Ravens Probably Don't Have Enough Offensive Firepower to Follow Eagles' Plan Against Patriots
Eight days ago, the Philadelphia Eagles provided the blueprint for how to beat the New England Patriots. They didn't do it, but they suffered a near-miss loss in Foxborough, Mass., behind backup quarterback A.J. Feeley that showed how it can be done.
They threw the ball early and often. They took chances, going for a fourth down and recovering an onside kick. They hit Tom Brady. They hit Randy Moss and made him virtually disappear from the game.
It's down-the-stretch time in the Patriots' bid for an unbeaten season. They have five regular season games left, beginning with one tonight in Baltimore. After that comes three straight home games against the Steelers, Jets and Dolphins, then the regular season finale against the Giants at Giants Stadium.
Can the Ravens follow the Eagles' formula and pull off an upset tonight? It seems doubtful. They perhaps can carry out the defensive parts of the plan and get some hits on Brady and Moss. But you have to be able to score to beat the Patriots. The Ravens just don't seem to have the ability to put up enough points on offense. The Patriots scored 31 points against the Eagles, even with the Eagles playing so well. It's probably going to take a 35-point performance to beat the Patriots, and the Ravens just don't seem up to that.
By Mark Maske |
December 3, 2007; 9:45 AM ET
| Category:
Eagles
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Posted by: Pats Fan | December 3, 2007 12:55 PM
What a game.
Posted by: mrm0to | December 4, 2007 12:02 AM
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I don't think much of the Eagles blueprint to beat the Pats. Getting after the QB and jamming receivers within 5 yards seems like to the way to stop most passing teams. As for attacking our defense, Feeley has played us well before and we looked especially slow last Sunday.
I don't see that Ravens matching up very well. We all know about the four great receivers the Pats can put on the field, including Watson. If they play the pass too much then Maroney and screens to Maroney and Faulk will chew up a lot of field. I often see the Pats run game disparaged (not here, though), but they currently are 7th in the league in yards per game, 3 yards behind the Giants and 3 yards ahead of Dallas and the Redskins. Do people disparage Dallas's running game? They shouldn't underestimate the Pats running game either.
Final score 38 - 10.