Conference Championships: THE (?) media picks thread

[Spergon Wynn]

So judging by "Playbook", the Patriots absolutely have no chance on Sunday. Why even show up?

 

[Tunescribe]

So judging by "Playbook", the Patriots absolutely have no chance on Sunday. Why even show up?

I'm actually shocked by all the "decisive" support Baltimore is getting. They conclude that the Pats just can't compete in certain areas. I don't get it.

 

[reflexblue]

I'm actually shocked by all the "decisive" support Baltimore is getting. They conclude that the Pats just can't compete in certain areas. I don't get it.

Rodney sayz its Good to be the under dog.

 

[Bhelmet]

I found it both funny and ridiculous when the NFL Network had the caption up showing Baltimore's rushing D at 20th in the league while the analyst (forget which one, but I think it was Billick) was saying the Pats would have a tough time running on the Ravens. I know it's Billick, but what a chump.

 

[SVN]

I found it both funny and ridiculous when the NFL Network had the caption up showing Baltimore's rushing D at 20th in the league while the analyst (forget which one, but I think it was Billick) was saying the Pats would have a tough time running on the Ravens. I know it's Billick, but what a chump.

Well he may right because, pats probably wont run very much .Probably will go for the quick short passing game. More concerned about our rush D, rice is the only 100 yard rusher we have given up this yr and week 3 our run D was quite bad.

 

[Bhelmet]

Having a tough time running and choosing not to run over the short passes are two different things. Rice is a stud and our DL and LB's better be ready for him. He ran well against us on our "old" D. It will be interesting, we have had our excellent games against the run and our lousy ones. If we cannot stop the run it will be a long evening and that will make Flacco all the more dangerous.

 

[Uncle Rico]

So judging by "Playbook", the Patriots absolutely have no chance on Sunday. Why even show up?

Holy cow. I'm watching this now -- missed the first 20 minuts of the hour long show, but the last half hour has been like Ravens All-Access. And the next segment is on Ray Rice.

 

[patsfanincleveland]

I'm actually shocked by all the "decisive" support Baltimore is getting. They conclude that the Pats just can't compete in certain areas. I don't get it.

Where exactly did they conclude the Ravens would actually have an advantage?

 

[MossWelkowski]

The more and more I see this crap, the more and more I think patriots by 14-17 points.

What the hell are these people thinking??

 

[Raymond]

Holy cow. I'm watching this now -- missed the first 20 minuts of the hour long show, but the last half hour has been like Ravens All-Access. And the next segment is on Ray Rice.

The first twenty minutes was also about the Ravens.

 

[Nikolai]

The more and more I see this crap, the more and more I think patriots by 14-17 points.

What the hell are these people thinking??

I think what's going on is that everyone wants to be the guy to challenge the obvious; which, in this case, is that the Pats are a superior team, playing at home. Of course, they're the favorites. But in their zeal to have the contrary opinion, these "analysts" have worked themselves up into a lather and actually are starting to believe the hype they've created.

Is Baltimore a good team? I think they are. But so was Houston, and I think Houston is actually a pretty superior team to the Ravens. Oh well, Sunday can't get here fast enough, eh?

 

[Nikolai]

Oh yeah, the AFC Playbook show was pretty surprising. It was an ode to the Ravens, with cursory mentions of areas in which the Pats are deficient or vulnerable. It was a little weird and the first time I can remember the show being so unbalanced.

It's starting to remind me of the talk going into the Denver-Balt game, where people were falling all over each other, talking about how the Ravens might as well not even make the plane trip.

 

[Tunescribe]

Where exactly did they conclude the Ravens would actually have an advantage?

Long passing game on offense, pass rush and run defense.

 

[PatsDeb]

I'm actually shocked by all the "decisive" support Baltimore is getting. They conclude that the Pats just can't compete in certain areas. I don't get it.

Maybe it's because everyone thinks down deep that the Pats are going to win, but they want to keep the interest & hype about the game up.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Superstition Department:

My gut tells me (yeah, I know, that and 25 cents will get me three minutes on a payphone) that one of these games is going to end in an "upset."

Therefore, I want Atlanta to win the first game so the upset is out of the way.

How's that for rationality?!?

 

[pherein]

I was thinking the same thing after watching the shows. Seems like a contrived media love fest to boost the Ravens confidence. Make NE look like underdogs, so the Ravens come out confident, if they are lacking in it. Which I think they are, based on Flacco's rapid mood swings during games.

Problem with that is it could back fire. By making the Ravens look like a team of destiny, so the media can get a good football game, and more interesting headlines lines after. They risk overfinidence, and pushing Flacco's "I'm Elite' ego to the edge. Flacco is similar to Ryan, a pure pattern passer. Knock his WR's off route or off his game, and hes in trouble.
I believe when Flacco is calm and professional, he actually is a pretty good quarter back.
When Flacco's huge ego appears in and off the field, bad things happen, and his mistakes make him look like the sencond comming of Jeff George
Joe Flacco of Baltimore Ravens says 'I think I'm the best' QB in NFL - ESPN

I can just imagine how much he wants to beat Brady. In his mind, earn his elite badge forever. And if I know Flacco, after winning, completely forget about the SB and lose

None of the media will effect the Patriots on the field, but Ive always thought that baltimore is a team that is susceptible to the media ebb and flow. To much positive press could be a very bad thing for them, and only helps the Patriots on sunday.

 

[BMann]

I purposely avoid the pre-game stuff during the week, as no matter how my team is portrayed, I tend to view it through purple-colored glasses, and feel like the Ravens are getting short-changed at every corner.

Some of you are wondering why anyone would pick the Ravens to win. I see the game as a coin flip, considering a) recent performances by both teams and b) recent games in the series between the teams. The Ravens faced a much tougher assignment than N.E. did last weekend, and really should've won going away if not for two completely out of character special teams breakdowns. Take those away and we wouldn't have needed a last-second miracle TD. New England, to their credit, did what they were supposed to do, dismantled an inferior opponent, who was clearing trending down in their recent performances, at home.

Honestly, I feel more confident of a Ravens win this week than I did last week. Mostly because I didn't have much confidence at all going into Denver! But the Ravens, like the Pats, are peeking right now. Their recently revamped OL is playing very well, which was NOT the case throughout the regular season. The secondary has gotten over the loss of Webb (no small feat), with Corey Graham becoming a very good corner (Cary Williams, on the other hand, still has his problems). And Flacco-to-Smith is becoming a deadly combination that few teams have been able to stop lately.

So, my confidence is based on:

1) Our defense playing better right now, with more proven play-makers than the Pats'.
2) Our offense playing at a high level - basically, the Patriots' offense's advantage over the Ravens' offense isn't quite as great as the Ravens' defense's advantage over the Pats' (hope that makes sense).
3) Our special teams are superior, and I expect they'll clamp down after last week's disastrous performance. Jacoby Jones could be a huge factor tomorrow night.

Could the Pats blow out the Ravens? Sure, their offense is capable of putting up 40-plus on any team. But recent history suggests it will be very close, and I feel like it's "our time," for whatever that's worth.

Hoping for a hard fought game, with no bad injuries and no horrible calls for either side to whine about all off-season! The one "good" thing about last year's Evans/Cundiff meltdowns was that we Ravens fans didn't do much finger-pointing toward the refs - we reserved all our venom for the chokesters in purple!

 

[Double TE]

I purposely avoid the pre-game stuff during the week, as no matter how my team is portrayed, I tend to view it through purple-colored glasses, and feel like the Ravens are getting short-changed at every corner.

Some of you are wondering why anyone would pick the Ravens to win. I see the game as a coin flip, considering a) recent performances by both teams and b) recent games in the series between the teams. The Ravens faced a much tougher assignment than N.E. did last weekend, and really should've won going away if not for two completely out of character special teams breakdowns. Take those away and we wouldn't have needed a last-second miracle TD. New England, to their credit, did what they were supposed to do, dismantled an inferior opponent, who was clearing trending down in their recent performances, at home.

Honestly, I feel more confident of a Ravens win this week than I did last week. Mostly because I didn't have much confidence at all going into Denver! But the Ravens, like the Pats, are peeking right now. Their recently revamped OL is playing very well, which was NOT the case throughout the regular season. The secondary has gotten over the loss of Webb (no small feat), with Corey Graham becoming a very good corner (Cary Williams, on the other hand, still has his problems). And Flacco-to-Smith is becoming a deadly combination that few teams have been able to stop lately.

So, my confidence is based on:

1) Our defense playing better right now, with more proven play-makers than the Pats'.
2) Our offense playing at a high level - basically, the Patriots' offense's advantage over the Ravens' offense isn't quite as great as the Ravens' defense's advantage over the Pats' (hope that makes sense).
3) Our special teams are superior, and I expect they'll clamp down after last week's disastrous performance. Jacoby Jones could be a huge factor tomorrow night.

Could the Pats blow out the Ravens? Sure, their offense is capable of putting up 40-plus on any team. But recent history suggests it will be very close, and I feel like it's "our time," for whatever that's worth.

Hoping for a hard fought game, with no bad injuries and no horrible calls for either side to whine about all off-season! The one "good" thing about last year's Evans/Cundiff meltdowns was that we Ravens fans didn't do much finger-pointing toward the refs - we reserved all our venom for the chokesters in purple!

Didn't your SP teams allow two TDs to Denver?
Wasn't Evans stripped? Why is he getting blamed?
Wouldn't Cundiff's FG just tie the game not win it?
Doesn't Smith catch long passes only, not exactly a volume receiver like Boldin or Welker?
Stars on D? Hmmm....take a look at the NE's LBs and DE's.

The Ravens may very well win but me thinks this logic is a bit well flawed?

 

[PATSNUTme]

Al Davis picks the Ravens. He loves the deep ball.

 

[asfpnepRefugee]

I'm curious - does anyone remember what the chatter was like before last year's game? I don't even remember who was favored, personally.