AFCC Pick, Ravens or Patriots?

[Amnorix]

So who is going to win? My head says that the Ravens are the better balanced team and that last week proved that you still need SOME defense to win in the playoffs in the NFL, no matter how good you looked in the regular season.

My heart says the Patriots should be fired up to avenge their loss of two years ago, and Brady is a madman on a mission, and Joe Flacco is pretty flaccid.

As for strategy, I think the Pats will try to do to Rice what they did to Marshall Faulk in 2001 -- relentlessly kill him coming out of the backfield, etc. Easier said than done of course.

Poll to follow.

[Bump]

Can't pick against Tom Brady here

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Do not trust the Unibrowmer yet.

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

Didn't know that the Patriots haven't beaten a team with a winning record by the end of the season.

Oh, Jesus H. for ****'s sake... I've been over this a few times. They beat, IIRC, six teams that finished 8-8. If they hadn't beaten those six teams, those six teams would've had a winning record.

I love how people say "they haven't beaten a team with a winning record" as if that somehow invalidates their season record. This isn't a case of a team that beat weaklings and got blown out by powerhouses. They only lost three games: one to Buffalo they easily could've won, one in Pittsburgh where they played awful and still had a chance (lost by 6), and one at home to the Giants by a small margin (another game they easily could've won).

[BoneKrusher]

Originally Posted by Bump

Can't pick against Tom Brady here

smart move i did that last week.

[whoman69]

This year in the playoffs the good defenses trump the teams with franchise QBs and poor defenses.

[ChiefFripp]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

So who is going to win? My head says that the Ravens are the better balanced team and that last week proved that you still need SOME defense to win in the playoffs in the NFL, no matter how good you looked in the regular season.

My heart says the Patriots should be fired up to avenge their loss of two years ago, and Brady is a madman on a mission, and Joe Flacco is pretty flaccid.

As for strategy, I think the Pats will try to do to Rice what they did to Marshall Faulk in 2001 -- relentlessly kill him coming out of the backfield, etc. Easier said than done of course.

Poll to follow.

Patriots in a landslide. However EVERY other team I thought would win in the playoffs other than Pittsburg has lost.

[Basileus777]

Originally Posted by whoman69

This year in the playoffs the good defenses trump the teams with franchise QBs and poor defenses.

That's happened once, and only because the Saints turned the ball over 5 times. And even then the 9ers had to win in a shootout. The only real trend so far is exactly that, you don't win playoff games when you turn the ball over a ton.

The Giants are a team built around a franchise QB and an excellent passing attack, people acting like they are some old school running team don't understand what the Giants are.

[NWTF]

Patriots, but in a close game. They aren't playing the Donks.

[Pioli Zombie]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

Didn't know that the Patriots haven't beaten a team with a winning record by the end of the season.

Neither did the '72 Dolphins

[HemiEd]

Ravens, this is the year of the smash mouth tough teams it would appear.

[eazyb81]

Ravens. Flacco will put up some decent stats against NE's awful secondary and Ray Rice will break off some big runs. Baltimore's defense will come up big.

[Rasputin]

It wouldn't shock me if the Ravens won, but I figure Pats will win by 3 TDs.

[Micjones]

Pats.

[milkman]

The stats that tk13 posted about average yard per play allowed defensively make a compelling argument for the Ravens against the Patriots, but I simply can not pick the Ravens with a mediocre game manager at QB, who has shown very little clutch ability beyond one game against the Steelers this year.


The Giants look like the most balanced team, with a damn near unstoppable pass rush, the running game finally showing up, and Eli Manning playing at an elite level.

Pats and Giants win.

[Nzoner]

Originally Posted by eazyb81

Ravens. Flacco will put up some decent stats against NE's awful secondary and Ray Rice will break off some big runs. Baltimore's defense will come up big.

The Ravens defense best come up real big because The Pats have now won 9 straight games scoring 31 or more points in 8,over 40 in 3 and 27 in 1.

The Ravens have played 1 high powered offense if you will since 11/27 and that was San Diego on 12/18 which they lost 34-14 they even gave up 24 to rookie Andy Dalton on 11/20 although they won that contest.

Granted,any given Sunday,but this isn't the same old Ravens defense,if they win this game they'll have to be perfect and create turnovers or hope for Brady and the Pats to have a totally off day.