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Baltimore Ravens: 3 keys to victory vs Titans

By Nicholas Gardner

NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 05: Derrick Morgan #91 of the Tennessee Titans chases down Alex Collins #34 of the Baltimore Ravens during the first half at Nissan Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 05: Derrick Morgan #91 of the Tennessee Titans chases down Alex Collins #34 of the Baltimore Ravens during the first half at Nissan Stadium on November 5, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 07: Jimmy Smith #22 of the Baltimore Ravens is unable to catch the ball in the first half against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 7, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 07: Jimmy Smith #22 of the Baltimore Ravens is unable to catch the ball in the first half against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 7, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

3) Contain Tennessee on the Ground

Flipping over to the defensive side of the ball, stopping Tennessee’s rushing duo will be key. Overall, the Titans Offense hasn’t been pretty so far this year as they’ve struggled to get anything going in the air, ranking 29th in Passing Yards and Total Yards per game. The one bright spot, however, has been their Rushing Offense.

That rushing attack has been spear-headed by Derrick Henry and Free Agent acquisition Dion Lewis. Together, they form a “Thunder & Lightning” type combo, with Henry bringing the early down Bell-Cow work, and Lewis coming in on Third Down as a pass catching Scat-Back type of runner. They are cohesive, they work well together. Stopping them, as well as Marcus Mariota, has to be objective #1 for the Ravens and Don Martindale.

Mariota isn’t a pocket passer and has a lot of success when he has the ability to scramble around out of the pocket, to either run by himself or find open receivers. For the Ravens, it seems that every “scripted” play that takes place turns out well, it’s when the Quarterback scrambles around and makes something out of nothing that they get burned, bad.  With Jimmy Smith now in his second game back, and Marlon Humphrey growing right in front of our eyes, I like the idea of the Ravens playing man to man or a light zone while loading the box to play the run, especially on early downs.

Next. Baltimore Ravens 5 problems through 5 games. dark

If the Ravens can force Mariota and the Titans into long third down situations, or gain a lead and make the Titans play from behind, that would play very well into the Ravens hands and that should allow them to come out of Tennessee with a win.

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