deeshopper Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 ...Patriots next week? If they do, can they beat the 49ers again? The Giants? The Packers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 They can. They beat them in the playoffs with a lesser team 2 years ago. They won't if they play like they did today next week. To point out what good defense can do to great offense....the Giants D is holding Aaron Rodgers and the Pack O to 13 points right now in the 4th quarter. The Pats D is horrendous. Ray Rice should run for at least 150 and keep Brady and the Pats off the field. Joe can throw on those slappies too.The Ravens D will have to play faster and they will have to sack, hit and harrass Brady. They can do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutsideRzAcE Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Who will cover Gronkowski? That is my concern. It's a tremendous mismatch for anyone if we go man. We'll have to scheme him and Hernandez too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutsideRzAcE Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 The Packers are going down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Packers are done. The darlings of the NFL this year. The unbeatable Rodgers. The dome teams are gone.Brees gone. Only great QB left is Brady. It's opening up nice for the Ravens....well...there's that one last huge hurdle...Brady. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc. Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Here's my single thought... Defense actually matters. No matter what they were saying all year long... it actually matters. We're looking at some of the highest scoring teams in NFL history in the Packers, Patriots and Saints... and you're looking at 2 of the 3 out already. And here's what we have to remember that has been a bit lost... The Texans were statistically a better defense than the Ravens this year, #2 in the league. Our offense was struggling, but they were struggling against an absolutely stellar unit. The Patriots, meanwhile, succeeded against the #21 ranked Denver unit... By the same token, the 49ers 26th ranked offense scored 36 points against the 24th ranked offense. The Giants just put 37 against the Packers last ranked D. It's possible for average and even bad teams to score against these awful defenses. I am very worried about the Ravens ability to get to Brady, stop their receivers, and hold the offense in. I think it will be an obvious challenge. I'm less concerned about their running game - even their Hernandez end arounds that tied the Broncos up. But I am quite confident that Ray and Ricky will be able to make some HUGE plays if Cam lets them. And that will be the key. Keep our offense on the field for 7-10 minutes at a time and don't let Brady on the field. And I am pretty confident that if/when we get the running game going, our passing game will find its feet - at least enough to be competitive. If we are forcing them to put 8 in the box against Ray... I don't think they can cover Boldin, Smith and anyone else, really... Pitta, Dickson, Evans... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BallTMore Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Love it! No matter how many rules they make for the offense, it is still defense that is winning in the playoffs. Suck it, Rodgers! And yes, we can beat Thomas, but it looks like it will be extra tough because the refs are fully in pretty boy QB mode. Rogers and the Pack got two huge calls to extend drives. We have to make sure we dont stare at Tommy too hard or we will get a flag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc. Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Actually, though, I have seen the refs start to give Tom the ol' 'really?' look more often than not these days. They seem to be understanding he's a flopper and a queen... and they're holding him to a different level almost. It should be fun... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spen Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Nope. I'd be amazed if we are within 14 points of them at the end of the game. Against that offense the defense can play well and still give up 24 points. While the Patriots defense sucks I expect them to commit to stopping Ray Rice and making Joe beat them. And I do not think he can. The only chance I see is if Rice runs wild and carries the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 "What do you think Mike?" "Do the Ravens have enough to beat the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game Sunday? Of course, but it can't be a pretty game, either. It has to be another ugly masterpiece."http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-preston-ravens-0116-20120115,0,7697546.column Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cravnravn Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hell yeah we can.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunno Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Can they? Sure, it's possible. Am I brimming with confidence they will after watching that offensive performance vs the Texans? No, not even remotely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yagersports Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 We match up well against the Pats. They don't have a burner that's going to beat us deep. (Johnson for Texans or the guys in SD) Gronkowski does provide a match-up, however I believe that we can scheme him. I believe that we can do an over under and limit him to 5 catches or so. Most importantly we need to shut him out of the end zone. Put Reed over the top of Gronks and McClain underneath. Match Webb on Branch and take away Brady's deep threat and use Smith and Co. to match up against Welker. We may give up some underneath routes to Welker, but we'll be tight in the red zone forcing FG's. Bend but don't break. I believe we'll be all right. I think that Joe and company had trouble against a stellar defense. We'll have much more success against the Pats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrubberRaven Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Don't forget Hernandez guys...when Gronk disappears...he shows his ugly...and the guy does it ALL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BallTMore Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I'm not looking this up because I'm lazy, but I think I'm in the ballpark. The Ravens have played 8-10 of the top ten defenses in the NFL this season. The Patriots have beat one team with a winning record (Broncos). The Ravens were 6-0 against playoff teams this season the Pat were 0-2. The only tough teams they played were the Steelers and Giants (Lost) Yes, we can beat the Pats, the media doesn't think so, but they also think Joe was bailed out all day by "miraculous catches" (confirms my theory they only watch highlights - which is sad since there were only 4 games on this week) I guess they didn't see the 4 early drops that completely killed momentum. Another quick point: Fuck Tom Brady. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc. Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Was about to post the same thing, BallT. The miraculous Pats are 0-2 against teams with a winning record (aside from the Broncos, who didn't have a winning record in the reg season). Reminds me a lot of the Bengals. The Pats have also only faced 3 of the league's top 5 defenses and lost to 2 of them. It IS possible to stop Brady. It IS possible to buck their receivers. Most importantly, it is MORE THAN POSSIBLE to gash a weak defense - even Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vmax Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Love it!You go dc!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutsideRzAcE Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 The powder of positive thinking. We match up well against the Pats. They don't have a burner that's going to beat us deep. (Johnson for Texans or the guys in SD) Gronkowski does provide a match-up, however I believe that we can scheme him. I believe that we can do an over under and limit him to 5 catches or so. Most importantly we need to shut him out of the end zone. Put Reed over the top of Gronks and McClain underneath. Match Webb on Branch and take away Brady's deep threat and use Smith and Co. to match up against Welker. We may give up some underneath routes to Welker, but we'll be tight in the red zone forcing FG's. Bend but don't break. I believe we'll be all right. I think that Joe and company had trouble against a stellar defense. We'll have much more success against the Pats. I was wondering if we should have Smith follow Gronkowski and Webb stick with Welker. Use a LB/Safety on Hernandez and Cary on Branch. I think Carr did a good job on Welker last time so they may look to him again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papasmurfbell Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I think it ends this Sun. The Pats are much better than they were a couple of yrs ago. The Ravens have issues on O, D, and ST's. That does not help a team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc. Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 How much better are the Pats? The Pats two years ago where supposed to be half-decent on defense - we heard about their young guys and that solid group of LBs and up and coming DBs... and then they got shredded. And this year no one even tries to make the excuse they are good. Or average. I think the offense works on a different level now - but they haven't really been tested. They faltered a lot against the Steelers and Giants, though, when really pressed. We should be able to create pressure. We didn't against the Texans because (a) we didn't care much about Yates and (b) we were scared of Foster. B is the bigger factor going into New England - we won't be afraid of anything on their ground game, so let the beasts loose on Tom and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldno82 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Yes they can beat them but I don't think they will. Just not enough consistency out of this team on offense and the defense, still one of the best, probably can't carry them against the Pats away. Brady is Brady. NOW, on the other hand, I picked the Ravens go 8-8 this year and they surprised me. They win ugly but they do win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papasmurfbell Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 The Pats O is much better than a few yrs ago. Who is covering Gronk and Hernandez? Oh yeah Ray can cover either of them. Then add in Eddleman and the other WR's. This is the best QB they have seen this yr and he has a very good OL. I don't like the pressure except Suggs and Ngata. The Pats D is coming around now. They may not stop the Ravens but they can slow them down. Cam will do the rest of the stopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutsideRzAcE Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 The Pats O is much better than a few yrs ago. Who is covering Gronk and Hernandez? Oh yeah Ray can cover either of them. Then add in Eddleman and the other WR's. This is the best QB they have seen this yr and he has a very good OL. I don't like the pressure except Suggs and Ngata. The Pats D is coming around now. They may not stop the Ravens but they can slow them down. Cam will do the rest of the stopping. Ok Papa you're laying it on a little thick. The Pats D is coming around? Why? Because they shut down Tim Tebow? The two games before that the Pats were down 21-0 and 17-0 before they even finished annoucing the starting lineups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cravnravn Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Yeah Papa, Denvers O was 30th in the league, so shutting them down was no biggie. But to add, Im not feeling it this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cravnravn Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 The Pats O is much better than a few yrs ago. Who is covering Gronk and Hernandez? Oh yeah Ray can cover either of them. Then add in Eddleman and the other WR's. This is the best QB they have seen this yr and he has a very good OL. I don't like the pressure except Suggs and Ngata. The Pats D is coming around now. They may not stop the Ravens but they can slow them down. Cam will do the rest of the stopping. Bottom line is Ngatas' presence must be felt and Suggs has to torment Brady..We chip Gronk off the line and that throws the play off by 1/2 a second, thats enough to change any game plan.. Again, Im not feeling it this week. We know we can do that to opposing QB's, but its been missing the past 2 months..I guarantee theres something wrong with Ngata. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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