As has been recorded by my colleague Ryan Wilson, overconfidence seems to be the rule of the day in Ravens Nation. But as I, and many others have written too many times to count since Monday night, how can a team be anything but overconfident heading into a game with the Raiders, the NFL's most recent edition of team turmoil?
Still, I will try my best to preview this game without offending the pro football scheduling gods who lined up three tomato cans for the Ravens in the Bucs, Raiders and the Browns to start the season.
Ravens right offensive tackle Steve Pashos vs. Raiders defensive end Derrick Burgess: All of Baltimore has been asking questions about Pashos and his teammate on the right side of the Ravens offensive line, Keydrick Vincent, since the preseason. Some of that talk was quieted last week when Pashos turned in a workmanlike performance against the Bucs, and helped limit them to just one sack of Steve McNair in the season opener. But it's a new week, and Burgess, who led the league in sacks last season with 16, and might make Pashos and Burgess' former college teammate Vincent look a little slow.
Samari Rolle or Chris McAlister against Randy Moss: Yes, I know we talked about this during the week, but for God's sake he's still Randy Moss. And while he may have never had much success against the Ravens over the course of his career, all it takes is one mistake and it's six points for Oakland ...
Hold on a second, just who am I kidding? Nobody, and I mean nobody, thinks the Raiders have a chance today. And barring a set of improbable circumstances, which I will outline below, the team is in for a long flight back to Oakland on Sunday night:
- Knock Steve McNair out of the game as soon as possible, preferably on a safety.
- Remember that Phillip Rivers only had to throw 11 passes against the Raiders on Monday night, which means Kyle Boller must be knocked out of the game as well. After all, he may still be able to complete a 35-yard lollipop to Todd Heap.
- With both Boller and McNair on the training table, the team will be forced to play emergency quarterback Mark Clayton. That would allow the Raiders to stack 11 men in the box to stop the run on every down.
With that, as long as the Raiders offense can prevent the Ravens defense from scoring -- no mean feat -- Art Shell can go back home with his first win of the season.
