Baltimore Ravens vs Carolina Panthers: Game Preview
The Baltimore Ravens will play their third home game in four weeks on Sunday against Cam Newton and the prolific Carolina Panthers.
Carolina is a quite complete team. Their defense looks poised to have a terrific season, with youngsters such as Star Lotulelei, 2013 defensive player of the year Luke Kuechly, and some veterans in Charles Johnson, Chase Blackburn, and former New Orleans Saint Roman Harper. It was a defense that was ranked second in the league last season and they have added some key pieces since then. It’s a little scary.
Let’s focus on the second player I named though. There is only one word to describe middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, he’s a beast. The third-year man out of Boston College was picked ninth overall by the Panthers in the 2011 draft, and it might have been the best draft pick in their franchise’s history.
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In his rookie year, Keuchly recorded 164 total tackles, two interceptions, and recovered three fumbles. The 164 tackles led the entire league. He totaled 59 tackles in just the last five games of the season, earning him the Defensive Rookie of the Month award for December. He would also receive the award for Defensive Rookie of the Year from the Associated Press and Pro Football Weekly.
As if that wasn’t enough, he performed even better in some ways in his second season. He became the leader of the stingy Carolina defense, accumulating 156 tackles (fourth-most in the league) and four interceptions. He would receive the AP Defensive Player of the Year award following the 2013 season. This year, in only three games he has already totaled 34 tackles, which is one behind the league-high number. He might be the closest thing we have seen to Ray Lewis in a very long time.
As for the offense, Cam Newton will lead the charge. He has enjoyed his new weapon Kelvin Benjamin this year, who the Panthers drafted with the 28th pick in this past year’s draft. His 253 receiving yards lands him top ten in the league, along with 16 receptions and two touchdowns. He is an explosive player, and since Newton doesn’t really have anyone else to throw to this season, his stats should pile up.
However, that could be a problem for the Panthers moving forward. They don’t really have a legitimate receiving threat outside of Benjamin. But after seeing how poorly the Ravens’ secondary performed last week against a weak Cleveland Browns receiving corps, they just might manage.
If the Ravens can improve in the secondary just a little from last week, then they should be fine. The defense has been stuffing up the run game and the front seven has been making tackles left and right, but the secondary has struggled mightily, and there is no better week to fix that than against this Panthers receiving corps.
It should be fun, as the Ravens rock their black jerseys on Sunday and get ready for their first NFC matchup of the 2014 season.