STOP SIGNS

They say you can’t run against the Baltimore Raven defense.

But you can’t hide, either.

Among the theories on attacking the record-setting Raven defense is that a team can’t abandon the run, even if the Ravens stuff it regularly.

Once a team does, the Ravens know what’s coming, and the quarterback had better duck.

Another theory is that it’s best to spread the field and air it out, maybe use a no-huddle offense to unsettle the Ravens and take away some of the time defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis uses to make adjustments on the field.

Good luck, either way.

Sean Payton, offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, studied what other teams have tried as the Giants prepared their Super Bowl game plan.

One of the recommended instructional videos was the final game of the regular season, the Ravens’ 34-20 victory over the Jets.

“Everyone talks about the Jets,” Payton said. “Sure, they moved the football. They got a lot of yardage. At the same time, look at the turnovers.”

The Jets, using one-back sets or an empty backfield and the hurry-up offense they run so well, scored twice in the first seven minutes, on touchdown passes of 37 and 35 yards by Vinny Testaverde.

By the end of the game, Testaverde had thrown 69 passes, one shy of the NFL record, completing 36 for 481 yards.

But the Jets committed six turnovers--three interceptions and three lost fumbles--and Baltimore’s Jermaine Lewis returned two punts for touchdowns to provide the winning margin.

Although the Giants could run a hurry-up offense, it hasn’t been something they use regularly.

“It’s a big mistake to do something that doesn’t fit your personality,” Payton said.

“You’ve got to be smart and patient. We’ll take our shots down the field and we’ll continue to emphasize the running game.

“Turnovers are going to be critical, and this is a defense that’s caused 37 fumbles in the course of the season.

“To say we’ll come out throwing every down, I don’t think that would be the right approach.”

Too bad, Raven cornerback Chris McAlister said.

“If they thought it worked for the Jets, they might want to try. But the Jets walked away with a losing effort, even though they put up big numbers in the end.

“Every time they’d get close to doing anything, it was turnover, turnover, interception, sack. You’re putting a lot of pressure on your own team for the front line to be able to defend against our pass rush.”

That’s the problem with facing Baltimore. Trouble everywhere you turn.

Start up front with Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams, 670 pounds of run-stuffing tackle.

On the ends are Michael McCrary and Rob Burnett, who led the team with 10 1/2 sacks.

Anchoring the front seven is middle linebacker Ray Lewis--more famous for his other scrapes than as the NFL defensive player of the year--flanked by Peter Boulware and underrated Jamie Sharper.

“Ray Lewis is a very impressive football player,” said Greg Comella, the fullback who will have a lot of responsibility for trying to pick up Lewis when he is unblocked. “You have to get a body on him, otherwise he’s going to be making a play. If he makes plays early on, his attitude, his confidence becomes infectious.”

Duane Starks and McAlister are developing into two of the better young cornerbacks in the league, Kim Herring is the strong safety, and Rod Woodson, a future Hall of Famer, is the last line of defense for the group that set an NFL record, yielding only 165 points in 16 games.

So what teams did have success against the Ravens?

The scoring leader was Jacksonville, in a 39-36 loss to the Ravens in the second game of the season.

Jimmy Smith burned the Raven corners--particularly Starks--for 15 receptions and a stunning 291 yards while Mark Brunell passed for 386. Running back Fred Taylor was injured, or perhaps the outcome would have been different.

“We’ve come a long way since then,” McAlister said. “I think that was like our eye-opener.”

Tennessee ran the ball best, in the AFC playoffs.

The Titans had called only 16 running plays in an earlier loss. In the playoffs, they decided to keep hammering away and rushed for 126 yards in 33 carries, losing largely because the Ravens returned a blocked field goal and an interception by Lewis for touchdowns.

Eddie George ran for 91 yards--nine short of ending the Ravens’ streak of 36 games without allowing a 100-yard rusher.

The Giants’ Tiki Barber noticed.

“We’re not going into this game saying we can’t run,” he said, even though the Ravens held Oakland, the NFL’s top rushing team, to 24 yards in the AFC title game.

In the Super Bowl, quarterback Kerry Collins’ pocket-passing ability could give the Ravens trouble if he gets enough time.

But even the Giants don’t imagine they’ll score 41 points as they did against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC title game.

“We would be naive to think that we could do that against the Ravens,” Barber said.

“Last week, we played the 28th defense in the league. This week, we’re playing the No. 1 defense in the league. It’s a lot different challenge.

“They’re not going to be susceptible at the corners. They’re not going to have over-pursuing linebackers. Our coaches were confident last game we’d put up 400 yards.”

Marvin Lewis expects the Giants to try to make the most of shifting offensive sets and ever-changing personnel.

“We’ll look to see, is it Ron Dayne, or is it Tiki Barber?” he said. “Which tight end is in the game? Is it [Dan] Campbell, is it Pete Mitchell, is it [Howard] Cross? Who’s in the game and what are they doing?

“We’re going to see a lot of different personnel groupings the first two, three series of the game. The first 10-12 plays, we’re going to see a lot of different groupings, we’re going to see motion.

“They’re going to see how we’re going to counter with different people and different alignments, and then we’re going to settle down and play football at some point.”

Collins, the latest quarterback in the Raven cross hairs, is ready.

“I don’t think you can sit back and play conservatively,” he said. “Whether or not we take an inordinate amount of shots [down the field], I don’t know. We have it in our game plan every week, and certainly it’s part of this one. At some point, I think we have to throw the ball downfield.”

Go ahead and try, Woodson said.

“We’re not going to be surprised if they come out Sunday in a two-minute style offense, or shifting a lot, they might do that,” he added. “Marvin and our defensive staff will put us in a position to make plays.”