Chapter 662: 661 Tailor-made
The Baltimore Ravens ca prepared.
Clearly, Harbaugh leading his team to visit Arrowhead Stadium was not rely for catching up and exchanging pleasantries; off-field activities aside, the ga is the ga.
Right from the start, Harbaugh demonstrated determination; they intended to take ho a victory because—
“Coach, if you lose, at most you’ll go from the first seed to the second; but right now, we’re in a fight to the death for a playoff spot.”
One is icing on the cake, the other is a matter of life and death.
Things are, after all, different.
...
Therefore, Harbaugh was not being polite.
This current Baltimore Ravens Defense might not be on par with the legendary team of 2000; they aren’t even in the sa class; but undoubtedly, their experience and strength still rank among the league’s top.
The Baltimore Ravens employ a “3-4” defensive formation, but it’s slightly different from other teams’ “3-4” formations. Their three defensive linen and four linebackers all possess exceptional “attack power”—
Whether it’s blitzing and pressure, or ground defense; whether it’s sacking quarterbacks or stopping running backs, they can exhibit impressive strength.
To be accurate, this defense lines up in a “3-4” stance, but the tactical arrangent is a hybrid of “3-4” and “4-3” formations, making it highly variable. Harbaugh successfully drew the essence from the Seattle Seahawks’ “Bombing Corps” and ultimately adapted it to suit his style.
Of course, the root of it all is Harbaugh’s capability—
Patrick Onwuasor.
CJ Mosley.
Terrell Suggs.
Matthew Judon.
These are the four starting linebackers for the Baltimore Ravens this season.
Aside from Onwuasor, an undrafted rookie in 2016, the other three are all legends, decorated with Pro Bowl selections, All-Arica First/Second Team honors and so on—each a recognized player in the league.
Among them, Suggs is the absolute leader.
Selected in the first round, tenth overall by the Baltimore Ravens in 2003, Suggs quickly filled the void left by “Thor” Ray Lewis’s retirent and grew to beco the new standard-bearer of the Baltimore Ravens Defense. His accolades include NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003, NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2011, and seven Pro Bowl appearances.
Although his form has declined in the past two seasons, impacts from age and injuries are inevitable; yet Suggs remains the spiritual pillar of the Baltimore Ravens Defense.
Under Suggs’s leadership, the Baltimore Ravens’ linebacker group is still among the elite in the league.
And that’s not all.
The bench depth of the Baltimore Ravens’ linebacker group is also formidable.
Za’Darius Smith, a fourth-year player, and Tyus Bowser, in his second year, were not the center of attention at their respective drafts but have rapidly developed into reliable rotation players under Harbaugh’s guidance.
No matter when they’re called upon, Za’Darius and Bowser can get the job done, altering the pace and strategy, plunging the opponent into disarray.
At the sa ti, the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive line is also highly aggressive.
Defensive End Brent Urban and Chris Wormley are both cost-effective blue-collar players. They may not stand out in the league, but they always manage to deliver stunning performances in the gas—
Pressure on the passer and ground defense are just the basics; the ability of these two players to make sacks is the real icing on the cake.
A “highly aggressive” defense is precisely what this team embodies, and even though the Baltimore Ravens Defense has many veterans, lacking so consistency and stability due to injuries, their sack numbers and capability to create turnovers rank among the top of the league this season.
In other words, they could turn the quarterback and the running back’s field into a living hell.
In this ga, Harbaugh had devised tactics specifically for Mahos and Li Wei—
Pressure.
All-out pressure.
By relying on the capabilities of the linen and the defensive line, they piled overwhelming pressure on Mahos and Li Wei, pushing the pace and tension of the offensive and defensive confrontation to a whole new level.
If that were all, Harbaugh’s strategy wouldn’t be anything novel, rely a second-hand idea; the key lay in the details.
The fundantal purpose of the Baltimore Ravens Defense’s strategy was not to take down Mahos—at least not at the outset of the ga; instead, it was to keep Mahos under constant pressure to pass the ball, to force Mahos to make quick, rapid short passes as much as possible.
Short passes?
The Baltimore Ravens weren’t worried.
They often left short passes open, allowing Mahos to complete short pass connections, whether it was to Kelsey or Li Wei; the defensive group allowed the connections to succeed.
The emphasis was on:
Firstly, cutting off Mahos’ ability to make dium and long passes, pushing him to beco Alex Smith.
Secondly, relying on the secondary defense to imdiately cut off any further advancent of the short pass.
From their positioning alone, it was evident that the safeties of the Baltimore Ravens were arrayed fifteen yards beyond the scrimmage line, their entire formation pushed forward, stacking all the pressure in the short pass area and the frontline area.
Of course, this also ant that the Ravens’ secondary defense was under trendous pressure, and in contrast to the team’s star-studded defensive line, this secondary defense appeared much more low-profile.
The two cornerbacks, one being Humphrey, Li Wei’s college teammate; the other, Brandon Carr.
This player originally ca from the Kansas City Chiefs, had an unremarkable rookie period, transferred to the Dallas Cowboys after his rookie contract expired, but failed to make a na for himself there. It wasn’t until his transfer to the Baltimore Ravens last year that he finally showcased his abilities under Harbaugh’s guidance.
The safeties were no different.
Strong safety Tony Jefferson was an undrafted rookie, spent his rookie period with the Arizona Cardinals without making a splash, and, like Carr, transferred to the Baltimore Ravens last season, turning trash into treasure in Harbaugh’s hands.
Simply put, the individual abilities of the Baltimore Ravens’ secondary defense were average at best, primarily relying on Harbaugh’s tactical deploynts to maximize the players’ role capabilities.
The sole exception was the safety Eric Weddle.
This free safety was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the 2007 draft and joined the league, then transferred to the Baltimore Ravens in 2016. With six Pro Bowl appearances, two All-Arica First Team and three All-Arica Second Team honors, he is recognized as one of the top safeties of the 2010s decade.
To a certain extent, the Ravens’ secondary defense was very similar to the Kansas City Chiefs, relying on a star player to drive the entire team.
But the Ravens relied on their defensive line to create opportunities, with the secondary defense quickly aligning with the tactical play, also performing among the top ranks in the league.
Therefore, this also allowed Harbaugh to set the stage right from the start—
The frontline exerted pressure to rush the passer, intentionally leaving gaps in the short pass area, forcing Mahos to throw short; but then promptly cut off the advancent space after the short pass reception, imdiately tackling the receiver.
It was the sa with Li Wei.
By employing such tactics, the Baltimore Ravens forcibly interrupted the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive fluency and explosiveness, pushing Mahos into an uncomfortable position where he had to continuously suppress his instincts and get bogged down in short-passing quagmires, thus disrupting the flow of the ga.
In essence, the rush was deceptive – the real core was pace control.
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