10 Reasons why I am not worried about this game

[NEPettyOfficer72]

Despite of all the talk and build up about this upcoming game, I'll give you 10 reasons why I am not worried.

1. Bill Belichick is the top coach in the NFL, and the greatest coach of all-time not named Vince Lombardi.

2. Tom Brady is the top quarterback in the NFL, and the greatest quarterback of all time. (Step aside Joe)

3. Wes Welker is the top wide receiver in the NFL, definitely the most consistent. He can beat you deep, short, intermediate against one guy, two guys or even three. He is the closest thing in the NFL next to impossible to defend which that is Rob Gronkowski. He is also one of the greatest of all-time for his short span of years.

4. Rob Gronkowski is the top tightend in the NFL, and looking like maybe the greatest of all-time.

5. Aaron Hernandez is a legitimate top 10 tight end in this league, and a dual threat playing at both the X and Running back position.

5. The supporting cast of Deion Branch, Danny Woodhead, and Julian Edelman are all shifty, elusive, smart and know how to get open. Deion can beat you deep while the other two can and will kill you underneath. They can all hurt you from anywhere on the field, something defenders have to respect.

6. Logan Mankins and Brian Waters have become legendary for making life miserable for some of the NFL's biggest pass rushers.

7. Vince Wilfork's only competition is Haloti Ngata at his position while Mark Anderson has become a star.

8. Rob Ninkovich maybe even better than Mike Vrabel.

9. Jerod Mayo and Brandon Spikes looked to have finally become that scary Linebacker duo everyone has been hoping for.

10. Devin McCourty in the middle, Sterling Moore outside, and Patrick Chung post injury all look like a cohesive unit back their in the secondary. Should see a few balls come their way.

 

[bondjames.]

Despite of all the talk and build up about this upcoming game, I'll give you 10 reasons why I am not worried.

1. Bill Belichick is the top coach in the NFL, and the greatest coach of all-time not named Vince Lombardi.

2. Tom Brady is the top quarterback in the NFL, and the greatest quarterback of all time. (Step aside Joe)

3. Wes Welker is the top wide receiver in the NFL, definitely the most consistent. He can beat you deep, short, intermediate against one guy, two guys or even three. He is the closest thing in the NFL next to impossible to defend which that is Rob Gronkowski. He is also one of the greatest of all-time for his short span of years.

4. Rob Gronkowski is the top tightend in the NFL, and looking like maybe the greatest of all-time.

5. Aaron Hernandez is a legitimate top 10 tight end in this league, and a dual threat playing at both the X and Running back position.

5. The supporting cast of Deion Branch, Danny Woodhead, and Julian Edelman are all shifty, elusive, smart and know how to get open. Deion can beat you deep while the other two can and will kill you underneath. They can all hurt you from anywhere on the field, something defenders have to respect.

6. Logan Mankins and Brian Waters have become legendary for making life miserable for some of the NFL's biggest pass rushers.

7. Vince Wilfork's only competition is Haloti Ngata at his position while Mark Anderson has become a star.

8. Rob Ninkovich maybe even better than Mike Vrabel.

9. Jerod Mayo and Brandon Spikes looked to have finally become that scary Linebacker duo everyone has been hoping for.

10. Devin McCourty in the middle, Sterling Moore outside, and Patrick Chung post injury all look like a cohesive unit back their in the secondary. Should see a few balls come their way.

the ravens had their way with welker last time we played them

 

[HeadHunter]

the ravens had their way with welker last time we played them

I am going to assume you are not talking about 2009, because Wes did not play in that game.

 

[brdmaverick]

I am going to assume you are not talking about 2009, because Wes did not play in that game.

He's probably referring to last year's 23-20 overtime victory.

 

[resdubwhite]

the ravens had their way with welker last time we played them

5 or 6 games after major knee surgery.


I'll give him a pass.

 

[Sydney]

Good post, I'd like to add a couple more things.

The Patriots are on a hot streak, coming off the third best performance of ANY team all season long (based on DVOA)

Potential impact of the Ed Reed injury, even if he does play

Ravens road woes this season

Intangibles such as motivation stemming from the way '09 ended

 

[brdmaverick]

Come to think of it, the only differences between your list and last year's 23-20 victory are..........

Brian Waters and the Secondary, not exactly the stronger points in this equation.


In this scenario the Patriots barely won, but even this weekend I'll take barely.

My worry comes from the turnovers. Baltimore has a defense that forces sacks and turnovers, and those are the greatest equalizer.

EDIT: I don't want my post to come off as a NEGATIVE NANCY, because I too am hopeful that Gronk and Hernandez will be used as absolute studs this weekend. I just wanted to at least temper the enthusiasm since it is not 'a slam dunk'.

 

[patsfaninpa]

Come to think of it, the only differences between your list and last year's 23-20 victory are..........

Brian Waters and the Secondary, not exactly the stronger points in this equation.


In this scenario the Patriots barely won, but even this weekend I'll take barely.

My worry comes from the turnovers. Baltimore has a defense that forces sacks and turnovers, and those are the greatest equalizer.

EDIT: I don't want my post to come off as a NEGATIVE NANCY, because I too am hopeful that Gronk and Hernandez will be used as absolute studs this weekend. I just wanted to at least temper the enthusiasm since it is not 'a slam dunk'.

Gronk and Hernandez are significantly better players than they were early in their rookie season. Not saying the Ravens can't beat us. They can, if they get a good pass rush. If we block em, we beat em. They had almost twice as many sacks at home with the crowd noise than they had on the road. Significant difference. I would be much more concerned if this game was in Baltimore. That's why every reg. season game counts. People like to pooh pooh our reg. season success. I feel we are being rewarded for it this year. Easy matchup in div. round. Tough opponent in AFCCG. But, we get em at home.

 

[The-Hooded-One]

Ninkovich better than Vrabel? Settle down there, chief.

 

[Rob0729]

the ravens had their way with welker last time we played them

That was last year before the offense exploded. I don't know if it was a good indicator. Besides, he did have 7 catches for 53 yards which although is not a good day for him, it isn't horrible. In fact, his next three games after the Ravens game, he had fewer catches a game and fewer yards per game. The Ravens' game was his best game in that four game stretch.

Wes Welker: Game Logs at NFL.com

 

[letekro]

That was last year before the offense exploded. I don't know if it was a good indicator. Besides, he did have 7 catches for 53 yards which although is not a good day for him, it isn't horrible. In fact, his next three games after the Ravens game, he had fewer catches a game and fewer yards per game. The Ravens' game was his best game in that four game stretch.

Wes Welker: Game Logs at NFL.com

Like all players, including Brady, Welker was a shell of himself his first year back after ACL surgery.

 

[PatsFan2]

3. Wes Welker is the top wide receiver in the NFL, definitely the most consistent. He can beat you deep, short, intermediate against one guy, two guys or even three. He is the closest thing in the NFL next to impossible to defend which that is Rob Gronkowski. He is also one of the greatest of all-time for his short span of years.

Calvin Johnson would dissagree with that he had like what Three 200yds Game in a row.

 

[thenepatsrule]

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

One Reason why none of us should be worried -------- JOE FLACCO

by the way you have listed 11 reasons (5 twice)

 

[Satchboogie3]

3. Wes Welker is the top wide receiver in the NFL, definitely the most consistent. He can beat you deep, short, intermediate against one guy, two guys or even three. He is the closest thing in the NFL next to impossible to defend which that is Rob Gronkowski. He is also one of the greatest of all-time for his short span of years.

Megatron, Larry Fitzgerald, and Victor Cruz say hi. I love Wes, but he's not the top WR in the NFL. Elite? Sure. The best? Not even close. Put Megatron on the Pats and he threatens Moss's 07 records.

Greatest all-time for his span with the Pats? You're dreaming. Moss in '98-'04 for Vikings, then '07 to '09 w/ Pats. Fitzgerald from '05 to present. Megatron, Rice for like 12 straight years, TO from '00 to '08, Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Chris Carter, Reggie Wayne, Irvin, Tim Brown, Chad Johnson (he was damned good at one point!), Steve Smith, Andre Johnson... All those guys also had the ability to stretch the field while Welker is a lot more limited.

I guess my main point is that we still don't have anyone to stretch the field or (more importantly) work outside the numbers.

 

[PatsSox363804]

When looking at last season's game remember that it was the first game post-Moss and the offense had not really gelled yet.

 

[goheels22002]

the ravens had their way with welker last time we played them

"Had their way with Welker?" Welker had 7 receptions for 53 yards in a Patriots win. That would be a pace of 112 catches for 824 yards for a season - pro bowl material. Get serious.

As far as the rest of the list of why not to worry, not bad, but I am worried. Very worried. The Ravens are a tough, resilient veteran team that will not be intimidated or back down from the Patriots.

Every indication is a grinder in the low 20s or high teens along the lines of the 2011 Giants or Steelers games. The Ravens is a whole different class of football team than the stiffs the Patriots have been beating for the last nine weeks.

They've got good to great skill players so the Ravens will score points and probably mount time consuming drives. As good as some of the parts for the Patriots, there are a number of Hall of Famers on the Ravens and a smart, tough coaching staff over there that will put things in to take advantage of the not inconsiderable list of weaknesses that the Patriots have, starting with the defensive backfield and Patriots' propensity to struggle getting off the field on 3rd and 4th downs.

Everybody better show up with their big boy pads on for this one.

 

[JerseyDevil26]

Megatron, Larry Fitzgerald, and Victor Cruz say hi. I love Wes, but he's not the top WR in the NFL. Elite? Sure. The best? Not even close. Put Megatron on the Pats and he threatens Moss's 07 records.

Greatest all-time for his span with the Pats? You're dreaming. Moss in '98-'04 for Vikings, then '07 to '09 w/ Pats. Fitzgerald from '05 to present. Megatron, Rice for like 12 straight years, TO from '00 to '08, Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Chris Carter, Reggie Wayne, Irvin, Tim Brown, Chad Johnson (he was damned good at one point!), Steve Smith, Andre Johnson... All those guys also had the ability to stretch the field while Welker is a lot more limited.

I guess my main point is that we still don't have anyone to stretch the field or (more importantly) work outside the numbers.

Victor Cruz isn't even the best WR on his own team!!

 

[RobertWeathers]

.

I guess my main point is that we still don't have anyone to stretch the field or (more importantly) work outside the numbers.

In their last 10 games, the team is averaging 36ppg.

As long as players are getting open, all is well.

 

[SaCaCh]

Your reasons are better than anyone else's reasons...your reasons got to 11.

Hyperbole much?

 

[Metaphors]

the ravens had their way with welker last time we played them

Excellent point. But what was the context of that game?

- It was the first game after the Moss trade
- Mankins wasn't active. Neither was Reed.
- Gronk had 6 career receptions and 2 TDs
- Hernandez had 18 career receptions and was still looking for his first TD (and legal alcoholic beverage)
- Woodhead was on the roster for less than a month. Branch for less than 2 weeks.

Even the results are being reported a little out of context. Brady's 69.5 rating is being heavily reported. Even ignoring all the roster volatility above, one of his picks was a Hail Mary as time expired. Take out that one play and his QB rating shoots up to 81. Still not great, but significantly better than the 69.5 that the media wants everyone to believe is representative of what to expect on Sunday.

As for containing Welker, the Ravens absolutely did bracket Welker all over the field. Brady's other pick (amazingly his last real pick until the playoffs) was a force to Welker over the intermediate middle among a horde of defenders. But that kind of attention comes at a cost. Brady was 7-11 to Welker with a pick (a 37 rating), but he was 19-26 and a TD (a 113 rating) to Branch/Woody/Gronk/Hernandez...all players Brady was still fitting into the offense.

So bracket Welker this way on Sunday and Brady won't even look his way. But I'm guessing Brady will have a similar or better rating throwing to the other guys.