C.J. Mosley is a Defensive Rookie of the Year Favorite, Bold Predictions

Sep 21, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell (34) runs through the defense of Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker C.J. Mosley (57) during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to Lunchtime Links, where we round up all the latest Ravens news from around the web for your convenient consumption.  Today, we discuss C.J. Mosley’s continued push as the favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year, make some bold predictions for Sundays game, and look at some battle plans ahead of the Steve Smith Bowl.

C.J. Mosley still the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year?

Not too long after the draft, there was a sweeping consensus that linebacker C.J. Mosley was going to be the favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year.  And for good reason.  Linebackers typically have a quick transition to the pros, and the Ravens set out from day one to plug Mosley in to the starting lineup.  Mosley has so far delivered, playing virtually every snap and racking up 19 tackles and 11 stops.

As Steven Nelson at Bleacher Report and former NFL linebacker turned analyst Jonathan Vilma point out in the video below, Mosley’s performance keeps him in the lead for DPOY.  It’s really a one horse race at this point, and if Mosley stays healthy he is going to rack up some serious stats this year, which is really the key to victory.

Bold predictions and battle plans for Ravens vs. Panthers

Tyler Lombardi at Russell Street Report makes his bold predictions for Sunday, among them guessing that Marlon Brown will catch two touchdowns, Cam Newton will rack up 400 total yards, and Joe Flacco will throw more than 40 times while completing 65%+ of his passes.  Some fun predictions, indeed.

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It’s true that the Ravens might have a hard time running the ball on Sunday as the Panthers look to make last Sunday’s aberration to the Steelers a distant memory.  What scares us is that Flacco is historically bad when he has to throw 30+ times, and we hope that it doesn’t come to that point.

Also at RSR is a battle plan for Sunday.  Patience on offense is key, as is blocking on the second level.  RSR points out that the Steelers found success boxing out the Panther’s excellent linebackers downfield, which was a big key to success in the ground game.

Another key point is how good Cam Newton is against the blitz.  He has uncanny recognition and awareness, meaning that the Ravens are better off dropping six or seven guys in coverage and sticking to a four or five man rush as the Steelers did.  Cam is one of the best QB’s in the NFL against the blitz, completing north of 82% of his passes when under pressure.