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RAVENS AT GIANTSSunday, October 16 | 1:00 pm EST
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The matchups are enticing and should be entertaining—such as Joe Flacco’s struggling offense vs. a Giants defense that is depleted at safety and cornerback and hasn’t had much of a pass rush lately…or Eli Manning’s having three top-quality receivers to unleash on the Ravens’ secondary if Eli can find his groove again. Or watching Jimmy Smith try to cover (and get in the head of) Odell Beckham Jr. …
Fact is, both teams have lost consecutive games since a fast start—the Giants have lost 3 in a row, the Ravens have lost 2 in a row. Somethin’s gotta give on Sunday.
The Ravens have some serious injury concerns as they prepare to face the New York Giants Sunday. The good news is left tackle Ronnie Stanley is practicing again, however:
“I think there’s a good chance [I can play Sunday],” Stanley said. “Coach Harbaugh is going to have the final decision, so we’re obviously going to talk about that and see what happens.”
But the bad news: wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. (ankle) and inside linebacker C.J. Mosley (thigh) both left Sunday’s game with injuries, and they weren’t on the practice field Wednesday or Thursday.
Mosley told reporters Sunday after the game that he would need to undergo an MRI, but there has been no update on the results of that MRI. “I’ll just try to take it day- by- day and try to get back out there for next week’s game,” Mosley said Sunday. Mosley has played every game for the Ravens since getting drafted in 2014, and he’s hardly missed a snap during that time. Losing him would be a tough blow considering his leadership in the middle of the defense.
Pro Bowl right guard Marshal Yanda (shoulder) also did not practice. The other concern on the offensive line is right tackle Rick Wagner (thigh). He missed the second half last week and did not practice Wednesday.
Losing those two guys on the right side of the line would make a weak offensive line situation even worse. The team added some reinforcement in that area this week by re-signing veteran guard Vladimir Ducasse, who spent training camp in Baltimore.
Veteran outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil (foot) is on the injury report again. Dumervil missed the first three games recovering from an offseason “foot-area” procedure, and he did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. He did not look like the same old Elvis in last week’s loss to the Redskins.
The other key defender dealing with an injury is cornerback Shareece Wright, who was scratched from Sunday’s game because of back spasms. Wright returned to action Wednesday as a limited participant.
The Giants are dealing with some injury concerns of their own, as they had six players miss practice.
Cornerback Eli Apple (groin), safeties Darian Thompson (foot) and Nat Berhe (concussion), linebacker Devon Kennard (concussion), offensive tackle Marshall Newhouse (calf) and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (groin) all didn’t practice.
The limited participants were tight end Larry Donnell (concussion), wide receiver Dwayne Harris (toe), running back Rashad Jennings (thumb), cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (groin) and defensive end Olivier Vernon (wrist).
New York might seem vulnerable to the Ravens defense right now. Giants QB Eli Manning has completed just over 50 percent of his passes over the last two weeks. He connected on 18 of 35 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown on Monday Night Football against the Green Bay Packers. He was sacked three times. The Giants are struggling with running the ball.
But the Ravens know Eli and his receivers can get hot at any given moment in any given game.
“The guy is an experienced guy that has a couple of Super Bowl rings, so he’s obviously pretty darn good,” defensive coordinator Dean Pees said. “He’s got great command of the offense. It’s his offense, he runs it. It’s all at the line so it’s a no-huddle offense. It’s his baby.”
Terrell Suggs said the Ravens need to do a good job of disguising their coverages so Manning doesn’t get in a groove reading what’s coming, changing plays and finding his receivers. He said that’s when Manning can “become dangerous.”
“Eli Manning is a top quarterback,” defensive tackle Brandon Williams added. “When he gets hot, he gets real hot. Definitely get after him, keep him in the pocket and don’t let him step up.”
Meanwhile, the Ravens are about to find out if the recent problems in Joe Flacco’s offense were due to a disconnect with just-fired Marc Trestman’s game plan, or if the problem lies in the players themselves.
Mirror, mirror, on the wall…
The Ravens are also looking for much-improved special teams play against the Giants, especially in the kick return coverage and punt return coverage units. The gaffes of those units cost them dearly in the losses to Oakland and Washington.
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