Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 662 - 661 Tailor-made

Chapter 662: 661 Tailor-made

The Baltimore Ravens came prepared.

Clearly, Harbaugh leading his team to visit Arrowhead Stadium was not merely for catching up and exchanging pleasantries; off-field activities aside, the game is the game.

Right from the start, Harbaugh demonstrated determination; they intended to take home a victory because—

“Coach, if you lose, at most you’ll go from the first seed to the second; but right now, we’re in a fight to the death for a playoff spot.”

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

Things are, after all, different.

...

Therefore, Harbaugh was not being polite.

This current Baltimore Ravens Defense might not be on par with the legendary team of 2000; they aren’t even in the same class; but undoubtedly, their experience and strength still rank among the league’s top.

The Baltimore Ravens employ a “3-4” defensive formation, but it’s slightly different from other teams’ “3-4” formations. Their three defensive linemen and four linebackers all possess exceptional “attack power”—

Whether it’s blitzing and pressure, or ground defense; whether it’s sacking quarterbacks or stopping running backs, they can exhibit impressive strength.

To be accurate, this defense lines up in a “3-4” stance, but the tactical arrangement is a hybrid of “3-4” and “4-3” formations, making it highly variable. Harbaugh successfully drew the essence from the Seattle Seahawks’ “Bombing Corps” and ultimately adapted it to suit his style.

Of course, the root of it all is Harbaugh’s capability—

Patrick Onwuasor.

CJ Mosley.

Terrell Suggs.

Matthew Judon.

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

Aside from Onwuasor, an undrafted rookie in 2016, the other three are all legends, decorated with Pro Bowl selections, All-America First/Second Team honors and so on—each a recognized player in the league.

Among them, Suggs is the absolute leader.

Selected in the first round, tenth overall by the Baltimore Ravens in 2003, Suggs quickly filled the void left by “Thor” Ray Lewis’s retirement and grew to become the new standard-bearer of the Baltimore Ravens Defense. His accolades include NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003, NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2011, and seven Pro Bowl appearances.

Although his form has declined in the past two seasons, impacts from age and injuries are inevitable; yet Suggs remains the spiritual pillar of the Baltimore Ravens Defense.

Under Suggs’s leadership, the Baltimore Ravens’ linebacker group is still among the elite in the league.

And that’s not all.

The bench depth of the Baltimore Ravens’ linebacker group is also formidable.

Za’Darius Smith, a fourth-year player, and Tyus Bowser, in his second year, were not the center of attention at their respective drafts but have rapidly developed into reliable rotation players under Harbaugh’s guidance.

No matter when they’re called upon, Za’Darius and Bowser can get the job done, altering the pace and strategy, plunging the opponent into disarray.

At the same time, the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive line is also highly aggressive.

Defensive End Brent Urban and Chris Wormley are both cost-effective blue-collar players. They may not stand out in the league, but they always manage to deliver stunning performances in the games—

Pressure on the passer and ground defense are just the basics; the ability of these two players to make sacks is the real icing on the cake.

A “highly aggressive” defense is precisely what this team embodies, and even though the Baltimore Ravens Defense has many veterans, lacking some consistency and stability due to injuries, their sack numbers and capability to create turnovers rank among the top of the league this season.

In other words, they could turn the quarterback and the running back’s field into a living hell.

In this game, Harbaugh had devised tactics specifically for Mahomes and Li Wei—

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Pressure.

All-out pressure.

By relying on the capabilities of the linemen and the defensive line, they piled overwhelming pressure on Mahomes and Li Wei, pushing the pace and tension of the offensive and defensive confrontation to a whole new level.

If that were all, Harbaugh’s strategy wouldn’t be anything novel, merely a second-hand idea; the key lay in the details.

The fundamental purpose of the Baltimore Ravens Defense’s strategy was not to take down Mahomes—at least not at the outset of the game; instead, it was to keep Mahomes under constant pressure to pass the ball, to force Mahomes to make quick, rapid short passes as much as possible.

Short passes?

The Baltimore Ravens weren’t worried.

They often left short passes open, allowing Mahomes to complete short pass connections, whether it was to Kelsey or Li Wei; the defensive group allowed the connections to succeed.

The emphasis was on:

Firstly, cutting off Mahomes’ ability to make medium and long passes, pushing him to become Alex Smith.

Secondly, relying on the secondary defense to immediately cut off any further advancement of the short pass.

From their positioning alone, it was evident that the safeties of the Baltimore Ravens were arrayed fifteen yards beyond the scrimmage line, their entire formation pushed forward, stacking all the pressure in the short pass area and the frontline area.

Of course, this also meant that the Ravens’ secondary defense was under tremendous pressure, and in contrast to the team’s star-studded defensive line, this secondary defense appeared much more low-profile.

The two cornerbacks, one being Humphrey, Li Wei’s college teammate; the other, Brandon Carr.

This player originally came from the Kansas City Chiefs, had an unremarkable rookie period, transferred to the Dallas Cowboys after his rookie contract expired, but failed to make a name for himself there. It wasn’t until his transfer to the Baltimore Ravens last year that he finally showcased his abilities under Harbaugh’s guidance.

The safeties were no different.

Strong safety Tony Jefferson was an undrafted rookie, spent his rookie period with the Arizona Cardinals without making a splash, and, like Carr, transferred to the Baltimore Ravens last season, turning trash into treasure in Harbaugh’s hands.

Simply put, the individual abilities of the Baltimore Ravens’ secondary defense were average at best, primarily relying on Harbaugh’s tactical deployments to maximize the players’ role capabilities.

The sole exception was the safety Eric Weddle.

This free safety was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the 2007 draft and joined the league, then transferred to the Baltimore Ravens in 2016. With six Pro Bowl appearances, two All-America First Team and three All-America Second Team honors, he is recognized as one of the top safeties of the 2010s decade.

To a certain extent, the Ravens’ secondary defense was very similar to the Kansas City Chiefs, relying on a star player to drive the entire team.

But the Ravens relied on their defensive line to create opportunities, with the secondary defense quickly aligning with the tactical play, also performing among the top ranks in the league.

Therefore, this also allowed Harbaugh to set the stage right from the start—

The frontline exerted pressure to rush the passer, intentionally leaving gaps in the short pass area, forcing Mahomes to throw short; but then promptly cut off the advancement space after the short pass reception, immediately tackling the receiver.

It was the same with Li Wei.

By employing such tactics, the Baltimore Ravens forcibly interrupted the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive fluency and explosiveness, pushing Mahomes into an uncomfortable position where he had to continuously suppress his instincts and get bogged down in short-passing quagmires, thus disrupting the flow of the game.

In essence, the rush was deceptive – the real core was pace control.