Bring on the Ravens

[mgcolby]

As you wish.

Perhaps profanity or attempts to circumvent the profanity filter are acceptable over at the Ravens website, but they are not here.

As I mentioned earlier we whole heartily enjoy intelligent football discussion with fans of other teams. The type of discussion you are looking for can more readily be found, for example, in the comment sections of nfl.com, espn.com, foxsports.com, or dozens of other sites that are more about smack talk and not about X's and O's.


Here's to an injury-free game Sunday.

Thank you....kind sir!

 

[Mountain_Commando]

flynismo
Banned


Join Date: Oct 2009
Expiry Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 204

 

[Fixit]

Jeez, didn't we just get rid of one of you?

Edit: That was a tease.

 

[TBwilleatdirt]

21 carries, 60 yards, 2.9 average, 0 TD's.

You fail.

You forgot to mention that this was against the second best defense, not the second worst

 

[PlainOldEd]

Is it just me or are the Ravens making a lot of tv appearances this week? I just saw a Suggs with Kenny Mayne doing a bit, and earlier Vonta Leach had a video question for Jaws.

I hope they are having fun this week and not focusing on football.

 

[Tunescribe]

...

The Patriots have a FieldTurf playing surface, you moron.

 

[Fixit]

You forgot to mention that this was against the second best defense, not the second worst

So, to answer your challenge that you deleted, namely that however many great players the Pats have on offense, the Ravens have double on defense:

Brady, Welker, Gronk, Waters, Mankins are just the Pro Bowlers. Hernandez is awesome.

Have fun.

 

[Ron Sellers]

One thing that continues to get mentioned by Ravens fans is that the Pats have not faced a team with as good a defense as Baltimore's, and that is a valid point. A second point that seems to keeps coming up along with that is that the Patriots have won their games against inferior defensive teams; a case can be made for that as well.

However, what is rarely mentioned is that the reverse is also true: the Ravens have not faced as good an offense as New England's, and their defensive statistics have been accumulated against inferior offenses.


Take a look at each team's point differential in comparison to that of the opposing units that they faced.


Ravens Defense
Points Allowed: 16.6
Average opponent offense points scored: 19.4
Differential: +2.8

Ravens Offense
Points Scored: 23.6
Average opponent defense points allowed: 20.0
Differential: +3.6

Ravens Total Differential: +6.4


Patriots Defense
Points Allowed: 21.4
Average opponent offense points scored: 21.3
Differential: -0.1

Patriots Offense
Points Scored: 32.1
Average opponent defense points allowed: 22.9
Differential: +9.2

Patriots Total Differential: +9.1


Bottom line is that while the Pats did face same shaky defenses, the same can be said about the Ravens facing shaky offenses. This game could easily go either way, but fans on either side can't just pick one stat and hold it up as proof that one team or the other will absolutely win.

However, if you have to pick one or the other I would go with the net differential of +2.7 playing at home. Of course Baltimore can win, they're a very good team. However, it stands to reason that the Patriots are more likely to win when you look at all the facts.

 

[PATS16N0]

I like that Flacco is taking lots of well deserved heat for being a crappy quarterback this week. It'll only add to his pressure. Not only is he playing for a Superbowl appearance, he's playing for his self respect and the faith of his team and its fan base.

Go ahead and buckle under the weight of it all, Flacco - we all know you're going to.

Once the Patriots are up by two scores and the Ravens start playing more aggressively Flacco will start throwing interceptions which Brady will turn into more touchdowns.

If we take an early lead this game is over.

 

[alvinnf]

The Ravens are excellent on 3rd down. There is a stat. 1st and 2 nd down are going to be key. Stay out of 3rd and long and find ways to convert. If we are asking our TE's to be the difference. Put them in 3rd and manageable, big key.

 

[coolguy]

The Ravens are excellent on 3rd down. There is a stat. 1st and 2 nd down are going to be key. Stay out of 3rd and long and find ways to convert. If we are asking our TE's to be the difference. Put them in 3rd and manageable, big key.

The patriots need use the fastest no huddle offense they have ever used. If brady can somehow tire that defense out by the 3rd quarter, they could open the floodgates on that defense.

 

[BobMarley]

I hope you guys aren't thinking that after our performance against the Texans last week on defense were gonna get steamrolled.

We focused our whole defensive game plan on stopping Arian Foster and getting Johnson to be a non factor. This week you guys should see a whole different game plan of blitz packages that weren't seen last week because you guys don't have a big play making running back like Foster.

 

[BaltimoreFan(not trolling]

I hope you guys aren't thinking that after our performance against the Texans last week on defense were gonna get steamrolled.

We focused our whole defensive game plan on stopping Arian Foster and getting Johnson to be a non factor. This week you guys should see a whole different game plan of blitz packages that weren't seen last week because you guys don't have a big play making running back like Foster.

We didn't exactly do a good job at either one of those things...so I think that isn't helping the idea that our defense is great.

I agree that we will play a very different defensive game against the Pats but I really don't know how it will play out.

I believe the key to stopping any good passing offense, especially the Pats, is getting consistent pressure. And while blitz packages can create that, the Ravens need to be able to create pressure without blitzing alot of people. That comes down to guys winning their individual matchups AND how strict the refs are on holding that particular day. If the Ravens win their individual matchups up front, they have a shot to win. If they don't, they don't win. (I know this is a very simple statement but I think it is very true)

 

[Sciz]

We focused our whole defensive game plan on stopping Arian Foster and getting Johnson to be a non factor.

That's not something I'd brag about after Foster got 132 yards and Johnson got 111...

 

[BobMarley]

That's not something I'd brag about after Foster got 132 yards and Johnson got 111...

That's true but we still walked away with the win, which is all that matters. And both those two are monsters. Which is why I'm scared of that machine you guys have in Gronk.

 

[The Scrizz]

I hope you guys aren't thinking that after our performance against the Texans last week on defense were gonna get steamrolled.

We focused our whole defensive game plan on stopping Arian Foster and getting Johnson to be a non factor. This week you guys should see a whole different game plan of blitz packages that weren't seen last week because you guys don't have a big play making running back like Foster.

Funny it looked like the defensive game plan consisted of a rookie QB throwing the ball right to Ravens players. Jacoby Jones was player of the game for the Ravens last week.

 

[envvy]

i see alot on here that the ravens defence is inflated.. well lets talk offense first the ravens offense has faced a team within the top ten defences (total yards) 11 times out of 16 and scored an average of 23.6 points per game their average defence faced was ranked 8.6. The patriots averaged a high 32.1 pts facing an average ranked defences of 14. defensively the ravens opposing offense average ranking of 18.3 allowing an average of 16.6 points a game. The patriots defense has faced and average offensive rank of 16.3 and have allowed 21.4 pts per game.

Offense
Ravens : 8.6 23.6pts.
Patriots : 14 32.1pts.

Defense
Ravens : 18.3 16.6pts.
Patriots : 16.3 21.4pts

Offense Difference: Ravens facing higher defensive opponents

Rank: 5.6 Points: 8.5

Defense Difference: Patriots facing higher offensive opponents

Rank: 2 Points: 4.8

were looking at a close game by these numbers which i think mean the most due to points making the game a win or lose.you can take these for what you want but i think a slight edge to ravens due to total point stats verse opponents in each category especially the difference in deffensive opponents.

Now judging momentum (final 3 games into playoffs)

Patriots Avg opponent: defensive 20.3 Ranking points Scored by patriots 39 Avg.

Ravens Avg opponent: defensive 11 ranking points scored by ravens 19.333

This favors the patriots.

Anyway just some stats that show how close this game actually is on paper im not expecitng a blow out judging past oppenents i see a game around 27-24 range with either team winning

 

[mgcolby]

i see alot on here that the ravens defence is inflated.. well lets talk offense first the ravens offense has faced a team within the top ten defences (total yards) 11 times out of 16 and scored an average of 23.6 points per game their average defence faced was ranked 8.6. The patriots averaged a high 32.1 pts facing an average ranked defences of 14. defensively the ravens opposing offense average ranking of 18.3 allowing an average of 16.6 points a game. The patriots defense has faced and average offensive rank of 16.3 and have allowed 21.4 pts per game.

Offense
Ravens : 8.6 23.6pts.
Patriots : 14 32.1pts.

Defense
Ravens : 18.3 16.6pts.
Patriots : 16.3 21.4pts

Offense Difference: Ravens facing higher defensive opponents

Rank: 5.6 Points: 8.5

Defense Difference: Patriots facing higher offensive opponents

Rank: 2 Points: 4.8

were looking at a close game by these numbers which i think mean the most due to points making the game a win or lose.you can take these for what you want but i think a slight edge to ravens due to total point stats verse opponents in each category especially the difference in deffensive opponents.

Now judging momentum (final 3 games into playoffs)

Patriots Avg opponent: defensive 20.3 Ranking points Scored by patriots 39 Avg.

Ravens Avg opponent: defensive 11 ranking points scored by ravens 19.333

This favors the patriots.

Anyway just some stats that show how close this game actually is on paper im not expecitng a blow out judging past oppenents i see a game around 27-24 range with either team winning

First welcome to the board. Second thanks for the post. One thing I would point out about the Ravens defense is the huge disparity between their home performance and road performance.

At home the Ravens allowed 14.8 PPG against offenses that averaged 20.1 PPG for the season. They held their opponents at home to 5.3 PPG below their season average.

On the road the Ravens allowed 18.3 PPG against offenses that averaged 18.5 PPG for the season. They held their opponents on the road to 0.2 PPG below their season average.

That is a big point of emphasis that I don't see to many people making.

Now at home the Pats are scoring 30.7 PPG against defenses that allow 23.4 PPG for the season. 7.3 PPG more that what those defenses allowed on average.

The Ravens on the road are scoring 19.8 PPG against defenses that allow 20.3 PPG for the season. 0.5 PPG less than what those defenses allowed on average.

The Pats defense is allowing 19.2 PPG at home (regular season) against offenses that averaged 21.1 PPG. So they are holding their opponents at home to 1.9 PPG less than their season average.

If all of that holds true and both teams play to regular season form, then the score would be

Pats 31
Ravens 18.

 

[juny]

most important matchups?

the Pats will need to block Suggs and Ngata better than they have the past few meetings with the Ravens. if they can keep those guys from being mentioned by the play-by-play guys, then the Pats should take care of business.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

I hope you guys aren't thinking that after our performance against the Texans last week on defense were gonna get steamrolled.

We focused our whole defensive game plan on stopping Arian Foster and getting Johnson to be a non factor. This week you guys should see a whole different game plan of blitz packages that weren't seen last week because you guys don't have a big play making running back like Foster.

Just so you know..Bradys numbers are better against the blitz..than only sending 3 or 4..so bring on the blitzs