Lex Of It: Giants Vs Ravens, Staying Consistent
The Giants hope to extend their strong start to five wins in the first six games when they welcome the Baltimore Ravens to MetLife Stadium in Week 6. Daboll’s squad traveled across the pond this past weekend to take on Packers in London. Despite facing a fourth-quarter deficit, the Giants were able to come back and defeat the Packers, 27-22.
Another Tough Challenge
The Ravens’ two losses have come against the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills by a combined seven points. After going up against the back-to-back reigning league MVP last week, the Giants will face the 2019 MVP in Lamar Jackson, but more on that later.
“I just think we stay consistent with how we approach things during the week, again regardless of result, whether you lose,” Daboll said Monday.
“I know the players have tried to do that. And that’s how we’ll approach it every week regardless of the outcome. What do we need to do to fix the things we want to fix and improve on? Build off the things that we’ve been doing well and be as prepared as we can going into the next game.”
Giants Offense Attacking Ravens Defense
The biggest weakness of Baltimore’s defense has been in the passing game. The Ravens enter Week 6 giving up the most passing yards per game at 290.2, while their nine passing touchdowns allowed is tied for the seventh-most. But they have intercepted eight passes through five games, tied for the most in the NFL, while their 65.1 completion percentage allowed is middle of the pack.
D.J. completed 77.8% of his passes, his second-highest completion percentage of the season, for 217 yards and a 100.2 passer rating. While he did not throw any touchdown passes, he also did not have any turnovers. His 217 passing yards was also his highest on the season. The fourth-year quarterback added ten rush attempts for thirty seven yards, an impressive feat considering he was only a week removed from an ankle injury.
The Baltimore rushing defense has been a little better, as they have given up 108.0 yards on the ground per game which ranks 12th. But a large part of that is due to the few number of times opponents have rushed against Baltimore; their 109 rushing attempts against is the third-fewest in the NFL. They are surrendering 5.0 yards per carry, which is the seventh-highest.
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Wink Martindale Vs Baltimore Ravens
Sunday’s game will serve as the first time defensive coordinator Wink Martindale will face off against his former team. Martindale originally joined the Ravens in 2012 and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2018, a role he served for four seasons. During that time, the Ravens consistently had a top defense. From 2018-2020,
Martindale has found success through the first five games with the Giants. His unit ranks ninth in points and 12th in yards allowed per game, despite dealing with a rash of injuries. The defense shut down Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in the second half of last week’s game, which led to the four-time MVP referring to Martindale as “a fantastic coach” earlier this week.
“He has a lot of experience, and he’s been pretty successful in this league as a defensive coordinator,” Daboll said about Martindale. “I think he does a great job communicating with the players. I think he does a great job of communicating with his staff. He’s smart, and I just think he’s very prepared. And he’s composed on the sideline. As a play caller that’s done it for some time myself, that’s not always the easiest thing to do when things aren’t going great. But he’s very composed.”
“He’s very good with the coaches and the players on the sideline and during the week. And he gives his players ownership to our defense, which is important, and also with the coaches as well. So, (I’m) happy he’s part of our staff. I think he’s a fantastic coach and an even better person.”
Baltimore Run Game, Containing Lamar Jackson
The Ravens offense fully revolves around the dual ability of quarterback Lamar Jackson. Let’s start with his passing. Jackson has thrown 12 touchdown passes this season, the third-highest in the NFL and only three behind Patrick Mahomes for the league lead.
What makes Jackson truly stand out is his capabilities as a rusher. Jackson has rushed the ball 49 times for an impressive 374 yards and two touchdowns through five games. Similar to his two previous seasons topping the 1,000-yard mark, Jackson currently leads the league with his 7.6 yards per carry.
“I’d say another significant challenge just like it was last week,” Daboll said before Wednesday’s practice. “This guy’s extremely talented in all facets. His winning percentage since he’s been a starting quarterback is 75%, which is one of the tops. He plays with his arm and he plays with his legs. He’s a dynamic player, he’s one of the best in the league.”
The Giants have done a good job of limiting quarterbacks on the ground in three of the five games. Tennessee’s Ryan Tannehill, Dallas’ Cooper Rush and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers combined for less than 10 rushing yards against the Big Blue defense.
He's just so dangerous 😏 pic.twitter.com/hSF19UEttg — New York Giants (@Giants) October 12, 2022