Declaration of INDY - pendence

Baltimore plays at new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday @ 1 pm

A rising Baltimore heads to a sloping Indianapolis to face the Colts. This is another measuring stick for Baltimore as they strap on their helmets to battle a perennial AFC contender. The Colts, however, have fallen from the echelon of the AFC and can't be happy about a bone crushing Baltimore Ravens squad coming into their house.

The Ravens for their part are coming off of 2 straight contests with physical equals and are foaming at the mouth to challenge the finesse style Colts. So when Peyton Manning and the Colts offense have the ball they are in for a long day.

Manning usually known for his good judgment may be induced into a mistake or two against the Ravens defense. This is likely because the Colts, who are already vexed over their rushing attack, will be in over their heads looking across at the #1 overall defense in the NFL. They are ranked #1 at stopping the rush to boot. Teams are averaging a trifling 64 yards per game and a miserable 2.8 yards per carry.

So naturally Manning will go to the air right? Not so fast race fans. The #1 overall defense is also #1 ranked in its pass coverage. Holding opposing offenses to a “whopping” 128.5 yards per game passing average. Embarrassing enemy quarterbacks into a 44.6 QB rating. Ouch!

Of course you can predict a stifling defense pretty much every week with Baltimore. But in previous seasons you could of expected the formerly explosive offense of the Colts to dial up some points despite the ruthless and unforgiving Ravens defenders. The Colts are not that team anymore.

And even with power defense you used to have to cross your fingers and pray that the gods of football would guide the Colts to some semblance of offense. Maybe hope that the defense would even get a touchdown or two. No more Ravens fans.

There is a spark of life in the O! The defibrillator applied by John Harbaugh and the Coaching staff has awakened the offense from its 10 year coma. Okay so it isn't exactly leaping out of the hospital bed but hey the eyes are open and limbs are moving.

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And this Indy defense is not quite the caliber of Pittsburgh or Tennessee. Overall they are ranked #13 in the NFL. But here is the cool part. They are #4 against the pass and #29 against the run. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

This is a perfect case of a teams strength match up against a teams weakness. The Colts give up an average of 188 yards per game of rushing yards on defense and the Ravens average 153 yards per game in rushing offense. That is including 103 yards against Pittsburgh, who only allow 66 yards per game of rushing yards, and 132 yards rushing against a dynamic Tennessee rushing defense who have only allowed 95 yards per game.

On the other hand while Indy is quite stingy when guarding the pass they do not get to the QB like previous opponents can. Also some of their success covering the pass might also be a result of how bad they are at stopping the run. Teams wisely run at them because that is there Achilles heel. That said the Colts defense is a speedy clan and Joe Flacco will have to improve his field vision as a QB and avoid interceptions. Although this will be helpful to his long term growth seeing a different type of challenge. He should have more time but he will see things he has not seen in the Colts fast linebackers and defensive secondary.

Overall I see the Ravens controlling the tempo of the game and running the Colts ragged with bruising runs. I also see Ravens offensive coordinator, Cam Cameron letting Flacco cut loose a few times and getting a look at variations of the cover 2 defense. One thing about the cover 2 alignment is if you are patient you have a soft spot in the middle of the field.

The caution of optimism is the Colts are not going to roll over and they are playing in their dome. Noise can be a difference especially on a rookie QB. We do not know how well Flacco can handle the silent count. So it is imperative that the Ravens run early and score early to silence the crowd. And that is not unreasonable to expect.

Baltimore 21 Indianapolis 13. A big road win for the RAVENS!

By Andy Natalie
ProFootball-fans.com Baltimore Ravens Correspondent