Chargers’ next opponent

Baltimore Ravens (10-3)

5:20 p.m., Sunday, Qualcomm Stadium

The Ravens have lost only three games. Each time, they were on the road. For all their success, the Ravens are no better than 16-14 in away games under head coach John Harbaugh.

So, ahem, there’s that.

About the last thing the Chargers needed to come along at this particular point – the virtual point of no return in terms of postseason contention – was a game with the smash-mouth Ravens. Baltimore’s a good opponent to have when it’s early in the season and you’re trying to measure yourself against the league’s better franchises – especially if you’re wondering about your own toughness — but not when you’re under .500 in mid-December and possibly one loss from elimination.

Baltimore’s not without a sense of urgency, either, despite a sweep of the arch-rival Pittsburgh Steelers and unbeaten record within the AFC North. The Ravens are one of four AFC teams at 10-3 and all too aware of the importance of home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Those two wins over the Steelers won’t mean much, either, if Pittsburgh finishes with a better record than Baltimore.

When last the Chargers faced the Ravens two years ago – see Series History below – Baltimore was built around (now) 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis. He’s missed four games – all Baltimore wins — with turf toe.

The Ravens are the NFL’s best defense against the pass and second-best against the rush, allowing an average of 15.5 points per game and an opponents’ third-down percentage of just 28.7. If anything, this year’s ravenous Ravens seem even more on the offensive when on defense.

Baltimore’s 8-5 in prime-time games during Harbaugh’s tenure, 4-1 in “Sunday Night Football’ affairs.

Three players to watch

Terrell Suggs, LB: You can toss a dart at the Ravens’ defensive lineup and hit somebody you want to avoid in your game plan, but even with Ed Reed at safety and Haloti Ngata at nose, the first force to be reckoned with is Suggs on the pass rush. Three times this season, he’s recorded three sacks in a game, putting him within two quarterback drops of the team record of 15. In addition to three picks Sunday, he also forced three Indianapolis Colts fumbles. He’ll be dancing with a former Ravens teammate Sunday night in Jared Gaither, now the Chargers’ starting left offensive tackle.

Joe Flacco, QB: Of the top 26 quarterbacks in the NFL in completion percentage, 25 are doing better than Flacco, who’s hit just 56.6 percent of his passes. He’s no higher than 21st in passer rating at 79.9. But there’ll only be two quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, and nobody would be surprised if Flacco is one of them. Why worry so much about passing stats, too, when your primary job is getting the ball to …

Ray Rice, RB: This not a height joke, but the 5-foot-8 Rice actually had been running well below the radar until most recently breaking off consecutive 100-yard games – incredibly, the first time he’s done that in his career. Rice leads the NFL with 1,622 total yards from scrimmage, including 10 rushing scores and two TD receptions. He’s now working behind one of the league’s premier fullbacks, Vonta Leach.

Bernard Pollard knows one style of play, and it’s not always a popular one. But it’s one that makes him a perfect fit with the Baltimore Ravens.

He calls it old school.

Wide receivers call it a prelude to pain killers.

“I’m an old-school football player,” Pollard said in a phone interview. “I’ll hit you when you’re going out of bounds. I’ll hit you when you come down field. If you’re in the way, you’re going to get hit. I’m just an old-school type football player. The league can try to change rules and everything else, but you can’t call this smash-mouth football if you’re worried about a penalty.”

That quote is Pollard in a nutshell: Aggressive, straight-forward and fully comfortable in his style. The Fort Wayne South Side High School alumnus needed four games to crash – and that is the best word – the Ravens’ starting lineup.

Now he’s a tandem with the Ravens great safety Ed Reed, and loving it, as the Ravens (9-3) play the Indianapolis Colts (0-12) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Baltimore.

Pollard spent three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and two years with the Houston Texans and felt like he fit in with both teams, but if ever his attitude fit with a defensive personality, it’s with the Ravens. Baltimore’s success has been defined by its defense, led by linebacker Ray Lewis and a number of great players over the years.

“One of the things I’ve always known about this team is they’re going to play ball,” Pollard said. “I love that they put their defensive players in position to go play. They want bullies They want to go out and do what they can to be the dominant team on the field. …They have 11 dogs on defense and they don’t have any kind of leash.”

Pollard calls Reed “the greatest safety to play this game” and says their connection has been strong from the start. They discuss film, text regularly awayy from the field and joke with each other constantly. On the field, it’s all business.

“We connect in so many different ways,” Pollard said. “It’s so much fun, knowing the safety next to me is accountable to this defense. He brings his ‘A’ game every single Sunday.”

Reed went to the University of Miami, where he was a friend and teammate with Colts receiver Reggie Wayne. Pollard earned a bit of infamy cursing at the Colts receiver after Wayne caught a ball and stepped out of bounds last season. Trash talk goes on every game, but Pollard’s rant was caught on an open microphone and went over the air.

Pollard said he talked about that incident with Reed the other day.

“Tempers flare and everything else,” Pollard said. “At the end of the day, I respect that man (Wayne) for everything he’s done. He’s a great guy, a Hall of Fame receiver. I’m excited to play him again. I just get frustrated when he goes down before I can hit him.”

Pollard knows the Ravens will be heavily favored against this version of the Colts, but he says Baltimore cannot afford to enter the game with any sort of overconfidence.

“As much flack as they’re taking, they’re still a really good team,” Pollard said. “You look at that receiving corps. Reggie Wayne is one of the best receivers in the game, still. Pierre Garcon, that dude is playing the game. Austin Collie is one of the best slot receivers in the game.”

Of course, Pollard and the Ravens will be facing a different quarterback, with Peyton Manning still out after neck surgery and journeyman Dan Orlovsky behind center. Orlovsky and Pollard were teammates with the Texans.

“It is weird to watch film on them and not see 18 with the ball,” Pollard said. “Dan’s doing a great job. He put up 24 points on New England. …They are capable of beating us. We have to go play ball, I don’t care how many losses you have. Nobody comes in on Sunday and just rolls over.”

Pollard certainly plays with only one style, regardless of the opponent.

His approach dates back to his formative days in Fort Wayne.

“My father was a big-time football fan, a big-time football player,” Pollard said. “Me and my brother would sit there and watch and see the (Steve) Atwaters, the Ronnie Lotts, the Night Trains (Lane) come through and slap that dude.

“That’s how football’s supposed to be played,” Pollard said. “I thought, ‘This is how I have to hit.’ When I hit that way, the biggest thing is I’m going to have a bruise. Just go hit. That’s something I picked up, and I ran with it.”

The Indianapolis Colts have been a thorn in the side of the
Baltimore Ravens over the past 10 years, but the team has shown this season
that it has much less of a bite without Peyton Manning under center.

Involved in a tight race atop the AFC North, Baltimore will look to take
advantage of the Colts’ woes this Sunday and win a franchise-record ninth
straight game at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens have won all six of their home outings in 2011 and have taken 16 of
their last 17 games as the hosting club. Their success at home this year has
helped them post a 9-3 record, good enough for a tie with Pittsburgh, Houston
and New England for the best in the AFC entering this week’s play. The Steelers
will own a half-game edge on the pack heading into Sunday’s games, however,
after defeating Cleveland on Thursday.

A win over the Colts would also place the Ravens back into a first-place tie
with the Steelers in the AFC North, but Baltimore owns the tie-breaker edge
thanks to a pair of triumphs over Pittsburgh this season. Both teams are coming
off Week 13 victories, with Baltimore running its current win streak to three
straight with a 24-10 victory at Cleveland last Sunday.

The Ravens used their ground game to keep the Browns in check, attempting a
franchise-record 55 rushes. Ray Rice got the bulk of the work and set a career
high with 204 yards rushing and also scored once.

“I have to give it all to my offensive line,” Rice said about his performance.
“I think it was my first 200-yard game. It felt good to get it against a
divisional opponent.”

Baltimore’s fifth victory in six games was also big from a mental standpoint,
as it had lost three road games this year against teams that were under .500 at
the time of the meeting. Two of those defeats followed wins over the Steelers,
but the Ravens were up to the task against a struggling team last weekend.

“We know we control our own destiny,” Rice said. “Regardless of who we play,
we’ve got to take care of business.”

Baltimore is aiming to reach 10-3 for just the second time in franchise
history, joining the 2006 squad, and snap an eight-game slide to Indianapolis
that includes the postseason. The Ravens haven’t beaten the Colts since Dec.
2, 2001.

The Colts would normally be a big test for the Ravens, but they haven’t given
any teams much trouble in 2011. Indianapolis has yet to win in 12 games and is
off to its worst start since beginning the 1986 season 0-13.

Indianapolis was a huge underdog last weekend versus New England and trailed by
28 points late in the third quarter before Dan Orlovsky helped engineer three
fourth-quarter touchdown drives in his first start at quarterback since Dec.
28, 2008 with Detroit.

Orlovsky threw a pair of touchdown passes, but the Colts still fell to 0-6 on
the road this season after the 31-24 loss. Orlovsky, taking over for a
struggling Curtis Painter under center, will get the start again this weekend.

“He played pretty well,” Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell said about
Orlovsky. “Obviously, that’s one thing that is quite evident and he certainly,
I think, did a nice job all around — in the running game and in the passing
game and just moving the ball. He was very poised out there. You’re going to
see him again.”

SERIES HISTORY

The Colts own a 7-2 advantage in their overall regular-season series with the
Ravens, the most recent being a 17-15 triumph at M&T Bank Stadium in 2009. The
Colts also topped the Ravens in Baltimore, the city the franchise had resided
in from 1953-83 before moving to Indianapolis, in both 2005 (24-7) and 2007
(44-20) in addition to a 31-3 rout at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008.

Indianapolis has also defeated the Ravens twice in postseason play, including
a 15-6 decision at M&T Bank Stadium in a 2006 AFC Divisional Playoff en route
to a Super Bowl title. The Colts also bested Baltimore by a 20-3 count in a
2009 Divisional Round game held in Indiana, with Indianapolis reaching the
Super Bowl that year as well.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is winless in three lifetime matchups with the
Colts, which includes the 2009 playoff loss, while Caldwell is 2-0 against
Baltimore and in head-to-head encounters with Harbaugh as a head coach.

WHEN THE COLTS HAVE THE BALL

Orlovsky (475 passing yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) is the third quarterback given the
task of replacing Manning (4700 passing yards, 33 TD, 17 INT in 2010)
this year. When it was learned that a neck injury would keep the Colts’
franchise signal-caller on the sidelines, the club added Kerry Collins before
he was lost for the season early on. Painter (1541 passing yards, 6 TD, 9 INT)
then took over and was less than impressive, leading to Caldwell giving
Orlovsky a shot last week. With the journeyman under center, Indianapolis’
29th-ranked offense put up 437 total yards and Colts receivers combined for a
season-high 21 catches. Orlovsky himself set career highs with 30 completions
and 353 passing yards, finding wide receiver Pierre Garcon (55 receptions, 6
TD) twice for touchdowns while also getting intercepted once. Garcon logged
career bests with nine receptions and 150 yards, fellow wideout Austin Collie
(38 receptions) added seven grabs for 70 yards and Reggie Wayne (52 receptions,
2 TD) chipped in with five receptions for 55 yards. Perhaps Orlovsky is what
this talented group of receivers, which also includes tight end Jacob Tamme (16
receptions), going. Running backs Donald Brown (397 rushing yards, 4 TD) and
Joseph Addai (319 rushing yards, 1 TD) nearly split 27 carries against New
England and accounted for 80 of the Colts’ 99 rushing yards, while Brown
also scored a touchdown.

Orlovsky was sacked twice a week ago and figures to be under fire again this
Sunday against the league’s third-ranked defense. Baltimore is giving up just
287.3 yards per game and ranks second versus the run, while its 16.0 points
allowed per game also ranks third. The Ravens allowed the Browns to post only
233 yards of offense last weekend, and all but two of Cleveland’s possessions
came to an end with either a punt or a turnover. The bulk of the pressure on
Orlovsky should come from outside linebacker Terrell Suggs (53 tackles, 10
sacks, 2 INT), who had one of Baltimore’s three sacks a week ago as he reached
double-digits for the fourth time in his career. Suggs also ranks second in
the AFC in sacks, and the Ravens as a team are first in the NFL with 41 despite
linebacker Ray Lewis (68 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT) missing the past three games
with a toe injury. He may return this week, but if not expect linebackers
Jameel McClain (63 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT) and Dannell Ellerbe (14 tackles) to
step up in the veteran’s absence. The two had seven tackles each versus the
Browns, while rookie defensive end Pernell McPhee (20 tackles, 6 sacks) logged
a pair of sacks. Rookie corner Jimmy Smith (6 tackles, 2 INT) also picked off a
pass and of course, the Colts must keep their eye on safety Ed Reed (40
tackles, 1 sack, 3 INT) as well.

WHEN THE RAVENS HAVE THE BALL

The Ravens have been using a balanced attack this season to rank sixth in the
league in points per game (24.7), but went run-heavy at Cleveland last weekend.
Rice (926 rushing yards, 56 receptions, 11 total TD), who also leads the team
in catches, rushed the ball 29 times and ripped off a 67-yard run while
averaging seven yards a carry. In an effort not to wear down their small back,
the Ravens also gave Ricky Williams (338 rushing yards, 2 TD) 16 carries, and
he responded with 76 yards and a touchdown as Baltimore finished the game with
290 yards on the ground, almost 200 over their season average of 114.8 per
week. With all that ground work, quarterback Joe Flacco (2895 passing yards, 13
TD, 8 INT) didn’t have much to do. He completed 10 of his 23 passes for 158
yards and was sacked once without an interception. Baltimore as a team has
given up only three sacks in the past four games, however. Even with limited
chances, wideout Anquan Boldin (50 receptions, 3 TD) made a pair of catches for
32 yards last week to reach 700 career receptions. Tight end Ed Dickson (46
receptions, 3 TD led the way against Cleveland with three receptions and 47
yards, while rookie wide receiver and deep threat Torrey Smith (32 receptions,
5 TD) made a 32-yard grab.

The Colts rank dead last in the NFL with an average of 29.8 points allowed per
game, and their meeting with the Patriots did little to help that fact. Indy is
also giving up 144.2 yards per game on the ground, 30th in the league. The
Colts did outgain the Pats a week ago, but New England still put up 362 yards
of offense, with quarterback Tom Brady throwing for 289 yards with a pair of
touchdowns. The Ravens aren’t likely to deploy the same strategy, but when
Flacco drops back he’ll be facing two of the game’s best ends in Dwight Freeney
(15 tackles, 5.5 sacks) and Robert Mathis (30 tackles, 5.5 sacks). Neither was
much of a factor versus the Pats, but the two have combined for 77 sacks in
their last 57 games. Freeney, meanwhile, remained a half-sack shy of 100 for
his career and would be the 26th player to reach that mark. With the two pass
rushers shut down, defensive tackle Fili Moala (15 tackles) logged his first
career sack. Safety Antoine Bethea (102 tackles) led the club with nine tackles
against New England, while outside linebacker Ernie Sims (31 tackles) added
eight and counterpart Philip Wheeler (75 tackles, 1 sack) made seven stops.
Indianapolis did lose leading tackler Pat Angerer (112 tackles, 1 sack) in the
game due to a knee injury that leaves the linebacker questionable for this
game, while a pair of cornerbacks in Terrence Johnson (37 tackles) and Jerraud
Powers (51 tackles, 2 INT) were lost for the season due to injuries. Cornerback
Jacob Lacey (42 tackles) did play for the first time since Oct. 16 and had six
tackles.

KEYS TO THE GAME

The Colts didn’t catch a break by having to travel to Baltimore, where the
Ravens have allowed the fewest points per game (13.4) and touchdowns (45) in
the league since 2008. The Ravens have also forced an NFL-high 72 turnovers in
that span and are second overall with an average of 272.2 yards allowed per
game at home.

One thing that helped the Colts catch up to the Patriots was their ability to
convert on third down. They went 10-for-15 in said scenario last weekend after
entering the game having converted only 32.4 percent of their third downs. A
repeat performance will help wear down a Ravens defense that got a lot of rest
versus the Browns.

Baltimore, in part because of the weather, really rode its ground game last
weekend, but given the Colts’ injury concerns in the secondary, it could be
Flacco in the spotlight for this one. Boldin will likely draw most of
Indianapolis’ attention, meaning Torrey Smith could have some room to make some
more big plays. Also expect the tight end duo of Dickson and Dennis Pitta to be
heavily involved as well as Rice out of the backfield.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

With a playoff berth almost nearly assured, the Ravens still need to finish
strong as they remain in the mix for the top spot in the conference. For the
Colts, that means they can’t bank on Baltimore looking past this game for next
Sunday’s road date against a desperate San Diego team. The Ravens have shown
an inability to get up for games like this season, but Harbaugh’s club
seemed to show last week it has learned its lesson and should be focused.
Expect plenty or Flacco and Rice in this rout.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Ravens 27, Colts 13

©2011 Sports Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Peyton Hillis has an impressive game the first time he met the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 26, 2010.

All Hillis did was rush for 144 yards and a touchdown.

Edward Lee of The Baltimore Sun writes how at least one player said the defense has buried the memory of that performance.

“Like I said, we put that behind us,” defensive end Cory Redding said. “That was the first time we played them last season. It was early in the game, early in the year. We played them later on in the year, and we stopped him. And we put that behind us.”

Hillis did not do so well against the Ravens the second time around with only 35 yards rushing, but Redding expects an energized opponent on Sunday.

 “Peyton Hillis is a professional football player,” Redding said. “Regardless of how many weeks he’s been out, he still is a paid, professional football player. So [he has] a lot of pride, a lot of heart. A lot of fight is going to come out of that man.

 

More Ravens

The Browns continue to prepare for Ray Lewis (Baltimore Sun).

Ed Reed says the rivalry between the Ravens and Browns speaks for itself (Baltimore Sun).

Old college coach helped Suggs in the pros (Baltimore Sun).

The Baltimore Ravens have long been known for consistently applying pressure regardless of who is the play caller, whether it be Greg Mattison or Rex Ryan, or the pressure player, such as Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis or Ed Reed. This year is no different, as defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano has been exceedingly aggressive in calling the defense by dialing up an abundance of blitzes. One of the blitzes that he’s used and that has been around for years in Baltimore, as well as the rest of the NFL, is the Fire Zone blitz.

As Sports Illustrated writer and author Tim Layden eloquently wrote in his book, Blood, Sweat and Chalk, the Fire Zone was initially developed in the early 1970s by Miami Dolphins defensive mastermind Bill Arnsparger. Arnsparger explained, “we were able to rush five guys and cover with six. That’s what you need to run a zone blitz. We could usually drop a linebacker in that slot zone, and that gave people a lot of problems.”

The Fire Zone Blitz developed by Arnsparger would change the way defense would be played forever. At the time of the development, defenses were primarily using man blitzes, which quarterbacks were used to as they would simply dump off the ball to their hot read. However, Arnsparger’s zone blitz made that more difficult because the typically vacated area left by the blitzer would be replaced by another defender unexpectedly dropping into coverage, which was often a backside defensive end or outside linebacker (3-4). If quarterbacks attempted to throw it to their “hot” receiver, it would often result in an incomplete pass or an interception.

An example of a Fire Zone Blitz with 3-3 coverage behind it.

Decades later, the defensive concept is still in vogue and led by Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who made it most popular by building his 1983 Bengals defense around it. The Ravens have also mastered this over the years, as evidenced against the 49ers last week.

In Baltimore, Pagano has done a marvelous job of mixing up his Fire Zone Blitzes, playing different coverages behind the five pressure players and keeping the offensive players guessing as to which player is coming after them. The Fire Zone Blitz , sometimes simply called “zone blitz,” typically has three underneath and three deep defenders splitting the field into thirds in coverage while other times having four underneath with two deep defenders splitting the field into halves.

Against the 49ers, Pagano and his defense got to San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith nine (!) times, tying a franchise record for sacks in a single game. Many times, it was simply with three or four pass rushers whilst other times getting to Smith with blitzes, such as the aforementioned Fire Zone.

Before the ball was put into play by Smith, the 49ers showed a run-centered package with their 12 personnel, which means 1 running back and 2 tight ends. To counter this, the Ravens came out in their 30 Nickel package, which suggests that there are three down lineman and five defensive backs.

49ers show 12 personnel against Ravens 30 Nickel package.

In their Fire Zone Blitz look, the Ravens divided their responsibilities in several different ways. Below, I color coded the blitzers in white and the pass coverage defenders in red. The responsibilities are defined as the following:

Ravens prepare for takeoff.

DEFENSIVE LINE:

A (between C and G) — Attack the A gap in between the Center and Right Guard (62).

C (outside the OT) — There are two C gap attackers on this play, with both being the defensive ends.  To your right, defensive end Terrell Suggs attacked the C gap by rushing outside and widening the Right Tackle. On the other side, defensive end Haloti Ngata attacked C gap to the outside of the left tackle.

Image courtesy of Footballoutsiders.com

BLITZERS:

B (between G and OT) — The nickel back and the middle linebacker will both attack the B gap from their respective alignments. The nickel back will loop from the C gap outside into the B gap to attract the attention of the tailback while the middle linebacker will attack the B gap on a delayed blitz, which allows him to obliterate the pocket by coming in untouched.

PASS DEFENDERS:

F — The two cornerbacks are flat defenders. They are to buzz the flat in soft (5-7 yards deep) coverage.

H — Hook defenders are the backside linebacker dropping in coverage on the left of the image as well as the linebacker (51).

Deep 1/2 — The two safeties deep are responsible for dividing their coverage into two halves of the field.

The 49ers attempted to counter the Ravens’ zone blitz by using zone protection. By doing this, the uncovered offensive linemen were required to help the playside teammate out in blocking the defender while the covered offensive linemen were asked to block the man that was in front of them. Unfortunately for the 49ers, they ran into some issues.

On the left side, Ngata, who lined up in a three technique over the left guard (77), ended up long-sticking across the guard’s face and into the C gap, which forced the left guard to help out before looking elsewhere to block. Meanwhile, the center (briefly) helped out the guard to his side before releasing to the second level as the “cleanup” guy, taking out any extra blitzers. However, he missed a blitzer, which was the Ravens linebacker (53) who made a beeline for quarterback Alex Smith.

Ravens demolish 49ers zone protection with the Fire Zone Blitz.

Once the blitzing inside linebacker got to Smith, it was all over, as the rest of the 49ers offensive line caved in and gave up the sack. This was one of many for the Ravens as they picked apart the 49ers offensive line with great precision.

Mission accomplished.

Last but not least, the Ravens’ pressure players, led by Suggs, have done a great job over the years of getting to the quarterback. They’ve used several types of Fire Zone Blitzes to get to signal callers, and as the creator of the website Blitzology.blogspot.com explained, the Ravens used a very similar designed zone blitz last season against the Carolina Panthers. The only difference was that it ran the opposite way and out of a Dime package (six defensive backs).

Image courtesy of Blitzology.blogspot.com

For more, here’s another breakdown of the Fire Zone with Cover 2 behind it (starts at the 1:10 mark).