"This is a dream matchup for the Patriots"

[Coach42]

Actually

Don't try logic or reasoning or hard facts...

You mean facts like the unbeatable Ravens couldn't hold a 10 point lead with 10 minutes to go or that it was Hernandez and Gronkowski's fifth game of their careers? Or maybe the fact that it was Deion Branch's first game back and he went for 98 and a TD? No one is scared. Should be a competitive game.

Yes, the gamebook from last year.
You know, the game where Ed Reed didn't play.
We had a make shift offensive line but Flacco threw for 285 yards & 2 TDs and that was NOT with Torrey Smith or Lee Evans.
It was Brady that threw 2 interceptions against Fabian Washington, Chris Carr and Zibby as the starters.
Now we have Williams, Webb, and Jimmy Smith as our cover guys.
Ed willl be there.

And the Pats had Meriweather who actually hit people.
And this year we have Leach and Pollard as well.

I like our chances this time around. We are finally at full strength.

[Coach42]

This is Flacco's 4th season and NE has not won an AFC title since he got into the NFL either so...

Also the 3 SB wins are highly tarnished because of the cheating scandal and all. In non cheating seasons the Ravens are 1-0 vs NE in SB titles.

Wow I thought Jet fans were delusional.

[Jeremiah W]

Wow I thought Jet fans were delusional.

Straight facts homie. The Pats have not won the AFC since Flacco got to the NFL 4 years ago (response to the guy who said it has been 5).

The Pats were cheating when they won the 3 Sbs. I am not sure how proud I would be of those wins had it been my favorite team that had done it, but that is just me, a delusional Raven's fan.

[Welka_fan]

Whaat are you guys smoking?

You stopped gronk and hernandez in 2010 so it should be no problem now? Dude look at stats...improvement...they are off the charts! Gronk had the best TE season in NFL history and it wasn't even close....at all. He wasnt a serious candidate for best te in league even last year. Again...who won that game?

Are we really crying about the pats cheating? Is that your best argument for Ravens being a more successful franchise now?

Look at every expert prediction. Pretty much unanymous that the pats will win. Vegas has pats at -9. Are you saying they're all delusional?

Fact is, Joe is a mediocre QB that can't be counted on to get it done consistently. Look at Ravens' road performances this year lol. How often do the ravens put up 35 points? Most would agree that's about what it'll take to get a W this week.

Also...game is ravens to lose? Are you kidding? your offense is just bad unless it's all Ray rice all day. Belichick isn't going to sit back and watch that...

If Tom comes out in FU mode..which is what I and most (like Steve Young) fully expect (revenge factor)this game is over by halftime. It is well documented that it doesn't matter what defensive front tom is facing when he is on his A game and has weapons. Joe and Cam will implode when down by more then a possession and your only offensive weapon (Ray) will become less of a factor.

[Sua Sponte]

I was going to stay out of this but I can't resist.
Gronkowski did have a good year, no doubt, but who wasn't close. Because Jimmy Graham put up some stellar numbers down in the bayou.
I'm not going to predict a Ravens win, but I hope Tom does come out fired up, because once he gets rattled that fiery turns to frustration with Brady acting like the usual little Bitch pouting and slapping the ground like some brat that just lost to the dork in school and a bunch of Reed picks. The Ravens D will never shut down the Patsies O, but if they can slow them down, I would think that Joe is capable of scoring some points, at least that's what he has done this season against the best D's in the league.

[Jeremiah W]

Brady in FU mode? That was funny.

No one here is crying about the Pats cheating. They cheated. Does that make them better or worse this Sunday? No.

The point spread is based on public perception not worth explaining how that works.

Ray Rice will be a factor no matter what the score is. When the Ravens are up 2 TDs, he will be the one running out the clock.

I do not think the Steelers and Giants "stopped" the TEs for the Pats, they just got enough stops to beat the team.

Even when they are not cheating the Pats are a good football team. A little suspect on defense and at running the ball, but Brady is one of the best Qbs of all time even when he does not know all of the defensive audibles and coverages presnap.

Brady is going to have to have a huge game for the Pats to win. Flacco can just be a solid 2 TDs no picks kind of Qb and win as long as the defense and running game do what they have done all year vs playoff teams. If Flacco does have a huge game (against a suspect defense) the Ravens should win like the last time they had a playoff game in NE.

[sopranocorleone]

Whaat are you guys smoking?

Also...game is ravens to lose? Are you kidding? your offense is just bad unless it's all Ray rice all day. Belichick isn't going to sit back and watch that...

If Tom comes out in FU mode..which is what I and most (like Steve Young) fully expect (revenge factor)this game is over by halftime. It is well documented that it doesn't matter what defensive front tom is facing when he is on his A game and has weapons. Joe and Cam will implode when down by more then a possession and your only offensive weapon (Ray) will become less of a factor.

Right. Except that Flacco has played well in games in which Rice has been stopped. Look at, oh, I don't know, his performance ON THE ROAD against the Steelers in which he threw for 300 yards and won the game for them -- against a superior defense.

The Ravens offense is ranked 15th overall. Yours? Well, no need to keep hammering the point that it's awful.

Forget Flacco, how about just looking at some of the "great" QBs that have lit up your defense this year. The list includes Rex Grossman, Dan Orlovsky, Matt Moore, and even Mark Sanchez.

Flacco has faced top-notch defenses all year. When he's played against bad ones -- Indy, St. Louis, Arizona -- he's been pretty successful.

Facing your defense will be a relief.

[Welka_fan]

Rob Gronkowski 1327 Yds (NFL Record) 17 Tds (NFL Record for TE..close to top of list for WRs even)

Graham 1310 Yds 11 Tds. I'm not saying those ##'s aren't respectable/close at all..but when you consider graham had probably the #2 year EVER for a TE ...Gronks' does stand alone.

Giants and Steelers especially..their most effecive defense for Brady..was there offense. Ben 36/50 365 yards..40 minutes of possession..that's not Flacco. He can't control a game with short passes like Ben did. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree..I'll def be back to "I told you so" on Monday though.

Soprano..the Ravens played 8 away games this year. If the steelers performance was indicative of what to expect..1) I wouldn't be talkin at all/I'd be scared to death...and 2) the Ravens would have homefield advantage and wouldn't be playing away in the first place. Look at the other 7 performances..all indicative of a mediocre road team. Your baltimore homefield advantage (and admittedly dominant performances)..isn't there sunday.

As far as the shot on our defense..I'll take it..ours isnt great. Far from what you're trying to imply though. Middle of pack for the year in scoring defense (skewed by worse numbers early in the year)..top 10 in turnovers. Terrible in yardage? Yeah..but I mean so were GB, NO, and most top offenses..it's just the nature of the game when you're up 3-4 scores and playing prevent for a quarter in several games. Keeping opponents out of the redzone is all it takes to get W's when you have an offense like that..not so concerned about performance between the 20s.

[Sua Sponte]

So I guess most of the teams you played were playing catch up. Funny I could have sworn that Denver (1st game), Bills, Dolphins, and probably some other less than stellar teams put up points in the first half and Brady had to play come back against less than stellar Defenses and O's that were gift wrapping points with Turnovers or benching their #1 WR's. No big deal, just saying

And to say that Gronkowski stands alone with 17 more yards than Graham is just you being bias, ok he had more TD's but Bress had way more Red zone targets to throw to vers. Gronk being Brady's #1 option in the Red zone.
I guess Rice can't control T.O.P with 4-5 yard runs and Pitta 7-8 yard receptions.

[DBK11]

Right. Except that Flacco has played well in games in which Rice has been stopped. Look at, oh, I don't know, his performance ON THE ROAD against the Steelers in which he threw for 300 yards and won the game for them -- against a superior defense.

The Ravens offense is ranked 15th overall. Yours? Well, no need to keep hammering the point that it's awful.

Forget Flacco, how about just looking at some of the "great" QBs that have lit up your defense this year. The list includes Rex Grossman, Dan Orlovsky, Matt Moore, and even Mark Sanchez.

Flacco has faced top-notch defenses all year. When he's played against bad ones -- Indy, St. Louis, Arizona -- he's been pretty successful.

Facing your defense will be a relief.

I love your expert analysis that the Patriots offense is awful.....I'm pretty sure you have just lost all credibility.

[bevans9999]

I love your expert analysis that the Patriots offense is awful.....I'm pretty sure you have just lost all credibility.

I think its clear he was speaking of your defense. No doubt the Patsies O is good.

[DBK11]

Try living here. I have the picture on my office wall of the Oriole celebration after knocking the redsux out of the playoffs; I sure as he11 hope I have one of the Ravens celebrating Sunday night.

Pretty pathetic if that's the best and most rewarding event you can hang your hat on the past 10 years.....I guess that tells us how succesful the Baltimore teams have been the past 10 years.