In two career meetings with the Houston Texans, Brandon Carr lined up primarily against wide receiver Andre Johnson. But the Ravens cornerback did not need much of a primer on DeAndre Hopkins, the fifth-year player who has emerged as Houston's go-to player on offense.
"I know he's a basketball player (when he was in high school), and you can kind of see it in his game just off his releases," Carr said. "He's a savvy guy with his releases off the line of scrimmage and down the field. He's pretty physical in and out of his breaks. So we'll have to match his physicality, his hand placement, and go get the ball."
Stopping the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Hopkins, who leads the NFL in touchdown catches (nine) and receptions leading to first downs (47) while ranking fourth in receiving yards (879), is easier said than done. He has amassed three 100-yard games this season, including a 224-yard effort against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 29, and has caught a touchdown in all but three games.
"If he isn't the No. 1 receiver in the league, he's pretty darn close to it," defensive coordinator Dean Pees said Friday. "The guy can take the top off a defense speed-wise, he runs good routes, has got a great catch radius. He has a unique ability to body-position people up like on the back shoulder. Whether you want to call it a push-off or whether you don't, he knows how to do it and it's hard. He is just a phenomenal receiver. He's a great athlete, but he's a phenomenal receiver."
Fortunately for the Ravens, they boast three cornerbacks in Carr, Jimmy Smith and rookie Marlon Humphrey who have helped anchor a defense that ranks second against the pass (185.2 yards allowed per game) and has a league-leading 16 interceptions.
"I'm pretty excited," Humphrey said of the potential matchup. "You can only tell how good you are by going against some of the best guys, and this will be another one. We've got many more coming up, but this will be a good challenge for us."
Carr said the key will be tracking where Hopkins lines up before the ball is snapped.
"He's across the field, in different formations," said Carr, who is tied with Smith for second on the team with three interceptions. "He lines up all over the place. So we have to keep a bead on him and communicate about where he is at all times."
