New England Patriots: It’s Time To Ground The Ravens

First off, how about that title?

I know, absolute genius.

As you know, the New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday in the first game of what should be an awesome divisional round. There are a number of great storylines that should monitor as the weekend progresses, but in the eyes of Patriots’ fans, there is none bigger than Pats-Ravens IV.

Aside from the New York Giants, the Ravens have been the only team over the last 13 years to have any kind of postseason success against the Patriots, and it has all come over the last six years. Since we have had four days to talk about this matchup, I am sure you are extremely familiar with the past results: a 33-14 blowout loss in 2009, a 23-20 escape in 2011, and a 28-13 loss in 2012. I didn’t want to see the Ravens again, but now that they are here, I would love nothing more than to see Tom Brady send Terrell Suggs and company packing in a humiliation game at Gillette Stadium.

However according to the media, the Pats shouldn’t even show up for this game since Baltimore evidently has New England’s number. In fact, Joe Flacco is OBVIOUSLY a better quarterback than Tom Brady, especially in the playoffs, where, you know, Brady has the most wins in NFL history.

That story right there is from the completely unbiased Brian Billick, who was the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens for nine seasons.

And from the sound of this other piece from Greg Rosenthal, it appears the Patriots are actually the six seed, and the Ravens are the top team in the conference. The Ravens big, physical defense should demoralize the Pats, and Flacco will be invincible…against easily the best defense he will have faced this year.

Do you get my drift?

Despite cruising through a very tough schedule, and rightfully obtaining the number one seed throughout the playoffs, it appears that New England will definitely lose to a Ravens squad that went 1-6 against teams with a record above .500.

Honestly, I am glad a lot of the media has been declaring this game one New England will lose, because I know Bill Belichick and the Patriots will use it as bulletin board material come Saturday night. The Pats are a great team, and when you give them extra ammunition, things could get ugly.

Now, I am not saying the Patriots are going to win this one by 50 points. It actually could be a competitive game with the way Flacco decides to all of a sudden stop sucking in January. But I firmly believe Brady and the Pats want to exact some revenge on the team that has tortured them in the postseason over the last couple of years, and their play will reflect just that.

There will be no score prediction from me today (sorry), but be sure to check back tomorrow morning for my full divisional picks. If you want my analysis on the game, here are my general thoughts on the Ravens, and my offensive and defensive keys for the Pats.