One of the core tenants of the defense Ravens head coach Jesse Minter runs so well is the ability to mitigate disaster in the run game without having to sellout to do it.

In two years in charge of the Chargers defenses (sorry had to do it) Minter’s defense ranked third in the NFL in Expected Points Added vs the rush with only three defensive linemen on the field and fifth in success rate in those instances. And Minter’s unit ranked fifth in rush EPA when utilizing five or more defensive backs on the field.

Obviously he has different personnel in Baltimore and tactics and schematics are altered by the strength of opponents. Adjustments are constant. And Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has the combination of speed and power to cause any scheme to consider tweaks and to force teams to be in top form from a tackling perspective, even when that defense hasn’t actually tackled anyone since January.

What Taylor and the Colts did to Minter’s defense last October was pretty impressive, and while a lot of the attention will go to corrections that need to be made in the passing game – and that was a huge problem for Minter against Indianapolis as well – the reality is Baltimore has an abundance of riches on the back end but far more questions in the front seven, particularly if All-Pro defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike and emerging inside linebacker Teddye Buchanan are unable to play coming back from surgery.

"He is just a great back,” Minter said. “He has great balance. He is very strong. He has great vision. He has a really good sense of the angles that people are taking on him and how to make people miss.

“He is the total package. He can take any sort of run scheme. He can get the tough yards. He can take it to the house. He can take it inside, outside … One of the top backs in the league, and a challenge we are getting ready for and excited about."

Will Nickel As Base Work?

When The Colts ran the ball against Minter’s nickel and dime packages they rolled up 86 yards on 12 carries. But that skews the picture a little bit. When they ran Taylor against those looks he averaged over seven yards per carry (9 rushes for 64 yards) with three touchdowns. The Chargers had a 30.8% success rate – that’s putrid and the most any back ripped up their subpackages.

Taylor averaged four yards before contact and the Colts picked up a first down  on 60 percent of their runs against these looks and Minter’s Chargers had their worst rush defense EPA. against the Colts The back should be healthy and fresh coming into this game, while the Ravens didn’t play basically their entire starting defense in the preseason, so getting into peak tackling form right away will be a chore.

“You definitely have to be prepared to tackle,” said linebacker Roquan Smith, trying to bounce back from a brutal season. ”And then when (you face) great 'RAC' [or] 'YAC' guys, you definitely have to bring your pads, wrap up and run your feet.”

Defensive tackle Calais Campbell, who may need more like 40 snaps than 20 in this game if Madubuike is out and said coaches haven't said a word about potential workload Week 1, watched Taylor run 21 times for 123 yards and a touchdown against his Cardinals defense last season.

“When you have a guy that is that explosive,” Campbell notes, “that also has good contact balance, you definitely do not want to let him get to the second level. Because he will turn those eight-yard rushes into touchdowns because he can make a guy miss. I have seen him do some spectacular things on the football field. We have been really on our front seven about being really good at making him stop his speed early and tackling.

“We have not really had a lot of tackling … That is going to be a big challenge for us for the first game. We have been really pushing it in practice and getting in good position to be able to tackle. It is a big difference between getting in position and then making those tackles. It is going to be a good challenge, because he is among the best of them at making guys miss. The biggest thing that I think for us to be successful is we have to all swarm tackle. We have to meet at the ball.”

Taylor ran for 1500 yards last season. He ran for 1400 yards the season before that. Twice he’s scored 18 rushing touchdowns in a season

How many bodies Minter commits to this endeavor will be telling.

Suscribe To "The Daily Flock" For Urgent Ravens Content And Conversations