Pats All Folks: Patriots-Ravens Preview
| 13
|
by Trizz
Move over Deion, Tom Brady is the new primetime. For the 3rd straight week, the Patriots are in primetime this time around a Monday Nighter against the BB's "hometown" team the Baltimore Ravens. When Bill Belichick visits Baltimore, it's usually to see old friends or watch a sporting event that has little to do with his job as head coach of the New England Patriots.
"Memorial Stadium will always hold a special place for me because that's where I started, Belichick said. "Going up there to 33rd Street to watch the Orioles and the Colts play, when you grow up, you kind of get weaned onto those two sports. That sticks with you (for) a lifetime, and it always will with me. I haven't had an opportunity to come there for any football games, he said.
That will change Monday night, when Belichick brings his unbeaten Patriots (11-0) to town to face the Ravens (4-7). "We're really coming down there for one reason, and that's to try to play our best against the Ravens. That will be a handful. We know that. The oddsmakers don't think so. The Patriots are a 20-point favorite, making Baltimore the largest home underdog in history for a game not involving replacement players. This is the second largest point spread this season, 3 points shy of the spread last week when the Patriots faced the Eagles, and we all know what happened then.
"We could have been 100-point underdogs. It doesn't matter to me, Ravens receiver Derrick Mason said. "I know a lot of people figure we should just pack it up and not go out there and play. But we're a football team just like they're a football team. I feel that if we go out there and do what we need to do and don't turn the ball over, then we have a good shot of winning this game.
Last week, a lot of naysayers felt Andy Reid laid out the "blueprint" to beating the Patriots, attack Brady, cover Moss and throw to the inside but best believe its much easier said than done especially with an offense as lackluster as the Ravens. Another storyline headed into this game is the Adalius Thomas/Ray Lewis feud that surfaced shortly after Thomas left for New England. They both took shots at each other through the media but even though they wont be on the field at the same time, if Thomas plays offense during a goal line situation, don't be surprised. This will also be another battle between Willis McGahee and the Patriots' defense he knows all too well from his time with the Bills.
For the Ravens to have a chance they need Kyle Boller to step up and make plays, and Boller is no Peyton Manning or even AJ Feeley, I predict a big win for the Pats 38-6
