Are Ravens Fans Ready to Phone it In vs. Browns? Our Q&A With Baltimore Beatdown

More from our team sites

Baltimore Ravens

Follow

This Monday, the Cleveland Browns take on the Baltimore Ravens in Week 12 of the regular season. To help preview this week's game, I reached out to Nathan Beaucage from Baltimore Beatdown and exchanged five questions with him. Enjoy!

---

Chris: "Matt Schaub takes over for the injured Joe Flacco this week. How unusual does it feel heading into a game without Flacco under center, and can you give us any insight as to how Schaub looked this preseason?"

Nathan: "This is my fourth year as a fan, so it is the first time I've seen my Ravens take the field (in a regular season game) without our trusty quarterback, so it's certainly going to feel strange. As for Schaub's preseason performance, it didn't exactly leave us feeling as if we were in good hands. Terrell Suggs constantly trash talked him, and he kept on throwing the pick-sixes all day. I would definitely say the Browns have the upper hand at quarterback in this matchup."

---

Chris: "The Ravens signed Terrance West to their 53-man roster a little over a week ago, and he might end up facing the Browns for the second time this year. Has there been any talk as to whether or not West might receive some carries now that Justin Forsett is done for the year?"

Nathan: "West is kind of out of the picture right now. Buck Allen is the man, and anyone else is just playing second fiddle. However, I would place West as the direct backup to Allen over Raheem Mostert. So West will receive those backup carries."

---

Chris: "With the Ravens at 3-7, do you still want to see Baltimore win some games, or would you rather the team just say, 'screw it -- let's tank this season for draft status and get ready to compete again in 2016.'?"

Nathan: "Matt Schaub and Buck Allen are the starting QB and RB. Do we really have a chance of winning any games? Not really. I think any true Ravens' fan is secretly hoping for the team to drop as many as possible. I'd much rather get a top pick out of this season than a mediocre record with nothing to show for it."

---

Chris: "We know the Ravens have some major changes offensively due to injury. Since the last time these two teams met, though, are there any changes to the Ravens' defensive side of the ball, either due to injury or depth chart changes?"

Nathan: "For the most part, not really. You're still going up against the very vulnerable Ravens' secondary that you faced many weeks ago. The secondary has improved a little over the past couple of weeks, but there's no reason that Barnidge can't destroy us again."

---

Chris: "Maxx Williams was someone I was high on heading into this year's draft. He doesn't seem to be performing as well as I anticipated -- can you give us a quick rundown of what's gone on with him, and whether he's come on as of late or not?"

Nathan: "Maxx has a lot of factors working against him, but I think he'll do just fine. People are quick to forget that rookie tight ends take a long time to develop, as it is one of the more complex positions in the league. Maxx is also on a team that is loaded at TE, with three players in PFF's Top 10 at the position, so he's not going to be thrown into the fire anytime soon. While I'm still questioning the pick given the talent we already had at the position, I'm not doubting that he will be a fine player."

---

Thanks again to Nathan for taking the time to answer my questions.