Is It Me or is NE Being Underestimated?

Why is nobody taking about the Ravens offensive line and the Ravens running game?

They started an undrafted rookie at left tackle last week and Justin Forsett? I mean come on

With the way the Patriots ended the season in the last 5 games scoring 21, 23, 41, 17 & 6 (in half a game) it is easy to see why people are not as high on the Patriots as they were when they were blowing good teams out.

This offense has been inconsistent and people have every right to wonder about that. Myself personally I think the offense will be a littler close to mid season form than the final games of the season even if the scores don't reflect that. However to say the Patriots have not given people to have doubts recently is just not true.

Just checking, this is same Ravens that no-showed in Houston in a must-win week 16 tilt vs the immortal Case Keenum, yeah?

BobDigital said:

& 6 (in half a game)

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Without Gronk, Edelman, Vollmer, Connolly, and Gray.

Ya say what you want about Gray but when he's been given the opportunity to run the ball more than a few times he has been solid.

tombonneau said:

Just checking, this is same Ravens that no-showed in Houston in a must-win week 16 tilt vs the immortal Case Keenum, yeah?

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Ya that's being underplayed some. Look at who the Texans coaches are. Billy O'Brien and Romeo. Ya I know they have Watt. You think Bill hasnt looked at that game film? Or even maybe had a convo with BOB and RAC?

MossWelkowski said:

Why is nobody taking about the Ravens offensive line and the Ravens running game?

They started an undrafted rookie at left tackle last week and Justin Forsett? I mean come on

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What's wrong with Justin Forsett? He was one of the top RBs in the AFC this year, possibly the entire league. He had the highest YPC average (5.2) in the entire NFL, above even DeMarco Murray. I'm just not sure why you're lumping him in with an undrafted rookie at LT?

The negative nellies are basing their entire argument on 2 major points

1. The Ravens have amassed an overwhelming and dominating 2-1 record over the last 3 playoff battles. Games

2. On the surface the Ravens have an apparent match up advantage between their DL and our OL. There is no question that this is a legitimate point. However they always conveniently ignore each and every one of the myriad of match ups that favor the Pats. For example OUR secondary vs their receivers. OUR DL vs their OL. OUR receivers vs their DB's OUR Gronk vs anyone on their team

They want to point to the solid victory the Ravens had on the road last week, and ignore the 100 yd disparity in penalty yds, and I guess they are assuming a 3-0 turn over ratio will happen again, because we all know that TO's is a stat that CAN be counted on. They also want to ignore the 350 passing yd Pittsburgh managed to amass, despite the perceived dominance of the weak Steeler OL by the Raven front. They also want to ignore the robust 49 rushing yds the Ravens managed against the Steelers

This selective memory also wants to forget that the Pats have already faced defensive fronts like Denver, Detroit, Miami and Buffalo which are every bit as good as the Ravens if not better, and did just fine, when healthy. They want to have us forget that this Ravens team has only beaten one team (twice/Steelers) with a record of better than .500. Lets forget that the Ravens played one of the weakest schedules in the league, while the Pats played on of the toughest

But don't fret, the word is starting to get out. Bedard knows the truth. Chatham knows the truth. And if you watched the loose demeanor of Brady, BB, and the rest of the team during and after practice today, that THEY know what they have to do to win this game.

Keep harping on the Ravens DL fear mongers, that's all you got;

TommyBrady12 said:

With 30 secs to go in the first half, hernandez catches the bsll for a first down and inexplicably does not go out of bounds to stop the clock. Pats burn their second timeout and arw later forced to kick a fild goal. They should have been up 17-7 at the half.

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I was swearing at the TV when he did that (in front of my wife's 80 year-old aunt... )

I sent this to my buddy today.

So looking back to 2012, these are 2 different teams all together. The Ravens that yr, were a better team. Just a few things......

NE Defense: Francis, Wilfork, Deiderick, Nink. Now it's Branch, Wilfork, Silega, Jones. Talib went out in the 1st quarter. Dennard and Arrington were our CB with Gregory and DMC back at S. No Chandler, Hightower was a rookie. No Collins, or the depth we have now in Ayers, Casillas. Spikes could not cover, and we had to use White or some other scrub. Revis and Browner with an improved Chung and DMC should make a huge difference, I think it ws DMC 1st yr at S? Now we have Ryan, Butler who can fill in over a guy like Cole??? Was he not picked up mid season?
NE Offense: Branch, Aiken, Loyd, Welker. NO GRONK!!!!!. People are forgetting about LaFell, which is fine with me. He can exploit those CB and S fine. Ill take a HEALTHY Gronk, Edelman, LaFell, Wright, Tyms, Dola over a WR who was over this hill (Branch), and one who never fought for a ball (Loyd). Now the OL is kind of the same, Conn at LG and Stork at C. However this is where the problem lies for me. Solder vs Suggs, Volly vs Dumerville. If they can't stop those 2, we are in trouble. Can't let Bady get hit. Short passing game, screen plays will be big this week.
Ravens are not the same team. No Lewis, Reed, Pollard, Kruger, Ellerbee, Rice, Bolden. Pitta is out, ****son is gone. So we should be able to cover Crocket and Daniels. I also think their OL is no where near what it was then. I think are def is very well equipt to handdle what Balt has on offense.
These are two very, very different teams. I think NE is much better. BUT.....it will come down to Solder vs Suggs, and Volly vs Dumerville. McDanials better not get cute either and get away from the run. We don't need 200yrd and 3 TD, but we need to keep Balt honest for play action. I think the screen game with Wright and Vereen are going to be big parts this week.

In saying this, I still think this game can go either way. We can lose by 7, or win by 17. We have stopped much better offenses this yr, but that does not matter. It's Baltimore, they have nothing to lose again. Flacco can toss the ball all he wants, its not Arrington and Dennard on the outside anymore. Defense wins games, and I think they have to win this one.

@eric5577x Chandler Jones was a rookie in 2012. Was he not available for the AFCCG?

BHSL2 said:

@eric5577x Chandler Jones was a rookie in 2012. Was he not available for the AFCCG?

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I looked up the stats that game, and he was not listed, did not even start or record a tackle. For some reason, I was thinking ankle?

R E L A X!

I study and bet NFL games every year for a good profit, and am good friends with several sharps who do this for a living. Also a pats fan so I know and follow our team more closely than others.

This is a classic Brady FU game. Think about the games pats go into where they are underdogs or being questioned by the media. Cincy game this year is the perfect example. Pats were underdogs vs broncos and in indy as well. Results ? Pats brought their best efforts of the season and smoked them.

I don't think anyone on this forum doubts the pats will win if they bring their A game. I'm tellin yas, RELAX, pats will come out sharp n put this away early. Pats win by 20+ and start their road to the super bowl.

Matchups smatchups. If you watched the Kc game, the cincy matchup was terrifying. Detroit and Denver d lines are just as scary as Baltimores, but bb/brady played their match ups n moved the ball easily. No different this week..Their secondary is horrendous and brady will pick it apart.

Jump ball Joes terrible match up with our secondary will be the difference.

The steelers lost their main offensive weapon right before the game, making them one dimensional and making the ravens look like world beaters. The pats are off a bye (another huge betting factor when it comes to bb/brady), and have no such issues.

Worry when we draw Seattle. For now, relax

Most people are picking the patriots to win. I don't think they are being underestimated at all.

TommyBrady12 said:

Some of you need to re-watch the last time the pats and ravens played in the playoffs - 2012 AFCCG. The pats did well the first half. However, they made stupid mistakes. With 30 secs to go in the first half, hernandez catches the bsll for a first down and inexplicably does not go out of bounds to stop the clock. Pats burn their second timeout and arw later forced to kick a fild goal. They should have been up 17-7 at the half. For the most part they were able to move the ball fairly easily the first half against a defense better than the current group. Defensively, the pats did a good job on the ravens offense. Then talib went down early in the first quarter with a hamstring pull. Flacco then started to exploit the arrington on torey smith match up In the second half. This ravens team is not as good as the 2012 team.

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I remember in that game, the Pats' problem on offense was lack of a red zone target. The Pats could move the ball at will in the first half, but drives stalled in the red zone because Brady had nobody like Gronk (or LaFell or Wright) who was a bigger target in the end zone.

i wouldnt say underestimated

but the Ravens match-up has reminded people that our offense has been up and down......and that the ravens have punched us in the mouth and taken our lunch money before......even if they aren't as good now

For the record.......i expect us to win

JMC00 said:

He will now probably bring up the jests and jills Week 16 and 17 games.

Jests games, yes while the DL played good in the 1st half while Pats were rotating OL guys, their LG was out, as well and Edelman and Blount. In the 2nd half jests DL really only stopped them on their first drive other than that the Pats pretty much moved the ball. TD, FG, 11 play 5 min game ending drive.

As for the Buffalo game- Vollmer, Connolly, Gronk, and Edelman all were out.

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What do all the Ravens' opponents, in losses, have in common? Answer: they all are winning teams. ((Cincy, Cincy, Indy, Pitt, Houston, SD))

What do all the Ravens opponents, in wins, have in common??Answer: none of them had winning records except one. ((Tampa, Tenn, Atlanta, Pitt, Saints, Jax, Cleveland, Cleveland, Mia, Panthers.))

What is the similar comparison with the Patriots 'against winning teams' victories: Cincy, Indy, Detroit, Denver, Bills, SD. 3 losses GB in GB, Mia in Mia week 1, KC in KC in week 4.

Looking at the most recent 3 months of the season (OCT-DEC): Baltimore 7-5, not a single win against a winning team. Patriots: 10-1, with 6 victories over winning teams.

The Ravens 2014 'scariness' is (A) a win last week against Pitt and (B) a pre 2014 track record as a potent opponent who was able to twice beat the Patriots in the Playoffs. There is very little else that points to the Ravens deserving the kind of 'scary' hype that a fair sizes chunk of fans and an even greater chunk of the media is believing/pushing.

JMC00 said:

Without Gronk, Edelman, Vollmer, Connolly, and Gray.

Ya say what you want about Gray but when he's been given the opportunity to run the ball more than a few times he has been solid.

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I am aware what they were without. Still 6 points is not inspiring.

Welka_fan said:

R E L A X!

I study and bet NFL games every year for a good profit, and am good friends with several sharps who do this for a living. Also a pats fan so I know and follow our team more closely than others.

This is a classic Brady FU game. Think about the games pats go into where they are underdogs or being questioned by the media. Cincy game this year is the perfect example. Pats were underdogs vs broncos and in indy as well. Results ? Pats brought their best efforts of the season and smoked them.

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Since the Pats are favored by 7 this doen't qualify as an Eff You game for Brady.

Last year's AFCCG was the last time they were counted out by everyone. People were certainly down on them after KC by they were still favored, albeit by a small margin. They didn't bring their best game at GB this year.

Bottomline is the Pats should win, however if the O-Line can't protect it's going to be a very close game. The good news is the Pats defense should be able to stifle the Ravens offense and subsequently they should win the field position battle.

As long as we have 1 more pt than the ratbirds when the clock reads 00:00 im happy. Yes they play us well but they haven't faced this secondary and my gut tells me Joe's chucking will finally catch up with him on Saturday. #WARPATS

NE will be underestimated until they win their next meaningful playoff game,
namely the Ravens. Unfortunately, I remember two lousy back to back games.
This is not very good momentum to start the playoffs. I will be up in Section
333 freezing my ass off and hoping for the best.