GunslingerAFC Championship 2012
January 21st 2012 22:02
The AFC Championship game this year will feature the top two seeds, 1. New England Patriots vs. 2. Baltimore Ravens. Two years ago Baltimore went to New England and handed the Patriots a 33-14 loss. That was the last time these two teams met in the playoffs, but this year is going to be different.
This game is going to feature the high power offense of the Patriots against the always stingy defense of the Ravens. The Patriots lack a running game, but have made up for it with their duel tight end attack. Arron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski have been tearing defenses up. Especially Gronkowski who had the most touchdown receptions and broke the tight end record for yards in a season. The Patriots offensive line needs to be able to keep the pocket around Tom Brady clean, and he will be able to find open men down the field.
The Ravens Terrell Suggs was unable to record a sack last week against the Houston Texans. He is going to have to create a disturbance in the pocket and he is going to have to hit Brady every chance he gets. The Ravens corners are good enough to play man-to-man coverage on the outside, but what's going to happen on the inside. With the lack of a threat of a running game, the Ravens will have to focus on the tight end combo. Look for Safety Ed Reed to ply close to the line of scrimmage for tight coverage on Gronkowski.
The Ravens offensive has been decent at best. The key again, as is every week for this team, is to get Ray Rice the ball. Quarterback Joe Flacco is going to have hit some big passes down the field to his playmakers to keep Tom Brady and the Patriot offense off the field. The Patriots have the second worst defense in the league so it is possible. The Patriots are going to need to step up, and shut down Ray Rice. That has to be there biggest concern on defense. The Patriot defense has come up with opportunistic plays all year and they are going to need a few more in this game. Hold the Ravens to field goals and not touchdowns and a victory will be in reach.
At the end of this game though, Tom Brady will be able to put some big drives together to put enough points on the board, and their defense will do just enough to bring New England back to the Super Bowl.
This game is going to feature the high power offense of the Patriots against the always stingy defense of the Ravens. The Patriots lack a running game, but have made up for it with their duel tight end attack. Arron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski have been tearing defenses up. Especially Gronkowski who had the most touchdown receptions and broke the tight end record for yards in a season. The Patriots offensive line needs to be able to keep the pocket around Tom Brady clean, and he will be able to find open men down the field.
The Ravens Terrell Suggs was unable to record a sack last week against the Houston Texans. He is going to have to create a disturbance in the pocket and he is going to have to hit Brady every chance he gets. The Ravens corners are good enough to play man-to-man coverage on the outside, but what's going to happen on the inside. With the lack of a threat of a running game, the Ravens will have to focus on the tight end combo. Look for Safety Ed Reed to ply close to the line of scrimmage for tight coverage on Gronkowski.
The Ravens offensive has been decent at best. The key again, as is every week for this team, is to get Ray Rice the ball. Quarterback Joe Flacco is going to have hit some big passes down the field to his playmakers to keep Tom Brady and the Patriot offense off the field. The Patriots have the second worst defense in the league so it is possible. The Patriots are going to need to step up, and shut down Ray Rice. That has to be there biggest concern on defense. The Patriot defense has come up with opportunistic plays all year and they are going to need a few more in this game. Hold the Ravens to field goals and not touchdowns and a victory will be in reach.
At the end of this game though, Tom Brady will be able to put some big drives together to put enough points on the board, and their defense will do just enough to bring New England back to the Super Bowl.
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