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Sneak Peek

Solving Ravens' 'D' Oakland's top -- maybe only -- concern

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Ray Lewis had 12 tackles and an INT for a touchdown to seal Baltimore's 24-10 victory against Tennessee. Jonathan Daniel/Allsport

By John Donovan, CNNSI.com

Everywhere the Baltimore Ravens go this season, their defense leads the way. That's because, of course, if the Ravens' offense tries to lead, the team always ends up getting lost.

And so it figures to go Sunday, when the Ravens find themselves in Oakland to play the Raiders in the AFC Championship Game. You can talk strategy and strengths and fans and history and home-field advantage and franchise relocation and lack of respect all you want.

But Sunday's game really boils down to two questions, both hinging on Baltimore's awesome defense.

Can the Ravens' defense, the best in the NFL against the run and the all-time best in points allowed, continue its run against the Raiders, who happen to have the best rushing offense in the league?

And can the Ravens' defense, the main part of a team that had an NFL-high 49 takeaways, continue to make amends for Baltimore's inept offense?

"I just say the hell with their defense," says Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson, which is easy for him to say considering he won't be facing the Ravens' defense. "It's all about what the Raiders are going to go out and do this weekend."

Well, OK, sure. But the Raiders have to go out Sunday -- half the time, anyway -- against the Ravens' defense. And that's one scary proposition.

The good news for the Raiders is that they have been able to put up some yardage, some points and some wins against just about everybody this season. The Raiders have churned out more than 154 yards a game running the ball. They've averaged almost 30 points a game. They're 8-1 at home, too, if you want to get into that home-field thing.

But, certainly, the Raiders have not faced a defense like Baltimore's. The Ravens have allowed only 60.6 rushing yards a game this season and have allowed just 10.3 points a game. When the Raiders have been forced to talk this week about that Ravens' defense they have sounded -- Woodson aside -- in near awe.

Click on image for larger view. CNNSI.com

"They are the best defense out there, as far as I'm concerned," says Oakland fullback Jon Ritchie.

"They attack the ball really well," says Raiders offensive tackle Barry Sims. "It's really hard, when you got guys flying around like that, to really exploit what they do."

And this from guys who haven't even played the Ravens this season.

"They're right," Baltimore coach Brian Billick told reporters this week. "I don't know if anybody has seen a defense like ours. I don't know that, until you play our defense, that you really understand just how good they are."

That's not to say the Raiders are scared, necessarily. Any team with growly faced Jon Gruden as head coach and rumbling Rich Gannon at quarterback won't back down easily. They swamped another good defensive team, the Miami Dolphins, just last week, beating them 27-0. And the Raiders figure they don't have to score a lot to win anyway, given Baltimore's problems on offense.

At one time this season, the Ravens went five games without an offensive touchdown. The Ravens beat Tennessee in Nashville last week 24-10, but they got only 10 points from their offense. The other scores came on a return of a blocked field goal and an interception return by linebacker Ray Lewis.

Lewis, the league's defensive player of the year, is of particular concern to the Raiders.

"Every coach I've seen has tried to test Ray Lewis in some shape or form," says Gruden. "He responds pretty good to challenges, from what I've seen."

Still, expect the Raiders to test Lewis and that Baltimore defense by pounding them early behind bruising back Tyrone Wheatley (1,046 yards) and Gannon, who ran for 529 yards this season (5.9 a carry). Gannon, the AFC's elected starter for the Pro Bowl, can throw, too, to the tune of 28 touchdowns. The Raiders are, Billick figures, the most balanced offensive team left in the playoffs.

Whether that'll be enough against the Ravens' defense, though, is the big question in the AFC's title game.

Really, it may be the only question.

 

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