"We're On To Baltimore"

Saturday's division round playoff game against the Ravens is being dubbed as the 'worst case scenario matchup' for the Pats. Which, if you think about it, is understandable. In the playoffs, Joe Flacco essentially becomes a completely different player, performing at an insanely higher level. In fact, he's 2-1 against Brady and the Pats in the playoffs. New England is 15-4 at home in the post season. Guess what...two of those losses came against Baltimore. 

If you want to talk about previous seasons, then yeah, Baltimore seems to have the edge against us in the playoffs. They're not afraid to play in Foxboro, which, is kind of admirable, really. Okay, so they beat us at home in the AFCCG 2 seasons ago, while they were riding the coattails of Ray Lewis' 'final ride' and his deer antler spray, I mean motivational speeches. We're still mad about that, by the way. But a lot has changed since 2013. Last year, we went into Baltimore and beat the Ravens 41-7. And the craziest part? We did it without Gronk, Wilfork, no LaFell, no Revis, no Browner...see where I'm going with this? And you best believe Wilfork is hyped, since he spent last years playoffs on IR. 

We know the Ravens well. We know how they play us and we know that it's never an easy game. This year, my concern is again, centered around the offensive line. Baltimore's front is scary good. They've always given us trouble. Though they suffered some blows to the secondary earlier this season, they've settled in and got a pretty good thing going. As far as the Flacco-led offense, well, our defense has their work cut out for them. Pass rush and getting pressure on Flacco is key. I sincerely hope he's uncomfortable all. game. long (hint, hint, do your job Chan95, Collins, Nink, Ayers). Revis on either Smith, Torrey or Steve, will most certainly be an interesting matchup. Hopefully he has another shutdown performance. Anyone else think Revis needs an interception, this game? Considering how many times we've struggled to slow down tight ends this year, I think the most underrated and overlooked offensive weapon the Ravens have, is Owen Daniels. I dig the idea of Browner on Daniels, but I don't expect a complete shut-down. Browner's good, but Daniels just might a lil better. 

Keys for a Patriots win:

• Defensively:
• Secondary needs to effectively shut down Baltimore's passing game, and our line has to stop the run and pressure Flacco. CONSISTENTLY. 
• Create turnovers. Picks, forced fumbles, strip-sacks, all of the above; whatever floats their boats. Just do it. 
• Dominate on 3rd downs and red zone stops. Pretty much speaks for itself. 
• Offensively:
• 2 dimensional offense. A nice combination of running and passing. 
• Open up the passing game. I would almost expect (and plan) for Gronk to be a non-factor for much of the game. More than likely, he'll be double-teamed for most of the night. And you can't just sling it to Jules every play, either. I have a feeling Amendola has a big game, maybe Wright and Tyms get involved a little, and LaFell becomes Brady's best/favorite weapon, this weekend. I'm all for using whoever it takes to get touchdowns, instead of settling for field goals.
• Obviously, limit turnovers. None would be nice, but as stated earlier, Baltimore's defense always gives Brady a little trouble. 
• Outstanding O-Line performance. I'm talking a -Brady has all the time in the world, leaves us speechless for 3 days, stellar- performance...too much? But really, if the offensive line can perform well, I like our chances. 

This post is kind of all over the place, but the gist of it is: just win, baby, win. *Snoop Dogg voice* 

As always, Go Pats!