Sam Bradford and the St. Louis Rams aren't alone when it comes to one thing: Nobody in America needs to be reminded that the Baltimore Ravens have an excellent defense. They've been known for it since the moment they became a force in the NFL and it's remained true since then; even after allowing 26 points to the Tennessee Titans in their Week 2 loss they're fifth in the league in points allowed, thanks to the way they held Ben Roethlisberger and the PIttsburgh Steelers to 7 Week 1. The Ravens might need a reminder that the Rams suddenly have a dangerous offense again, and I can offer it to them, in the form of this Giants fake injury video from last week.
That seemed to be Josh McDaniels's game plan in Week 2, especially when the offense was working at its best: He didn't just want Sam Bradford and company to look for the big play, he wanted them to look for the big play repeatedly, and often enough that the Giants couldn't keep up with them without calling an ersatz timeout on the goal line. Forget about controlling the field—McDaniels seemed to decide that since teams get three downs before they have to punt he might as well call play after play that Bradford would be able to complete about half the time.
It was exciting when it worked, and if Steven Jackson had been available in the red zone—if Danario Alexander had been used more frequently—if the Rams just hadn't made a series of asinine mistakes on special teams, it might have pushed the Rams past the Giants. Even though it didn't, I should hope the Ravens' defense did some extra sprints this week, so that they cramp up a little less easily than the G-Men did.