OWINGS MILLS, Md. — A big focal point at the Under Armour Performance Center at Ravens practice Thursday was the importance of the run game. Not just running it well, but stopping the opposition from doing so effectively.
"We definitely want to be efficient in the run game to help the offense, help the pass game, but we have to practice and execute it throughout the week to make it happen in the game," says Derrick Henry, Ravens running back.
"You can’t control a game if you can’t run it anyway. So, having a strong running game, especially when the conditions go a certain way—especially with the wind—certainly gives you a leg up," says Todd Monken, Ravens offensive coordinator.
"If you talk to any defensive player or coach, the No. 1 thing they’re going to say we have to do is stop the run. Why do you want to stop the run? Because you want to get the offense behind the chains. If the offense has to consistently play in second-and-7-plus [or] third-and-long, it’s going to be a good day for the defense, more times than not, so we’re always striving to get teams in those situations. Now, we can unleash our pass rush. Now, we can unleash certain pressures and certain coverages and certain looks, and you get a chance to make the offense predictable. When they’re in second-and-3 [or] second-and-4, now you have to play run or pass. You're not necessarily getting a good get-off if they pass the ball. So, it’s going to be key, and it’s going to be vital," says Zach Orr, Ravens defensive coordinator.
In week 4, the Ravens ran it well as a team, rushing for 271 yards and holding the Bills to only 81 yards rushing.
But that was back in late September. Both teams are vastly different.
"We’re not the same team in Week 4, and I’m sure they feel the same way that they're not the same team from Week 4. We’re definitely ... I looked back at the film, and I'm watching ourselves, and I'm like, ‘Wow, that's not us [or] who we are.’ It's going to be a totally different game, and that's why the game is being played," says Roquan Smith, Ravens linebacker.
"I agree with the guys that you can’t put too much stock in it from the standpoint [of] X’s and O’s, but from a standpoint of a physicality mindset, you can take a lot from it. I think that we showed that if we come out, and we play physical, we play with the right effort, and we communicate, we can put ourselves in a great position to have a great day," says Orr.
"We’re a different team now than we were then in terms of how we attack people, our personnel, who we have [and] who we’ll have Sunday night. So, ultimately, for both teams, it’s going to come down to what they do well. Irrespective of what that game was 13 [or] 14 weeks ago, what we do well, what they do well, because when you’re really good, you have tendencies. You just do, you just do. You have to do what you do well and do it better than they do it," says Monken.
