As far as I see it, there's three areas of the game that the Patriots have to win in order to walk away with a W...
1. The trenches: Both offensively and defensively. The protection HAS to be better than it was last week offensively or Brady is going to get killed. Hopefully, Connolly is ready to go. If he is, it should give Brady more of a pocket to step up in. It also improves the interior run blocking for Ridley as well. I don't think the Ravens are going to let Ridley get to the outside with any amount of success. They'll do their homework. Defensively, look no further than the AFCCG to see what winning in the trenches means between these two teams. Wilfork and Love should have their way with Birk and the interior O-Line of the Ravens. I'm looking forward to seeing the Oher/Jones match-up. Jones should be able to apply some pressure on Flacco, but we need more out of the LDE spot to keep Flacco in the pocket. He's dangerous when he's on the run.
2. Production out of the 3WR set: I expect the offense to go to more 3WR sets early on with the loss of Hernandez. I think it will take a couple of games in order for Winslow to get used to the nuances and the various option routes of the offense. With that in mind, I don't expect to see a whole lot of him right away. That means we'll be seeing a good amount of Lloyd, Welker (hopefully), and Branch. I'd actually expect to see Webb on Welker, should Welker actually play, and double coverage dedicated to Gronk. That means that Lloyd and Branch will have to be on their games. If Ridley can't get much up the gut, I expect Baltimore to stuff the outside attempts which means we could put the ball in Brady's hands early and often to help win the game. Hopefully Branch is ready to go. His legs are fresher through two weeks than any other receiver we have on the roster.
3. The secondary honoring their assignments: The Ravens passing offense, IMO, runs through Torrey Smith. His ability to blow the top off the opposing coverage makes their arial offense work. We did a pretty good job keeping him under control in the AFCCG with a lesser secondary. He should draw the double teams again this time around. McCourty and Gregory should be able to run with him which leaves the brunt on the rest of the secondary to control Boldin, Jones (who can also run), and Pitta. But Smith is the key. Keep him under control and keep Flacco in the pocket and our defense should be able to stifle them.
