Felger is picking Baltimore

[Deus Irae]

And the excuses come rolling in. Replacement refs, bad calls, etc.....the common sounds from fan boards whose team just lost.
And the "Talib wasn't here" argument has become an automatic "it will be different this time" crutch. No mention of Suggs though?
And the Brady-like comment would have more sway if Brady played Brady-like vs Balt.

In the last game, some things were clear and obvious:

1. Terrible calls kept the Ravens in the game early when it could have been a Patriots blowout victory
2. McCourty & Co. couldn't defend the deep ball, which is what allowed the Ravens to get back in the game
3. Patriots safety play sucked
4. Brady had found a way to play much better against the Ravens than he had the year before

Also, a positional breakdown gives the Patriots the edge at

QB
TE
WR
OL
LB
NT
CB

So, given that, and given the fact that the Patriots secondary is much improved since that first encounter, please explain why people here shouldn't be confident in expecting a Patriots victory.

 

[JMC00]

And the "Talib wasn't here" argument has become an automatic "it will be different this time" crutch. No mention of Suggs though?

No mention of Hernandez playing this game or the ravens not having Lardarius Webb this time?

I mean Cris Collinsworth in that Week 3 game had Webb as a top 3 corner

 

[borg]

In the last game, some things were clear and obvious:

1. Terrible calls kept the Ravens in the game early when it could have been a Patriots blowout victory
2. McCourty & Co. couldn't defend the deep ball, which is what allowed the Ravens to get back in the game
3. Patriots safety play sucked
4. Brady had found a way to play much better against the Ravens than he had the year before

Also, a positional breakdown gives the Patriots the edge at

QB
TE
WR
OL
LB
NT
CB

So, given that, and given the fact that the Patriots secondary is much improved since that first encounter, please explain why people here shouldn't be confident in expecting a Patriots victory.

No mention of anything Ravens? Excellent analysis

 

[DarrylStingley]

Let's see. Vegas has the Pats by 9. And an agitatator who knows very little about sports says they lose. Call me crazy but I'm more persuaded by Vegas.

 

[Deus Irae]

No mention of anything Ravens? Excellent analysis

Given my post, it should have been obvious to you that I was looking for you to give me the Ravens side.

please explain why people here shouldn't be confident in expecting a Patriots victory.

should have been a pretty clear nod to such a notion.

So, my post still stands and we're still awaiting your answer and explanations.


Also, Vegas currently has the line at 9. Are they all just a bunch of Patriots homers who refuse to see what's been happening in Baltimore, too?

 

[JackBauer]

And the "Talib wasn't here" argument has become an automatic "it will be different this time" crutch. No mention of Suggs though?

Considering Talib has transformed this secondary from one of the worst in the league to above average, it isn't exactly a crutch to cite that. This isn't getting back a single player from injury; this is recognizing the trigger for a cascade that has literally transformed the entire defensive backfield.

 

[RayClay]

Actually, Mazz thinks the Ravens are too old and slow on defense.

If they picked up a good shortstop, they could move someone to second base and that would hide the problem.

 

[Bella*chick]

Baltimore is 0-3 in the past few years in the AFCCG,they are overdue

Buffalo was 0-4 in 4 straight Superbowls back in the day. They were overdue by year 3 of that little run.

We're also overdue for another Superbowl.

I don't get the overdue thing. This isn't the public library.

 

[PatsSox363804]

Buffalo was 0-4 in 4 straight Superbowls back in the day. They were overdue by year 3 of that little run.

We're also overdue for another Superbowl.

I don't get the overdue thing. This isn't the public library.

No kidding. I also keep hearing how the Ravens want to right what happened last year well Christ, I'll bet there's a bunch of guys in our locker room that want to get to the Superbowl for the same reason don't they?

 

[Bella*chick]

No kidding. I also keep hearing how the Ravens want to right what happened last year well Christ, I'll bet there's a bunch of guys in our locker room that want to get to the Superbowl for the same reason don't they?

And I thought it was already "righted" by the Field Goal that Wasn't earlier this year. At least according to the ridiculous "Let's Make a Story Out of Anything We Can" media. What a surprise that everyone has forgotten about that bit of "karma". Now apparently THIS is the real karmic deal.

 

[patsfanincleveland]

And the excuses come rolling in. Replacement refs, bad calls, etc.....the common sounds from fan boards whose team just lost.
And the "Talib wasn't here" argument has become an automatic "it will be different this time" crutch. No mention of Suggs though?
And the Brady-like comment would have more sway if Brady played Brady-like vs Balt.

What excuse?

Actually watch the game. Raven drives were extended by bogus penalties. Sorry to bust your bubble with a reality pin.

Are actually a fan? If so, what's this burning need to double down on stupid?

 

[RhodyPatriot]

No kidding. I also keep hearing how the Ravens want to right what happened last year well Christ, I'll bet there's a bunch of guys in our locker room that want to get to the Superbowl for the same reason don't they?

Exactly!! Funny how nobody ever talks about how poorly Tom Brady played in that game last year. It's all about the mistakes the Ravens made and how they won't do that this year. Yeah right!!

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

It's a beautiful thing.

Felgie is talking like the Ravens defense is the 2nd coming of the '85 Bears.
I'm more confident than ever this game will not be that close.

Oh baby...bet the house on the Patriots...

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

2) Flacco has a great deep ball vs NE.....3 TDs thru the air of 20+ yards vs NE this year with Torry Smith going off for 127 yds
do you not watch the games?

With your stupid logic then I guess the Arizona Cardinals should have been the #1 seed last week with that top ranked defense they had by the end of that same week 3

I find it amusing that some fans see stuff early in a season and expect little to no changes along the way.

Some Teams get better......Some Teams get Weaker......No team stays the same all year.

Wake up,Man!

 

[augsnod]

There's nothing wrong with Felger picking the Ravens. I was watching much of the broadcast and he was NOT making the Ravens out to be the second coming of anyone. He made it clear that he is not good at picks and he will probably be wrong. There was a heck of a lot of self-deprecation involved. The guys joke around a lot and I see their contrary picks more a matter of attempts at objectivity than attempts at riling people up.

I don't understand why people can't see it as an opening for an honest discussion of the games they played and the game they WILL play. There are a lot of questions about past games on both sides and there are match-ups to consider in the up-coming game. I'd rather see the more sobering treatments of the subject instead of the over-confidence of homers. That just leads to painfully crushing surprises.

There is one concept that threatens every game: "any given Sunday."

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Baltimore is 0-3 in the past few years in the AFCCG,they are overdue

Also their window is closing fast because without Reed,Boldin who should be retiring soon and with Lewis already on his way out,you know they feel this might be their last chance for quite a while.

Its going to be a desperate Ravens team,and a desperate team is a dangerous team.

Right
And Brady is oblivious and does not care about his dwindling remaining years

 

[patfanken]

This is what he does, deliberately, to get the ratings. He deliberately goes negative against the home teams. Last week, it was equating Brady to Manning. This week, he's building up Flacco and the Ray Lewis victory tour, and he's laying the groundwork for his "49ers, Kaepernick" in the SB, just in case.

He's the worst host on either sports station, but it's working for him.

Not the worst host, but certainly the most annoying...and THAT'S what he's trying to be. Like a previous poster mentioned, I caught a bit of the TV feed of his show and he could hardly keep a straight face when he kept telling the audience he was picking the Ravens. He knows what he's doing and the 80 odd responses he's evoked here in just a couple of hours just proves he's doing the right thing.....for him and his show.

DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS

 

[RhodyPatriot]

Oh baby...bet the house on the Patriots...

Yup!!

Last year the Ravens had a bye in the 1st round of the playoffs, were coming into Gillette full of confidence having whooped the Patriots the year before in the wildcard game at Gillette, had Tom Brady playing one of the absolute worst playoff games of his career (22/36 239 yds, 0 TD 2 picks and a QB rtg of 57.5) and yet with all that going for them the Ravens still needed a last second 39 yd FG to win the game.....and didn't.
Brady had a really bad game, they lost Gronk during the game and had to adjust on the fly and somehow still managed to score 23 points on the '85 Bear...errrr I mean that vaunted one year younger and far more rested Baltimore Raven defense.

This is the team we should all fear on January 20, 2013????

I think not!!!

The Ravens are one year older, much more fatigued and facing a Patriot team that is much better on both sides of the ball right now than they were last year at this time.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Right
And Brady is oblivious and does not care about his dwindling remaining years

I am not suggesting that Baltimore will win but for those who think the game will be easy,it won't as both teams have legitimate chances to win.

Read between the lines.......

 

[RhodyPatriot]

I am not suggesting that Baltimore will win but for those who think the game will be easy,it won't as both teams have legitimate chances to win.

Read between the lines.......

Game won't be easy. Few NFL playoff games are. But it won't be that close.
I like the Patriots 35 to 17.
Brady was god awful last year and the Patriots still put up 23 on a much more rested Raven defense.
You want to say Flacco is better this year? Fine! The Patriot defense he's going up against is also better than last year so we'll call that a wash.