Its going to be a tough game no doubt. I cant figure how Pats are 9 pt favorites

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Like Rockscully, I worry before every game but I like the Pats at home and I think Tom and company can wear the Raven's older defense down with the fast offense play calls. But I still can worry , right? :)

Ravens have 2 straight games of 87 snaps on D, gotta be hurting them. But only game won by more than 3 pts was Balt playoff win here 33-14. so again, 9 points seems way too high..I expect Pats to win but a Balt win would not surprise me

Baltimore will be tough, very tough.  They've got a lot going for them anyway but there's the atonement factor from last year as well as the 'winning one for the Ray' factor.

I'm not, the game goes as Brady goes and he's playing some great football out there. 

I think this team is better than last year's team and the Ravens are worse than last year (although they seem to be playing a lot more inspired in the playoffs).  That being said we have a habit of playing the Ravens close.  On paper I think we match up well and since we are home I expect to win, but given recent history I will probably have a few more gray hairs after the game than I did going into it.

If both teams play their best, I think that pAts have to much fire power and an opportunistic defense to lose. Howeve rif the PAts play subpar (aka Jacksonville) lots to worry about.

In a way its good we lost to these guys early on and squeeked out last years AFC game. Gives BB something to remind the PAts about. No time to rest on reputation, we need to go out and play.

In response to RockScully's comment:

????

Jan 10, 2010, the Lewis led Ravens came into Gillette and beat the Pats badly from start to finish

In response to 49Patriots's comment:

Flacco coming off his best playoff game as well... Balt reminds me of last years Giants - literally dead in mid season, then  playing strong in playoffs

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Other than when we got destroyed by BAL in 2009, the games have always been close.

Even in '07, when the Pats were undefeated and Bal was sub 500 the game was close

Flacco almost led a game winning drive in '09 (Clayton drop), '11 (Lee Evans drop), and he actually led the drive this season.

I said this on another thread, but Flacco has a little bit of Eli in him. He's frustratingly inconsistent but very capable of making big plays.

Things that have changed: Pats no longer have Gronk. He played an integral part in blocking Suggs and even Ngata at times last season. Suggs played well against Den and could be trouble against us.

LaDarius Webb is missing. They're best cb, Cary Williams, is honestly not very good. I have friends who are Bal fans who can't stand him. Pats targeted him a lot in the first game, kind of expect the same this week. However, I thought the Broncos WRs would abuse that secondary, which didn't happen.

Patriots secondary isn't swiss cheese anymore. We no longer have to rely on Sterling Moore and Edelman to make plays. Remember, Boldin covered Boldin for a percentage of snaps.

 

We don't know how gassed the Ravens are. They've played 87+ snaps the last two weeks and are riding a wave of emotion. You would expect 1 of 2 outcomes: They continue to ride that emotion or they will run out of steam.

This is Ray Lewis' last game. Ravens are tight in the cap and owe Flacco money, it will also probably be Ed Reed's last game with the Ravens. I've read reports that Boldin could become a salary cap casualty. This is the Ravens last stand.

 

Pats are the better team, but I expect the Ravens to come out extremely focused. Pats could be in trouble if they don't match the intensity level

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In response to 49Patriots' comment:

Brady threw 6 TDs the week before playing the Ravens last season.

All bets are off. Especially in games when both teams know each other extremely well.

All I can say is, glad I have the MLK holiday off next Monday. This game is going to a nail biter and I need the day off to decompress. Expecting a close one.

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Yep. Brady has not faired especially well in recent years against the Ravens D.

If the Law of Averages catches up with the Ravens D and Brady finally has a very good game against them then I understand the pointspread.

This is the third round of playoffs. You would have to be an ostrich to not worry about any opponent at this stage. It will all come down to errors (or lack thereof) and execution in the end. However, from a coaching, personnel and game planning perspective, I would hang my hat on BB, Brady and the Pats every time.

In response to Low-FB-IQ's comment:

He torched them at their place earlier this year and that was when they still had Webb at CB.  Ravens D is playing better, but they have not been as good this year.  As I said in my previous post it almost seems destined that this game will be close given the previous matchups, but I think we match up well.

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Fans worried.. what a surprise!  Seems every game the Pats play some fan here starts a discussion in which they are worried about the next opponent.  I am so happy the team doesn't carry that attitude.  They are focused to do their job and if they do they win as they know the other team is trying to win too!

Of course the Ravens will be focused, riding the "Ray's last game" wave and the "we got to avenge the last AFCCG loss".  Some here make it look like the Ravens will be up for this game more than the Pats.  Going into this game, the Pats offense is better than it was in the first game against the Ravens plus their D is better.  Granted what happened in the past has no bearing on this game other than of you want it to.  We should be forward looking.  Look what the Pats did against the Texans yesterday and the O scored ALL of its points AFTER Gronk was out.  He was a non-factor in yesterday's game.  Worried?  Who other than the fans here?  If anything, the Ravens' fans have to worry which Flacco shows up and if their D is wheezing. 

In response to dapats1281's comment:

Brady didn't have Shane Vereen, Ridley and Woodhead. 

Work Vereen into coverage against Ray Lewis, all day, it'll keep Lewis off the field. 

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