Ravens Week Discussion

[MoLewisrocks]

This is what Peter Schrager (from foxsports.com) has to say :

Baltimore at New England: Talk about a colossal showdown. Baltimore's offense (430.3 yards per game) ranks No. 1 in the AFC and No. 2 in the NFL, while the defense (282.7) is fourth and seventh. New England ranks No. 3 in the AFC and No. 5 in the NFL in offense (395.0) and third in the conference and sixth in the league in defense (262.3). Crazy stat of the week? Both Joe Flacco and Tom Brady won 14 of their first 19 starts. Too soon to compare the two quarterbacks? I don't think so. Flacco is for real, folks. Give me the new-look, high-flyin', offensive-minded Ravens on the road in a tight one Sunday.
The pick: Ravens 27, Patriots 26
NFL - - FOX Sports on MSN

LOL Brady won the first... what was it 10 playoff starts? Flacco is 0 for 1. Other than that the similarity is uncanny, they're like twins seperated at birth...

Funny how for so many in the media Brady wasn't considered for real until he won that second SB MVP...and for others not until he broke records in 2007...

 

[JSn]

LOL Brady won the first... what was it 10 playoff starts? Flacco is 0 for 1. Other than that the similarity is uncanny, they're like twins seperated at birth...

Funny how for so many in the media Brady wasn't considered for real until he won that second SB MVP...and for others not until he broke records in 2007...

I found another uncanny similarity between Flacco and an existing societal icon...

 

[The_Man]

LOL Brady won the first... what was it 10 playoff starts? Flacco is 0 for 1. Other than that the similarity is uncanny, they're like twins seperated at birth...

Funny how for so many in the media Brady wasn't considered for real until he won that second SB MVP...and for others not until he broke records in 2007...

Um, Flacco last year became the first NFL rookie to win his first two playoff starts, including a victory at Tennessee.

Great board. I come in peace as a Baltimoron.

A lot of the discussion here seems to be focused on the Ravens of last year – an all-out Rex Ryan blitzing D, with a ponderous thudding run offense.

The reality is that this year's D has been rather vanilla, much to the fans' displeasure. But Harbaugh addressed that a little this week. He said that in past years, the defense had to gamble and go all out and basically not only try to shut out the other team, but also score points itself. That's all changed this year. The Ravens D is going to be more conservative, more bend but don't break, and count on their offense to do its fair share. And the Ravens have been fantastic in the red zone. They held SD to 0-5 there. So they're more willing to give up some yards if it means holding down the total points.

A lot of Pats' fans have been downplaying the Ravens' sked, but you can only play who the league tells you to play. And you guys should know how hard it is to go cross-country to SD and come out with a win. Didn’t they beat you like 30-10 out there last year?

To me, a big key to this game will be whether the Ravens can pass on first down. I thought Ryan looked pretty good throwing vs. the Pats' base defense, hitting WRs on in-cuts down the field on play action, and also connecting with RBs out of the backfield. So I checked his first down passing stats and saw he went 6 of 9 for 61 yards, 3 first downs, no sacks.

Against Cleveland, Flacco threw 18 times on first down, going 13-of-18 for 222 yards, eight first downs, and his only TD. On the other hand, he only threw 8 times on third down. For the season, on first down, he is 32-42 for 456 yards, 2 TDs, and a 126.7 QB rating. So far, teams have been lining up on first down, thinking they’re going to get last year's offense, which ran more often than anyone else in the NFL. Instead, they've been getting Cam Cameron’s aerial circus.

Belichick (whose name I can never spell) is too smart for that. Counter-intuitively, I look for him to come out very aware of Flacco’s first down passing and try to limit it. Then the chess match will be on, as the Ravens will have to establish the run first – something they actually haven’t done all season yet. They’ve come out passing, gotten the lead, then switched to the run game to grind out their victories. But their O Line is young, big and starting to believe they’re the best in the NFL. If Wilfork can’t go, that will be a huge factor in this game.

I think the Ravens will double Moss all over the field on every play, believing that long scoring passes are about the only way they’ll give up TDs. My biggest concern is with our LBs matching up in man coverage on RBs out of the backfield. The loss of Bart Scott hurts us worse in taking away an LB who can play in space. The Pats will not run effectively vs. the Ravens.

Looking forward to a great measuring stick game for both teams.

 

[BradyManny]

LOL Brady won the first... what was it 10 playoff starts? Flacco is 0 for 1. Other than that the similarity is uncanny, they're like twins seperated at birth...

Funny how for so many in the media Brady wasn't considered for real until he won that second SB MVP...and for others not until he broke records in 2007...

Yup.

Brady had 3 rings on his fingers before his rookie deal was over. Comparisons of Flacco to Brady are beyond premature.

Perhaps the best thing to come out of 2007 is probably the even increased respect Brady got from it by putting up numbers. The Manning ball-washers have nothing now.

 

[Fixit]

Maybe this has already been mentioned, but what, exactly, has Baltimore done so far to make people think they're so dominant? They beat two of the three or four worst teams in the league in KC and Cleveland, and the one quality team they played (SD) racked up nearly 500 yards in offense and 26 points. They were tied at 24 with the Chiefs with five minutes to go, for Pete's sake.

Baltimore's a good team, but I have yet to see anything from them that scares me.

 

[Kontradiction]

Before the season started, I picked Baltimore as our first loss. I'm going against that now. Based on what I've seen, their defense took some major hits with the departure of Ryan and Scott (and Leonard, but to a far lesser extent than the first two). Their defense doesn't scare me as much as it did before the season. Their offense does, but I think our defense can slow them down.

As for our offense, it's just a matter of what week Brady and his receivers are going to wake up and get on the same page. We saw spurts of it last week. Will the sleeping giant wake up this week? If they do, it's bad for Baltimore. On top of that, it sounds like Welker is practicing again. That should help us a lot more.

 

[shmessy]

A lot of Pats' fans have been downplaying the Ravens' sked, but you can only play who the league tells you to play. And you guys should know how hard it is to go cross-country to SD and come out with a win. Didn’t they beat you like 30-10 out there last year?

Yeah, Brady had a bad day that game.

You would have had the same result or worse if Jon Beck or Troy Smith was out there. Flacco didn't light it up that game, but the dropoff to the bench would have been enormous. Don't attempt to compare apples to oranges, this board will sniff that out fast.

In the meantime, this should be a great game between two great teams.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

Maybe this has already been mentioned, but what, exactly, has Baltimore done so far to make people think they're so dominant? They beat two of the three or four worst teams in the league in KC and Cleveland, and the one quality team they played (SD) racked up nearly 500 yards in offense and 26 points. They were tied at 24 with the Chiefs with five minutes to go, for Pete's sake.

Baltimore's a good team, but I have yet to see anything from them that scares me.

I have said several times this week too... They have beaten two teams that might not win 6 games between them this year.....

 

[weswelker#83]

Yeah, Brady had a bad day that game.

Hahahaha Thanks for the laugh Shmessy .

 

[QB12]

Right now, these two teams are very close, with home field the only advantage right now separating the 2. That's why the Pats win this game. It's important that they do, b/c I believe it is a preview of the AFC Championship Game. Who hosts that game will probably be determined by who wins this game Sunday. Pats win 24-21.

QB12

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

LOL Brady won the first... what was it 10 playoff starts? Flacco is 0 for 1. Other than that the similarity is uncanny, they're like twins seperated at birth...

Funny how for so many in the media Brady wasn't considered for real until he won that second SB MVP...and for others not until he broke records in 2007...

These are the same folks who will also tell you holding Cleveland to 3 points at home is infinately more impressive than holding Atlanta to 10 points/253 yards/20 minutes TOP.

Then they will tell you that Denver held Cleveland to 6 points but they are pretenders.

 

[52decleetzu]

I have said several times this week too... They have beaten two teams that might not win 6 games between them this year.....

We did not just "beat them", we destroyed them. Like we were supposed to.

I guess you were expecting 600 yds of offense and only 100 given up against the Chiefs, and a 70-0 score instead of 34-3 against the Browns.

You see when we were favored by 13 or more we went out and dismantled the opposing team while the Patriots.....not so much. Matter of fact against the Bills they should have LOST if it was not for the gift of the decade. But a "win is a win" in that case right?

I don't know whay everyone is so high on the Pats, I mean they should be 1-2 right now....right? I mean what have they really done?

You can look at things in a number of different ways I guess.

 

[The_Man]

Yeah, Brady had a bad day that game.

You would have had the same result or worse if Jon Beck or Troy Smith was out there. Flacco didn't light it up that game, but the dropoff to the bench would have been enormous. Don't attempt to compare apples to oranges, this board will sniff that out fast.

In the meantime, this should be a great game between two great teams.

Just making the point that winning in San Diego is always tough - even your famous "dancing on the lightning bolt" playoff victory out there was hard-fought. Didn't the Pats score like 10 points in the last 5 minutes to pull that one out?

Unless you're saying that all the Pats' wins last year were meaningful, but none of their losses counted since Brady was hurt.

 

[shmessy]

Just making the point that winning in San Diego is always tough - even your famous "dancing on the lightning bolt" playoff victory out there was hard-fought. Didn't the Pats score like 10 points in the last 5 minutes to pull that one out?

Unless you're saying that all the Pats' wins last year were meaningful, but none of their losses counted since Brady was hurt.

EVERYTHING last year was meaningful.

The wins AND the losses.

11-5 with a second string QB who had not started a game since high school.

Once again, YOU brought up the 30-10 loss to SD as some kind of proof.

Look, that was an impressive win for the Ravens. I would put them as one of the top teams in the NFL at this point. The Patriots AT THIS TIME may not be on the same level as the Ravens. You're catching them at a good time for you.

A worked out Brady and a Jerod Mayo back in the playoffs and I'll put the Pats against any team on earth, however.

 

[Fixit]

I don't know why everyone is so high on the Pats, I mean they should be 1-2 right now....right? I mean what have they really done?

That would be a clever argument if everyone was, in fact, high on the Pats. Nearly everyone is throwing dirt on the dynasty.

The fact is that the Pats have given up fewer points to better teams, so why isn't anyone talking their D up as dominant?

Edit: You didn't "destroy" KC. As I mentioned, you were tied with them with five minutes to go and got two late TDs.

 

[H8R]

EVERYTHING last year was meaningful.

The wins AND the losses.

11-5 with a second string QB who had not started a game since high school.

Once again, YOU brought up the 30-10 loss to SD as some kind of proof.

Look, that was an impressive win for the Ravens. I would put them as one of the top teams in the NFL at this point. The Patriots AT THIS TIME may not be on the same level as the Ravens. You're catching them at a good time for you.

A worked out Brady and a Jerod Mayo back in the playoffs and I'll put the Pats against any team on earth, however.

Just like the Ravens 11-5 with 2 playoff victories ON THE ROAD and a rookie coach/ qb at the helm. That's the funny thing about numbers, you can make them say whatever you want. BTW, do you know what cost you guys the playoffs? Baltimore beating down the Dolphins when you could not. That's a afact. We bounced you on a tie breaker.... If you wanna talk last year, it seems like you do. I go with the Harbaugh philosophy, W.I.N or Whats Important Now. This week is the Patriots of 2009 ( not any other year), that's all we are worried about.

 

[JSn]

The fact is that the Pats have given up fewer points to better teams, so why isn't anyone talking their D up as dominant?

An underrated D that is actually a top 10 D is a fantastic weapon, imo.

 

[H8R]

That would be a clever argument if everyone was, in fact, high on the Pats. Nearly everyone is throwing dirt on the dynasty.

The fact is that the Pats have given up fewer points to better teams, so why isn't anyone talking their D up as dominant?

Edit: You didn't "destroy" KC. As I mentioned, you were tied with them with five minutes to go and got two late TDs.

Obviously you didn't watch the game. We won by 2 scores we allowed 188 total yards.

 

[Fixit]

Obviously you didn't watch the game. We won by 2 scores we allowed 188 total yards.

I did (DirecTV!). And I saw it was tied at 24 with just over two minutes to go. Then Baltimore tacked one on with 30 seconds left. You're right...destruction!

The Pats beat a much better Atlanta team by 16, so I guess they destroyed them more.

This is such a fun game!

 

[shmessy]

Just like the Ravens 11-5 with 2 playoff victories ON THE ROAD and a rookie coach/ qb at the helm. That's the funny thing about numbers, you can make them say whatever you want. BTW, do you know what cost you guys the playoffs? Baltimore beating down the Dolphins when you could not. That's a afact. We bounced you on a tie breaker.... If you wanna talk last year, it seems like you do. I go with the Harbaugh philosophy, W.I.N or Whats Important Now. This week is the Patriots of 2009 ( not any other year), that's all we are worried about.

Yup, both teams were 11-5.

Who knows what the Patriots would have done if they hadn't been the first team to go 11-5 and miss the playoffs since 1990. They won 5 out of their last 6 (only loss coming against the eventual SB Champs). They were the hottest team in the NFL down the stretch. The second string QB (who did NOT practice with the first string receivers for an entire training camp) was then beginning to mesh. Who knows what they could have done in the playoffs.

BTW, the other "fact" was that the NYJets threw their last game against the Phins (literally, Mr. Favre). MANY things worked into the tie breaker loss for the Pats.

But that was last year.

This week counts.

As I said, AT THIS TIME, the Ravens are the top echelon in the NFL. They have every reason to believe they can be victorious this Sunday.