JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With a record of 2-6 the Baltimore Ravens are having an off year by most measures. Injuries are never an excuse in the NFL but the Ravens may be one of the few teams that have been more snake bitten than the Jaguars. Defensive end Terrell Suggs was lost early in the season to an Achilles tear. On the other side of the ball Steve Smith was the one reliable target for Joe Flacco until he also tore his Achilles.
Here are some of the key points that Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley and defensive coordinator Bob Babich mentioned in terms of facing the Ravens.
Gus Bradley on facing Joe Flacco:
"I would say with him when you watch him he's got really good poise. Rarely do things affect him, he can make all the throws, different style of quarterback as far as extending the play, he's got poise to sit in the pocket. You'll see all sorts of throws; he throws off his back foot, has great touch and throws really good balls for receivers to catch. He knows when to put some zip on it, knows when to put some air underneath it so he's doing some really good things. I think the injuries that they've had at the receiver and the timing sometimes that takes a little bit of time, but when you watch him play you see some really good things."
Bob Babich:
On Justin Forsett presenting challenges of tackling in space:
"Yes he can. I would say for Justin, he's not a big man, a big running back like Ivory was last week. Watching him, he has the ability to bend his knees and boom. He can fall forward, so you have to have a tackling plan. We have a tackling plan for him. Coach Hazelton does a great job with that. We have respect for him also because I was also here when he played here."
On the Ravens healthy wide receivers:
"(Kamar) Aiken is, I think, he's taken the role of, he's going to be the guy. Steve Smith, we're watching him, what a great player. That's a huge loss. You hate to see that with a veteran that plays that well. Those guys are all going to pick it up. It's the NFL. Next guy up. We faced something similar against Buffalo. There were guys making plays there. We don't worry too much about that as far as personnel but more schematically, what they're trying to do."
On getting more sacks and interceptions:
"The interceptions, they've been, I'm telling you, they're going to come. We had a bunch in practice. That's the only thing that I can think of other than schematically trying to do some things where the ball comes out bad or stuff like that. The sacks right now, I don't know where we are as far as sacks but I know the ball comes out pretty quick. Sometimes that creates problems with getting sacks because the ball comes out so quick and that type of stuff. With us, as a coaching staff, we have a plan to try to take care of those things, which I don't want to talk about as far as schematically. Hopefully those things will get better."