The New England Patriots will be bringing a little different look to the Ravens this Sunday night… the Pats have gone to a 4-3 base on defense. On offense they will be missing their great versatile tight end Aaron Hernandez. That’s a big deal since Hernandez was such a flexible play-call option for QB Tom Brady. And normally you’d expect slot receiver Wes Welker to pick up the slack, but for a somewhat mysterious reason (contract squabbles?) Welker has not been used much by coach Belichick so far…
One fact of the battle remains constant—safety Ed Reed and QB Tom Brady will be reading each other like chess players on Sunday night.
Anyway, the CBS Game Preview by Jason Butt just came out, and we’ll sum up its main highlight points here:
Patriots at Ravens — Week 3
Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore (turf, outdoors)
When: Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
Spread: Ravens by 3
Forecast: Clear skies; projected temperature in the high 50s.
Records: Ravens (Overall: 1-1, AFC North 1-0); Patriots (Overall: 1-1, AFC East: 0-0)
Past results: Two most recent meetings — Jan. 22, 2012: Patriots 23, Ravens 20; Oct. 17, 2010: Patriots 23, Ravens 20 (OT). Series record: The Patriots are 6-0 in regular season meetings. The two teams are 1-1 in the postseason.
What matters: The Ravens front seven needs improvement on passing downs. The unit didn’t get much of a pass rush against Eagles QB Michael Vick, who threw for 371 yards a week ago. Tom Brady will torch the defense if the front seven leaves him untouched. This Patriots offensive line might be the worst Brady has played behind, which could bode well for the young Ravens outside linebackers. Courtney Upshaw got some penetration at times against Philadelphia but didn’t close. Strong safety Bernard Pollard should play in the box a good bit to pressure Brady, though Pollard is coming off a chest injury sustained last week against the Eagles.
Who matters: TE Dennis Pitta has been the focal point of Baltimore’s passing game, having seen 24 targets this season. He’s caught 13 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown, which leads the team. Pitta is QB Joe Flacco’s safety net, someone he can rely on to pick up key first downs. Against Philadelphia, Pitta was one of the few receiving options physical enough to fight off jams at the line of scrimmage. Baltimore’s passing game struggled against Cover 1, press coverage. New England will try those schemes, despite being a predominantly Cover 2 oriented team.
Key matchups: The Ravens secondary must keep Patriots WR Brandon Lloyd from getting behind them. Miscommunication issues contributed to Philadelphia hitting some deep passes, and Lloyd is a dangerous deep threat. With CB Lardarius Webb covering the slot in nickel situations (most likely Wes Welker and Julian Edelman), the task of defending Lloyd will come down to Cary Williams and Jimmy Smith. QB Tom Brady and S Ed Reed have had some battles throughout the years. In addition to keying on Lloyd in the deep game, Reed will try to disguise the Ravens coverage to force Brady into turnovers.
Inside stuff: With the Patriots using their running game more this year with Stevan Ridley, OLB Albert McClellan has shown he can contain backs from breaking runs to the edge. McClellan had six sacks last week, doing a good job of helping contain LeSean McCoy to three yards per carry.
Bulletin board material: TE Ed Dickson on New England’s linebackers — “I’ve seen some things they don’t do as well. We respect them but we don’t fear them.”
Looking ahead: The Ravens don’t have much time to prepare for their next game after Sunday night’s meeting against New England. Baltimore will host Cleveland next Thursday before traveling to Kansas City the next week.
Jason Butt’s Prediction: Patriots 31, Ravens 28
Great points by Jason which point us to the basic preparation Ravens fans need for the matchups.. I’ll be back with updated developments from a more local perspective after I listen to some great interviews Stan White got with OC Cam Cameron and DC Dean Pees of the Ravens…
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