1-0 Baby!! I can’t ask for more in that respect from the opening week of fixtures.

That said, we opened last season 1-0 after beating the Patriots in week 1, and things didn’t go well after that. So logic & history tells me to hold some caution going into the next games. But hell, we wait all year for just 17 games of football, let’s enjoy it while it’s here; it’s going to be gone again before we know it.

So with that in mind, I’m optimistic. Yes, Tua had plays he would want back to make better choices on, and there has been a set of gleeful media outlets and doubters who have feasted on that content this week. But he went for 270 yards, 1TD, and 0 INTs, all while never really looking in danger of losing the lead. But beyond the QB, Jaylon Waddle maximized the YAC potential for his Touchdown, perfectly showcasing the potential of the offense. The Defense again showed their legitimacy, with three turnovers, plenty of disruption, and a fantastic cameo from rookie Kadar Kohou. Tyreek didn’t have that standout TD play we were all hoping for, but he was a reliable and dynamic target throughout.

So yeah, you could pick out some “could do better” moments, but we should absolutely celebrate the development and progression of this young team. Especially going into the Ravens game. A team with some exciting players and an exceptional QB who can hurt teams to devastating effect. There will be people who have them as clear favorites this week. But they also have a banged-up secondary to go up against our new offense, and our Defense held Jackson to his least productive game ever just last season… so keep focusing on the positives.

But to get the full picture, I have spoken to Shane this week, a fellow UK NFL fan and one of the lead contributors at @UKRavens to see if they feel they have anything to fear against us or whether they are out for revenge after last year’s result.

Hello, Shane mate; thanks for joining me and taking part in this week’s edition of Behind Enemy Lines. This is the first time we have linked up, so give people an introduction to yourself and your Ravens connection.

No problem JMR; thank you for having me. So I’m Shane and I help look after the @UKRavens Twitter account, along with Ian. I’ve been an NFL fan since the mid-80s but became a Ravens fan because my first game in the US was in Baltimore back in 2000. Also, my wife’s family is in Maryland, so they just naturally became my team.

Nice one, a proper connection with family roots, more than just a lottery choice, I like it. Thanks again for being part of this. So how excited are you for the Ravens this season? What do you think you guys can achieve this year?

Really excited. Last year was derailed by one of the worst injury streaks I can remember, so I’m hopeful that once everyone is back healthy – which they still aren’t – this team can be close to its best again. I’m pretty confident they’ll make the playoffs, but what happens after that really depends on how all those players recover from injury.

Yeah, I get that. We have a few key absences ourselves. But looking at your injury chart this week, it looks like Cornerback particularly could be vulnerable, so from a Dolphins perspective, we have to hope our explosive Wide Receivers can take advantage of that.

But you started your answer by saying you were really excited, so where is that coming from despite the injuries? What are the biggest positives coming out of pre-season, where do you look really good, and how do you expect the team to utilize those strengths this week?

After last season, when we lost JK Dobbins and Marcus Peters to season-ending injuries before we even reached week one, the main positive out of this pre-season was that there were no long-term injuries. The whole Defense looks good. The defensive front and the secondary, despite the injuries, are both stacked with good players and lots of depth. I think if we can get at your QB, and force him into rushing his reads and plays, we have defensive players who can feed off that and take advantage of it.

Oh ok, after seeing that injury report, I wasn’t expecting you to list the secondary as one of your deeper positions of strength. Maybe I should curb my optimism around that?
I’m also surprised Lemar Jackson’s name didn’t come up there. With a quarterback like that, I would have expected that he would automatically be considered one of your key strengths. Or have the off-field issues affected that?

We have had our fair share of QB controversy in recent years, so it’s been interesting to see other teams have their QBs hauls across the media. What’s the fan perspective on what’s going on there? Is he asking too much? Is the franchise undercutting him? Or are you all past caring after all this time?

Far from past caring, but I know what you mean. A lot of fans are getting frustrated. Nobody likes uncertainty, particularly around the future of a talent like Lamar. Some fans are blaming him and others are blaming the team. I’m a bit more relaxed about it. Lamar seems happy to wait and bet on himself to become an even more valuable player, while the team is hoping that as more QB contracts get done, the guaranteed money paid out by an amoral division rival of ours will look more like an outlier. The team can even franchise tag him a couple of times and the price wouldn’t be back-breaking. Hopefully, they’ll do a deal before that, though.

Will be interesting to see how he responds to those franchise tags if that IS the way things go. For a man who has turned down one deal because he values himself more highly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had an issue with playing on the tag and looking for a trade. But that is from an outsider with little to know regular knowledge of the Jackson saga.

But what about those around him? You lost players like Hollywood Brown at the end of last season, and JK Dobbins hasn’t fully resurfaced yet. Have these young offensive players been a major absence for Lemar and his offense?

Hollywood was up and down last season. Some huge plays but some awful drops, too. With Lamar out for the final five games and the O-line patched-up and inconsistent, it’s no surprise that he didn’t get the targets he was hoping for towards the end. He’ll probably do a lot better in Arizona but I don’t think many Ravens fans feel like we’ve let an elite WR go – and we got an incredible return for him. Dobbins was definitely missed – in fact, our first three RBs were injured last year, which crippled the run – but he should be back soon, perhaps even against Miami. The big question is how long it takes to find his form.

Well, hopefully he doesn’t find it this week, but selfishly also hope he doesn’t take too long as he’s been drafted to my fantasy team! Haha.

Those players have to have an impact surely, and those run issues will have contributed to the game last year, I am sure. What do you guys expect from this Mike McDaniel version of the Miami Dolphins? Are you expecting a repeat of last year, or do you expect to see something else?

Well, we’ve had a lot going on ourselves, so you haven’t exactly been our focus. But I do expect it to be a much tougher offense to defend. Stretching the field vertically and horizontally, with a fair amount of trickery built-in. I think this might be the system Tua has been waiting for, so I’m certainly not expecting it to be easy.

Well, well, someone is saying positive things about the Dolphins and including Tua’s name in there ha ha, you can come on more often! I think that is a fair assumption with the additions of speed in the running back group and of course, Tyreek Hill. But I think it’s the “trickery” as you put it that will help define us. Everyone will be expecting the speed and vertical threat, so it could well set up for that, leaving vulnerabilities for Coach Mike to exploit with that trickery.

So on the topic of not expecting it to be easy, who are you most concerned about within the Dolphins roster? Who poses the greatest threat to what the Ravens will hope to do?

I do not like that defensive line at all! The Ravens’ run game looked very rusty in the first half against the Jets, and they are going to need to be a lot better to run on the Dolphins’ front, I suspect. On offense, it’s a question of whether we can handle your two wideouts. Marcus Peters hasn’t played since 2020 – and might still be out this week – and we lost Kyle Fuller for the season late in the Jets game, so the secondary is already stretched.

YES! I love that you recognized our D-Line. That group is going from strength to strength with a mixture of youth and experience that could cause problems for many an offense. They caused issues for Lemar a year ago, and will have intentions to get in his face again this year I am sure.

However, he has said he is well prepared for that after last year, so it could well be a battle of wits between him and our DC Josh Boyer that has a definitive impact on the outcome of the game.

How about your own roster? How are the playmakers that we are NOT talking about? What names should be concerning us that we are not giving enough attention to?

I think two guys on the Defense have been overlooked outside Baltimore. Chuck Clark, at safety, put in a trade request after the Ravens drafted Kyle Hamilton. I expected him to go but I’m glad he’s stayed. He played well in week one and he’s the kind of player who is often unnoticed but who provides the stability that makes the rest of the Defense go. Up front, Justin Madabuike had a phenomenal week one. We’ve been waiting for him to live up to his potential. It’s still early but if things have clicked for him going into his third season, then he’s going to be a problem.

Ah ok, so that’s where that secondary depth and strength is coming from? You mentioned it earlier despite your CBs being depleted, but those safeties provide cover and strength then? This will be interesting then, because if we do develop a vertical threat as you alluded to earlier, and your weakened CB room encourages Tua to take some shots, then that again could work into a key battle.

So, go on then, I have to ask about the most talked about Dolphin on the roster; what is the Ravens’ perspective on Tua Tagovailoa?

As I mentioned above, I think this might be the offensive system in which he finally flourishes. I think he has a lot of talent, and I could imagine him developing into a top 10 QB.

You are DEFINITELY being invited back, haha! I have a lot of faith in Tua, so I can see that development myself, and from my perspective, it can’t happen quickly enough that we get to see him rolling like that on Sunday!

So the big question is, what’s your match prediction? How do you see the matchup playing out?

I’m going with a 24-17 Ravens win. I’m hoping they will have shaken off the rust, first of all, and secondly, will come into this one with a bit of a chip on their shoulder after last season’s loss in Miami. Add the fact that this is the Ravens’ home opener and I think we might just edge it.

There are two particularly great points in there that you make, in my opinion, at least. I don’t think we can underestimate the revenge factor. I think Lemar particularly had to put up with the whole “worst yardage performance of his career” narratives last year, so he will be back with a point to prove, I am sure. Then there’s the point about it being the Ravens’ home opener. With revenge on their mind, and back in their own yard, they will be a formidable opponent.

That said, I am excited by our progress, and I am going to remain optimistic. Although I do think we will see a higher-scoring game. I think the Ravens will look to be aggressive and make their point and Miami will take the next step of their development and try and build on the relative success the Jets had yardage-wise.

I’m going for 34 – 27 in favor of Miami. The Ravens will have their moments and put us on our toes, but I’m backing Tua, I’m backing Coach Mike, and I’m backing Tyreek Hill to announce himself as a Dolphins player with his first Miami TD.

Thanks for the chat, Shane. You have been very fair, unbiased, and down the line with me. I hope for a fair matchup this weekend, and of course, hope we come out on top. Let’s hope we get to link up again this season, which would mean we have both made the playoffs! Take it easy marra.

And there you go. The Ravens know what we can do, and in talking to Shane, I got a real sense of respect for what we can do. Obviously, they have first-hand memories of our defensive prowess but I also think they empathize where Tua is concerned, having had to withstand off-season controversies and “he’s just a running back” narratives about their own QB1 too. So I think they have a level of understanding which led to a very respectful discussion with Shane.

I stand by my prediction. As good as our Defense has been, I do expect the Ravens to try and prove a point. Harbaugh won’t have forgotten any of last year and will want to wipe it from the recent record. But I do think that banged-up secondary in Baltimore could be an Achilles heel that plays right into the hands of Tua, Tyreek, Waddle, and Wilson. Then once we have them second-guessing the WR threat, the run game can open up and exploit that extra freedom.

So with all that in mind, I expect quite a significant point on the board for both teams. But I am backing the Fins, and I am saying DOLPHINS WIN. 2-0!

Fins Up!