By Tom E. Curran
CSNNE.com
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WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAVE THE BALL
It starts with protection. Keep the Ravens ravenous defense off of Tom Brady and then let things flow from there. Obviously, easier said than done. Terrell Suggs has traditionally been a burden for the Patriots offensive line. He will make plays off the edge if not given extra attention. That's a guarantee despite the success Matt Light's had this season against some top-tier pass rushers. The dangerous thing about the Ravens pass rush is that it can come right up the guy with nose tackle Haloti Ngata leading that charge. It will be a numbers game and - with Ngata and Suggs commanding multiple blockers - that reduces the number of guys who can be out in routes. The Patriots don't figure to line up and pound the ball on the Ravens. It's about Tom Brady and his elite weapons Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez. Just like the Patriots in protection, the Ravens are looking at?a?numbers game because they all command extra defenders. Look for the Patriots to slowly ease into this game offensively. There will be deciphering for Brady to do and bad plays to stay out of until he figures out what the Ravens game plan is. It promises to be a fascinating chess match between the two strongest parts of these two excellent teams.
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WHEN THE RAVENS HAVE THE BALL
And here is the ugly contest. Both the Ravens offense and Patriots defense are the ordained whipping boys for their respective teams. Last week, Joe Flacco gave detractors artillery with an ugly game against the Texans. It was a performance that showed that Flacco - while composed and accurate when comfortable - can get tremendously unnerved and uneven under pressure. Whether the Patriots have the ability to bring the same kind of pressure against Flacco that Houston did is a tall order. But the Patriots will have to unnerve him and they'll be better able to do that if they keep him in second or third-and-long. To do that, holding down the terrific Ray Rice both out of the backfield on screens and wheel routes and on simple tosses and handoffs is the jey measure. Huge game for the Patriots front-seven in that regard. One key for the Ravens could be the outside receiver combo of Anquan Boldin and Torrie Smith. A tough, possession guy and a speed guy who will challenge a Patriots defense that has a feature film of poor pass defense highlights.
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THE KICKING GAME
Kind of a wash with the specialists. Billy Cundiff and Sam Koch are on a level with Stephen Gostkowski and Zoltan Mesko for the Patriots. The Ravens have been a little generous on returns - 11.9 on punts, 29.2 on kickoffs - the Patriots haven't torn off many big ones. So we'll see if the Patriots can ger an advantage there. They also have had some special turnovers so watch for the big play in the kicking game.
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GAME WITHIN THE GAME
We'll give you two. The Ravens on Hernandez and the Patriots on Terrell Suggs/Haloti Ngata. For Baltimore, they need to find Hernandez and then cover him. Do they do it with corners, safeties or linebackers. And how do they stop him from making the first man miss? For the Patriots, they need to keep Suggs from making a game-altering play coming off the edge. Matt Light's had a terrific year, but he may need help there. And Ngata on Dan Connolly is not a good matchup for New England. He'll need help in there.
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PATS GOTTA STOP
Ray Rice. He led the NFL in yards from scrimmage in 2011. He's hard to find and when he's found, he's hard to catch. When he's caught, he's hard to bring down. It takes a?village to stop him and the Patriots defense can't let him get through to the second level because he's a home-run hitter when he does. ?
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RAVENS GOTTA STOP
For weeks, I've been alternating between?Gronkowski and?Welker.?In the past few weeks, it's become clear, thouhg, that it's Hernandez that's causing the most chaos for defenses.?The Patriots line him up all over the place - wide receiver, slot receiver, running back and conventional tight end. Finding him is a chore. Covering him is worse. ?
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DON?T BE SURPRISED IF
It's a very, very low-scoring first half as both teams feel each other out and the Patriots try to decipher how best to attack the Ravens defense.
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THAT SUMS IT UP RAVENS STYLE
?What makes Tom Brady such a good player?? Maybe one of the elite quarterbacks that ever played the game?? The thing is he has total control of what they?re doing offensively, first of all.? That?s where it starts. They?ve definitely built an offense around him." - John Harbaugh, Ravens head coach.
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THAT SUMS IT UP PATS STYLE
"I think every week it?s really a matter of how you play; it?s not so much of what you?ve done or what you?ve accomplished.?... You realize the ball is going to be kicked off, there?s going to be 60 minutes on the clock and whoever makes the most plays is going win. Plays from last week aren?t going to count anymore. So we have to do it again. All the preparation that we put in last week, and all the practices and all the walkthroughs were important but at the same time, we have to put just as much in this week because if you don?t, you don?t play well. It doesn?t matter what you did last week, you?ll be sitting at home watching and nobody really wants to be doing that." - Tom Brady, Patriots quarterback.
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THE FINAL SCORE IS?
Patriots,?27-21
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