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Brick wall Dolphins may have provided good practice for Ravens
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) -- The Oakland Raiders started getting ready for the Baltimore Ravens' tough defense last week, when they stymied the Miami Dolphins. The Raiders (13-4) attacked Miami's sixth-ranked defense and earned their right to play host to the AFC title game with a 27-0 victory. "I think Miami was great preparation," Oakland head coach Jon Gruden said. "Miami's a team that we all know has great defensive personnel and great team speed and athleticism. "But this is another challenge. They play a little different approach to defense, and we're going to have to study hard to be prepared." The Ravens (14-4) allowed just 165 points over 16 regular-season games, an NFL record. On Sunday, they stopped the favored Tennessee Titans 24-10 for their ninth straight victory. The Ravens managed just 134 yards of total offense against the Titans, holding the ball less than 20 minutes. Defense and special teams, as usual, came to the rescue. Ray Lewis, the defensive player of the year, ran back an interception 50 yards for the clinching touchdown. That's kind of been Baltimore's modus operandi from the start. The Ravens didn't score a touchdown in five games in October but somehow managed to win two of them. Baltimore finished the season with the league's second-best overall defense. The Titans were first. "They're a huge front that can also move real well," Oakland center Barret Robbins said. "They free their linebackers up, which is a tremendous thing for them. They run sideline to sideline with anybody. "It's like hitting a brick wall, you just have to keep trying to hit it and trying to hit it to try to penetrate it." And the Raiders' offensive skills are considerable. Rich Gannon, who has thrown a career-high 29 touchdown passes this season and was named to the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro team, hit seven different receivers against the Dolphins. Look for Gannon to spread it around again against Baltimore, said receiver Tim Brown, who leads the team with a career-high 11 touchdowns. "We have to make them adjust to us. We can't change our game plan," Brown said. "We're just going to keep on doing what we have been doing." The Raiders have the best rush in the league, anchored by Tyrone Wheatley and Gannon himself, who has run for a 560 yards -- the most yards by a quarterback in the AFC -- and four touchdowns. Gannon ran five times for four first downs against Miami. "What Rich does and the way we move the ball around is totally different from anyone else in the league," Brown said. Wheatley has run for a career-high 1,102 yards and 10 touchdowns. And don't count out the Raiders' defense, either. Oakland has not allowed a touchdown at home since their 31-7 victory against the New York Jets on Dec. 10. "They [the Dolphins] ranked high in the league statistically and they'd been dominant against some very good offensive teams. But I think our defense is good," Gruden said. "I think they're getting better. They're playing together. "And maybe they did play [Miami] with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. And if they did, it's something they should probably continue to play with." The Raiders have won all but one of their home games this season. "We've been successful at home, and when you keep things rolling you kind of gather momentum," Robbins said. "We feel like the momentum's there and we just have to pick up where we left off."
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