The 4-3 Dolphins are coming to Baltimore riding high hoping to continue a highly-acclaimed undefeated road game streak.
So far they have traveled far and wide to defeat other formidable teams like Buffalo, Minnesota, Green Bay and Cincinnati in their respective home stadiums.
When I look at Miami’s list of mid-season accomplishments, my mind state about Sunday’s showdown shifts from an optimism that Baltimore extends an impressive winning streak to hoping the Ravens play their best football to compete with the league's best road warriors.
One of the most obvious comparisons to analyze is the tales of the tape between both teams starting quarterbacks, both of whom were drafted in the 2008 NFL draft.
The Ravens' Joe Flacco has been lauded for his exemplary accurate passing in the past few weeks. After throwing four abysmal interceptions against division rival Cincinnati Bengals in week two, the third-year starter has cleaned up his act.
His numbers of his last five games have been astounding. He has thrown nine touchdowns and only one interception, computing to a 104.6 quarterback rating over that time span.
Chad Henne has not been far off the mark. The 6-3, 230 pounder has been generally conservative, surmounting a 100.0 passer rating only once this season. Henne did not throw a touchdown against the Cincinatti Bengals in the team’s win last week despite throwing 37 times; Henne was not the most valuable player in that victory proving that the Dolphins passing attack is analogous to a computer screen.
To the untrained eye it appears that a screen is what makes a computer function but a knowledgeable person understands the CPU makes a computer run. Many people perceive the passing attack as what makes Miami's offense productive but that credit goes to the running game driven by Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown and Patrick Cobbs.
The Dolphins have the number 16 rushing offense in the league, a fall from the number four ranking the same crew had a year before. Nevertheless the three man rotation will be a challenge for the Ravens' regressing run defense that was supposed to be virtually immovable with rookie defensive tackle Terrance Cody and pro bowl player of the same position, Haloti Ngata.
The past few weeks have proven that the Ravens offense could hold their own in a shootout but the defense would falter in the face of the slightest adversity. Clear evidence of this lies in the overtime victory against the Buffalo Bills. Joe Flacco and co. kept pace with the Bills offense (can't believe I just said that) while the defense was bending and capitalized on a fumble forced by Ray Lewis to win in overtime.
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