The views of the authors on this website are not neccessarily the views of the website. All comments are solely the responsibility of those who write them.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Can the Patriots Stop The Ravens ?

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Joe Flacco doesn't put up the numbers,
get the respect or have the three Super Bowl rings that Tom Brady
has. The Baltimore Ravens' quarterback does have one edge on the
Patriots star.
Flacco is 1-0 against Brady in postseason games.
He can stay undefeated and defy the doubters if the Ravens upset
the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game on Sunday.
Sure, Flacco was just the 18th-ranked quarterback in the NFL
this season, but he's the only one since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970
to reach the playoffs in each of his first four seasons. Brady did
it in two of his first four.
"A quarterback has to do what his team needs him to do to win
and Joe has done that," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "He's
been a solid guy since his rookie year in terms of managing the
game and using the clock and making good decisions and those types
of things."
In Flacco's four years, the Ravens are 44-20 in the regular
season and 5-3 in the playoffs. In the same span, although Brady
missed the last 15 games with a knee injury in 2008, the Patriots
are 48-16 in the regular season and 1-2 in the playoffs.
And the Patriots defense has struggled during the regular
season. Only one team allowed more yards passing during the regular
season.
The defense did have an outstanding game in last Saturday
night's 45-10 divisional win, giving up just 252 yards, but that
was against the overmatched Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos.
"Last week won't have anything to do with this week," Patriots
defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. "We have to play better. We
have to make more plays because each game you play it gets tougher
and tougher, especially when you're dealing with a ball club we're
going to face in the Ravens. They're a stingy team."
The playoff-tested Flacco has a lot more experience than Tebow.
He also has running back Ray Rice, who led the NFL with 2,068 yards
from scrimmage, and deep threats Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith.
The Ravens' running attack has been more effective than their
passing game, but the Patriots could be hurt if they don't pay
enough attention to Flacco and his receivers.
"They have a great running game," Patriots cornerback Devin
McCourty said, "but as a secondary, you've got to realize Anquan
Boldin (has been) a great receiver for years in this league and so
is Lee Evans. Then with Torrey Smith being a rookie, what jumps out
on the (video) screen is that he can fly and he gets vertical."
The Patriots, dealing with injuries on defense all season,
should be close to full strength.
They don't have Andre Carter, their leader in sacks before a
knee injury ended his season in the 14th game.
But safety Patrick Chung, their best defensive back, and
linebacker Brandon Spikes returned from seven games on the
sidelines to play the last regular-season game and first playoff
game.
"You can't say enough about (Chung)," cornerback Kyle
Arrington said. "He brings a very physical element, or more
physical element, to our defense. His presence is definitely known
and felt when he's back in the lineup."
The Patriots had the AFC's best record at 13-3, but the Ravens
were 12-4, although they were just 4-4 on the road.
But they and Flacco were at their best against the best.
They're 7-0 against playoff teams, including a 20-13 win over
the Houston Texans in last Sunday's divisional game.
In those games against playoff teams, Flacco has thrown for 10
touchdowns and just two interceptions against four of the NFL's top
seven-rated defenses - Pittsburgh (first), Houston (second), San
Francisco (fourth) and Cincinnati (seventh).
The Ravens gained just 227 yards against the Texans, but Flacco
had a 97.1 quarterback rating.
"Joe Flacco is a very capable quarterback," defensive backs
coach Josh Boyer said. "He is a guy that can throw the ball 65
yards down the field. He can hit the intermediate routes. He is
very smart. He understands when to go to the check downs. Even at
times he takes some good sacks. He doesn't put his team in bad
situations."
But he's unlikely to lead one sustained drive after another.
Still, if he doesn't give the opponent extra chances by turning
the ball over, the Ravens could score enough to win behind their
dominant defense.
Especially against a Patriots defense that allowed an average of
411.1 yards during the regular season.
Baltimore coach John Harbaugh thinks they're better than that.
"I see a very capable defense," he said. "I see a lot of
talented players who play very hard. (They have) a very big,
physical front, talented back end, (and are) obviously well-coached
with a good scheme. So I see a big obstacle in front of us."
Of course, this is no time to point out an opponent's
weaknesses.
Wilfork isn't about to do it either.
Flacco "has great poise in the pocket," he said. "He's going
to stand in that pocket and deliver a good football even if he's
getting hit. ... You can't ask for anything better. A quarterback
that can take a beating and licks and still deliver the ball
downfield, that's pretty good. We have our hands full there also.
"There are a lot of things that we have to do very well to be
successful. It's not just slowing down their running attack."

No comments: