By: Corey Johns

When desperate for a win there is no better place for the Ravens to be than in the comfort of M&T Bank Stadium. Since 2007 when the John Harbaugh - Joe Flacco era began the Ravens have only lost 11 home games, so their desperate situation just might lead to a turnaround.

In order to turn things around and avoid a third-straight loss the Ravens defense is going to have to play significantly better than they did against the Oakland Raiders a week ago. That was bad, bordering embarrassing against a young team without any proven threats on their offense. The Bengals are far more dangerous.

While Andy Dalton might not be more than an average quarterback, he has elite talent around him that has helped get the Bengals to four-straight playoff appearances. The Bengals could choose to throw the ball around the field to their deep group of receivers headlined by A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert, or they could decide to be a ground-and-pound team and let Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard lead the way.

Either way, the Ravens need to learn to live without Terrell Suggs on the field. Last week the defense had no pass rush and it allowed Derek Carr to look more like Peyton Manning than Peyton Manning did. Maybe Jason Babin will make things better. It was pretty questionable as to why he was not active for the game against the Raiders but he is a proven pass rusher. If he is a decent presence on the edge, that should also open things up for Elvis Dumervil, who had a career-year in 2014 but has yet to record a sack in 2015.

Getting to Dalton will be hard enough as it is — he has yet to be sacked this year — and he has good enough receiving threats to make it a long day for the Ravens if he has all day to throw.

But let’s give the Ravens the benefit of the doubt and say Babin and Dumervil wreck some havoc in the backfield. That is when, Dalton is prone to making mistakes. He has yet to throw an interception this year, but he also has not been pressured very much behind his big offensive line. If the Ravens get in the backfield, force a turnover of two and keep the Bengals in the 20s in terms of points, expect the Ravens to get their first win of the year.

Last week the Ravens offense turned it on against the Raiders. The Bengals are better defensively but Joe Flacco showed comfort and confidence throwing to more than only Steve Smith. Tight end Crockett Gillmore and wide receiver Kamar Aiken were heavily involved in the passing game. Even if Smith was still the team’s leading receiver, having two extra options will keep the defense honest.

Now, it is just up to the running game to get going. Justin Forsett has not looked like the explosive back he was last year but expect more of a three-headed monster with Forsett, second-year power back Lorenzo Taliaferro and rookie change-of-pace back Buck Allen.

When they establish the run and take pressure off Flacco and the passing game the Ravens are always at their best. That will be the key to a victory and saving their season.

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By: Corey Johns

All of the detractors say the same thing: the Ravens don’t have enough at receiver and don’t have enough explosiveness to win a Super Bowl. And it does not matter one bit. Being an air-it-our team that puts up huge points with huge yardage totals just is not the Ravens style, it’s not Baltimore’s style. We’re hard-nosed, blue-collar people who scrap and work hard for everything we do and football is no different.

What led to both Super Bowls the Ravens won? It was not a prolific offense; it was a tough as nails defense and a grind-it-out offense that just got the job done.

Very few franchises have been as successful as the Baltimore Ravens since 2008 when the John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco era began. Despite the limited number of explosive receivers – no Calvin Johnson or Julio Jones types – the Ravens still always find a way to move the ball and get the job done as much as they need. They understand that a one-point win is the same thing as a 21-point blowout and there is no reason to believe they won’t win a bunch of games again this year.

Sure, wide receiver may not look that sexy in comparison to what other teams have, but the overall roster looks like the best in the league. The simple fact that players like DeAngelo Tyson, Jah Reid, Asa Jackson, and Fitzgerald Toussaint were released during final cut downs just shows how deep this year’s squad is. It might even be the best roster the Ravens have ever had.

Flacco does not put up the gaudy numbers, but he is top five in winning-percentage among current NFL Quarterbacks. The always reliable Steve Smith Sr. might not be the speedy guy he once was running up and down the field, but you’d be hard pressed to find a tougher guy who plays with more emotion in the entire NFL. The offensive line is one of the best in the league with arguably three of the best players at their position (Kelechi Osemele – LG, Marshal Yanda – RG, Rick Wagner – RT). If you want to talk about explosive, just look at Justin Forsett, who had more 20-yard plays than anybody in the NFL last year.

Are any of those guys All-Pros? Yanda is, but after him it is a bunch of guys who quietly get their job done.

Defensively, try to find a better pass rushing duo than Terrell Suggs and Elvin Dumervil. While you’re at it, find a better inside linebacker duo than C.J. Mosley and Darryl Smith. The Ravens always have the best linebacker corp. in the league and that does not look like it’s stopping this year.

The defensive line might have lost Haloti Ngata, but the group proved they were more than capable without him while he was suspended last year. The secondary lacks huge stars but Jimmy Smith is back, Will Hill hits very, very hard and Kendrick Lewis is another quiet guy who does his job and does not hurt his team.

While the Ravens might not have many top of the line stars, they don’t need them. They never really have needed them. The Ravens, more than any other team in the league, play hard and find ways to win. They don’t need to look good doing it.