Well I covered the Baltimore Ravens earlier today and now on to the home team.....
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
The Patriots are looking to make it 4 Super Bowl titles in a decade, and their next step towards that goal is welcoming in a team that they do not match up well against. They welcome the Ravens in to Foxboro where they are 3-0 in AFC title games under Bill Bellichek. Their last home playoff loss came at the hands of the Ravens 2 years ago to the tune of 33-14. In that game the Ravens defense man handled the offensive line and attack Tammy all day. He was never able to get comfortable in the pocket and has never been able to stay comfortable when playing the Baltimore defense..With that said the Ravens D has had trouble in recent weeks getting any pressure on opposing QB's. Brady has made a living picking apart defenses who cant get pressure on him.
This years Patriots Offense has been almost unstoppable. Rob Gronkowski is having the best year any Tight End has ever had, and maybe one of the best total offensive seasons anyone has had. He has become the favorite target for Brady, especially in the Red zone. The scary part is he is a nightmare to cover and has the speed of a wideout. Linebackers cant keep up and DB's are too small. Oh and by teh way Wes Welker still had a huge year in catches, OH AND WAIT Aaron Hernandez may be the best TE on every other team in the NFL!! Tammy catches alot of ridicule from me, but the respect is there as he is the best QB in the league right now. I know Rodgers and Brees had great years but look who is still standing and oh by the way also through for 5k yards. He knows how to win no matter what the situation. To beat the Ravens the Patriots will need to use their most effective game plan, which is no huddle quick passes. The Ravens have always had a trouble with this and the Patriots execute no huddle better than anyone.
New Englands biggest issue this year, however, has been its defense. It has been the achilles heal all year. They have a young secondary that has been picked apart more than once this year. Vince Wilfork has not been the domionant run stopper as in the past and teams have been moving the ball against the Patriots better than any team in the league. The interesting part though is that even with the 31st ranked defense in terms of yards they are 15th in points allowed, which I believe is the more important stat. In my opinion though, as long as Bill Bellichek is on the sideline their defense will have a great gameplan. He is absolutely the best at taking away your best offensive weapon. I am sure his gameplan this week will be to eliminate Ray Rice as much as possible. The issue is that was his plan 2 years ago and Rice broke an 80 yd td run the first play of the game.
Largely because of the Defense, the Patriots have struggled against teams over .500 all year. THe Ravens have the personnel to do it but the Patriots also played their best game (especially on D) last week against Denver. They blew them out 45-10 and their defense played outstanding. Combine that with the weak O-line play of the Ravens and this will be one of those historic AFC championship games. The weather is scheduled to be mid 30's and rain, and if the referee's continue to let the playoff teams play this is gonna be a fun ride. All said and hashed out here is my AFC pick...
RAVENS---27
PATRIOTS---21
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE PATRIOTS KEYS ARE? WHAT IS YOUR PICK FOR THE GAME?
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
The Patriots are looking to make it 4 Super Bowl titles in a decade, and their next step towards that goal is welcoming in a team that they do not match up well against. They welcome the Ravens in to Foxboro where they are 3-0 in AFC title games under Bill Bellichek. Their last home playoff loss came at the hands of the Ravens 2 years ago to the tune of 33-14. In that game the Ravens defense man handled the offensive line and attack Tammy all day. He was never able to get comfortable in the pocket and has never been able to stay comfortable when playing the Baltimore defense..With that said the Ravens D has had trouble in recent weeks getting any pressure on opposing QB's. Brady has made a living picking apart defenses who cant get pressure on him.
This years Patriots Offense has been almost unstoppable. Rob Gronkowski is having the best year any Tight End has ever had, and maybe one of the best total offensive seasons anyone has had. He has become the favorite target for Brady, especially in the Red zone. The scary part is he is a nightmare to cover and has the speed of a wideout. Linebackers cant keep up and DB's are too small. Oh and by teh way Wes Welker still had a huge year in catches, OH AND WAIT Aaron Hernandez may be the best TE on every other team in the NFL!! Tammy catches alot of ridicule from me, but the respect is there as he is the best QB in the league right now. I know Rodgers and Brees had great years but look who is still standing and oh by the way also through for 5k yards. He knows how to win no matter what the situation. To beat the Ravens the Patriots will need to use their most effective game plan, which is no huddle quick passes. The Ravens have always had a trouble with this and the Patriots execute no huddle better than anyone.
New Englands biggest issue this year, however, has been its defense. It has been the achilles heal all year. They have a young secondary that has been picked apart more than once this year. Vince Wilfork has not been the domionant run stopper as in the past and teams have been moving the ball against the Patriots better than any team in the league. The interesting part though is that even with the 31st ranked defense in terms of yards they are 15th in points allowed, which I believe is the more important stat. In my opinion though, as long as Bill Bellichek is on the sideline their defense will have a great gameplan. He is absolutely the best at taking away your best offensive weapon. I am sure his gameplan this week will be to eliminate Ray Rice as much as possible. The issue is that was his plan 2 years ago and Rice broke an 80 yd td run the first play of the game.
Largely because of the Defense, the Patriots have struggled against teams over .500 all year. THe Ravens have the personnel to do it but the Patriots also played their best game (especially on D) last week against Denver. They blew them out 45-10 and their defense played outstanding. Combine that with the weak O-line play of the Ravens and this will be one of those historic AFC championship games. The weather is scheduled to be mid 30's and rain, and if the referee's continue to let the playoff teams play this is gonna be a fun ride. All said and hashed out here is my AFC pick...
RAVENS---27
PATRIOTS---21
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE PATRIOTS KEYS ARE? WHAT IS YOUR PICK FOR THE GAME?
My prediction: Cam will have a stomach virus leaving Ray & T-Sizzle to call the plays...
ReplyDeleteRay Rice 35 carries 150 yards, 2 TD's;
Flacco 10-15, 160 yards 1 TD;
Ravens D holds Patriots to 250 yards, 4 sacks, 1 int
Ravens 24 - Patriots 21 (Overtime)
HA we can only hope.....
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