4th and Long

The Ravens Redemption

By Caleb Musselman

Last week Ryan gave his preview of the AFC championship game and I did the NFC preview. This week we decided to swap stories and critique each other’s work. Before I begin, I would like to quickly respond to Ryan’s comment about my picks. I chose the Patriots because Ryan chose the Ravens. My head said Patriots, but my heart said Ravens. If we both chose the same teams, where’s the fun in that? From now on I’ll ignore my head and go with my heart every time. Maybe.

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            So, what did Ryan predict? And what actually happened? First, he said the Patriots needed to establish the ground attack. The three-headed rushing attack of Ridley, Vereen and Woodhead combined for a total of 97 yards on the ground (and 1 fumble). By all accounts, not a great game for the Patriots backfield. However, upon further review, Ridley received 18 carries for 70 yards for a 3.8 yards per carry average, a solid day in the backfield considering he was up against the Ravens D. Vereen and Woodhead combined for only 7 carries in the game, proving that they were not used enough to make a legitimate impact. With Gronkowski out, the Patriots needed their ground attack to step up. However, with Tom Brady playing the worst game of his postseason career, the running game could hardly save this New England team from impending failure.

            Second, Ryan said the Ravens needed to connect early and often on the deep ball to exploit the Patriots shaky secondary. According to sportsonearth.com, in 2012, the Ravens attempted 47 passes of more than 30 yards, completing 12 of them. Further, 20 of those passes were overthrows by the strong arm of Flacco. However, with the speed of Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones, and the leaping ability of Anquan Boldin, Flacco was able to capitalize much more consistently on the long passes towards the end of the season (particularly against Indy and Denver). I believe Ryan was spot on with this key; however, as Sunday rolled around, the weather did not agree. With gusts of over 20-25 miles an hour, Flacco’s attempts at the long pass were sent spiraling out of bounds or far beyond his intended targets. In fact, Flacco’s longest pass completion in the game was to Boldin for 26 yards.

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            However, Flacco’s willingness to throw the deep ball opened up enormous opportunities to exploit the underside of this Patriots secondary. Although he only had 240 yards passing, his three TD’s show that willingness to stick to the game plan paid off in a big way.

            Finally, Ryan predicted a spirited Ravens team to stand behind Ray Lewis and beat the Patriots with a last second field goal. Now, this Baltimore team did play for Ray on Sunday. However, this defense played so well, that they put Tom Brady to bed in the beginning of the 4th quarter. No need for heroic redemption for Justin Tucker, Brady forgot he had to play the second half of this one.

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            All in all, a solid call by Ryan on this game. Not even the most prophetic of sports analysts would have called Brady throwing for 140 yards/0 TD’s/2 interceptions. You went with your heart and it came through for you.

            Finally, there is one thing you hit absolutely spot on. Ray Lewis is an absolute monster who will not go down without a fight. In fact, I’m not convinced he’ll go down unless he puts himself down. This man is an inspirational leader who has made some big mistakes in his life. A mistake is a mistake no matter how big or small, so if any of you are perfect, feel free to speak up. *crickets* That’s what I thought.