Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 662 Tailor-made
The Baltimore Ravens come prepared.

Obviously, when Hubble led his team to visit Arrowhead Stadium, he was not really here to reminisce and greet each other. Off-field matters are off-field matters, and the game is the game.

At the beginning, Hubble showed their determination. They were ready to take away a victory. After all -

"Coach, if you lose, the most you will do is go from the No. 1 seed to the No. 2 seed; but we are now fighting desperately for a playoff spot."

One is the icing on the cake, the other is on the brink of life and death.

Things are different after all.

So, Hubble was not being polite.

The current Baltimore Ravens defense may not be comparable to the legendary team of 2000. The two are simply not on the same level; but there is no doubt that their experience and strength are still among the best in the league.

The Baltimore Ravens use a "3-4" defensive formation, but it is slightly different from other teams' "3-4" formations. The three defensive fronts and four linebackers here all have excellent "offensive power" -

Whether it's blitz pressure or ground defense; whether it's sack the quarterback or stop the running back, they can show excellent intensity.

To be precise, the defensive team's positioning is "3-4", but the tactical arrangement is a mixture of "3-4" and "4-3", which appears to be varied. Harbaugh fully absorbed the essence from the success of the Seattle Seahawks' "Bombshell Legion", and finally adapted to local conditions and evolved into his own distinctive style.

Of course, the root of everything is that Hubble has such capital——

Patrick-Onwuasor.

C.J. Mosley

Terrell Suggs.

Matthew-Judon

These are the four starting linebackers for the Baltimore Ravens this season.

Except for the undrafted rookie Ungersser in 2016, the other three are all legends, with numerous honors such as Pro Bowl, All-American First Team/Second Team, and so on. Each of them is a well-known player in the league.

Among them, Suggs is the absolute leader.

After being selected by the Baltimore Ravens with the tenth pick in the first round of 2003, Suggs quickly filled the vacancy left by the retirement of "Thor" Ray Lewis and grew into a new banner of the Baltimore Ravens' defense. He was the league's Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003, the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2011, and has been to seven Pro Bowls.

Although his form has declined in the past two seasons and the impact of age and injuries is inevitable, Suggs is still the spiritual pillar of the Baltimore Ravens' defense.

Under the leadership of Suggs, the Baltimore Ravens linebacker group is still the best in the league.

And, that's not all.

The Baltimore Ravens also have a very deep bench at linebacker level.

Fourth-year player Za'Darius Smith and second-year player Tyus Bowser were not the focus of the draft that year, but they quickly grew up under Harbaugh and became reliable rotation players.

Whenever Zadarius and Bosse take turns on the court, they can accomplish their mission, change the rhythm, change the strategy, and throw the opponent into chaos.

At the same time, the Baltimore Ravens' defensive line is also very aggressive.

Defensive ends Brent Urban and Chris Wormley are both inexpensive blue-collar players who are not very prominent in the league, but always bring amazing performances in the game.

Pressure on the pass rush and ground defense are just the basics; both players have the ability to make sacks, which is the real killer that adds icing on the cake.

"Offensive" defense refers to this team. Although the Baltimore Ravens' defense has many veterans and lacks some continuity and stability due to injuries, their sacks and the number of ball possession changes they create are among the best in the league this season.

In other words, they can make the quarterback and running back live in hell. In this game, Harbaugh formulated tactics for Mahomes and Levi:

Pressure.

Apply pressure across the board.

Relying on the capabilities of the linebackers and defensive front line, overwhelming pressure was piled on Mahomes and Levi, pushing the rhythm and tension of the entire offense and defense confrontation to a whole new level.

If that were all, Hubble's strategy would be nothing new and merely a rehash of what others have said; the key is in the details.

The fundamental purpose of the Baltimore Ravens' defensive strategy is not to capture Mahomes, at least in the opening stage; but to put Mahomes under pressure at all times to pass the ball, and force Mahomes to shoot quickly and make short passes as much as possible.

Short pass?

The Baltimore Ravens aren't worried.

They often let go of short passes and allow Mahomes to complete short passes. Whether it is Kelce or Levi, the defensive team allows the connection to be successful.

The focus is on:

First, cut off Mahomes' ability to pass the ball in the middle and long distances, forcing Mahomes to become Alex Smith.

Second, rely on the second-line defense to cut off the subsequent advancement of short passes in the first place.

It can be seen from the positioning that the Baltimore Ravens' safeties are lined up fifteen yards outside the line of scrimmage, with the entire formation moving forward, putting all the pressure on the short pass area and the front line area.

Of course, this also means that the Baltimore Ravens' second-line defense is under tremendous pressure. Compared with the team's star-studded defensive front, this second-line defense is much more low-key.

The two cornerbacks are Humphrey, Levi's teammate in college, and Brandon Carr.

This player was born in Kansas City Chiefs. He had a mediocre rookie period. After his rookie contract expired, he moved to Dallas Cowboys, but he didn't make a name for himself there. After moving to Baltimore Ravens last year, he finally showed his ability under Harble's hands.

The same goes for safeties.

Strong guard Toby Jefferson was an undrafted rookie who spent his rookie period with the Arizona Cardinals but also failed to make a name for himself. He moved to the Baltimore Ravens last season and, like Carr, was turned into treasure in Harble's hands.

Simply put, the individual abilities of the Baltimore Ravens' secondary defense are mediocre, and they rely mainly on Harbaugh's tactical arrangements to bring out the players' role abilities.

The only exception is safety Eric Weddle.

This free safety was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the 2007 draft and joined the Baltimore Ravens in 2016. He has made six Pro Bowls in his career, two All-American first-team selections and three All-American second-team selections, and is recognized as one of the strongest safeties in the 2010s.

To some extent, the Baltimore Ravens' secondary defense is very similar to the Kansas City Chiefs, relying on a star player to lead the entire team.

But the Baltimore Ravens rely on their front-line defense to create opportunities, and their second-line defense quickly follows up with tactics, also performing at the top of the league.

Therefore, this also allowed Hubble to start the game right away.

The front line rushed the ball and put pressure on Mahomes, deliberately leaving space in the short pass area, forcing Mahomes to make a short pass; but then promptly cut off the advancing space after receiving the short pass and completed the tackle in the first time.

It's not just Mahomes, the same applies to Levi.

In this way, the Baltimore Ravens forcibly interrupted the offensive fluidity and explosiveness of the Kansas City Chiefs, pushing Mahomes into an uncomfortable position. He had to continuously suppress his nature and get stuck in the short pass swamp, and he couldn't play the entire game.

Simply put, pressure on the pass rush is just a superficial appearance, and the real core is to control the rhythm.

(End of this chapter)