Forsett should lead the way against terrible Browns run defense

Justin Forsett looked like the explosive back he was last year when the Ravens played the Steelers last Thursday and this week he has a great matchup against a terrible Browns run defense.

By: Corey Johns

It was a huge win for the Ravens last Thursday, a win that could possibly turn the season around and get them back on track for a playoff push, but they have to build on their victory this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. No matter what the situation is — the Ravens could be the best team in the league and the Browns could be winless — these two teams go to war. The Browns hate the Ravens and always give their best effort against Baltimore. It will be that again — a tough, physical division rivalry game.

The Ravens receiving corp. has been absolutely decimated with injuries. Breshad Perriman has the “slowest healing PCL ever” according to John Harbaugh, Michael Campanaro is out for the year, Crockett Gillmore is still out with an injury and Steve Smith Sr. will probably miss the game with broken bones in his back.

Kamar Aiken, Marlon Brown, rookie tight ends Maxx Williams and Nick Boyle are not a group that the Ravens can lean on to lead them to victory. Newly acquired Chris Givens won’t have much of a learning curve since his job is simply to run down the field as fast as he possibly can, but he is not a game-changer either. This year the Ravens have passed the ball nearly 40 times per game, but they did not win until they committed to the run against Pittsburgh and Justin Forsett rushed for 150 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry. The Ravens have a juicy matchup this week against a terrible Browns run defense that has allowed 141.5 yards per game, the second most in the league, only better than the Miami Dolphins. If Forsett continues to run hard, break tackles and show the explosive ability he showed last year then the Ravens should be able to run off with a victory.

Even if Forsett does not have the huge plays like he has shown he can make, Lorenzo Taliaferro is a big, bruising back the Ravens should feed often and rookie change-of-pace back Buck Allen should get involved as well. So far the two young guys have not gotten going but the Ravens have the potential to run with a three-headed monster our of the backfield this week against a putrid defense.

The Ravens cannot force the pass against the Browns, especially not without most of their top targets. Deep throws down the field could spell disaster for Flacco, even against a secondary that will be without two of their top defensive backs. Ball-hawking safety Tashaun Gibson has already been ruled out of the game and Joe Haden has been struggling but might miss the game anyway. Still, sticking to the ground game and passing only when necessary is the wiser gameplan for the Ravens as they look for their second win of the year.

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