Oakland Raiders: Keys To Victory Over Baltimore Ravens

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Sep 13, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett (29) carries the ball as Denver Broncos defensive back Darian Stewart (26) and strong safety David Bruton (30) defend in the fourth quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 19-13. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Take Advantage of Baltimore’s Lack of Firepower

Baltimore has one of the better running backs in the league in Justin Forsett. Last year, Forsett ran for 1,266 yards and eight scores for the Ravens and finally established himself as a running back who needs to be accounted for. And in Steve Smith, the Ravens have an older, but still crafty and effective wide receiver.

Outside of those two however, Baltimore doesn’t boast a lot of offensive firepower. Having lost Torrey Smith to free agency over the offseason, the Ravens drafted his heir apparent in Breshad Perriman. Perriman however, won’t be going against the Raiders because of injury, leaving the Ravens without a lot of offensive weapons to choose from.

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The Raiders did a decent enough job of limiting Bengals running back Jeremy Hill last week, holding him to just 63 yards on the ground – though they did surrender two short scoring runs. But if they can do as good of a job of limiting Forsett’s effectiveness on the ground as they did against Hill – himself, an 1,100+ yard runner last season – it will go a long way for this defensive squad.

Travis Carrie should be assigned primarily to shadow Smith since he proved so effective against Green last week. And then some combination of Hayden, Keith McGill, and Neiko Thorpe should be assigned to cover Baltimore’s other receivers – Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown – and play the slot.

The Ravens don’t have much in the way of offensive guns. Ken Norton and HC Jack Del Rio absolutely must recognize this and game plan accordingly. They have the defensive personnel to suffocate this Baltimore offense and make it a very long, very tough day on the visitors.

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