The Ravens offense will present many challenges to the Bucks defense. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken owns the league’s No. 1 offense, averaging 453.7 yards per game, with the top running game (205.3 yards per game) and the seventh-best passing attack in the NFL (248.3 yards per game). It is characterized by
Stopping runs is a top priority for Todd Bowles’ defense every week. So Bowles put a lot of body on the line of scrimmage, slowing down Derrick Henry, the league’s leading rusher with 704 yards (5.9 average) and eight touchdowns, and running back quarterback Lamar Jackson. I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. 403 yards and two scores.
Tampa Bay’s defense did a good job of stopping Henry last year when he was at Tennessee and lost 20-6 to the Bucs. Henry was held to just 24 yards on 11 carries and had one catch for minus-4 yards.
“We’ve got to stop him before he starts,” Bucs outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Soyinka said. “Hit him in the backfield. Hit him at the line of scrimmage before he goes downhill.”
Bucks OLB Yaya Diaby and former Titans RB Derrick Henry – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Reliable tackles and gang tackles are the key to neutralizing Henry and Jackson’s two-pronged rushing attack.
“We’ve got to be good at tackling,” Bucs defensive tackle Logan Hall said. “We’ve seen what happens when you don’t.”
Hall was referring to the team’s two losses this year, to Denver and Atlanta. In both games, Tampa Bay’s defense missed many tackles and allowed runs and catches to gain extra yards.
“If you miss Lamar, he’s going to make you pay,” said Tryon Soyinka, who had one of three sacks from Jackson in Tampa Bay’s 27-22 loss to Baltimore in 2022.
However, the 2024 Ravens’ offense will be more diverse, giving Monken more weapons at his disposal. If Tampa Bay is too aggressive in stopping the run, Jackson, who is completing 67% of his passes, has plenty of valid targets he can find downfield.
stop or at least slow down baltimore run game This is just part of the Tampa Bay defense’s strategy. There are several other aspects of Bowles and the Bucks that are concerning.
Bucs Playing Man vs. Zone Trouble
Todd Bowles may be tempted to play a significant amount of zone coverage against the Ravens for a variety of reasons. First, playing man coverage means most of the eyes of Tampa Bay’s back-seven defenders will be on the Ravens players they are covering, rather than the quarterback. The quarterback, in this case, is one of the most deadly scramblers ever in the game.
Ravens WR Zai Flowers – Photo courtesy of USA Today
Man coverage also puts some players at risk. First, starting cornerback Jamel Dean is out, so undrafted free agent Tyreke Funderburk will make his first start. The Ravens have two quality starters in Zai Flowers, the team’s leading receiver, and Rashod Bateman, who is finally starting to live up to the expectations of a first-round draft pick.
Flowers is a dynamic, chasing threat similar to Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown. He’s not as physical as St. Brown, but he’s more electric. Bateman is averaging 16.1 yards per catch, and either receiver will pose problems for Funderburk. Bowles will only be working with one person on Monday night: Zion McCollum.
Third receiver Nelson Aghoroa is also from Tampa and can’t sleep on it. He’ll want to make a splash in his hometown Monday night.
Another player Bowles has to be wary of in man coverage is inside linebacker KJ Britt, who has struggled in coverage. Britt is a downhill slugger in the run game, but to this point Bowles has platooned J.J. Russell with Britt on passing downs, much like he did with Sarvosia Dennis earlier this season and Devin White in the season opener. I don’t trust it enough to put it together. Late last year.
The Ravens have a trio of talented tight ends in the athletic Isaiah Likely, who leads the team with three touchdowns, and two big targets in Mark Andrews and Charlie Kohler. Any of these tight ends would create a coverage mismatch with Britt in addition to pass-catching back Justice Hill. Justice Hill averages 9.5 yards per catch and has 18 receptions on the year.
For these reasons, don’t be surprised if the Bucks run a good amount of zone coverage against the Ravens. And even inside linebacker Lavonte David isn’t as good in coverage as he was at 34 years old.
With the Ravens using 12 players, the Bucks will likely not be able to deploy a dime defense.
Now that safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. and Christian Isien are both healthy, Todd Bowles can take inside linebacker KJ Britt off the field on third-and-long or obvious pass situations and throw the pass. There is a possibility that they will deploy a dime defense that brings in another safety to protect them. The problem is that the Ravens have 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends) all together, so Bowles is picky and picky at times sacrificing size on the field for speed. would need to.
Ravens TE Mark Andrews and former Bucks S Keanu Neal – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Tampa Bay’s secondary is very small. Winfield is 5-foot-9, 203 pounds and backup safety Isien is 5-foot-10, 200 pounds. Strong safety Jordan Whitehead is 5-foot-10, 198 pounds and rookie nickelback Tykie Smith is 5-foot-10, 202 pounds.
Although his defensive range is limited, Britt is 6 feet tall and weighs 235 pounds and is better suited for the job of blocking tight ends in the run game or running them to make tackles than a player like Isien. I can also do it well. Receiving tight end Isaiah Likely is 6-foot-4, 247 pounds, and Mark Andrews and Charlie Kohler are 6-foot-5, 255 pounds and 6-foot-6, 267 pounds, respectively.
If the Ravens choose to go full 12 instead of using all 12, downsizing defensively by replacing Britt with a safety could backfire. Given the fact that Baltimore has a big, athletic fullback in 6-foot-3, 300-pound Patrick Ricard, Coach Bowles may insist on keeping Britt on the field for most of the game. I don’t know.
“He does all of the above [block, pass protect, run the ball, catch the ball]” Bowles said of Ricard this week. “At that size, he does all of the above. He can be an extra lineman, he can be an extra. [running] On the flip side, he could be a very tight end. He does a lot for them. [He is] He’s a very valuable player for them.”
Lamar Jackson vs. Lamar Jackson differs only in rushing the passer.
Not only did Lamar Jackson average 6.3 yards per carry this season with 403 yards and two touchdowns, but the mobile quarterback was incredibly elusive in the pocket. . Jackson has only been sacked seven times in six games so far this season. He was sacked 16 times through his first six games a year ago.
Bucks DT Vita Baer and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Baltimore’s offensive line is playing better than it was a year ago, with second-round pick Roger Rosengarten at right tackle. Center Tyler Linderbaum is a Pro Bowler, and Ronnie Stanley has long been one of the best left tackles in the game. Right guard Daniel Faalele is a big man at 6-foot-8, 380 pounds.
The key to the Bucs vs. Jackson pass rush is that the outside linebacker has to stand up on the edge and try to contain him, rather than trying to scream off the edge and get a sack. A missed opportunity to get a sack could open the door for Jackson to get away with it. Tampa Bay’s outside linebackers will have to rush the quarterback with equal speed and patience. The key will be to get the right angle, break it down and make the right tackle, rather than charging in and eventually missing.
Tampa Bay’s pass rush needs to collectively collapse the pocket to ensure quarterback takedowns. The fact that the Bucs get a lot of pressure inside from defensive tackles Logan Hall and Vita Vea, who leads the team with three sacks along with phenomenal linebacker Lavonte David, really helps. There is.
No quarterback likes pressure to the face. He’s not a pocket passer like Kirk Cousins or a mobile two-way quarterback like Jackson. All quarterbacks like being able to step up into the pocket to throw the ball. That’s why the Bucs need to make Jackson uncomfortable by penetrating the line of scrimmage through the middle and either sack him or force him into the arms of a waiting outside linebacker.
Bucks CB Zion McCollum – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Kaliyah Kanshi and Will Goulston had their first sacks of the season in New Orleans last week, and the defensive tackle position has accounted for eight of the team’s 17 sacks this year. When Tampa Bay lost to Baltimore in 2022, Baer was one of the players the Bucs had Jackson sack. With his sudden hamstring injury, Hall and Cuncey will need to really step up and use their athleticism to rush the passer from the inside.
Bucs head coach and defensive playcaller Todd Bowles knows the defense will have its hands full trying to stop or slow down the diverse Ravens offense created by offensive coordinator Monken. .
“It’s versatile,” Bowles said. “[Monken] You can do a lot of things. he can do a lot. He has Lamar, he has [Derrick] Henry, he has it [wide] He’s a receiver, he’s got a tight end, he’s got a huge offensive line. They can beat you in different ways. They can beat you, they can beat you with speed, they can beat you at the top, they can beat you with quick attacks, they can beat you all over the field. He’s doing a great job there. they have a great system. ”
