New England Media

[vmax]

They are doing their best Paul Revere: "The Ravens are Coming! The Ravens are Coming!"

 

 

 

Whoops.

There goes the Kraft-O-Matic, La-Z-Boy playoff plan. After a very un-Patriot-like series of events, your team is actually going to have to play Big Boy Football against a worthy adversary to advance to the AFC Championship this year. The annual birthright march to the Super Bowl now has a big speed bump in its path. The Baltimore Ravens are coming to Foxborough Saturday and unlike most potential Patriots playoff opponents, the Ravens are not afraid of the Patriots. Unlike almost everybody else in the AFC, the Ravens have the coach, the quarterback, and the pass rush to compete in Foxborough in a playoff game.

What a concept. For once, it’s not likely to be a matter of the Patriots just showing up and watching their opponents vomit on their own cleats. The tanned and rested Patriots — who have not experienced a competitive moment of football in more than two weeks — are going to have to play well to win their first playoff game.....The Ravens are different. They will not be defeated the moment Bill Belichick wins the coin toss and defers. They know things that the Broncos, Colts, and Bengals do not know. They know how to win playoff games on the road. They know how to win in Foxborough in January in this century. They have done it. Twice. Almost three times.http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/01/04/shaughnessy/4qoFbd6WOUnvkdC2xx2WIM/story.html

 

 

 

PITTSBURGH — After the Ravens pulverized Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Saturday night, Tom Brady and the Patriots need to have a plan in place by the weekend to counteract a terrorizing pass rush.

Edge rushers Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil amassed 29 sacks during the regular season, and Dumervil had two of the Ravens’ five quarterback take-downs in their upset of the Steelers. They know that must continue in order to rattle Brady and slow down the Pats’ fourth-ranked scoring offense.

“I might start watching film tonight,” Dumervil said after the win.

The Ravens pass rushers are rolling while the Patriots regressed in the past couple of games, likely because they rested left guard Dan Connolly and right tackle Sebastian Vollmer. Both appear to be on track to be in the lineup Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

But the Ravens have compiled an outrageous 23 sacks in their past four victories, and they’ve recorded at least four sacks in eight of their past 12 games. They attack and they punish, and they’ll be looking to bury Brady.

“Everybody knows the history,” Suggs said. When McPhee was told Bill Belichick would likely uncover the Ravens’ patterns, McPhee replied, “He can figure it out. We’re still going to come with it.”http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/patriots_nfl/new_england_patriots/2015/01/big_rush_to_get_tom_brady?utm_campaign=bostonherald_top_stories&utm_source=bostonherald&utm_medium=top_stories

 

Then there are those who are warm and fuzzy....snug in their superiority....

 

 

............This year won’t be remembered as one of Belichick’s best coaching jobs, because his team is loaded with talent. But Belichick made almost all the right moves as a coach and executive, building a team that looks primed to reach the Super Bowl. The Patriots excelled across the board: They were first in the NFL in point differential, tied for second in turnover differential, sixth on third-down efficiency on offense, ninth in red zone offense, and tied for sixth in red zone defense. They also scored five touchdowns on defense and special teams.http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/01/05/darrelle-revis-brandon-browner-drive-patriots-defense/eBocjPQwHnVkVs58r8EN5N/story.html