Baltimore Ravens Hold Blueprint for Success Against Denver Broncos

Many of the NFL headlines this week suggest the Baltimore Ravens (3-1) will get their first real test on defense, when Kyle Orton and the Denver Broncos (2-2) bring their top-ranked passing attack to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore today.

What most analysts fail to mention is Baltimore has had more success against the Broncos than any other team in recent years. 

Going back to 2000, the Ravens are 4-0 all time against Denver, while outscoring them 111-39 in those four victories.  Boasting stats like that, one could conclude that Baltimore has held a blueprint for success against Denver for many years.

Last season, QB Orton and the Broncos were arguably the hottest team in the NFL, that is, until they faced the Ravens on November 1. Orton was off to a similar start in 2009, throwing nine touchdowns and only one interception, all before traveling to Baltimore to face the Ravens. 

Denver was pummeled in Baltimore, losing the contest 30-7. Orton had no success against a weaker pass defense at the time.  He would finish the game with 152 yards passing and no touchdowns.

We all know what happened after that—Denver finished the season 8-8, and missed out on a playoff berth that was almost a certainty through the first half of the 2009 season.

So, will Denver's trip to Baltimore this Sunday end up being a carbon copy of last year's outcome? In order to make an educated guess, we need to look at the facts on both sides of the football.

Through the first four games of the 2010 campaign, the Ravens rank No. 1 in overall defense. They've held their opponents to an average of 119 yards in passing per game—a franchise best. Baltimore's secondary has surprised even the toughest critics thus far, mainly because of the absence of safety Ed Reed. 

It's a scary notion that this defensive squad is only getting healthier by the week. Reed is due back from his hip injury after the Ravens' bye week.

The Broncos' one-dimensional attack on offense will again play into Baltimore's strengths this time around.

Orton leads the NFL with nearly 355 yards in passing per game.  He manages to spread the ball around effectively to some talented receivers in Eddie Royal and Brandon Lloyd.  However, all this success through the air means nothing when you have a run game that ranks dead last in the league at 55-yards a game.

Broncos' RB Knowshon Moreno has been ruled out for today's game, giving way to Correll Buckhalter and Laurence Maroney to split carries. Both running backs have been severely ineffective, failing to reach a combined 100-yards in four games.

Denver's 19 total yards rushing against the Titans last week is a troubling stat in itself.  While the Ravens acknowledge they aren't taking the Broncos' running game lightly, it's one less area that the defense will need to worry.

With Denver's rushing attack out of the picture, the majority of the focus will be limiting Orton's short-to-intermediate passing scheme.  If there's one area of concern, it's the Ravens' ability to defend the middle of the field. Even though Baltimore seems solid in every aspect of their pass defense, Ray Lewis and the rest of the defense must take away the middle of the field from Orton, not allowing him to get comfortable early on.

Given the fact that Denver is averaging 50 pass attempts per game, look for Orton to be pressured on nearly every down. Ravens' defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said earlier this week that he's looking for an improvement in the sack count from the Ravens' defense.

With the amount of pressure Baltimore puts on opposing quarterbacks, they've only been able to notch seven sacks on the year. Mattison alluded to this problem in his weekly press conference, stating it's been something the entire defense has been working on since last season.

While these fundamentals are still being ironed out, the odds are in Baltimore's favor of getting to Orton at least a few times during the game.

The Ravens are playing an opposing quarterback who must resort to passing the ball 50 times a game due to the lack of any running threat, and this plays to their strengths.

For Denver's head coach Josh McDaniels, this will surely be his toughest test of the season.  How do you game plan for a team that feasts on the run, and ranks first in the league in passing?

There's no real gameplan for any success in that situation.  Limiting mistakes and turnovers on offense will be the only hope the Broncos have for a win on Sunday. 

Even if Denver gets a few breaks during the course of this matchup, it won't be nearly enough given how well the Ravens are playing right now.

In all reality, this is a game that should be decided by halftime. It's not a good matchup for Denver, and the Ravens will take advantage of their opponent's lopsidedness on offense.

Baltimore will get the easy win, 34-10.