December 05, 2004
INSIDE SLANT
George Kokinis, the Ravens' pro personnel director, sizes up the Bengals:
Strength of offense
Right side of the offensive line. There's a lot of meat with right guard Bobbie Williams (330 pounds) and right tackle Willie Anderson (340). The field tilts a little bit with them. But they move pretty well and come off the ball strong. Last week against Cleveland, they opened some nice lanes for running back Rudi Johnson. They do as solid of a job in the passing game, too, which allows Cincinnati to be balanced.
Strength of defense
Free safety Madieu Williams. The rookie from Maryland was a cornerback at the beginning of the season before switching to safety because of injuries. So, he is a safety with corner abilities. From a coverage standpoint, he has good range in the middle of the field. He has great aggressiveness to the football, both against the pass and against the run.
Key matchup
Ravens safety Ed Reed vs. Bengals tight ends. Cincinnati likes to pressure the middle of the field because it knows a lot of the concentration will be on its outside receivers. All of the Bengals' tight ends have catching ability, particularly Matt Schobel (13 receptions, 151 yards, two touchdowns). They all have enough speed to get downfield, so they can be threats. Reed, who leads the Ravens with six interceptions and 12 passes broken up, has been a great playmaker.
STARTING LINEUPS
Ravens offense
WR 89 Travis Taylor
LT 75 Jonathan Ogden
LG 64 Edwin Mulitalo
C 61 Casey Rabach
RG 62 Mike Flynn
RT 77 Ethan Brooks
TE 82 Terry Jones
WR 84 Clarence Moore
QB 7 Kyle Boller
RB 29 Chester Taylor
FB 39 Alan Ricard
Ravens defense
LE 98 Tony Weaver
NT 97 Kelly Gregg
RE 94 Marques Douglas
OLB 55 Terrell Suggs
ILB 56 Ed Hartwell
ILB 52 Ray Lewis
OLB 96 Adalius Thomas
CB 28 Gary Baxter
CB 21 Chris McAlister
SS 20 Ed Reed
FS 47 Will Demps
Bengals offense
WR 85 Chad Johnson
LT 76 Levi Jones
LG 65 Eric Steinbach
C 74 Rich Braham
RG 63 Bobbie Williams
RT 71 Willie Anderson
TE 82 Reggie Kelly
WR 84 T.J. Housh-mandzadeh
QB 9 Carson Palmer
RB 32 Rudi Johnson
FB 31 Jeremi Johnson
Bengals defense
LE 92 Duane Clemons
LT 97 John Thornton
RT 60 Langston Moore
RE 90 Justin Smith
OLB 51 Kevin Hardy
MLB 59 Landon Johnson
OLB 56 Brian Simmons
CB 24 Deltha O'Neal
CB 20 Tory James
SS 34 Kevin Kaesviharn
FS 40 Madieu Williams
GAME FACTS
Matchup
Records: Ravens 7-4, Bengals 5-6.
Line: Ravens by 6 1/2
Vs. spread: Ravens 8-3, Bengals 4-6-1.
Series: Ravens lead 12-5.
Last meeting: Ravens won, 23-9, on Sept. 26 at Cincinnati.
NFL rankings
Ravens offense: 31st (rush 14th, pass 31st)
Ravens defense: 4th (rush 11th, pass 4th)
Bengals offense: 23rd (rush 16th, pass 20th)
Bengals defense: 23rd (rush 30th, pass 16th)
Ravens injuries
Out: RB Jamal Lewis (ankle).
Doubtful: OT Orlando Brown (knee); CB Deion Sanders (foot); P Dave Zastudil (shoulder).
Questionable: LB Cornell Brown (infection); TE Todd Heap (ankle); CB Chris McAlister (shoulder); RB Alan Ricard (knee); LB Bart Scott (ankle).
Bengals injuries
Out: DT Matthias Askew (knee/injured reserve).
Doubtful: S Rogers Beckett (neck).
Questionable: CB Deltha O'Neal (ankle); RB Chris Perry (abdomen); DE Carl Powell (knee).
Probable: OT Willie Anderson (knee); WR Cliff Russell (head).
