Fear of the Ravens

[mosslost]

Dude, Ed Reed is gonna have a field day - 2 picks minimum off Brady

And that Ray Lewis actually killed a guy at least once...

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Not currently on our schedule

 

[Hyped]

It is really a media generated narrative, IMO.

If you look at the history between both teams during the Brady era:

2009 - They blow us out on wildcard weekend. And that was likely the worst Patriot team during the Brady era...other than maybe 2002.

2011 - We barely beat them to advance to the Superbowl thanks to Sterling Moore's slap of a Lee Evans TD reception and with the kicker missing a tying FG....Suggs' expression on the sidelines was priceless, LOL.

2012 - Anquan Boldin just kept getting open constantly in the 2nd half to win a game we were LEADING at half time.

2014 - We came down from 2 TD's to win on divisional weekend...one of the greatest victories.

So...2-2 in the play-offs with all 4 games at Gillette is what fuels this media narrative. Nobody is going to mention our regular season record against the Ravens which is 6-1 during the regular season with the ONLY loss coming in Baltimore by a score of 30-31....with their winning FG likely going over the left upright (BB couldn't challenge). Even Drew Bledsoe was 2-0 against them......

 

[A Defiant Goose]

I will say this about Baltimore. They simply don’t have fear coming into Foxborough.

No one does. It's freaking football. Nobody is afraid of going anywhere. Except like maybe Cleveland. In a trade.

 

[102 Pat]

If the Ravens makes the playoffs, have of the posters here would self combust...

 

[RedSleevesPinkStripes]

If the Ravens makes the playoffs, have of the posters here would self combust...

Sometimes in the morning, I only eat have of my bagel.. I save the other have for a mid-morning snack.

 

[Wheelman]

Idiot people that is all. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are not here. No need to fear that team than any other team that may make the playoffs. The only thing you might need to fear is Jump Ball Joe back to being Jump Ball Joe, but he might have lost his job.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Ya the "they aren't scared to come to Foxboro" narrative annoys me. People say it as if they have a winning record in Foxboro. They won in Foxboro the year they won the SB and beat a Pats team that was probably losing to anyone in that wild card game in '09, put aside those games and as a franchise they are 0-8 in Foxboro. Which i'm sure the people that sh*t their pants about them will say "they play them close" except close only matters in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Those 2000-2014 Ravens teams were talented, tough SOBs.

Since then, not so much. can't really compare.

 

[Koma]

2011 - We barely beat them to advance to the Superbowl thanks to Sterling Moore's slap of a Lee Evans TD reception and with the kicker missing a tying FG....Suggs' expression on the sidelines was priceless, LOL.

I'm sorry, I've been told repeatedly that Lee Evans simply dropped that ball.

Somehow, this narrative exists despite clear evidence that a Patriots defender knocked the ball out of Evan's hands.

 

[RedSleevesPinkStripes]

I'm sorry, I've been told repeatedly that Lee Evans simply dropped that ball.

Somehow, this narrative exists despite clear evidence that a Patriots defender knocked the ball out of Evan's hands.

Not sure if you knew this... The Patriots have never actually won before..

The other team simply beats itself, over and over, and over... Just really lucky I guess :shrug:

 

[1960Pats]

Wait...what???
Belichick sleeps?

Looking at his girl friend I'd say that he at least pretends to sleep.

 

[sb1]

If the Ravens makes the playoffs, have of the posters here would self combust...

Or if they play the Giants in the Super Bowl again sometime.

 

[NYCPatsFan]

This myth was touted again by Ray Lewis two weeks back in "Inside The NFL". He arrogantly claimed that they were among the rare teams (like Giants) who beat up Brady always and hence the Ravens had 'that much success' against the Pats.

I was fuming that I was unable to email the program to have someone ask Ray if a record of 3-10 against the Pats (granted, playoffs were 2-2) during the Brady era counted as 'much success'.

Plus, Pees was with Ravens from 2012 and now with the Titans in 2018. And Patricia is with the Lions this year. Isn't there a possibility that these two guys who have worked closely with Brady right from 2004 might know a bit more about Brady's tendencies than any other coach outside the Pats and hence it is not that big a surprise when Brady does do well against teams coached by them?

Tried calling Boomer on his radio show to see if I can slip in that query but never got thru.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

Lamar already > RGIII at-least he can take a hit and have taken countless hits so far.

is he their tyrod taylor replacement

 

[TinhWoodhead]

Blue oyster cult: Don’t fear the ratbirds

 

[A Defiant Goose]

Blue oyster cult: Don’t fear the ratbirds

Don't fear the weepers

 

[Triumph]

The Pats strength is matched to the Ravens strength and the Pats weakness is matched to the Ravens weakness.

NE - O vs Balt D
Balt - O vs NE D

The Pats D is tackling like champs though.

 

[BobDigital]

The Ravens are not a team to fear but one to be respected. As long as they have their HC I don't count them out. However this is a very different team that the Ravens in the early 2010s

Lets look at signature wins and all of their loses. Personally I don't care much about the week 2 loss to the Bengals or anything in the first quarter of the season all that much. Nor do I put much stock in a week 5 loss to the Browns to be honest. You should have it together more by that point but it is still early in the year.

Instead lets look at their other 3 loses. They lost to the Saints by 1 point in a game that should have gone to OT if not for a missed kicked. The Saints are arguably the best team in the NFL and they played them evenly for 4 quarters.

They lost again to the Panthers in Carolina. Again it is hard to be critical of this. Carolina is a dud on the road and stud at home. Playing Carolina at Carolina is one of the hardest draws in the NFL this year.

Their 3rd loss was to the Steelers. This loss happened in their house and was a chance to get a mid season signature win and put the NFL on notice. They failed to do this at their own house. To be fair Pitt knew what it would mean if the Ravens beat them 2 times and this became a must win game for them. That being said this was a game that would have put the Ravens in the drivers seat. You need to be able to win game that they other team can't afford to lose. While only a 7 point loss this game was never really that competitive. The Steelers pretty much imposed their will on the Ravens for 60 minutes.

Again this game feature Flacco and not Jackson but I don't think Jackson is a huge upgrade or downgrade really. Just a different style of player. That loss and they way they lost at their own house gives me pause when it comes to considering the Ravens a true threat.

Particularly if they need to walk into New England.

 

[FCB02062]

Here we go again....

 

[1960Pats]

The Ravens are not a team to fear but one to be respected. As long as they have their HC I don't count them out. However this is a very different team that the Ravens in the early 2010s

Lets look at signature wins and all of their loses. Personally I don't care much about the week 2 loss to the Bengals or anything in the first quarter of the season all that much. Nor do I put much stock in a week 5 loss to the Browns to be honest. You should have it together more by that point but it is still early in the year.

Instead lets look at their other 3 loses. They lost to the Saints by 1 point in a game that should have gone to OT if not for a missed kicked. The Saints are arguably the best team in the NFL and they played them evenly for 4 quarters.

They lost again to the Panthers in Carolina. Again it is hard to be critical of this. Carolina is a dud on the road and stud at home. Playing Carolina at Carolina is one of the hardest draws in the NFL this year.

Their 3rd loss was to the Steelers. This loss happened in their house and was a chance to get a mid season signature win and put the NFL on notice. They failed to do this at their own house. To be fair Pitt knew what it would mean if the Ravens beat them 2 times and this became a must win game for them. That being said this was a game that would have put the Ravens in the drivers seat. You need to be able to win game that they other team can't afford to lose. While only a 7 point loss this game was never really that competitive. The Steelers pretty much imposed their will on the Ravens for 60 minutes.

Again this game feature Flacco and not Jackson but I don't think Jackson is a huge upgrade or downgrade really. Just a different style of player. That loss and they way they lost at their own house gives me pause when it comes to considering the Ravens a true threat.

Particularly if they need to walk into New England.

The Ratbirds have a decent shot at the AFCN. They're only 1/2 game back of the Squeelers and have a slightly easier schedule than them.

They also have a 1 game lead for the last WC spot over the Broncos (3 easier games), LOLphins (2 easier games), Titans (4 easier games) and Indiots (2 easier games).