The Ravens hope to solve their road struggles and red zone problems all in one game. They travel to play the Minnesota Vikings tonight in their third preseason game. The Ravens, who won a preseason road game last season, have not won a regular season road game since 2004.
“We?ve done pretty well at home in the first two preseason games,” said head coach Brian Billick. “Now let?s see if we can follow up with a solid performance on the road.”
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Billick said he once again expects to play his first-stringers for just a half. The notable exception will be running back Jamal Lewis, who is expected to sit out the remaining two preseason games with a hip injury. Mike Anderson and Musa Smith should get the bulk of the carries.
The offense, under new quarterback Steve McNair, has looked impressive in its time of possession but struggled to score once inside the 20-yard-line in last week?s 20-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Ravens? first-team unit scored a field goal but no touchdowns in the red zone last week.
The Vikings have undergone a massive face-lift in the last two years. The team unloaded receiver Randy Moss, one of the league?s best players (and the team?s biggest malcontent), to the Raiders before last season. During this offseason, the organization traded franchise quarterback Daunte Culpepper to the Miami Dolphins.
Now, the team is led by veteran quarterback Brad Johnson, a player rumored to come to the Ravens years ago. In a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, Johnson connected on nine of 11 passes and a score.
“It should be very good, and Brad Johnson does a great job,” Billick said. “He?s hard to sack and get to. He gets the ball out quickly and he doesn?t take a lot of sacks, as opposed to a guy who doesn?t do that, but just throws the ball away a lot so he doesn?t get an ass-kicking. He?s got 60-percent-plus completion ? that?s a guy who is very smart about getting rid of the ball. That frustrates your defense no matter what. They?re going to have to deal with that, too, because it?s hard to get to him.”
The Ravens will certainly look for more consistency from their first-team defense, which had one bright spot last week ? a forced fumble by linebacker Ray Lewis. The defense gave up 10 points to the Philadelphia in less than 10 minutes.
The Vikings are looking to bring some stability to their running game and are hoping that former Raven Chester Taylor is the answer.
“I think it got a little bit better in the second game,” Minnesota first-year head coach Brad Childress said this week on the team?s Web site. “I think Chester is taking a little bit better look at things, in terms of where we?re asking him to go, where his eyes are running.”
Five Questions for tonight?s game
Ravens vs. Vikings
8 p.m. at the Metrodome
» Can the Ravens offense, which ate up yards and minutes last week, get the ball in the end zone this time?
» What has defensive coordinator Rex Ryan done this week to tighten up his unit across the middle?
» Will linebacker Ray Lewis, who appeared a step slower last week, regain his game speed of old?
» If Devard Darling has another standout game, is he the team?s No. 3 receiver?
» If Leo Araguz and Sam Koch struggle punting again, will the team bring in another veteran?
