at the other cornerback position. Many feel he is more suited to be a nickel corner than a starter. He suffered a slight concussion in last week’s game against the Chargers. He should suit up and be ready to play this week against the Browns.

If Washington is not able to play, the Ravens will be extremely thin at the position, leaving only seven-year nickel-back Frank Walker, special teamer/nickel-back Chris Carr and rookie project Lardarius Webb at the position.

There is a severe lack of size at cornerback for the Ravens that can be taken advantage of if Brady Quinn can remain upright. The Ravens have given up four touchdown passes in two games and Chargers QB Phillip Rivers threw for a whopping 436 yards in game two.

In the Chargers’ game, 6’5” WR Vincent Jackson lit up the Ravens secondary for 141 yards, Darren Sproles caught a pass out of the backfield for an 81-yard score (124 receiving yards on the game), Malcom Floyd made a 40-yard catch, Antonio Gates caught five passes for 78 yards, and Chris Chambers made two 15-yard grabs (and dropped a beautiful pass from Rivers).

The Browns’ receivers do not possess the same size matchup problem that the Chargers’ receivers do. But the fact remains, the Ravens cornerbacks are less than stellar.

The only chance that the Browns have in this game is going to require offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and quarterback Brady Quinn to do something that they have not been comfortable with—throw the ball down the field.

With their size, Braylon Edwards, Mohammed Massaquoi, and Josh Cribbs can all out-muscle these miniature corners. But in order to keep the heat off Quinn, the running game is going to have to at least keep them honest.

Jamal Lewis has had some past success against his former team. The team also might want to get RB Jerome Harrison involved in the passing game judging by the performance of Darren Sproles against the Ravens.

This is Quinn’s week to prove he has the ability to make plays with his arm. If he cannot, this game will be blowout city. Nothing that Quinn has done thus far inspires much confidence that Quinn has that capability.