Is anyone actually afraid of the Ravens?

[dhamz]

Afraid of an 8-7 team? That makes no sense. No one is afraid of the Ravens. Of course, the Ravens wouldn't be the least bit afraid of the Patriots either. Nor would anyone else we play in the playoffs.

There really is no team in the NFL this year who scares anyone.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

...

IOW - it's not who you play, but when you play them.

And, for the Pats, the next "when" would be the Playoffs when every team can be dangerous and you're one bad play or bad call away from elimination.

That's why Sunday's game vs. Houston is so important IMO. We haven't sustained much of anything all season, nor have we beaten a team on the road with a winning record when we played them all season. If we do that convincingly, then we'll have put together a few strong games to close out the season (OK, only the second half of the Buffalo game) and that team will handle the Ravens, no matter "which Ravens team" shows up.

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

I'm afraid of anyone, I think anyone who takes any opponent, especially one we've played before this season, too lightly needs to go back and watch the game that shall not be named again.

Or, from a different point of view Superbowl XXXVI, I'm sure the Rams weren't too afraid of us.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

I'd rather not play the Ravens for 3 reasons:

1) They play very physical and while I am confident Pats would beat them, I would rather not see them in a slugfest in the wildcard round that results in a lot of injuries.

2) I don't trust the officials. Ravens whined like little girls the last go round and you have to wonder if that will be on the minds of the refs during the game... a little over compensation based on the Raven's "perceived" mistreatment by them in the earlier game.

3) They are a bunch of undisplined Aholes that blame their losses on anything and everything but themselves... consequently they will come into the game with a chip on their shoulder about the earlier matchup even though they have no one to blame but themselves. While I still think we win, a dirty shot at Brady or another player is not far fetched IMO.


***

And... even if we do come out of the game with a win and no significant injuries, we can almost be certain that they will whine like the B!tches they are yet again and stir up a bunch of unwaranted controversy that FESPN and the other mediots will be more than happy to pick up and run with.

 

[BradyBranch39]

What scares me about them is Flacco's deep ball combined with their multiple ways of getting Ray Rice the ball in space. They would have beat us months ago if Clayton would have made that catch.

 

[Jangles]

What scares me about them is Flacco's deep ball combined with their multiple ways of getting Ray Rice the ball in space. They would have beat us months ago if Clayton would have made that catch.

You're a deep ball

Good point though, I had pretty much forgotten how close that game was

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

75% chance we will be playing the Ravens so i just wanted to see how everyone felt about them.

 

[condon84]

They have Suggs and Pryce who can pressure the QB and a QB who can absolutely destroy a secondary if he isn't pressured. What's to worry?

 

[Jangles]

75% chance we will be playing the Ravens so i just wanted to see how everyone felt about them.

I think several people make good points. They are physical but I think if we play like we have been and maybe even come together more by the playoffs I see no reason we can't beat them.

 

[condon84]

On the other hand, it's comforting to know that they have dumb players who absolutely self destructs when the game is close.

 

[klinefan]

They have Suggs and Pryce who can pressure the QB and a QB who can absolutely destroy a secondary if he isn't pressured. What's to worry?

Suggso might be out of commission o as he was taken out by the ex notre dame qb who plays for the brownies.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Is it me or has Ray Lewis lost a step? I would be funny to see him try to cover Wes Welker (but not so funny if catches up with him).

 

[rabthepat]

Ravens no...Colt and Bolts yes...

 

[Terry Glenn is a cowgirl]

Afraid wouldn't be the word that I would say, but, all teams have some concern.

 

[BillBelichickFan79]

I'm more concerned about playing the Chargers, Ravens, and Broncos more than anyone else. I don't fear the Colts, we dominated that game in Indy for the most party. If Laurence Fumble Maroney doesn't fumble at the 1 yard line as we are going in for the kill TD, we easily win that game.

The Chargers have the offense that could make our life a living hell. They'd be able to move the ball on us pretty well. Rivers is an elite QB, LT and Sproles is a good tandem, and their WR's are 6'5 matchup nightmares, and their TE is another matchup nightmare. Their defense has the potential to be great with Merriman English and Phillips at OLB, Jammer and Cro and Cason at CB. Weddle is a good safety. They've got 2 good CB's who they can put on Moss and Welker, and a good pass rush.

Ravens as I said earlier are a veteran group on D who knows what it takes to win. Getting Suggs back is a boost, and Reed coming back will be a big boost as well. Their CB's are hurt, but they have a great pass rush and played us very tough in Foxboro early in the season.

Broncos scare me because they have a coach that knows our offensive system and our tendencies on both sides of the ball. Marshall is one of the hardest WR's in the NFL to cover, Royal and Gaffney and Stokely round out a solid group of WR. They've played well on defense this season and Champ Bailey basically took Moss out of the game early in the season. Granted Brady played poorly vs Denver but they've played well overall on defense this year with the addition of Dawkins and the emergence of Dumervil. The only good thing about them is that Orton isn't a great QB. I think we could confuse him and force him into some bad decisions if we show up on defense.

When I look at teams that concern me, I look at teams that can shut down Moss with one guy. Teams like Denver with Bailey, the Jets with Revis, the Chargers with Jammer/Cro, and maybe even the Bengals with Hall are all teams that have the potential to give Moss trouble with just one guy on him. The reason the Jets don't scare me as much as some of these other teams that can shutdown Moss is because the don't have the QB to consistently put points on the board and move the chains. I don't think they'd be able to score with us.

 

[Raymond]

Is it me or has Ray Lewis lost a step? I would be funny to see him try to cover Wes Welker (but not so funny if catches up with him).

There was a play in that last ravens game where Welker ducked just before Lewis dove for him...............I'll call that one a near miss.

 

[T_Brady12]

Baltimore hasn't made the playoffs all that often lately, but when they have, they've been a tough team to play. Mainly because of their defense.

I don't think their defense is as strong as it used to be though.