Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots
Best defense in the AFC against arguably the best offense in all of football square up this weekend in the frosty tundra of New England. Last week, the Patriots commandingly handled the Denver Broncos seemingly putting the game away in the first half. Sport fans alike have to believe this is the Patriots year to get back to the promise land. Disappointing early playoff exits in the last few years and after their devastating loss to the Giants in Superbowl XLII, Brady and Belichick are hungry for another title.
After the Ravens sluggish second half performance against the Texans, an offense that primarily focuses on the run ever since the injury to Shaub. It's hard to envision the veteran Ravens defense shutting down the high flying Pats offense when they look this good. I was not surprised to see Veteran defensive back Ed Reed call out Joe Flacco on his lack of production. Even though his words were "he needs to be better". Well, that's the truth. Last week Flacco's performance again was sub par, again. This week, if there is a lapse in the secondary for the Ravens, or on defense at all for that matter Tom Brady is going to make them pay big time. The Ravens want to make this game a defensive battle, thats the only way they win. The need to dial up several different blitz packages to get Brady feeling uneasy early (if thats at all possible) and begin to run the ball and keep the Pats offense off the field.
I love the veteran leadership on the Ravens D, so I know they are going to come to play this week. However, the match ups just do not fit suit. With the Patriots late season defensive surge and their great offense, its hard to pick against them. I'm going to be interested in seeing how the purple and black handle Gronkowski over the middle along with Wes in the slot. No one all year has been able to cover Gronkowski and this certainly wont be a week to slow the record setting TE down.
Patriots advance to Indianapolis and Super Bowl XLVI. 27-17
No comments:
Post a Comment