AFC Championship Set: Patriots Will Host the Ravens
by Greg Knopping on Jan 15, 2012 4:23 PM EST
in Patriots Game Previews
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Well, this should be a fun week.
With the Baltimore Ravens defeating the Houston Texans 20-13 at M&T Bank Stadium, the AFC Championship game is now set. At 3:00 PM ET on Sunday, January 15th, the New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium for the right to go to the Super Bowl.
While the Houston Texans may have represented the easier path to Indianapolis, the Patriots have a lot more tape on the Ravens, and the pre-game hype for the game should be a lot of fun.
The Ravens, specifically Terrell Suggs, have taken their fair share of verbal shots at Tom Brady and the Patriots over the past few years. The Ravens and Patriots have had some really close games the last couple of years, but the bad blood is probably still in the Patriots' mouths from their 33-14 playoff loss at home in 2009.
There are going to be a lot of storylines to dissect with this game. Hopefully, there will be some fun "bulletin board" material from Baltimore. All along, Patriots fans believed the team would have to play either Baltimore or Pittsburgh to get to the Super Bowl, and now, New England will get Baltimore.
My friend, a 49ers friend, told me he wants Green Bay to beat the Giants today because he believes that in order to "be the best, you've got to beat the best." I suppose this holds true with the Patriots hosting the Ravens next Sunday. The Ravens are a tough, tough football team that will not be scared of New England, and if the Patriots find themselves in the Super Bowl, they will have earned it.
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the last time we played them
gronk and Hernandez was rookies and Hernandez had a couple drops …. that wont be the case Sunday
"Thirty-seven points on the best defense in the league, suck my d–k" - Bill Belichick
The Ryan Brothers: Two brother's who never played a down as an NFL player, Yet feel the need to trash talk like they are in the Hall Of Fame
by BostonBeasts on Jan 15, 2012 4:33 PM EST via Android app reply actions
Gronk will own BOTH Ray Lewis and Ed Reed
can’t wait
Thad Castle: Which one of you assholes stuck his finger in my asshole?
Gronk will own BOTH Ray Lewis and Ed Reed
can’t wait
I doubt that but I cant wait either for my team to play your team
Hopefully there will be an Ed Reed there to own.
by Jigokusabre on Jan 16, 2012 12:24 PM EST up reply actions
Absolutely
that was an old school Pats 3-4 clinic last night. If it isn t broke…
Absolutely
Go Pats. Celtics. Red Sox. Bruins.
Brady. Pierce. Thomas. How you doing?
Lets jump to next sunday
I cant wait! This is going to be the win the Pats have needed for a long time. I cant see how they can lose if they play even 75% as well as they played this Saturday. The Ravens have no offense.
Mark Anderson
Anyone know anything about his status? I doubt it but if you do.
He's fine, don't worry
He returned to the game after just a play or two being down.
by Greg Knopping on Jan 15, 2012 4:49 PM EST up reply actions
49ers fans sure do want to face Pack
because Alex Smith has to get out of Aaron Rodgers’s shadow
Thad Castle: Which one of you assholes stuck his finger in my asshole?
49er's fan here
Only some 49er’s fans see a “shadow” for Alex to come out of…Rodger’s would of turned out just as bad if he had been put in the situation Alex was put in…but your average fan of the team (and not fan of the game) doesn’t see it that way
"Alex Smith has fought through the chaos of SEVEN different O.C.'s...I had trouble with one" -Terry Bradshaw
...and then Singletary opened His Book and it said "thou shalt NOT pass"
by jimisoursavior on Jan 16, 2012 12:17 PM EST up reply actions
Last playoff game...
…Patriots didn’t have Gronk or Hernandez, Welker was knocked out the week before, and Randy Moss was on the roster.
The Patriots top 4 receivers were not on the active roster for that game.
Hernandez
Any update on Hernandez? He took a big hit at the end of the game, saw the trainers looking at him after. We need him to play against the Ravens.
by pats713 on Jan 15, 2012 5:39 PM EST via mobile reply actions
From Steven Krasner - ESPN Boston
"Hernandez was at his locker and didn’t seem troubled by the hit or his status for next week.
"I’m ready, baby. I feel great," said Hernandez, who gained a team-leading 61 yards on the ground. "
by all indications he appeared to be doing pretty well, I’m sure it will be monitored over the next couple of days, but I’m feeling pretty good about him bouncing back quickly here.
Unimpressed with the Ravens
They took advantage of early turnovers(What a boneheaded play by Jacoby Jones), and some very shaky QB play from TJ Yates. I’m sure they will come into New England fired up, but as long as we contain Ray Rice, I like our chances.
Also, Ed Reed was in some pain at the end of that game, so it will be interesting to see how he is feeling this week.
Houston’s D dominated most of the game, and they ran on them pretty well, too.
I don't think they played particularly well against the Texan's...maybe their age showed up
That doesn’t mean they won’t show up against you guy’s though
"Alex Smith has fought through the chaos of SEVEN different O.C.'s...I had trouble with one" -Terry Bradshaw
...and then Singletary opened His Book and it said "thou shalt NOT pass"
by jimisoursavior on Jan 16, 2012 12:18 PM EST up reply actions
pasts
PATS DON’T HAVE A CHANCE, THEY WILL CHOKE, AS USUALLY, BESIDE THEY STILL DON’T HAVE A SECONDARY !! END OF CONVERSATION !
by Semyon on Jan 15, 2012 8:02 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
You forgot the @ symbol before and after that.
PATS DON’T HAVE A CHANCE, THEY WILL CHOKE, AS USUALLY, BESIDE THEY STILL DON’T HAVE A SECONDARY !! END OF CONVERSATION ! There, fixed it for you. Don’t be a douche.
I'm not drunk, I'm......hydrated. On Twitter @jtanniehill
I'm going to continue this conversation
as unpleasant as it started, maybe we can turn it around.
Attention class,
What we have here is an example of classic Troll-speak.
Note the use of CAPS LOCK, multiple exclamation points, random punctuation and bad spelling. The uneducated troll also doesn’t know that since a conversation is interactive between two or more people, he can’t start one and declare it ended by himself before anyone can reply or contribute. Pretty funny actually, to see this form of Troll still exists. I’ll leave it up for your amusement.
Keep the faith!
by Marima on Jan 16, 2012 7:22 AM EST up reply actions 7 recs
Today's games
were decided by self inflicted wounds by losing teams. Baltimore is vulnerable but it will be a test of our front 7 to stop Ray Rice.
Ravens are a heck of a team.
Can’t wait to see the offense go against their defense. Unstoppable force against an immovable object, type of thing. But if our defense played as tenaciously as they did last night, their offense won’t move the ball all game. Cam Cameron seems like he doesn’t know what he’s doing..
It matters not how strait the gate, nor charged with punishments the scroll:
I am the Master of my fate. I am the Captain of my soul.
I predict a Ravens win
not so much because I think they’re great, but because I just don’t feel like this is our year. This was a “getting the playoff monkey off our back” year, not a “win it all year”.
I used to respect the Ravens alot, until they seemed to get a little classless/cocky after the 2009 game. Mainly, I’m just hoping for a good, clean game that doesn’t get ugly and doesn’t lead to a bunch of trolling over the Summer.
Oh my god a floor zombie! Oh wait, thats you
- Toby Turner
by New Century Silver on Jan 15, 2012 10:27 PM EST reply actions
Not to mention
Brady’s only kryptonite, Bernard Pollard! :-X
Can’t allow Ray Rice to get going, and we can’t be burnt by Anquan Boldin who made some absolutely spectacular catches. I think winning this game would still fall under the “getting the playoff monkey off our back” as the media would jump right back on the Pats after another playoff loss at home.
Can I Scream?
I predict you will wish you had made another prediction
The Ravens are good, and they are capable of beating us, but I feel that we are coming together at the right time, I feel Brady is on a mission(MHK), and I feel we also owe the Ravens one. All of the players who were on that 2009 squad are still smarting from that, and want closure, and this is a perfect opportunity. We didn’t have Welker that game, or Gronk, or Herndo, and the other thing is that this team is one of the most resilient, mentally tough teams we have had, unlike 2009.
The Ravens are not a good road team, but I am sure they will bring intensity on Sunday. Ed Reed, looks like he will play, but got absolutely hobbled today. he will have a bum hip, shoulder, and knee.
Our D was tremendous on Saturday, and I know it was the Broncos without Decker, who don’t have an offense that can come back from a large deficit, but I have only seen us play with that intensity, focus, and preparedness maybe once before and that was the second Jets game. Don’t discount how huge it is for Chung and Spikes to be back. BB has tinkered with the secondary all year long, and I think with Sterling Moore rising up, and with the flexibility of McCourty, he is finally pretty happy with it. Did I mention how solid our O-Line was? I could go on. I thin it will be a good competitive game.
by furiousd on Jan 15, 2012 11:24 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
Pats look hungry
I don’t think they’re going to be satisfied with beating a Broncos team that they were supposed to beat. It’s almost a shame in a way that the Jets didn’t make it, or the Pats might have had rematches with the last 3 teams that have beaten them in the playoffs.
The biggest key to beating the Ravens I think is NO TURNOVERS. They had 3 very costly ones in the 2009 game. Also I think that their extra day off after a tremendous effort this Saturday and the lack of travel will really allow them to focus that much more and come out with another strong start.
by Aluminum Penguin on Jan 16, 2012 5:59 AM EST up reply actions
You're right on all points
Did I mention how solid our O-Line was?
But this is the big one. They completely neutralized two of the better pass rushers in the league in Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil. It doesn’t get any easier after this, but this was the one problem plaguing recent Patriot playoff teams.
Can I Scream?
Also, one thing to consider
I know our defense struggled this year, especially in the secondary, and perhaps many people will believe the Broncos game was the exception rather than the rule, and when we face our next opponent, once again, we will give up tons of yards, and make the QB, in this case Flacco, look like an All-Pro.
But let’s not forget, in the last 9 games the Pats have played, they have had the Best Scoring Defense in the League in the second half! That’s not a typo. Full disclosure, the Colts game is left out of this equation, because we all know that the team relaxed after being up 30+ points at the end of the 3rd quarter. This does include the Denver playoff game.
So, this is consistency, this is quality, and this is what many are overlooking when they believe we have a “terrible” defense. It’s true that we have also had very bad first quarters, and that concerns me more than anything else, but again, that was a focal point of the team heading into this game, and you see what happened.
So, again, Baltimore is a solid squad, they will give us all we can handle, but there are just too many things to like about this team right now, to not have a lot of confidence. If we bring our A game, we will be looking good.
I want to preface by saying i think the defense has improved over the course of the season
but you can’t remove a game to make a stat you want. The stat you are now trying to give us is tainted. All teams have good and bad games, they have tough and easy matchups. Often teams will have outlying reasons for struggles or giving up points (injuries, garbage time points, tough opponents). To remove our outlier, but not any other team’s outlier in comparison completely negates the validity of your claim.
absolutley disagree
Not on the face of your argument, but in this particular analysis, that Colt’s game, we were up 28 as the 4th quarter started, and the team checked out mentally, as well as physically in some cases in the secondary, so in this scenario, in which I am looking at second half defensive performance, in which the pats have been dominant, I am comfortable making the exception for that game, without it taking away from the overall importance of my argument.
While common in statistical analysis to remove outliers
I’d say the outlier in this case could be the case for your argument.
The pats d didn’t “check out” against the broncos, they kept up the pace.
They learned from the Colts game, and won’t allow it to happen again.
T-sizzle had a post game quote of “Theres the right way, the wrong way, and the Ravens way” to do things. I’d speculate he was refering to their inabilty to close out that game, and they weren’t even up big.
GFY
by TFBismywingman on Jan 16, 2012 5:24 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
my point
is that you cant call them the “Best Scoring Defense in the League” in the second half if you are removing a high scoring game that would make that claim false. Other top teams in the running for this feat might have one game with similar circumstances that would likewise give them a better scoring defense.
I understand what you are saying
but you are really just splitting hairs in the overall point of my post. Bottom line, the second half D of the Pats has been dominant, other than one game in which they mentally checked out, as the game was over early. It’s a little known secret, and everyone just believes our D is terrible. So, we are flying under the radar with our second half d, and I think it’s great. Granted, they haven’t played any power house offensive teams in that stretch, but that’s not their fault. But I wouldn’t be surprised if even with the Colt’s game the numbers still work in our favor. If not, it’s simply the exception that proves the rule, as TFBismywingman alluded to.
I disagree with the feeling
Most of the season I shared your feelings, but with the way the playoffs have been falling into place, (the 2 teams that most of us agreed would beat us are gone), us getting the Broncos in the first round, us playing the way we did, the offense/defense getting healthy at the right time, the Ravens being a terrible road team, and facing either a flawed 49ers team or a good but not great Giants team, we could absolutely win it all this season.
Rex Ryan: "There’s no way that we’re looking to replace Mark Sanchez"
Patriots Nation: "Thank God"
Giants Fans: "FOUR MORE YEARS!! FOUR MORE YEARS!!"
"Flawed" 49er's team?
We’re the most well-rounded team in the league…our only legitimate weakness is our o-line and you don’t have the pass-rush to fully take advantage of that
"Alex Smith has fought through the chaos of SEVEN different O.C.'s...I had trouble with one" -Terry Bradshaw
...and then Singletary opened His Book and it said "thou shalt NOT pass"
by jimisoursavior on Jan 16, 2012 12:21 PM EST up reply actions
Pass rush?
I’m pretty sure that the Patriots picked up 5 sacks against the Broncos.
by Jigokusabre on Jan 16, 2012 12:28 PM EST up reply actions
Against Tebow *
That’s a bigger asterisk than Barry Bond’s
"Alex Smith has fought through the chaos of SEVEN different O.C.'s...I had trouble with one" -Terry Bradshaw
...and then Singletary opened His Book and it said "thou shalt NOT pass"
by jimisoursavior on Jan 16, 2012 12:32 PM EST up reply actions
Not really
He’s one of the tougher QBs in football to bring down, especially in the backfield for it to actually count as a sack. If you’re able to penetrate up front and drop him behind the line for a loss, you’re doing something right.
Can I Scream?
Agree to disagree
He might be big and strong but he’s indecisive and holds the ball for to long allowing the pass-rush to get to him more often than not…and regardless of the perception he doesn’t get out of sacks as effectively as say Big Ben (I hate to use his nick name but I can’t spell his last name…)
"Alex Smith has fought through the chaos of SEVEN different O.C.'s...I had trouble with one" -Terry Bradshaw
...and then Singletary opened His Book and it said "thou shalt NOT pass"
by jimisoursavior on Jan 16, 2012 12:49 PM EST up reply actions
Sorry Adam
I tend to agree with jim. I seem to remember some stat coming up during the broncos game that said Tebow was close to tops in the league for sacks/pressures since he took over as starter.
I should rephrase
If you’re able to penetrate up front and drop anyone behind the line for a loss, you’re doing something right.
Can I Scream?
Alex Smith had the game of his carreer Saturday
I think everyone will agree on this.
You’re D is awesome, further elevated by Brees having a bad game – the D still had a hand in that.
Well rounded doesn’t win games, putting the most points on the board does. Relying on your deffense to score will only work if a good QB has a bad day.
GFY
by TFBismywingman on Jan 16, 2012 12:31 PM EST up reply actions
Stat's are misleading..people refer to our offense as being 26th in the league
…but in reality our offense was ranked 14th in scoring…our defense is filthy and couple that with dominant special team’s and we dominate the field-position battle and usually win the turn-over battle as well
"Alex Smith has fought through the chaos of SEVEN different O.C.'s...I had trouble with one" -Terry Bradshaw
...and then Singletary opened His Book and it said "thou shalt NOT pass"
by jimisoursavior on Jan 16, 2012 12:35 PM EST up reply actions
However...I will say Brady scares me more than Bree's regardless of Bree's having better stats
"Alex Smith has fought through the chaos of SEVEN different O.C.'s...I had trouble with one" -Terry Bradshaw
...and then Singletary opened His Book and it said "thou shalt NOT pass"
by jimisoursavior on Jan 16, 2012 12:36 PM EST up reply actions
You're the anti-patriots
Great defense terrible offense. Alex Smith came through for you last week, but that doesn’t change the fact that your offense sucks
Rex Ryan: "There’s no way that we’re looking to replace Mark Sanchez"
Patriots Nation: "Thank God"
Giants Fans: "FOUR MORE YEARS!! FOUR MORE YEARS!!"
Our offense isn't terrible it's inconsistent...we'll have a beautiful drive then have back-to-back three-and-out's
The national perception of Alex Smith isn’t fair
"Alex Smith has fought through the chaos of SEVEN different O.C.'s...I had trouble with one" -Terry Bradshaw
...and then Singletary opened His Book and it said "thou shalt NOT pass"
by jimisoursavior on Jan 16, 2012 1:27 PM EST up reply actions
Understandable
Would you call it fair to say it’s the equivalent to the pats defense?
Rex Ryan: "There’s no way that we’re looking to replace Mark Sanchez"
Patriots Nation: "Thank God"
Giants Fans: "FOUR MORE YEARS!! FOUR MORE YEARS!!"
More or less
Just like the media quotes the YPG statistic when saying the 49er’s are ranked 26th in offense when in reality they’re ranked 14th in PPG (which I think most would agree is the more important stat)…the media refer’s to how many yards your defense gives up instead of how many points they allow right…so I’m sure we can sympathize with each other lol
"Alex Smith has fought through the chaos of SEVEN different O.C.'s...I had trouble with one" -Terry Bradshaw
...and then Singletary opened His Book and it said "thou shalt NOT pass"
by jimisoursavior on Jan 16, 2012 1:41 PM EST up reply actions
umm yeah i guess so
I would give our D the edge if we played each other because Bill Belicheck is very good at taking away your favorite weapon, and yours is Davis. The pats have been very good at taking away the TE. If our O does not score 30 pts I think they can keep you guys under 21
Rex Ryan: "There’s no way that we’re looking to replace Mark Sanchez"
Patriots Nation: "Thank God"
Giants Fans: "FOUR MORE YEARS!! FOUR MORE YEARS!!"
NIners do not have a terrible offense at all
the only negative for them is their red zone offense has struggled, so they got a lot of filed goals instead of touchdowns. They generally sustain drives fairly well.
I definitely don't see the Niners as flawed
they are solid in all three phases, actually better than solid on D, and special teams, and they just put up 36 on the Saints, so…..
5 turnovers by the saints
Other than the last 2 drives the the Niners Offense was getting stiffed by the 24th ranked defense for most of the game
Rex Ryan: "There’s no way that we’re looking to replace Mark Sanchez"
Patriots Nation: "Thank God"
Giants Fans: "FOUR MORE YEARS!! FOUR MORE YEARS!!"
I am more afraid of the Giants...
…but only because they match up better against the Pats. It’s a vicious pass-rushing team with a pass-heavy offense that can take full advantage of a weak passing defense.
Otherwise, I think the 49ers match up well against the Giants, basically because they are the opposite of the Pats.
As for the most well-rounded, that’s true. SF is 12th/2nd in PF/PA, while the Ravens are just a rank behind at 13th/3rd. I don’t know how much of that is helped by the defense though, which may give them good offense and/or pick-6’s.
We’ve learned in the Divisional Round that it’s still defense that wins championships most of the time, which is bad for the Pats, but we’ll see.
Really? I'm feeling it all over the place
And how do they get a monkey off their back by losing to one of the teams that put the monkey there in the first place? This is the year of redemption! They won the divisional round and will beat the Ravens on Sunday.
This team has what it hasn’t had since Rodney Harrison retired — the disrespect card and the underdog card. Who cares if Vegas gives them a slight homefield edge, the experts and analysts will talk up the Ravens all week long. We’ll see ‘highlights’ of 2009 over and over, and it’s all good. The Patriots will come out firing.
Keep the faith!
For me personally...
The only thing I was expecting was 1 playoff win, to temper my hopes. Anything more is gravy.
would be appropriate if T-fizzle was even mentioned during the Texans game
For all the crapping the media has done about the pats weak schedule, no one cares to mention the Ravens mediocre opponents.
They stunned Pitt on opening day(at home mind you), and played them close and low scoring the second time around.
The only convincing wins they had all season other than Pitt were STL, NYJ, IND, CLE, and HOU at home during regualr season.
They eeked out a W over the lowly Cards in a shootout, and a young Cincy team played within 1 TD in both divisional matchups.
The only opponent that even compares to NE would be SD on the road, they got trounced.
I’m not writing them off all together but there is much too much hype around this Balt D. If they have to lean on thier offense specifically Flacco to win this one there is no question The pats win this one by 3+ scores and on to INDY.
GFY
by TFBismywingman on Jan 16, 2012 11:36 AM EST up reply actions
And even then
The only opponent that even compares to NE would be SD on the road
The Chargers were a shell of their normal offensive selves all season long. You better believe they’ll be watching that tape all week and finding ways to beat that secondary.
Can I Scream?
SD has nowhere near the weapons of NE
They can’t double Gronk and Rainmaker, and leave welker open over the middle.
Branch/Ocho will get 1-1 coverage down the sideline as Brady looks off Reed(if he’s even able to play).
If they start showing zone looks Put rainmaker in the backfield, or let Lawfirm/Ridley work the edges. I can imagine Faulk seeing a few looks out the backfield this game, as the Raven will obviously attempt to bring the heat on a regualr basis
GFY
by TFBismywingman on Jan 16, 2012 11:55 AM EST up reply actions
Baltimore is great at disguising coverages.
Brady is great at disecting deffenses.
The advantage here will have to be given to Brady in the Hurry-up offense.
The number of offensive formations the Pats can show with 2 TE’s, clutch slot receiver, 1 or 2 deep threat receivers, and a sure handed RB will overwelm any disguising the Balt. D adavntage has had in the past.
Baltimore is basically the Jets 2.0 with more age in the secondary, and a better front 3/4.
GFY
by TFBismywingman on Jan 16, 2012 12:23 PM EST up reply actions
Note above comments are not belittling the SD offensive weapons
GFY
by TFBismywingman on Jan 16, 2012 12:25 PM EST up reply actions
You're forgetting the night they made my O-line look like a turn-stile
You can beat them if your O-line holds up…they’re secondary get’s exposed when they have to cover for 3+ seconds
"Alex Smith has fought through the chaos of SEVEN different O.C.'s...I had trouble with one" -Terry Bradshaw
...and then Singletary opened His Book and it said "thou shalt NOT pass"
by jimisoursavior on Jan 16, 2012 12:41 PM EST up reply actions
We all know form past experience that the O-line may be our most important area
for success in the playoffs. We have a very good O-line this year, and even with a lot of injuries have held up admirably. We are almost fully healthy for the first time all year(other than Vollmer, who has barely played all year anyways), and the initial showing against Denver was stellar. The Ravens can be tough, but I think we match up well with them.
On the flip side...
Our Pats have not played against many strong defenses (no, DEN and NYJ do not count) and the ones they did play (DAL, PIT, NYG), they scored only 20 or fewer points.
Ravens played like sh*t yesterday
And still won? Just keep sacking Joe Flacco and the Pats win.
by SparzWizard on Jan 16, 2012 4:00 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
you don't even need to sack him
he ducks for cover as soon a breeze of D-lineman BO blows around him,
Just press the pocket and he crumbles.
GFY
by TFBismywingman on Jan 16, 2012 4:57 PM EST up reply actions
HOU has a better defense
Ravens will be motivated after playing like crap.
Also, winning ugly may not feel as good as dominating (see: NE-DEN), but it does give them confidence.
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