Now the Ravens are in the playoffs and heading north to take on Brady and Belichick.  The Pats are the team of the decade with three rings and a perfect regular season under their belts, but they aren’t in the best shape heading into this playoff season.  The Pats will be without pro bowl wide receiver Wes Welker, who likely tore both his left ACL and MCL in yesterday’s loss to the Texans.  You never want to see a guy suffer a knee injury of that nature, because there is always a chance that it’s career altering (i.e. Daunte Culpepper).  That being said, the absence of Welker is a huge benefit for a Ravens’ secondary that’s depleted with knee injuries of their own.  In addition to Welker’s injury it’s reported that Tom Brady has been playing with three broken ribs since week 13.  

In stop-and-go action against the Texans Brady looked pedestrian, throwing a pick and registering a passer rating of 70.4.  I would venture to say that part of the reason for Brady’s poor play can be attributed to him being pulled and then reinserted into the game; however, the rib injury could have certainly factored into his performance.  Broken ribs make breathing uncomfortable, so I can’t imagine how it would feel to riffle a football twenty-six times with three of them. 

Regardless of the injuries the Patriots are a very tough draw, especially in Foxborough.  The Ravens have never beaten the Patriots.  In five contests the average margin of defeat has been just under a touchdown and the last two contests saw the Pats edge out the Ravens by three and six points respectively.  I’m certain that Ravens fans remember the primetime game against the Pats in 2007 (the Bart Scott flag throwing incident) and the contest just a couple months ago (the Mark Clayton 4^th down drop) all too well. 

Personally, I would rather the Ravens play the Bengals in the first round after, especially after their performance last night against the Jets.  I realize the Bengals didn’t have much to play for and they didn’t want to tip their hand to their round one opponent, but they really looked terrible last night.  You never want to enter the playoff off of a 37-0 shellacking where your starting quarterback throws as many completions to the opposite team as he does to his own receivers.  The Bengals also would have difficulty beating the Ravens three times in one season.

Side note: I still think the Jets are a pretender with their limitations at quarterback, but they can run the ball and play defense and that is a dangerous combination.  Cincinnati isn’t exactly a menacing place for the opposition, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Jets advance to the second round.    

If the Ravens want to beat the Pats this weekend their going to have to continue to run the ball well and stop the run.  They’re also going to have to have Chris Carr and Frank Walker step up.  Carr has played relatively well these past two weeks, while Frank Walker has been shaky, but not terrible.  I’d like to see Corey Ivy get in the mix more.  He had a tipped pass yesterday and could be effective as a nickelback.  Another key to victory will be improved play from the passing game, all aspects.  The line needs to pick up the blitz better; Flacco needs to think quicker under pressure; and the receivers need to get separation.  Oh and how could I forget – we need to pray that Billy Cundiff improves significantly in a week.  I realize that long snapper Matt Katula had a terrible day, but those kicks weren’t even close.  The Ravens recently signed long snapper Nick Sundberg to their practice as an insurance policy.  Perhaps it’s time to cash insurance policy in, because I don’t see the Ravens signing a third kicker this season. 

It should be a wild playoff season.

~ Pat Cary

The Ravens beat their hated rivals, but with three key starters for the Steelers out the 20-17 OT final just isn’t the resounding outcome the Ravens’ faithful expected.  Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, and starting left guard Chris Kemoeatu were all scratches for Sunday night’s primetime game.  Outside of James Harrison I can’t think of three other Steeler starters who would be more crucial no-shows.

So with all the advantages going into the game what was the reason for the too-close-for-comfort final?  Perhaps it was due to the Ravens losing the turnover battle, converting third downs at a 38% success rate, and losing the time of possession battle to a Dennis Dixon led offense.

Despite all of the injuries we knew this wouldn’t be a cakewalk, it never is with the Steelers.  I remember back in 2005 when the Ray and Ed-less Ravens went into Pittsburgh on a Monday night and lost by just one point.  Later in that ’05 season the Ravens would beat the Steelers in overtime in another slugfest.   If the Ravens and Steelers played all 16 regular season games against each other three things would be certain, every game would be physical, low scoring, and ugly. 

Sunday’s win was definitely ugly, but it was strangely satisfying and certainly exciting in a must win scenario.  The offense struggled at times against a very good Dick LeBeau defense, but ultimately got the job done.  The Ravens finally scored a first half touchdown (two of them) and converted the vital fourth and five, which set up the game tying field goal and sent the game into overtime.  It was disappointing that the Ravens couldn’t punch-in a redzone TD to end the game in regulation, but they did showed resolve when it counted.  The offense gained 17 yards in overtime, after a Paul Kruger INT, to set up a very makeable 29 yard field goal for Billy Cundiff.  

Part of the reason for the Ravens’ improved offensive showing was due to their improved run blocking.  Marshal Yanda got the start at right guard over Chris Chester most likely, because he is the more physical player.  The result was not overwhelming as the Ravens rushed for just 132 yards, but it was effective as the team rushed for 4.6 yards per carry and scored a redzone TD on the ground. 

As of now the Ravens are the first team out of the AFC playoff picture, as they look up at the Broncos and Jags.  The Jaguars fell to the 49ers this past Sunday and don’t seem like legitimate playoff contenders.  The Broncos still have games against Indianapolis and Philadelphia, but they also have two games against KC and one against Oakland.  The beauty of the NFL is that anything can happen, so the Ravens simply need to focus on their next opponent.  Next up for the Ravens is a MNF showdown at Lambeau field against a schizophrenic Packers team.  The Ravens need to follow Mike Tomlin’s post game promise and “unleash hell here in December” if they want to keep their playoff aspirations alive. 

~ Pat Cary

It’s an old football cliché, but when you settle for field goals, especially off turnovers, you set yourself up for failure.  The Ravens’ defense forced Peyton Manning and Indy’s offense into three turnovers, but only had six points to show for their efforts.  Toss in a fourth quarter Indy goal line stand and a Joe Flacco INT and you have a recipe for disaster. 

This game was so crucial for the Ravens who saw the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinatti Bengals unexpectedly fall to weak AFC West opponents. The Ravens had a prime opportunity to knockoff unbeaten Indy, improve their record to six and four, and stay atop the wildcard pack.  Instead the theme of the day was blown opportunity. 

The offense was able to move the ball fairly well against an injury bitten Indy defense, but couldn’t seal the deal with touchdowns.  Cam Cameron committed to running the ball with 31 attempts, but the o-line weren’t able to blow the undersized defenders back at the point of contact.  This marks the fourth straight week the Ravens rush the ball for less than a four yards per carry average.  Rice is a hell of a player, but we need that big bruising back to run in-between the tackles.  That person used to be LeRon McClain, but McClain has been underutilized as a tailback this season.  Frankly, I’m not quite sure McClain has the quickness needed to be a dominant tailback in the NFL

Another factor contributing to the Ravens lack of offensive production is the fact that our wide receivers get little to no separation.  I realize that Derrick Mason had a huge day, but many of his catches came under duress.  Outside of Mason the Ravens wide receivers had a total of two catches for 18 yards.  Bottom line, this offense would be a force if Flacco had a big fast option opposite Mason.  There’s no white knight receiver available to the Ravens at this point, so let’s continue this conversation in April.

Billy Cundiff looked to be a just what the Ravens needed, but instead of  turning in a five-for-five Matt Stover-like performance, he missed a chip shot that would have been the difference in the game.  I’m not blaming the loss on Cundiff though, because the Ravens’ offense left so many points on the field. 

In all honesty the season’s not over, but if we lose to Pittsburgh next week it will be.  Perhaps Harbaugh can get his first victory against the Roethlisberger-less Steelers.   

~ Pat Cary

P.S. Can someone on the Ravens’ coaching staff please tell Ed Reed that he is no longer allowed to lateral the ball on returns of any kind.  I realize that the Ravens would have had the ball on their own 41 yard line with about 17 seconds left on the clock, but at least they would have had a chance.