DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2018 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 12 Ravens 9 Ravens Breakdown!!

missed last weeks breakdown,

So, we have a big problem coming up, especially with their pass game. Flacco looks to be having a vintage Flacco season with borderline elite QB play this year. Flacco is tossing 64% at a pretty good 7.32 yards per pass, with 8 TD's and 2 picks on the year so far.[/b]

His numbers look good ... the WR groups is by far the best he’s had as a group ... he has no S. Smith but he has Tree, Brown and Snead .. none that scare u but as a group there the best he’s had ...

My question is ... they’ve played the Jills, Stilers, Bungles and Denver ....

Denver’s a pretty dang good D ... the other 3 .. not so much ... are they good or are have they just only played against once decent D?

[quote]however, he's also fumbled the ball twice, and has been sacked 9 times. so right now, our Defensive line is gonna be crucial to stopping the ravens offense. thats going to be a tough task for the defense if they can't consistently get there, as we lost our 2nd best corner, and John Brown, Crabtree, and Willie Snead are having a good seasons right now. Our secondary is gonna have a rough game if we can't get to flacco early. Their run game, led by Alex Collins, might not be good, but its serviceable, and when Lamar gets on the field, it tends to open up their run game for that series.

this defense is good, however, they do have trouble getting to the QB for periods of the game. however, their secondary is playing lock down ball right now, as they are giving up a whooping 69.1 QB rating to opposing QB's. This is gonna be a tough tough game for Baker mayfield, as this will be the toughest defense he will face to date, possibly the entire season, as we obviously have to play them twice.

Eric Weddle and Suggs are the heart and soul of the defense, and CJ mosley is have a good season. we're all painfully aware of what suggs is capable of, so both our tackles are gonna have a tough task ahead of them.

overall, this could be a slug fest defensive battle, or it could get ugly for us. There are serious questions about our receivers ability to actually catch passes, as Landry is also having a slight problem. We are a very young team going against a very experienced Ravens team, who are keeping pace with the bengals for #1 in the division. i see a low scoring game, around 20-13 or 17-14. However, if our defense continues giving up big yards, the ravens could blow us out early.

questions on offense:

- Can we eliminate turnovers on offense?

- will our receivers finish catches?

- can we run the ball effectively?

- can we commit to the run?

- will baker get fooled by complex defensive schemes?

- can our LT/RT hold up against their pass rushers?

- will David Njoku ever show up?

on defense:

- Can we stuff the run?

- Can our D line create pressure early enough to rattle Flacco into bad throws?

- Will our secondary get exposed again?

- Can our LB's cover the flats and TE's effectively?

- Will we get fooled when lamar jackson comes in on his assigned packages?

- Can our corners cover Crabtree and Brown?

This is a game we should lose on paper... I have no doubt Baker will shine and we will win.

If we dont pressure Flacco ... yup ... no doubt ...

One of the best teams in the league. Chalk full of veterans, play makers at every level of offense and defense.


This is not Oakland, this is a rock solid football team.




When I see guys like Willie Snead (Former Brown) and Tony Jefferson (guy who turned the Browns offer down to take less money) and even Eric Weddle (who we didn't even try to sign) it's just annoying and sad how all of the turnover with this organization has just destroyed our talent and depth.

Why is commiting to the run a good thing? We finally have a good QB, we should be putting the ball in his hands as much as possible.

Baltimore @ Cleveland
Team Totals: Ravens 24.5, Browns 21.5

Baker Mayfield admirably fought through a whopping nine drops by would-be pass catchers, Cleveland’s sudden defensive collapse, and his own four turnovers in last week’s overtime loss at Oakland, still managing to move the ball consistently in a QB20 fantasy finish. He’ll get a tougher Week 5 test versus a Ravens defense that gets back top CB Jimmy Smith after holding Pittsburgh’s previously-on-fire offense to a solitary touchdown drive at Heinz Field last week. To-date quarterback results allowed by Baltimore are QB22 (Ben Roethlisberger) > QB31 (Case Keenum) > QB8 (Andy Dalton) > QB33 (Nathan Peterman-Josh Allen). Mayfield is a back-end two-quarterback-league play. … Carlos Hyde enters Week 5 on pace for a career high 348 touches with weekly snap rates that have climbed in each game (53% > 58% > 58% > 61%). As Hyde is averaging a career-low 3.43 yards per carry and ranks 29th among 38 qualified running backs in Football Outsiders’ rushing Success Rate, however, fantasy owners must begin sweating increased usage for rookie Nick Chubb, who broke off 63- and 41-yard touchdown sprints against the Raiders. Nevertheless, Hyde’s consistent volume locks him in as an every-week RB2 until something changes. Chubb hasn’t so much as touched the ball in the red zone, while Hyde leads the NFL in carries inside the five (9). Hyde’s matchup is imposing versus Baltimore, which got back difference-making run stoppers MLB C.J. Mosley (knee) and NT Michael Pierce (foot) in Week 4 and has held enemy running backs to a combined 75/271/1 (3.61 YPC) rushing line and the NFL’s third-fewest receiving yards (81).

Mayfield’s 2018 target distribution: Jarvis Landry 19; Antonio Callaway 14; David Njoku 9; Duke Johnson and Rashard Higgins 8; Darren Fells 2; Hyde 2. … Landry runs 72% of his routes in the slot, where PFF has charged Ravens slot CB Tavon Young with completions allowed on 10-of-13 targets for 131 yards and two TDs. As Hyde is unlikely to churn out sustaining runs against Baltimore’s front, Landry projects as Cleveland’s best means of moving the chains. … Callaway was Mayfield’s main dropped-pass culprit at Oakland, letting three balls bounce off his hands and fumbling a punt after a similarly mistake-filled Week 3. Callaway’s big-play potential is undeniable – he flamed Raiders CB Gareon Conley for a 59-yard gain to set up Hyde’s one-yard score last week – but coaches have said the miscues will begin costing him snaps. Callaway is a boom-bust WR4/flex play against Baltimore’s stout perimeter corners, infused by Smith’s return. … The best place to attack the Ravens’ defense is in the middle of the field, where they’ve allowed the NFL’s tenth-most catches to tight ends (20), including a perfect 6/85/0 stat line on six targets to Steelers TEs last Sunday night. Njoku led Cleveland in Week 4 catches (5), ranks top ten among tight ends in Air Yards (191), and is a viable low-end TE1 in this above-par draw. Promisingly, Njoku checked in as Week 5’s No. 2 buy-low tight end in Josh Hermsmeyer’s predictive Air Yards model.

Joe Flacco visits Cleveland having accounted for multiple touchdowns in eight of his last nine starts with weekly fantasy results of QB10 (Bills) > QB12 (Bengals) > QB20 (Broncos) > QB12 (Steelers), showing a limited ceiling but mostly-solid floor. Although the upstart Browns defense equaled its takeaway total (13) from the entire 2017 season in the third quarter of last week’s loss to Oakland, DC Gregg Williams’ unit wound up getting shredded by previously-struggling Derek Carr for 437 yards and four TDs, good for Carr’s season-best QB4 finish. As just three of Carr’s 35 completions and 363 of his yards came on passes thrown within 20 yards of the line of scrimmage, Carr’s performance is not necessarily repeatable by a Ravens passing game that counts on deep threat John Brown for its heavy lifting. Among pass catchers with at least ten targets, Brown’s 22.1-yard Average Depth of Target (aDOT) ranks highest in the league. Back on the road after last Sunday night’s emotional primetime win over Pittsburgh, this is a potential letdown spot for Baltimore’s offense. … Alex Collins was benched for almost the entire second quarter against the Steelers after losing his second goal-line fumble of the year. All told, Collins has fumbled six times – losing four – across 288 touches as a Raven. Collins and Javorius Allen finished Week 4 with 12 touches apiece in what is likely to remain a near-even RBBC. Cleveland offers a mediocre matchup after yielding a moderate 109/444/4 (4.07 YPC) rushing line and the NFL’s 13th-most receiving yards (196) to running backs in Weeks 1-4. Collins is a high-risk flex option, especially after reporters observed him getting around gingerly due to a knee injury in Friday's practice. Allen remains the favorite for targets and scoring-position work and is an underrated RB2/flex.

Flacco’s Weeks 1-4 target distribution: Michael Crabtree 34; John Brown 30; Willie Snead 26; Allen 19; Nick Boyle 16; Mark Andrews 13; Maxx Williams 12; Collins 10. … Brown put on yet another show in Week 4’s upset win, torching Joe Haden for an early 33-yard score before catching a play-action bomb for 71 yards deep down the middle. Brown doesn’t even lead the Ravens in raw targets, but his 662 Air Yards rank third in the NFL, and his five end-zone targets are by-far most on the team. An every-week WR2, Brown’s Week 5 matchup is upgraded by Cleveland’s loss of RCB Terrance Mitchell (wrist). … Even with four more targets, Crabtree’s Air Yards (334) are roughly half as many as Brown’s, and his scoring-position role hasn’t materialized with just two red-zone targets and one inside the ten. Flacco overthrew Crabtree on a would-be 44-yard TD in last week’s first half, overestimating what’s left of the declining possession receiver’s speed. Crabtree is a humdrum WR4/flex with low yardage and touchdown ceilings. … Albeit for 56 scoreless yards, Snead caught six more balls at Pittsburgh and has a superior seasonal receiving line (18/198/1) to Crabtree’s (18/184/1). Snead is a PPR-specific WR4/flex. … Although first-round pick Hayden Hurst (foot) is slated for his debut, he figures to return in a rotation after Williams was among Baltimore’s most-critical pass catchers in last Sunday night’s win at Heinz Field, and Boyle is valued as a blocker. With very few exceptions, tight-end committees are fantasy situations to avoid.

Score Prediction: Ravens 21, Browns 20

thanks we'll assume they're the brown ones again

They are.