The Ravens enter this AFC Divisional Playoff Game after the most surprising outcome of the Wild Card Weekend. They went into New England, one of the toughest places to play since 2000, and before 15 minutes were through, led 24-0.
From that point on it was only a matter of running out the clock; the Pats were demoralized and stood no chance of coming back against the Ravens ferocious defense.
The Colts enter this match-up still feeling the heat from their decision to forgo the opportunity of an undefeated season in Week 16. That decision means that it’s Super Bowl or bust in 2009.
Regardless of what Bill Polian says, and while having the Super Bowl as his No. 1 priority is certainly correct, his nonchalant attitude towards history could come back to haunt him in the end.
Onto the match-up:
When the Ravens are on offense, look for them to pound the rock with Ray Rice and Willis McGahee. They’ve had all sorts of success running behind their talented offensive line, and will need to do so on Saturday.
If Joe Flacco has a repeat performance of last Sunday (4 – 10 for 34 yards and one INT), they’ve got no chance.
So look for Cam Cameron to call running plays until the Colts show they can stop it. If they can’t, Baltimore will shorten the game and keep the high powered Colts offense on the sidelines and cold.
The Ravens will try and keep Flacco in manageable passing situations at all costs, ie 3rd and 4, 2nd and 5, etc.
They don’t want to have him passing out of 3rd and long against a very opportunistic defense.
So look for a short, safe (passing) attack, with the most potent weapon in the passing game being screens and swing passes to Ray Rice out of the backfield. He’s deadly on those and can take it to the house.
When they look to go down the field, Mason will be the top target and Heap will be the No. 1 focus in the red zone.
When the Colts are on offense, everything runs through Peyton Manning. In order to beat Baltimore’s defense, he’ll need to execute a quick passing game and quicken the tempo of the offense to offset the Ravens’ pressure defense.
So Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie and Dallas Clark can expect to see plenty of balls come their way.
And when S Ed Reed creeps up to take away Clark over the middle, look for Manning to pop a long TD to Wayne or Garcon as the Ravens are vulnerable to the deep ball.
Once the passing game has found its groove, expect a healthy dose of Joseph Addai.
We saw how difficult it is for high powered offenses to succeed on the passing game alone in last week’s game; the Pats were manhandled because they were predictable.
Addai will have some success, mostly on draws, but he’ll be used primarily as a receiver out of the backfield and to keep the Ravens’ front seven honest.
The first time these teams played the Colts were fortunate to win 17-15. Flacco was picked late as the Ravens were driving for a GW FG.
This time will be close as well, with the Colts pulling away late to win 24-14.
While the Ravens are certainly capable of winning this game, there’s only one way in which they’ll be able to do so: get a lead and run the ball.
If they can, they’ll have a chance; if they don’t, Flacco and Co. will not be able to carry this team to the win.
The 6.5 point spread is a good bet as well.
