420 replies to this topic

[Biggsy]

If they can pressure Brady like they did Wilson, it will be a long night for the Patriots offense. But can they? That's the question. The best case scenario for me is for the Patriots to hammer the Browns on Sunday and then go into Baltimore and pick up their first loss. I seriously doubt they're going 16-0 so they'll have to lose at some point. It might as well be in Baltimore.

Hard to get pressure when he gets rid of the ball in less than 2 seconds.

[Mike in STL]

Pats -4.5 for this game right now. 

[jamesdean]

Hard to get pressure when he gets rid of the ball in less than 2 seconds.

Well, we'll see.  He hasn't face a couple of press corners like the Ravens have.  

[Mike B]

Well, we'll see.  He hasn't face a couple of press corners like the Ravens have.  

I don't think we hit Brady a lot because he does get rid of the ball very quickly, and if we do the refs will be hoisting yellow flags, but I do think the Ravens are a step up in class from what the Patriots have seen this year, with the exception of what looks to be a pretty good Bills team.

The game comes down to Lamar and the Ravens offense, vs. a strong defense and a very smart coach.

It is a national TV prime time game.  I expect the Ravens to play well.  Go Ravens

[You Play to Win the Game]

NE's run defense looking very vulnerable tonight.

[85Knight]

No way will NE's cover zero blitz scheme work against Lamar. If they do that our run game should have a big day.

[cprenegade]

It's a chess game for Belichick at this point.  He's going to play it one of two ways.  Since he basically has a 2 game lead on the entire AFC he may choose to throw the Patriots defense out there with little change and see how it handles Jackson.  That way if Jackson exploits the holes he may figure the look affords him an opportunity to make changes should the two meet when the stakes are a little higher.  Or he may choose to alter the way his defense plays and give the Ravens looks they haven't had a chance to see on tape and see if he can significantly take Jackson out of the game.  If they limit Jackson's damage, the Ravens really have little other threats on the offensive side.  But again, Belichick may simply want to see how his base defense does against Jackson at this point with the option of changing it down the road.  It will be interesting to see how he approaches this game.  

 

The Patriots are beatable.  It's tough to go 16-0 and this is a game on the road.  New England has also been know to throw in a clunker every once in a while....ie Tennessee last season.   It would seem that the Raven's are getting them in about the best possible situation they could.  I would rather play them at 8-0 then coming off of a loss.  If nothing else, I would take the 4 1/2 points with the home team.  

[You Play to Win the Game]

They need to run the ball early and often. And not just with Jackson.

[cprenegade]

While I agree that running the ball should be foremost on the game plan, if NE comes in selling out on the run and daring you to pass, you can't just keep running into a brick wall and risk falling behind 14-0 or something.  That's the game plan they used against the Chargers in the playoffs and they wasted a fantastic defensive effort.  They have to recognize what NE is keying on early and make adjustments.  If the run isn't open, you might have to take some shots simply to get NE to back off of keying on the run.  

[You Play to Win the Game]

Agreed. Ultimately the key is the run, but to be able to do that, they'll have to be able to pass when they give that to them. Should be fun. Would love to end their perfect record.

The Ravens nearly knocked off the 18-1 Patriots at home on MNF that year.

[JordanKough]

Pats run D has been their weakness all year there just haven't been teams that can make them pay when they decide to come down and stack the box. And even with that luxury of not being able to get beaten when they stack the box and go cover 0 often they are still giving up 4.6 YPC on the ground, 20th best (or 12th worst) in the league. 

 

(Ironically, only the Baltimore defense has fewer rushing attempts against...though both teams rank in the top 3 in TOP) 
 

Barnwell has a nice over story on the Pats defense but they had 6 terrible QBs they faced in the first 8 weeks, it'll be interesting to see how they fare the next 5 weeks. Lamar, Wentz, Prescott, Watson, Mahomes. 

[NewMarketSean]

Teams also couldn’t run on Pats because they got down by so much so fast. We obviously need to keep the score close to do what we do best.

[Biggsy]

It's a chess game for Belichick at this point. He's going to play it one of two ways. Since he basically has a 2 game lead on the entire AFC he may choose to throw the Patriots defense out there with little change and see how it handles Jackson. That way if Jackson exploits the holes he may figure the look affords him an opportunity to make changes should the two meet when the stakes are a little higher. Or he may choose to alter the way his defense plays and give the Ravens looks they haven't had a chance to see on tape and see if he can significantly take Jackson out of the game. If they limit Jackson's damage, the Ravens really have little other threats on the offensive side. But again, Belichick may simply want to see how his base defense does against Jackson at this point with the option of changing it down the road. It will be interesting to see how he approaches this game.

The Patriots are beatable. It's tough to go 16-0 and this is a game on the road. New England has also been know to throw in a clunker every once in a while....ie Tennessee last season. It would seem that the Raven's are getting them in about the best possible situation they could. I would rather play them at 8-0 then coming off of a loss. If nothing else, I would take the 4 1/2 points with the home team.

I 100% expect Belichick to go with what he's been doing defensively. He may run a spy, but other than that I expect him to keep it the same. He knows he is making the playoffs this year. He sees we have a 2.5 game lead right now. He's going to hold his cards until a potential playoff match up.

[DuffMan]

Ravens wearing the black jerseys Sunday night, hope they go with the black pants too!

[Mike in STL]

Ravens wearing the black jerseys Sunday night, hope they go with the black pants too!

I hate solid on solid. Black top/white pants is the best combo.

[Hooded Viper]

I hate solid on solid. Black top/white pants is the best combo.

 

I agree with this, by far my favorite combo.  

[Bmore Irish]

Gotta go with the blackout look for the primetime night game.

[NewMarketSean]

Gotta go with the blackout look for the primetime night game.

[BSLChrisStoner]

CBS Sports: NFL Week 9 picks: Ravens stun Patriots on Sunday night
https://www.cbssport...ll-off-shocker/

[B00E00N00]

Well I'll say this, the Pats offense hasn't exactly set the world on fire.