The Ravens are saying all the right things this week. Heading into Foxboro, it seems that the spotlight has been all over the team as they make a push towards the Super Bowl. You can’t blame the media for their obsession with the team. The Ravens have the most dynamic group of characters in the NFL. From Suggs down to Ray Rice, this team is fun to watch and fun to cover.
But after the Reed/Flacco fiasco, Kevin Bryne and the rest of the Ravens PR staff went to work to ensure that the entire situation blew over without any damage. Turns out they didn’t have to. John Harbaugh has done a great job of creating a team philosophy into the locker room. 5 years ago under Brian Billick, the comment Reed made would have cost the Ravens a championship.
But this group is different.
They are a family in every sense of the word. And if they lose in New England on Sunday, it won’t be because of some comment taken out of context.
This brings me to my next point. The Ravens actually have a game to play on Sunday.
Sometimes you forget that with all the non-football related attention the team has had this week. Many analysts don’t give the Ravens much of a shot. The Ravens head into this game as -7.5 point underdogs in this one. It’s been a while since the Ravens have actually been considered underdogs in a game. I asked Reed on Thursday what he thought about playing a game in which everyone expects you to lose.
"We couldn't care less about what people think about us across the league,” said Reed. “It's not about what people think on the outside of this building. It's about us proving to ourselves what we can do and knowing what we can do and going out there and proving it."
Sorry Reed…..I’m not buying what you’re selling.
You may not necessarily care what people across the league think. But you and the rest of the team definitely want to prove them wrong. The Ravens relish the underdog role. They were underdogs on their road to the Super Bowl in 2000 and they literally stepped on the field each week and proved everyone wrong.
It reminds me of a similar situation back in 2008. The Ravens were playing the Dallas Cowboys in their last game at Texas Stadium. Rumors got out that the Cowboys handpicked the Ravens as the team to play on the last game assuming they would be an easy victory. The Ravens were considered the underdogs in that game. They beat the Cowboys 33-24 with a playoff like intensity due in large part because people didn’t think they could win. They wanted to prove them wrong.
This will be no different. The Ravens are going to play with extremely high intensity. Much like they had in the Steelers game in week 1 of the season. The Patriots will have to match that intensity or it could be week 1 all over again.
PREDICTIONS
The more I study the Patriots, the more I find myself trying to convince myself how the Patriots can win this game. Their defense is atrocious. Their cornerbacks are horrible. Their linebackers are soft. Their defensive line is slow. But yet they are the number 1 seed. And it’s for two reasons and two reasons only.
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady…
A lot is being made about the Patriots TE Gronkowski. But tight ends have never been a problem for the Ravens. The Ravens defense are second in the league in defending tight ends with 625 yards and 3 touchdowns allowed all season. The Ravens haven’t allowed a TE to eclipse 80 yards all year. You beat the Ravens defense with your receivers. You need big and explosive receivers to defeat the Ravens, and the Patriots don’t have one.
That doesn’t mean you just sit back and watch Brady work. The Ravens pass rush has gone back to their 2010 form. They were unable to sack T.J. Yates at all last week. They need to pressure Brady or it won’t matter if he has Matt Light playing receiver. He will carve them up like a Thanksgiving turkey.
On the other side of the ball, Joe Flacco will need to have a big game in this one. The Patriots have been playing that huge touchdown run by Ray Rice all week. They will put all their effort into stopping Ray Rice, which should play right into the hands of Cam Cameron. The Patriots haven’t been horrible against the run, but they are oblivious on the fundamentals of playing pass coverage. IF the offensive line can give them time, I see no reason why Flacco shouldn’t have a great game.
The Ravens have struggled on the road this year. It’s why a home playoff game was so important. But if they can protect the quarterback and rush the passer, I see no reason why they won’t represent the AFC in Indianapolis 2 weeks from now.
Ravens win 31-20
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