Ravens @ Bengals, Week 1 Gameday Thread

We've been waiting for months to see the Ravens back in action, real game action, and the time is almost here. Today, Baltimore will travel to Cincinatti to take on the Bengals in week 1 of the NFL season. The Ravens have had a very crazy offseason filled with retirements, suspensions, and most of all, injuries. Injuries have been the theme of Baltimore's 2017 offseason, losing players at the positions of TE, CB, OL, OL, OL, RB, and most importantly, QB. These injuries, as well as a few positive offseason acquisitions have led to a few questions of the Ravens that will hopefully be answered today:

1. Will Joe Flacco's back hold up? This is probably the most important question the Ravens have that will need to be answered. Flacco missed the entire preseason with a back injury. This led to weeks and weeks of questions about whether he'd be ready for week 1, or if he could make it through the 2017 season. The Ravens don't seem as concerned as most, as they will go into the season with only 2 QBs, Joe Flacco and Ryan Mallett. Unless something different happened, I don't even think there's a QB on the practice squad. That's a vote of confidence that has led to some conspiracy theories that Flacco was never as hurt as implied, and the coaches were simply giving him the preseason off.

2. Will the o-line hold up? The o-line has seen a lot of change since the start of the league year. The draft brought in two young faces, but one of them is out for the season. Alex Lewis is also gone for the season. Zuttah was traded, brought back, and then cut. 3 veteran lineman were signed/traded for. Other o-lineman have been moved all around the line, and both Yanda and Stanley have missed a lot of time. Contrary to a lot of the narrative that's been going on, the o-line has given QBs time to throw all preseason. The problem has been opening up running lanes. If they can't open lanes under Greg Roman's blocking scheme, then we'll have another season of 40+ passes per game. The Bengals d-line will be a true test.

3. How much improved is the pass rush? The Ravens, per the norm these days, have poured a ton of resources into the defense and we'll need to see a return on that starting today. The front seven is currently filled with players that should be able to get pressure on a questionable Bengals o-line. Terrell Suggs, Matt Judon, Tim Williams, Tyus Bowser, and Brent Urban should all be able to make Dalton's life a living hell for 3 hours. The question is, will they? If not then expect AJ Green to do his usual "I can't be stopped" routine against Baltimore. Of course, every pass rush works in tandem with a secondary.

4. Can the new Secondary limit the passing attack? Jimmy Smith is healthy with no nagging injuries at the moment. Brandon Carr and Tony Jefferson were both signed in the offseason. Marlon Humphrey was drafted in the first round. And although injured, undrafted rookie Jaylin Hill showed his coverage ability well enough to guarantee a roster spot. If they can perform as well as expected, this defense will be one of the best in the league. Like the o-line, they'll get a true test today facing off against AJ Green, who they normally struggle with, Tyler Eifert, and the other Bengals receiving corps.

If the Ravens can answer these questions in a positive way, expect a much better Ravens team in 2017 than we've seen in the last two seasons. If these questions are answered negatively, we could be looking at a 3rd season in a row with no post season appearance, which would be the first time for Baltimore since the 90s. Let's hope at least 3 of these answers are ones we Ravens fans will enjoy.

LET'S GO, RAVENS!!!!

 

Price and Hill (CBs), Henry (DT), Kaufusi and Wormley (DEs), Eluemunor (OG), and Williams (OLB) are all inactive

 

Kaufusi surprises me. He looked he was going to be a monster. Plus, that's 3 DL with 2 DE's inactive. Who rotates with Urban?

 

Let me ask now. If anyone has a link for out of towners, please pass it along

EDIT: So apparently they stream games on youtube now. I watched the preseason games like that, but didn't think it applied to the regular season games as well. And I have a site as a backup

 

Still leaves Williams, Pierce, Urban, Ricard, Urban.......hmm. Maybe Z.Smith or Judon will spend some time on the line as opposed to at LB

 

Looks like the defense will start

 

And Davis. But Davis, Pierce, Williams are all DT's. Ricard is now a FB. Which basically leaves Urban as the only DE.

 

Can't believe the first run play went for 12. The second one was much better (1 yard gain)

 

Damn. That pocket collapsed almost immediately. Look at Z.Smith

 

And there's the pass rush.

 

Another quick pressure by Z.Smith. Damn. A season ago I'd have sworn he'd be cut this year

 

Smith looks good. What's the youtube link?

 

Might be the first opening play I've ever seen. Not the call, but the results

 

The YouTube link doesn't work. Glad I had a backup

 

That was a good running lane on the right side for West

 

Running plays look slow to develop. Lack of practice?

 

That last run play was trash in design. Woodhead already paying dividends

 

Not a lot of push from the OL.

 

Another good run by West, but it comes back due to penalty by Jensen

 

Perriman is the first receiver with a catch on the season