Upcoming Game Thoughts:

[A man named Brady]

The key will be red zone scoring, the steelers were moving the ball pretty well all day but couldn't punch it in.

 

[supafly]

The Ravens this year are not getting pressure on QBs with four man rushes like the Giants that gave the Pats' fits. The Ravens are getting pressure by exotic blitzes.

I do not really agree with this at all. I think they've been getting there both ways, which is typical for any defensive team who gets a lot of sacks.

To take it one step further, the Ravens have averaged 5.75 sacks per game in their last 4 victories, so they've been getting there with consistency. We all hope the OL will hold up, but I'm not sure where you're getting the "Ravens can't get there with their front 4" stuff from? That's just not true.

Big Ben was sacked 5 times this weekend, all when the Ravens rush only four guys...not a blitz at all.

While I definitely tend to agree more with you than with Rob in this instance, and it's been pretty much confirmed by another poster as well, I wonder if someone who re-watches the game from Saturday may chime in with their thoughts too?

Either way, I can guarantee that they are getting there with their front 4 plenty of times lately, and have a very formidable front 4 at that. Actually, their entire front 7 is very good, as we all know.

Really, this is my biggest concern regarding the entire game, seeing our receivers get jammed and funneled inside which forces Brady to hold the ball an extra second or two.

 

[letekro]

Yeah, after trying to advance the concept of a 41-7 close, nail biter, one would think it's best to quit while your behind.

This post can prove any better why that's a great piece of advice.

Sorry do you have a point? Or are you just projecting your Cleveland misery on others?

 

[PATS16N0]

Not sure I can add much but Ill give it a try.

Big Ben was sacked 5 times this weekend, all when the Ravens rush only four guys...not a blitz at all.

I dont care about last year, five years ago etc. except that I think the Ravens play NE tough more so because of great coaching and that hasn't changed.

Jump balls, yeh it worries me, yes keep Browner away from Smith, thats a fight waiting to happen, unless Browner does the Hanson triplet power slam on him.

NE has to sore TD's in the Red zone, I dont know how they rank but the Ravens are what number one preventing TD's? Ravens actually are good regarding Net Points at 107 (409/302) and Pats at 155 (468/313).

The Ravens are statistically overrated. As far as I'm concerned, all of their stats are essentially meaningless.

They played the NFC South and the AFC South, not to mention their own overrated division of dysfunction basketcases and front runners.

So they kept the Jaguars and Titans and Falcon outs of the endzone. Well, congratulations to the Ravens, but we have bad news for them.





Meet the best football player in the entire league.

The Patriots are not the Jaguars. If the Patriots had the Ravens schedule this year we would be trying to redeem our 2007 season right now. Looking at their team statistically this season is largely a giant waste of time. Doing so almost makes them look like the Patriots equals, until you compare who each team played.

The Patriots are going to break this 2014 Raven team over its knee and fertilize our fields grass with whatever's left.

All this talk about the Ravens having our number is doing nothing but sharpening the buzzsaw.

I expect the Patriots to come out similar to the game against the Bengals, back when Tom was in decline and about to be traded to the Cardinals for a 7th, and from that point forward all of this Raven rivalry talk will be brought to a screeching halt. They're not on our level anymore.

 

[PATS16N0]

This game is going to be such a beat down we won't even take sadistic joy in it, like we might if we broke their little hearts in the final seconds of regulation. It'll be more like scraping gum off the bottom of our boots.

 

[Rob0729]

Well I don't believe sacks are overrated, when Brady gets sacked on a regular basis he doesn't play well, we have all seen it. Plus losing yards is not overrated, we sure like it when our defense does it.

The pressure on Ben was directly responsibly for that turnover also.

And I'm not trying to start an argument...just think we might see it differently.

Belichick doesn't agree with you. He believes sacks are overrated.

Brady doesn't play well when he is pressured, not neccessarily sacked. Pressuring him with a four man rush is key, not sacking him with a four man rush.

 

[SVN]

Belichick doesn't agree with you. He believes sacks are overrated.

Brady doesn't play well when he is pressured, not neccessarily sacked. Pressuring him with a four man rush is key, not sacking him with a four man rush.

Yes ,by the same account our reduced sack numbers in the GB and SD game or prior to jet game are also overrated. Brady was under durress a lot in those. Basically if our line plays like it did vs Detriot, we should be okay. If they play like they did vs SD we are in trouble. Hopefully it was all related to connolly's health. I didnt watch the buffalo game but that is hard to go by without gronk and edelman .

 

[Rob0729]

I do not really agree with this at all. I think they've been getting there both ways, which is typical for any defensive team who gets a lot of sacks.

To take it one step further, the Ravens have averaged 5.75 sacks per game in their last 4 victories, so they've been getting there with consistency. We all hope the OL will hold up, but I'm not sure where you're getting the "Ravens can't get there with their front 4" stuff from? That's just not true.

I didn't mean the Ravens only get to the QB with blitzing, but they relying on it more than the Giants did when they had a dominant 4 man front. I should have clarified that better. But the hallmark of the Dean Pees defense is disguised rushes, exotic blitzing, overload blitzes, etc. They don't just line up four players on the line and tell them to rush.

While I definitely tend to agree more with you than with Rob in this instance, and it's been pretty much confirmed by another poster as well, I wonder if someone who re-watches the game from Saturday may chime in with their thoughts too?

Either way, I can guarantee that they are getting there with their front 4 plenty of times lately, and have a very formidable front 4 at that. Actually, their entire front 7 is very good, as we all know.

Really, this is my biggest concern regarding the entire game, seeing our receivers get jammed and funneled inside which forces Brady to hold the ball an extra second or two.

People are putting too much emphasis on the sacks to talk about how they pressured Roethlisberger. At least two or three of the sacks were coverage sacks where Roethlisberger had 2-3 seconds to throw the ball, but didn't release it. Other than one or two of the sacks, it wasn't like they were on Roethlisberger immediately.

The Ravens pressured Roethlisberger more on other plays with blitzing where they forced him to make ill advised throws. For example, the Suggs interception.

I think people are overrating the Ravens' pass rush for Saturday in general because the Steelers stuck with slow developing passing plays where Roethlisberger would hold onto the ball for upwards to 3-4 seconds before throwing. The Steelers did very little quick passing at all. And even then, Roethlisberger completed 69% of his passes.

 

[Rob0729]

Yes ,by the same account our reduced sack numbers in the GB and SD game or prior to jet game are also overrated. Brady was under durress a lot in those. Basically if our line plays like it did vs Detriot, we should be okay. If they play like they did vs SD we are in trouble. Hopefully it was all related to connolly's health. I didnt watch the buffalo game but that is hard to go by without gronk and edelman .

I do agree that the fact they only had 4 sacks in 8 games is a bit overrated, but typically if you pressure a QB a lot he does get sacked. So it is a decent measure.

I agree he was pressured a lot in Green Bay, but he wasn't pressured nearly as much in San Diego. Funny the storyline in San Diego was they didn't get enough pressure on Brady. They got pressure at times, but not enough.

San Diego failed to get enough pressure on Brady, allowing him to hit guys like Julian Edelman (eight catches, 141 yards, 1 TD) and Rob Gronkowski (eight catches, 87 yards, 1 TD).

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/12/08/team-grades-chargers-blow-opportunity-fall-to-pats-23-14/

 

[Sicilian]

I didnt watch the buffalo game but that is hard to go by without gronk and edelman .

Not just Gronk and Edelman, but Connolly, Vollmer, and then Solder for the second half. I think it's tough to take much from that game offensively.

 

[Rob0729]

Not just Gronk and Edelman, but Connolly, Vollmer, and then Solder for the second half. I think it's tough to take much from that game offensively.

Yeah, that game was a glorified preseason game. The Pats didn't even look like they game planned for the Bills. The defense and offense both were rather vanilla especially in the first half.

And don't forget that Browner and Hightower were out on defense.

 

[Nunchucks]

We have seen Solder and Vollmer have trouble with the top pass rushers. Suggs and Dumerville are going to give those guys all they can handle. Especially Suggs. I hate that guy, wish he was a Patriot

 

[mayoclinic]

Yeah, that game was a glorified preseason game. The Pats didn't even look like they game planned for the Bills. The defense and offense both were rather vanilla especially in the first half.

And don't forget that Browner and Hightower were out on defense.

I didn't like that game at all. I understood the wish to avoid injuries, but I really hated going into the post-season with 2 crappy games - I know that it doesn't mean much, but I still hated it. I'm hoping the Pats come out on fire, rather than looking like a rusty team that hasn't played a meaningful game in a month. Particularly given the way the offense struggled down the stretch, I would have personally liked them to spend a half working on some offensive execution, and then resting guys.

 

[Oswlek]

People are putting too much emphasis on the sacks to talk about how they pressured Roethlisberger. At least two or three of the sacks were coverage sacks where Roethlisberger had 2-3 seconds to throw the ball, but didn't release it. Other than one or two of the sacks, it wasn't like they were on Roethlisberger immediately.

And even on the game changing pick, it was an odd protection scheme that looked shakey from the outset, looking even worse when the Ravens lined up heavy over the weak area and looked even worse after the ball was snapped. And even then, Ben had a wide open receiver for a 20+ yard gain, possible even a TD, in less than 2 seconds.

Pitt had more to do with the turnover than the Ravens did. A lot more.

 

[Patriot Missile]

http://www.ankagallery.com/article_...of-sports-illustrated-s-nfl-preview.jpg[/IMG]



Meet the best football player in the entire league.

Belichick to Gronkowski: What is best in life?
Gronkowski: To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.

 

[Rob0729]

I didn't like that game at all. I understood the wish to avoid injuries, but I really hated going into the post-season with 2 crappy games - I know that it doesn't mean much, but I still hated it. I'm hoping the Pats come out on fire, rather than looking like a rusty team that hasn't played a meaningful game in a month. Particularly given the way the offense struggled down the stretch, I would have personally liked them to spend a half working on some offensive execution, and then resting guys.

Two years ago, the Ravens lost four of their last five games including their last game. They won the Super Bowl. I think the "limping into the playoffs" is a bit of an overrated phenomenon.

But if you are looking for a positive sign, the Pats did continue their streak of games without giving up a TD in the second half even with their back ups vs. the Bills' starters.

 

[Sicilian]

Yeah, that game was a glorified preseason game. The Pats didn't even look like they game planned for the Bills. The defense and offense both were rather vanilla especially in the first half.

And don't forget that Browner and Hightower were out on defense.

And Revis, McCourty, Wilfork, and Jones didn't see much time (if any) in the second half, yet we once again allowed 0 points. This defense has talent, depth, and an attitude that once they've seen a team play, they can shut them down, no matter who is on the field. Granted Buffalo isn't a high powered offense, but if we're giving Seattle credit for shutting down the murderer's row of backups, has-beens, and also-rans they played in the second half of the season, I'll sure give credit to our 2nd teamers for shutting out buffalo.

 

[Oswlek]

I would have personally liked them to spend a half working on some offensive execution, and then resting guys.

Since the problems have been mostly on the OL and we all agree Vollmer hasn't been the issue, the guys who needed the work got it. Had Amendola slanted inside at the goal line, NE would have gotten a TD on their second drive and we'd all be more content with how it played out.

 

[IllegalContact]

I don't see the ravens offense doing much against the pats defense.....the pats defense forces opposing running games to underperform. That's a problem for the Ravens ..... as much hype as there has been around forsett, he's been stopped quite a bit and when he is is when things get ugly for the ravens. take away the run and put revis on smith sr, and the ravens are pretty much screwed

offensively, good QB's have been sh*tting on the ravens defense all year......the pats just need to be ready for the blitz......those overloads they do can be mitigated by QB under center or shotgun draws

in general though, it will come down the pats desire to get physical ..... I believe this is the first time in a long time where I see the pats with a better capacity than the ravens to get physical

the ravens secondary is small and does not make many plays (when haloti ngata leads your team in INTs, it is not a good thing) for that matter, their LB's in coverage are short, also.....lafell and wright can stand to be big problems for them

 

[Oswlek]

Two years ago, the Ravens lost four of their last five games including their last game. They won the Super Bowl. I think the "limping into the playoffs" is a bit of an overrated phenomenon.

Certainly it is overstated. The fact that teams will occasionally surpass their regular season performance levels doesn't mean that the regular season should be ignored altogether. Did Lindley play as expected? Wasn't Pitt's secondary as terrible as we knew it was? Didn't Detroit fizzle offensively in the second half? Wasn't Cincy's DL pushed around the field? Even if we assume a team surges in the post-season, that is only one of 8 that play WC weekend, so which one?

As far as I can tell, the games played out pretty much as everyone expected, with the exception of Baltimore's secondary appearing quasi-competent. Maybe they're this year's leap team, maybe not, but either way it is the idea that you can't consider anything that happened for the past season is downright silly.