Baltimore is right about that, they play in a tougher division. Probably has cost them home field advantage a couple times versus the Pats. 

RESPONSE: You sound like a typical Buzzard booster. There's always an excuse. What was their excuse this year? Cleveland was terrible. Pittsburgh had a down year, and Cincinnati, though they made the play-off and won 10 games, lacks a competent QB. The "we play in a tough division card" doesn't wash...particularly this year. The Ravens beat the Browns twice, beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh, yet lost to the Charlie Batch led Steelers at home. They beat the Bengals at home, and lost on the road in the seasonal finale, in what was, for them, a meaningless game. Their starters played only one half.

     So...how is playing in a tough division an excuse this year...when they went 4-2 in their division, with the two losses coming to the Charlie Batch led Steelers at home, and in a meaningless game to the Bengals?

     The truth is that the Ravens blew their shot at finishing with the #1 overall seed in the AFC because of the following:

1.) Week 2: lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Philly, 24-23;

2.) Week 13: lost to the Charlie Batch led Steelers, at home, 23-20;

3.) Week 14: lost in Washington to the Redskins in OT, 31-28, despite having knocked RG III out of the game late in the 4th quarter...and then allowing rookie 2nd string QB Kirk Cousins to beat them in OT;

4.) Week 15: lost to Peyton Manning and the Broncos at home, 34-17;

     In other words, they controlled their own destiny heading into Week 13, having an 9-2 record...before losing three in a row: http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/bal/baltimore-ravens

That said you take your lumps, all kinds of tough breaks in football and you have to move ahead. For example we have to put up with Pollard intentionally injuring one of our key players each season...

RESPONSE: Keep in mind that Haloti Ngata diving on a RG III as he was sliding down is the hit that created his knee problems. The Ngata hit knocked him out of that game, caused him to miss the following next weeks' game at Cleveland, and ruined him for the remainder of the season: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap2000000107937/Robert-Griffin-III-injury

1.) Week 2: lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Philly, 24-23;

2.) Week 13: lost to the Charlie Batch led Steelers, at home, 23-20;

3.) Week 14: lost in Washington to the Redskins in OT, 31-28, despite having knocked RG III out of the game late in the 4th quarter...and then allowing rookie 2nd string QB Kirk Cousins to beat them in OT;

4.) Week 15: lost to Peyton Manning and the Broncos at home, 34-17;

     In other words, they controlled their own destiny heading into Week 13, having an 9-2 record...before losing three in a row:

Just checking the banter at the Sun. What a delusional bunch of whiners.

In response to garytx's comment:

I have to agree with the Baltimore boys.  What QB/WR combo are you scared of in this conference?  Very average and their records indicate that.

     The Pats have the Brady/Welker combo, and the Ravens have the Flacco/Smith como. The Steelers had Big Ben/Wallace...but Ben was hurt, and Wallace had an off year, as he was pre-occupied with getting his new contract. Who do the Browns have? Does Bengal's QB Andy Dalton scare anybody? Really, what difference does it make? It's just another attempt by the "baltimore Boys" to convince themselves that this year will be different.

     Both the Patriots and Ravens are elite teams, capable of beating anyone, when they play their "A" game. The difference between the two is that the Patriots have dominated over the past decade, having won their fair share of big games...three SBs, and 5 AFC titles. Meanwhile the Buzzards' claim to fame lies only in the area of trash talking, cheap shots, and excuse making...after they invariably lose. 

In response to garytx's comment:

I have to agree with the Baltimore boys.  What QB/WR combo are you scared of in this conference?  Very average and their records indicate that.

     The Pats have the Brady/Welker combo, and the Ravens have the Flacco/Smith como. The Steelers had Big Ben/Wallace...but Ben was hurt, and Wallace had an off year, as he was pre-occupied with getting his new contract. Who do the Browns have? Does Bengal's QB Andy Dalton scare anybody? Really, what difference does it make? It's just another attempt by the "baltimore Boys" to convince themselves that this year will be different.

In response to xBruzer77's comment:

Just checking the banter at the Sun. What a delusional bunch of whiners.

Are they whining or simply being very supportive of their team like we are here?  From what I see, they are being fans and are excited about this game.  I am certain they come over here and chuckle at what they read from some of the posters in this forum.

In response to TexasPat's comment:

In response to garytx's comment:

I have to agree with the Baltimore boys.  What QB/WR combo are you scared of in this conference?  Very average and their records indicate that.

     The Pats have the Brady/Welker combo, and the Ravens have the Flacco/Smith como. The Steelers had Big Ben/Wallace...but Ben was hurt, and Wallace had an off year, as he was pre-occupied with getting his new contract. Who do the Browns have? Does Bengal's QB Andy Dalton scare anybody? Really, what difference does it make? It's just another attempt by the "baltimore Boys" to convince themselves that this year will be different.

To be fair, the Dalton/Green connection was among the best in the league, but I catch your drift.  The Buzzards don't really have much to back that premise considering the AFC North was pretty bad this year.  The Steelers were awful compared to their usual standards, the Browns are notoriously bad, and the Bengals had a pretty good season.  So you have 2 teams that had pretty good seasons, one that completely underperformed, and the other is known for being one of the worst in the league.  I'd hardly call that an impressive division in regards to this season. 

It's funny how Jints, and other haters of the Pats whine about how the AFC East is so bad yet we have made it to the AFC Conference Championship and Super Bowl, 7 and 5(soon to be 6) times, respectively, over the past 11 years.  So now is the AFC Conference as a whole so inferior?  Give me a break.  People just like to b*tch.