Seanzayyy
Third String But Playing on Special Teams
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- Dec 10, 2010
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I'm still trying to figure out why people are so high on the Ravens..
I assume if Brady starts, it's because he's ok. He is the one who will decide if it's worth the risk or not.
Yeah....I guess it's the recent history they have with us. And their D is still pretty scary. I, for one, would love to play the Ravens at home and get some well deserved playoff revenge.
Football players play football.
Honestly, I think they live on reputation as much as the Pats do sometimes. Their defense, while better than 95% of the league, is no where dominant as the 2000 defense, and teams have been able to consistently move the ball on them even outside the SD fiasco.
I've been wondering the past few weeks whether it would be more of an advantage to have the Pats finish with the #2 seed in order to avoid what I am guessing is the likelihood of the #1 seed having to play #5 (which will be either Pittsburgh or Baltimore) in the divisional round and then having to play the other in the AFCCG, and for a while I had myself convinced that the Pats were better off with the #2 seed to avoid this scenario. The more I thought about it, however, the more I came to believe that:
(1) The Pats are going to win on offense, and in spite of their defense, and given their shaky starts the past few games, they would be hurting themselves to "take the foot off the accelarator" this week and then have the bye next week, I think they need to keep their offensive rhythm together as much as possible right now.
(2) I think the way the Pats are playing on offense this year, they need the home field, more so in comparison to Pittsburgh's crappy turf than Baltimore's, but I think it is a very important factor for them against either of those two teams.
(3) While I agree with the idea that it would be great if they could avoid playing Pittsburgh and Baltimore in consecutive weeks, but I think Houston's defense is just about as good as Pitt's or Balt's (I just don't see the AFC West winner beating Houston, even with TJ Yates), and so with the Pats defense in its current state, I'd rather have the home field against any of those three teams than I would to lose the possible home field in the AFCCG.
So, I'm firmly in the "play Brady" camp and in fact I'd prefer to see him play well into the 3rd quarter at least, and only leave the game if the Pats have a huge lead by that point.
I'm still trying to figure out why people are so high on the Ravens..
Play Belichick in this one....
Brady obviously will never let anyone know how much he is hurting because he is a trooper but it's obvious he is having some pain.
Would you risk more injury to Brady by playing him in this game with Mankins and possibly Light out just to gather the #1 seed?...or play Hoyer who might not pull out a victory and end up at #2?
It's possible the Pats can still win without Brady,but the odds go way down.
I'm still trying to figure out why people are so high on the Ravens..
11-5
9-7
12-4
11-4 (12-4 if they beat the Bengals, a team they thumped earlier in the year)
Their recent records have been mostly solid. They beat the hell out of the Patriots when they last faced them in the playoffs. They took the Patriots into overtime last regular season, and both those games were played at Gillette.
It would be foolish to ignore the Ravens as a serious threat.
Can't play scared. Unless he has an injury that two weeks rest will greatly improve he should play.
One point I don't agree on is when you say the Ravens "thumped" Cincy earlier in the season. That game was close. Baltimore won by 7 points. I have a sneaky suspicion that the Bengals play their way into a Wild Card this week. The motivation is certainly there. They lose and they're out. They win and they're in. Baltimore, of course, will want that first round BYE, but they're in regardless and in the back of their mind they know it. No Boldin against a pretty good Cincy D and a Bengals team that has the highest of motivation, ON THE ROAD....this game spells trouble for the Ratbirds.
I am really starting to think that Cincy may indeed win this game vs Baltimore.
I am also in certain agreement when it comes to respecting the Ravens, and although many here seem to be taking them too lightly (a surprising number in my opinion), they are a very formidable foe for N.England to have to face.
Saying that we can effectively stop their biggest weapon in Ray Rice, and actually executing and doing it--are 2 totally different things. I have not seen anything from this yr's run defense that would lead me to believe that 'we' as a fanbase, should feel confident...at least since the middle of the season with the DAL and maybe NYJ games.
That said, Belichick is very good at taking away the opponent's best player; so we do have that to be somewhat optimsitic about. On top of that aspect, the question is--"can the Ravens stop our offense?"
As far as your Steeler team goes, yes I believe that is definitely that tougher of the 2 opponents. That will present a major challenge too, but it also should be noted that the Oct.30th game was the absolute best the Steelers could have played vs us, and the Patriots pretty much played the absolute worst they possibly could have vs Pittsburgh. As you are well aware, the score was still close enough, and the Gronkowski TD call may have changed the game even more had it been a correct call. When a team holds you to around 200+ yds of total offense, and doubles up on you with 400+ of offense of their own, one would expect a game like that to be a lot more of a blowout.
It also should be noted that no team in the PIT/NE matchup has gone on to win a postseason game vs the other, after initally winning the regular season matchup. from a Patsfan's point of view, let's hope that trend holds up one more yr.
I am also hoping that PIT wins the AFCN from a personal and selfish standpoint, as it would allow me to see another game for the 3rd year in a row live at Heinz field if they are crowned AFCN champs since I live in Pittsburgh. Since I don't see much bearing on the Pats playoff chances either way whether BAL or PIT wins the division, I see nothing wrong with hoping that's the case.