Baltimore offense vs. Cincinnati defense

	RAVENS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	13
	Pass	28
	Tot. Yds.	27
	Scoring	25
	Int's allowed	11
	Sacks allowed	28
	BENGALS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	23
	vs. Pass	17
	Total yds. allowed	17
	# of Ints.	5
	# of Sacks	19
	Turnover differential	-18

The Ravens are running for an average of 117.7 yards per game, but troubles are on the horizon for this unit. Starting RT Harry Swayne is out for the season after suffering a fractured foot against the Browns. The loss will have a significant impact on run blocking schemes, because his replacement, Spencer Folau, is nowhere near as productive in the run game. Folau is fully recovered from a sprained knee, but his lack of experience at the position and lack of power at the point of attack are a major source of concern.

RB Errict Rhett has been running the ball extremely well inside, and should have some success against Cincinnati's undersized 3-4 defensive front. The Bengals can attribute a lot of their troubles up front to the secondary's inability to cover. The front seven is trying to do too much to create pressure, causing them to get caught out of position, especially at the outside linebacker position -- where Adrian Ross and Steve Foley must do a better job of contain to set up Brian Simmons and Takeo Spikes for a bulk of the tackles.

If the outside players can do a better job of funneling the run inside, the Bengals will have a better chance of containing Rhett on Sunday, as it will allow Spikes and Simmons to play within themselves instead of having to make up for the rest of the front seven all over the field.

Spikes is a physical player who is relentless in his pursuit. His production is noticeably down from a season ago, but it is mostly due to teams giving him too much respect. Teams are running away from him and making sure to dedicate a lineman to cutting Spikes off on the backside. Simmons has been the beneficiary of the added attention to Spikes, because Simmons is able to move around more freely in the middle and chase down plays.

The Ravens are having some major breakdowns in pass protection as well. OC Jeff Mitchell and OG's Edwin Mulitalo and Jeff Blackshear are struggling with their communication in the middle; resulting in assignment trouble versus stunts on the inside. The Ravens are going to need to be sharp up front because this is the week that QB Tony Banks needs to take some chances down the field.

The Bengals secondary has shown improvement over the past two games, but they are still one of the weakest units in the league. They are playing soft and tentative because of the trouble they have had downfield, and it is resulting in teams attacking the unit underneath.

This week, Baltimore needs to target the Bengals corners -- Rodney Heath, Rico Clark and Ty Howard -- daring them to come up and defend against the short to intermediate zone. It is at this point that the Ravens are going to have to go up top and get some big plays out of their receiving corps.

WR Jermaine Lewis needs to step up his level of play if this offense is to improve its production and give the defense a chance to play with a lead this season. Lewis dropped another three balls last week versus the Jaguars, and his inability to stretch the defense has limited what the Ravens have been able to do offensively.

It's easy to analyze the play of RB Corey Dillon and say that he is not running as well as he was in the first few games of the season, but he is being forced to dance too much because there is nothing opening up inside for the back to burst through. The problems are only going to get worse for this unit on Sunday when they run up against the third-ranked run-defense in the league that is only allowing 82.4 yards per game on the ground.

MLB Ray Lewis has been cleaning up in the middle of the field, mainly because of the play of his defensive tackles in front of him. Tony Siragusa, Larry Webster and Lional Dalton do an excellent job of taking on two blockers, which allows Lewis to roam. Teams are being forced to double-team at least one of the two tackles, which means that there is no interior lineman free to get out and chip Lewis.

There is no secret to how the Ravens are going to game plan against the Bengals offense. This is not a matchup where the Ravens need to take a lot of risks. The Ravens safeties are playing with great range and are enough help in the deep third so that Baltimore is not forced to bring in nickel personnel to defend against the Cincinnati's receiving corps on obvious passing downs.

If the Bengals get some protection up front, it seems as if the passing game is primed for a big performance. Over the span of the past two weeks, QB Jeff Blake seems to be on the same page with his receivers, and the receiving corps has begun to run crisper routes and gain separation downfield.

The biggest improvement here on film is the play of the tight ends, Tony McGee and Marco Battaglia. McGee and Battaglia are doing an excellent job of working downfield and making themselves available in the seams. They are taking advantage of teams' double-teaming WRs Darnay Scott and Carl Pickens. This is not only beneficial because of their recent production, but it is also going to force teams to adjust by starting to pinch their safeties more towards the center of the field, which will create more man-to-man matchups for the Bengal receivers.