Can the Ravens finally beat the Patriots?

After coming off of an impressive game against the basement dwelling Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens head into Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. In the Ravens' fourteen-year existence, they have never beaten the Patriots. The city of Baltimore will hope that their luck changes this upcoming Sunday as the Ravens try to remain at the top of the NFL as one of the only remaining undefeated teams. After this past Sunday, the AFC has 3 other undefeated teams, the Colts, the Jets, and the Broncos, and the NFC has 3 undefeated teams, the Giants, the Saints, and the Vikings.

Against the Browns, the Ravens only surrendered one field goal in the 34-3 victory. The Ravens only allowed 186 total yards while gaining an astounding 479 yards. These statistics are very promising as the Ravens prepare to take on one of the league's best offenses of this decade. In the Patriots victory this past Sunday, they were able to put up 26 points while accumulating 445 total yards against the Atlanta Falcons while virtually shutting down their offense, only allowing 10 points and 257 total yards. Something is going to have to give come this Sunday, let's all just hope that the Ravens defense is going to be able to get pressure on Tom Brady and that our secondary will be able to contain the formidable Randy Moss and, if he plays, the speedy little Wes Welker.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the unforgettable match-up in Baltimore on December 3, 2007 when a late roughing the passer penalty on Bart Scott prompted him to take the penalty flagand through it into the stands, showing the frustration both of that drive by the Patriots, but also of the disappointing season by the Ravens. The penalty on Scott was followed by a game winning touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Jabar Gaffney with 44 seconds left in the game. This win by the Patriots helped propell them to an undefeated regular season where they went on to loose to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
Needless to say, this match-up on Sunday is one of the most compelling ones of the weekend with many eyes watching every play of this game. With the Ravens remaining at the top spot on many NFL power rankings, the New England Patriots are not far behind at the number seven position. The main match-up within the game to look out for is the Ravens cornerbacks against the Patriots receivers. Another one that I plan on keeping a close eye on is the Ravens pass rush against the Patriots offensive line. If the Ravens can flush Brady out of the pocket and get to him a few times, they should be able to rattle him enough, making him make mistakes. Hopefully the Ravens will be able to do this with a three or four man rush, because the more people that are rushing Brady, the less people that the secondary will have helping them in coverage.

Let me know what you think Baltimore... Is it Sunday yet?

Quick Trip Around the NFL

Vick is finally back!!! This is by far going to overshadow any other story this week in the NFL. After not stepping on the football field since Christmas Eve in 2006. What kind of impact can we expect a man who has been away from the game for over two and half years? And according to Andy Reid, we may not even see the former highest paid player in the history of the league this upcoming Sunday as the Eagles take on the Chiefs in Philadelphia. How is Vick going to perform when, or if, he gets the chance?

And now let's go to a highly debated topic within the same NFC East that some people may have overlooked, but is worth taking a look at. On Sunday night in the opening of the brand new $1 billion plus Cowboys Stadium, one play has many Giants fans upset at a certain Cowboys player. Who is this player? None other than 6'7", 340 pounder Flozell Adams, who decided to trip Giants defensive end Justin Tuck in the second quarter of Sunday night's game. Giants fans are outraged, and the $12,500 fine that Adams received wasn't enough for some Giants fans. It didn't seem to be completely intentional, but that's up for debate. Should a large man like Adams be fined for trying to block a quicker, more elusive pass rusher when the trip could have been accidental? Or did Adams not got fined enough for knocking out New York's top pass rusher from a year ago for at least one game, possibly two?

Now let's shift gears back to a story that is a little closer to home. I know a lot of you will love this story as I have a huge smile on my face typing it up. That's right... the huge win by the Chicago Bears over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Man, how sweet a victory this one was for the Bears. As a Ravens fan first, I was delighted to see the Steelers go down, seemingly not able to come up with that final drive to put away the Bears (much thanks goes here to Jeff Reed for missing two field goals in the Windy City). But it was even better since my second team, Da Bears, were able to pull off a huge upset, all while giving Chicago fans a chance to fall in love with the new franchise quarterback, Jay Cutler. There are a few questions that come out of this defensive battle.

1) Is the Bears defensive going to be ok without its leader, Brian Urlacher?
2) Is the Steelers defensive going to be ok without its leader, Troy Polamalu?
3) Is Jeff Reed going to be affected by these misses for the rest of the season?
4) Is Jay Cutler for real?

This should give you all food for thought for awhile.