Rival Report: Browns, Ravens week two preview
The Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens will face each other in Week 2 with both teams coming off of games against AFC North foes. The Browns lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers; the Ravens shut out the Bengals. In this report, we’ll look at the matchup and key players to watch in this weekend’s game.
Not the same Browns with Kizer at QB
Browns quarterback Deshone Kizer put together a promising pro debut, but he’s still an NFL rookie with room to grow. An investment during the offseason along the offensive line had mixed results, with Kizer being sacked seven times by the Steelers defense. But – and this is interesting – the average time of play before the sacks occurred was 3.8 seconds, indicating that Kizer was indecisive and not getting the ball out of his hands during those plays. Part of that is inexperience and part of it was the different types of pressure Pittsburgh was applying.
In his defense, Kizer debuted with 222 yards passing and a touchdown while completing 20-0f-30 attempts. His average intended air yards (per NFL next-gen stats) tied for second in the league in week one with 12.2 yards and tenth in time to throw at 2.83 seconds among quarterbacks who played last Sunday.
Kizer doesn’t have the offensive weapons that the Bengals had in their loss to the Ravens and it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the intense pass rush and deep pass coverage Baltimore has dialed up early in the season.
Browns players to watch
Corey Coleman (WR): The 2016 first-round draft pick caught five passes for 53 yards and a touchdown in the season opener. He tied for 14th among receivers last weekend and caught 83.3 percent of throws targeted to him. Coleman showed an ability to break out of coverage and get downfield, but he’ll be tested for a second week in a row by a tough defensive backfield.
Browns run defense: The front seven were responsible for containing All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell to just 10 carries for 31 yards. Bell was hemmed behind the line longer than all but five running backs who played in Week One. That will be a crucial matchup this weekend against the Ravens’ two-back system of Terrance West and Buck Allen. The Ravens say they want to utilize the run more on offense, but the Browns showed they weren’t afraid to take on one of the top rushers in Bell – making it likely they’ll be looking to do the same to whomever the Ravens get to carry the rock.
Joe Thomas (OL): The veteran hasn’t missed a single snap since entering the league in 2007 and on Sunday, Thomas needs just four snaps to hit the 10,000 mark. One of the most consistent players in the league, Thomas has garnered a healthy amount of respect, but that didn’t stop the Steelers and certainly, it won’t stop the Ravens from pressuring him to get to Kizer. Thomas is a grizzled veteran who has seen nearly everything defenses can throw at him, so this will be a trench battle that may get heated the longer the game continues.
Ravens devastating on defense
Terrell Suggs is the veteran heart of a wild, fired-up defense that devastated the Bengals and was dominant throughout the preseason. The Ravens came in second to only the Los Angeles Rams in Week One in containing the passer; allowing their opponent a passer rating of just 24.5 (the Rams held the Colts to an 8.7 passer rating).
Is the progress the Ravens have made real or were the Bengals just really off? Preseason isn’t a true test since teams are tossing guys onto the field to see who will or will not make the roster. This week should make the picture a bit clearer as to just how good this defense really is when Brandon Williams, Michael Pierce, Matthew Judon, Brent Urban and company join Suggs in pressing the offensive line.
Ravens players to watch
Joe Flacco (QB): Is he really back to 100 percent or did he look like his mechanics were off a bit last weekend? And will he be better this week? There are a lot of people wondering those same things. Flacco admitted after the game against the Bengals that it wasn’t fun and he was thankful for the win. This week he’s had more time to get familiar with his teammates (after missing the entire preseason) and the playbook without Danny Woodhead. Still, the Browns weren’t afraid to pressure Ben Roethlisberger and he doesn’t have the just-back-from-injury cloud hanging over his head that Flacco does.
The Ravens run game: There just isn’t enough data yet to determine if the Ravens can actually generate enough action via rushing despite what they’re preaching about a more balanced offense. Getting the run game going would certainly take pressure off of Flacco, allowing him to mix the plays and not be forced into the one-dimensional pass-only play.
Javorius Allen led the Ravens with 21 carries in Week One, but most of the carries came after the game was already practically in the bag. As Woodhead’s replacement of sorts in the short pass game, Allen hasn’t proven he can handle the load yet. If the Browns stop the run, look for the Ravens offense to rely heavily on tight end and varied wide receiver sets in a head-to-head showdown with the Browns’ defensive backfield.
Jeremy Maclin (WR): Although Baltimore only threw 17 passes in Week One, Maclin led Mike Wallace and Breshaud Perriman with two completions of four targets for 56 yards and a touchdown. Maclin has faced the Browns twice in his career and in both was able to get into the end zone. In seven of his last nine starts against AFC North opponents, Maclin has topped 100 yards and/or scored a touchdown. The Browns didn’t do well against Antonio Brown and they could get burned by Maclin as well.
