Ravens provide test for Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Teams have had a tough time running on the Green Bay Packers since the third week of the season, and that’s one of the primary reasons their defense is ranked No. 2 in the league in yards allowed.
But it has been a while since the Packers faced a dual-threat running back like the one they’ll see at Lambeau Field on Monday night, Baltimore’s Ray Rice.
The second-year player out of Rutgers is leading the Ravens in rushing and receptions and is No. 2 in the NFL with 1,403 combined yards from scrimmage, trailing only Tennessee’s Chris Johnson.
And Rice has done his best work as a runner on the road this season, averaging 5.8 yards per carry in the Ravens’ away games.
“Ray’s pretty electric,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s quick and fast and explosive. He’s a young guy and he’s learning as he goes.”
Harbaugh said he has been pleasantly surprised by Rice’s ability to contribute in the passing game.
“At Rutgers, he was more of a tackle-to-tackle runner,” Harbaugh said. “I think everybody hoped he had the potential to be a third-down back and those kind of things, but you didn’t really know and it wasn’t something he did in college. He’s worked really hard at that in the almost two years he’s been here now, and he’s developed obviously into a threat.”
But Rice’s success isn’t much of a secret any more, and the Ravens’ running game won’t be sneaking up on the Packers.
“We’re doing a very good job of stopping the run, and that will be a major focus as we go into this next game,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “I think Baltimore’s running game, particularly their three running backs, will be an excellent challenge for us.”
The Ravens’ rushing threat doesn’t end with Rice, as Willis McGahee remains an effective rusher and Le’Ron McClain is a ballcarrying threat as a fullback.
“They’ve got three backs who all could start,” defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins said. “And the Rice kid’s very explosive, very quick. He can squeeze up into the smallest of holes. So we’re going to have our hands full this week. We’re going to have to really make sure that we come out and play.”
Rice and the Ravens will face a run defense that has improved steadily after a few initial hiccups under new coordinator Dom Capers and his change to a 3-4 scheme.
The Packers allowed 141 yards rushing to Cincinnati’s Cedric Benson in Week 2, and 163 combined yards rushing and receiving to St. Louis’ Steven Jackson in Week 3.
But they’ve been close to airtight against the run since, allowing a total of 594 yards rushing in eight games — 74.3 yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry during that stretch.
Their only slip-up since Week 3 was a Nov. 1 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings in which they allowed Adrian Peterson to rush for 97 yards and catch one pass for 44 yards.
Players say they’re getting more comfortable in Capers’ schemes.
“We had those growing pains earlier in the year and as we get more comfortable in our roles and what we’re supposed to do as individual players, we’ve been able to grow as a defense,” linebacker Nick Barnett said. “And as long as we keep continuing to do that, I think we’ll be good.”
The Packers’ improved run defense gradually has led to a better pass rush. Since being carved apart by Brett Favre twice earlier in the season, the Packers have been getting more pressure on the quarterback.
And with Charles Woodson lurking in the secondary, the Packers can make teams pay for mistakes. Woodson has seven interceptions, Green Bay is No. 2 in the league in takeaways behind New Orleans, and leads the league with a plus-17 turnover margin.
The Packers still, however, are dealing with the loss of cornerback Al Harris and outside linebacker Aaron Kampman to season-ending knee injuries in the Nov. 22 victory over San Francisco.
McCarthy, who fired most of his defensive assistants after last year’s disappointing performance, said being ranked No. 1 in yards allowed at 281.5 per game helps his defense’s confidence. But he doesn’t want players to spend time patting themselves on the back.
“Being No. 1 in Week 12, 13, 14 really doesn’t give you any merit,” McCarthy said. “You want to be No. 1 at the end of the season. But I think our defense definitely is on the right pace to be the championship defense that we anticipate we’d have here.”
