Opening Game

Raven’s offense vs Bengal’s defense:

Rookie Joe Flacco is starting for the Ravens this week. He has an older, slower Derrick Mason, a mediocre Clayton, and Todd Heap as targets. Don’t look for the Ravens to throw the football much with a rookie QB. If they do, Joseph and Hall should be able to match up well against Mason and Clayton. Neither is gifted with elite size or speed. Heap like always will be a mismatch over the middle, but our harder hitting safeties and more athletic LBs should be more effective than the players the Bengals fielded in the past.

The Ravens offensive strength is their interior 3 OLs (Yanda, Brown, and Grubbs). Though a young group, they performed quite well last season. They are big, tough, and strong and they have had an entire year to build awareness and chemistry. Look for the Ravens to run behind this group early and often. Look for the Bengals to counter this by bringing 8 players in the box. Look for alignments with Peko, Thornton, and Fanene flanked by Geathers and Odom. Behind them look for the Bengals to field either 3 LBs or 2 LBs and a SS. Or the Bengals could go 4 DLs and an extra LB. This 8 in the box should be doable with the favorable matchups between the Bengal’s DBs and the Raven’s WRs.

On passing downs, look for the Bengals to overload pass rushers over LT Gaither. Gaither is still inexperienced and has not been all that healthy this offseason. Don’t expect too many complex blitz packages early. Flacco should have a tough time recognizing basic packages, and doing much more could confuse the Bengal’s young defense.

Bengal’s offense vs Raven’s defense:

The Bengal’s offense looked dismal in the preseason. There is also uncertainty regarding the health of Ocho and TJ. So far, word out of Cincy is that Ocho and TJ are healthy and ready to go. If that is so, they should match up well against the Raven’s CBs. McCallister and Rolle are getting older and slower, but they both have done well enough against the Bengals WRs due to savvy and help from the front 7. Newly acquired CB Fabian Washington should help to rejuvenate this group, but he is likely out due to suspension.

Carson has had very little time practicing with Chad and TJ, so it may take a while for them to get into a rhythm. Don’t expect too many big plays from Carson and his WRs until the second half if at all. Look for Carson to utilize Utecht and Perry in the passing game a lot this week. Also, look for the team to pound the football early and often with a mix of Perry and Watson.

Running against the Raven’s front 7 should be tough. Ngata and Gregg are two of the league’s better tandems and they are tough to move. Gregg, a former Bengal, has had a lot of success against Ghiaciuc, too often pushing him into the backfield and disrupting plays. Hopefully, Gregg’s success was due to some of Ghiaciuc’s injuries and inexperience. Ghiaciuc now enters the game healthier and more experienced than in the past. He also has most of last season and this offseason to build chemistry with guards Andrew Whitworth and Bobbie Williams. Too often last year Ghiaciuc had to play with a new LG (Andrews, Kooistra, and Whitworth). That lack of continuity took a toll on the young center’s development.

Overall, look for a close game early. It will likely take a couple quarters for the Bengals offense to start firing on all cylinders. Come the second half, the Bengals should start to pull away. The Ravens just don’t have the offense to keep up.

Final score:

Bengals 20

Ravens 3