Ravens faced obstacles in return to AFC title game

The Baltimore Ravens overcame an assortment of injuries and obstacles to return to the AFC championship game, one victory from reaching the Super Bowl.
Their usually stout defense was besieged by a season-long string of setbacks.

Thirteen players with starting experience were sidelined during the regular season, including linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs, cornerback Lardarius Webb and tackle Haloti Ngata. Two dozen different defensive players received at least one start, but only two — safety Ed Reed and cornerback Cary Williams — started all 16 games.
The offense had its issues, too.
Frustrated with the unit's struggle during a December swoon, coach John Harbaugh fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and handed the reins to quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell.
Baltimore secured its second straight AFC North crown despite losing four of its last five regular-season games. Unlike last year, however, there was no first-round bye. Yet the Ravens defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the playoff opener before eliminating the top-seeded Denver Broncos last weekend to earn another shot at New England in the AFC title game Sunday night.

Breaking Down How Jacoby Jones Burned the Denver Broncos in Sunday's Win

There were only 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones made the unfathomable 70-yard catch. He managed to get behind the Denver Broncos' zone coverage, twist his body to adjust to the ball and haul it in. It was tied at 35, and the Broncos couldn't believe it.NFL Jersey Cheap

What exactly happened on the stunning reception, and who is to blame for the defensive lapse?

There's only one man to blame on this play, and it's Rahim Moore.

Moore, the deep safety of the Broncos, was charged with covering one-third of field. The Broncos played a soft Cover 2 variation on this play that was similar to the Tampa 2. This meant that there were three deep defenders, consisting of two safeties and the middle linebacker dropping down the seam in a Tampa 2 cover style.cheap jerseys Underneath, five defenders played very soft zone coverage.

This defensive play call is one that's common throughout the NFL, as many revert to it because it (usually) keeps the ball in front of the defenders, thus making it one of the safest coverages to play. The responsibility of the zone defenders is to get to their landmarks, which are areas of the field that they're assigned to run to at the snap.wholesale NFL Game Nike Jerseys

On the Ravens' side of the ball, they also went to a common play call known as "four verticals." It's one of the most dangerous and successful passing concepts in football, as it stretches the defense both horizontally and vertically. It puts pressure on the safeties because they are forced to watch the bend routes run by the slot receivers while the outside receivers simultaneously run verticallycheap jerseys.