Read the arguments from Sports Geek and Babe Ruthless about which NFL Wild Card game they believe is the best of this postseason.
It is the first round of the NFL playoffs. If you are a fan of one of the teams in the playoffs, you love this time of year. But even if you are a fan of the NFL without a team in the playoffs (like the four of us writers at TSD), then you still love this time of year because it is January football! I especially love January NFL games on Saturday! It fills the big void in my Saturday viewing schedule that had previously been occupied by college football. Rest assured, I will be watching some NFL football at some point Saturday. However, the game I am focusing on takes place on Sunday as the Baltimore Ravens take on the New England Patriots.
These two teams played each other back in Week four, but you can just throw that out the window with yesterday’s garbage because it should provide little to no blueprint for this game. For one thing, that game was played in September while this game will obviously be played in the much colder month of January. I am not sure what the game-time temperature was during that game, but you can bet it was significantly warmer than the high of 24 (expected as of Wednesday morning) for kickoff on Sunday. That is actually warm compared to what it is in some parts of the country today. You always hear the players say they get used to the cold weather once the game gets started. Who knows if that is 100 percent accurate!
As I am sure you all know by now, the Patriots lost wide receiver Wes Welker last week after he tore his ACL and MCL. Losing a guy with 123 catches (despite missing two earlier games) is a damaging loss for the Patriots. He is often the go-to guy for Tom Brady, and is able to open some things up for Randy Moss. But, as they say, the show must go on. While you cannot replace a guy like Welker, rookie Julian Edelman will sure try. Edelman is not some bum the Patriots front office picked up off the street Sunday. He had 37 catches this season, including ten last week.
The Ravens were able to secure a playoff bid after winning ugly in Oakland last week. This is a different team than the one from Week four. At that point, quarterback Joe Flacco was on fire, having thrown for over 800 yards in his first three games. But since then, he has cooled off and the 2009 version of Baltimore’s team has become more of the traditional Ravens team, with a strong defense and a strong running game.
Who knew running back Ray Rice was this good outside of the fine people at Rutgers? You may remember Rice from his playing days at Rutgers just a few years ago, but I would bet you did not think he’d turn into a versatile, Pro Bowl running back. He had nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage (1,339 rushing and 702 receiving). He is the focal point of the Ravens offense, something few would have predicted back in August.
The Ravens have a real shot at the Pats this week. This is setting up to be the type of games the Ravens prefer – a tough, hardnosed, physical game in cold conditions. But, it’s still New England, and the team still has that aura about them, to some degree. I am definitely looking forward to seeing if Baltimore can pull off a mild upset in what I believe is the best Wild Card game of this weekend.
Thank you for killing my boredom. I am currently at work lol. Good Read.
No problem, glad to help! Tell a friend!