Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys: Pregame Q&A

The Ravens Flock has asked me some questions via Twitter about the Baltimore Ravens battle with the Dallas Cowboys. I have the answers:

Ebony Bird writer Darin McCann asks: How do you see the target distribution going with Andrews and Snead still out?

Answer: Thanks for the question, Darin. It’s good to get this conversation going with a friend and one of my favorite writers of all time. Alright now let’s get to an answer. The Ravens will have to lean on Dez Bryant and Marquise Brown right? Expect the running backs to get involved to pick up some of the slack from Andrews. Think, middle of the field comfort routes for Jackson.

Let’s say Jackson finishes 20-25 for 225 yards passing, that sounds about right. So Give Bryant six catches for 65 yards. Put Marquise Brown for five catches for 100 yards. The rest of the 60 yards will go to J.K. Dobbins, Mark Ingram, and maybe a little Devin Duvernay. I’d say it would be a big day for Duvernay and James Proche because it should be, yet this is the Ravens so that’s not happening.

@NicDaruler31 asks: Will the offense and defense finally play a full 60-minute ball game?

Answer: There is only one way to find out. It has to happen. It didn’t happen against the Tennessee Titans. It didn’t happen against the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New England Patriots. It’s been a while. I’m not counting the game that was delayed against the Steelers.

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That’s a weird ball of mess that could have a ton of different answers. The Ravens did it against Cleveland in the season opener. They did it against the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this year. Often falling apart on either side of the ball has been the problem. It may not be a satisfying answer, yet I truly don’t know. The Ravens have to make it a habit. I keep going on about this, but the Ravens have to start doing the things good teams do for them to be taken seriously down the stretch.

@priya_kurtz asks: Watching the Browns tear up the Titans D… does that reflect how easy our offense is to defend?

Answer: Is it a simple yes or no? No. The NFL is a week-to-week league so one game doesn’t necessarily connect to another game. Though, it is a reason for alarm. The Titans’ defense has objectively been bad. They’ve been having a lot of issues and the Browns certainly had no problem with their defense. The offense has one problem that the Browns don’t have. The Browns attack the whole field and don’t base their entire offense on any one thing.

Sure, they love running it with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Sure, they build play-action passes off of it as well. All that’s well and good. Though they attack the entire field in the passing game. What do the Ravens do? They throw almost exclusively to the middle of the field and don’t take shots, then they wonder why teams are ready to stop the foundational run game of the offense.

The Ravens do the work of the opposing defense for them. The Browns vs. Titans game doesn’t alone draw that conclusion, it does however point to it. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the Ravens are a team everybody is ready for at this point.

@RavensAllDay87 asks: Do you think Castillo Colon will get another start at center? I personally think he should

Answer: The guy can play. He should get another shot. I would actually argue that the play of Matt Skura hasn’t been that good this season and Colon-Castillo warrants more time on the field. This will let Baltimore know if he’s the answer next year. As long as he’s serviceable that works. Make Bradley Bozeman and Pat Mekari the two guards. Put Will Holden at right tackle, because I personally can’t bear to watch D.J. Fluker play another second. That’s my answer. Let’s see what we got. It can’t hurt, this offensive line hasn’t exactly been a well-oiled machine.

Thanks to everyone. This was a little later than I wanted to get to it and the game is almost here. I just quickfire answered these. I appreciate you all so much!