Buccaneers vs. Ravens: Tampa Bay To Face Toughest Test of Season in Baltimore

On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3) will travel to M&T Bank in Baltimore to face the first place Baltimore Ravens (7-3).  Sunday will mark the second time these two teams have faced each other since 2006, when the Ravens blanked the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, 26-0.

In talking to the Tampa community over the weekend, most die-hard fans feel that Sunday’s game against the Ravens will be the Buccaneers biggest challenge to-date.

Even with a 7-3 record, many Buccaneers fans still doubt their own team, despite the level of success the team has had through this point in the season.  Most fans are waiting for the “inevitable collapse” of the team, and many look to the matchup in Baltimore to start this collapse.

The fan base in Tampa might be correct, as the Buccaneers have yet to beat a team with a winning record in 2010.  The last AFC North opponent Tampa Bay faced was the Pittsburgh Steelers—a Steelers team that devastated the Buccaneers in their own home back in Week 3, 38-13.

Baltimore, who currently stands atop the AFC North, will present a similar challenge for the young Buccaneers squad.

Ravens RB Ray Rice has had a disappointing season up until now.  Some of Rice’s setbacks in 2010 had to do with a nagging knee injury.  Nevertheless, Rice continues to find himself in a limited role on offense, something that wrecks havoc on the minds of Raven Nation.

The Ravens main road to success against Tampa Bay on Sunday is to establish the run game early, and don’t divert from it at any cost.  The Buccaneers rank 29^th in the NFL against the run, allowing over 136 yards per game, so there’s no reason Rice can’t add to the list of running backs that have shredded Tampa Bay this year.

One of the glaring problems the Ravens offense faces Sunday is the cover-two defense Tampa Bay runs so well.  Unfortunately, for QB Joe Flacco, this style of defense has presented the biggest problems for the young quarterback in the past. 

Most of Flacco’s career interceptions have come against teams that run the cover-two, but this is a quarterback that has improved tremendously this season in reading coverage, so interceptions shouldn’t be a huge concern for the Ravens Sunday afternoon.

Flacco remains the highest-rated quarterback since Week 2, and should have some degree of success against a very good Tampa Bay secondary.  However, expect the Ravens to keep the ball on the ground for most of the game.  History indicates Rice should be effective enough for Baltimore to win the game on his legs alone.

Look for Rice to end the day with two touchdowns and 140 all-purpose yards.

Likewise, the Buccaneers have a young running back that has turned some heads in previous weeks.  Florida native LeGarrette Blount could be the equalizer in a game that is likely to feature the run first.  Blount, a rookie out of Oregon, only has 101 touches so far, but he’s made the most out of his playing time, averaging 4.4 yards per attempt and finding the end zone four times in the process.

Opposing teams have had success rushing straight at the heart of Baltimore’s defense.  Last week, Carolina’s fourth-string running back Mike Goodson found several gaping holes in the Ravens defensive line, on his way to a 120-yard day.

Baltimore ranks eighth in the league in total defense and ninth against the run.  Blount will need to produce numbers similar to Carolina’s Goodson in order to take pressure off Buccaneers QB Josh Freeman, who has an unfavorable matchup against a defense stacked with veterans—a defense that’s finally creating turnovers at the most opportune times.

Freeman has been one of the finer points in the Buccaneers offense.  Freeman’s accuracy and ability to extend plays without turning the ball over, has played a big factor in Tampa Bay’s triumphs on offense up until now.

With all of the good this young Buccaneers offense has done throughout the year, it probably won’t be enough come Sunday, when Freeman will be asked to make big plays if the running game fails to produce.

Having the 23^rd-ranked offense puts Tampa Bay at a disadvantage going into a hostile environment in Baltimore.  However, when it comes to these pesky stats, Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris had this to say:  “I told you guys, stats are for losers.  We don’t deal with that.  We deal with playing hard, playing fast, playing smart and playing consistent.”

The Buccaneers have been consistent, but they’ve yet to show they can hang with the elite teams in the NFL.

After Sunday’s game, we will know more about the Ravens as a team, and where they stand in the NFL.  As for Tampa Bay, a win would help seal their playoff fate and label them a true contender in a group of elites this year.

Todd McGregor is a Baltimore Ravens Featured Columnist here on BleacherReport.com

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