Preview: Ravens vs Patriots

The New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens in another high stakes playoff game with the winner heading to the AFC Championship game in 8 days time. The Ravens are one of the only teams in recent memory to walk in to Foxborough and enjoy great success with two playoff victories over the Patriots in the 2012 season when they went on to win the Super Bowl and back on the 10th January 2010 when they dismantled New England 33-14. 5 years later and these two teams are going to lock horns once again with both hoping that today's game will be the catalyst for a run to the Super Bowl.

Both Baltimore and New England have faced adversity this year and both have shut up their critics which is what makes this game so exciting as well as so tough to predict. The Ravens went in to Pittsburgh last week and knocked off their biggest rivals in the wild card round 30-17 when many predicted they would fail. In recent years we've seen how wild card teams get hot at the right time and go on a run whereas teams with a bye sometimes struggle to shake off the rust of not playing and pay the price with a sluggish performance. This was something that happened once or twice to the Indianapolis Colts in the Dungy-Manning era but for Belichick's Patriots you can be assured that his team will be fired up and ready to go.

Tom Brady said the other day that this is the 2014 Patriots vs the 2014 Ravens each with their own unique identity and whilst I completely agree with that assessment let's be honest Brady himself, Belichick and the whole of the Patriots locker room definitely won't be short of motivation when it comes to facing Baltimore. The thought of defeating an old enemy one more time is something that Brady and Belichick will be eager to do but it won't be easy and even 'Terrific Tom' himself hasn't been particularly terrific in past meetings with the Ravens as he has thrown 3 touchdowns to 7 interceptions in the teams last 3 playoff meetings.

Flacco on the other hand has been a worthy adversary for Brady and co as you can see from the stats above so it is safe to assume that today's game will be a close duel once again. The difference this time round for New England is that this is the best defense hands down since 2007/2008 and in my opinion this is the best overall roster since then as well which is what makes me believe that New England will find a way to get the job done tonight. Joe Flacco has been incredible in the post season and since he entered the league in 2008 he has proven himself to be a very good quarterback but the physicality and natural ability of this Patriots defense that possesses so many game changers will be something Flacco hasn't faced before in Foxborough.

We're talking about Flacco facing past defenses that have had Ras-I Dowling on the roster, Sterling Moore who basically made a once in a lifetime in the Patriots' lone win against Flacco in the postseason and that year Julian Edelman even lined up as a corner in the Super Bowl which says it all about how the Pats were struggling on defense as they did rank 31st that year too. The defense now has Devin McCourty excelling after switching to safety and is one of the best in the league with Patrick Chung, Brandon Browner, Logan Ryan and the gem of the secondary Darrelle Revis who has proven himself to be the best corner in the league not named Richard Sherman. Up front you have Vince Wilfork who has bounced back from a season ending achilles injury last season with Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich both capable of generating a pass rush as well as stopping the run and then at linebacker Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins are phenomenal young players with so much potential who are already two of the main players and leaders of this New England defense.

Jamie Collins is one of the best young players I've seen in recent memory and number 91 can do practically anything from man coverage to zone, dropping back to cover the pass as well as stopping the run. He makes big plays, sniffs out the danger, forces turnovers and quite frankly he has the speed, talent and intelligence to be one of the best linebackers in football. With a physical secondary along with other players we've mentioned including the tandem of Collins and Hightower the Patriots can disrupt the Ravens offense just like their old defenses have done in the past to Tom Brady. Defense wins championships and although it is an old sporting cliche quite honestly more often than not it is proven to be true but when you have an offense led by Tom Brady and a healthy Rob Gronkowski well that does certainly help.

The Patriots will be raring to go and I stand by my bold statement that if Gronk is healthy the Pats will win the Super Bowl. He is an absolute nightmare for opposing defenses and I'm sure coordinators lose sleep over thinking of ways to try and stop him or if it is even remotely possible. Gronk's ability to make big plays, draw double coverage which makes Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell become so effective and his ability to block in the running game proves why he is the most valuable player to the Patriots. The running game will be key tonight as if the Patriots get it going it will make the passing game run more effectively which will give Tom Brady the opportunities to pick holes in a Ravens secondary that has obvious weaknesses. History may not bode very well for New England against Baltimore but the past is the past for a reason as the 2014 Patriots are equipped to go all the way this year and end a 10 year wait for a 4th Lombardi; if they do their jobs tonight they'll be one game away from a 6th Super Bowl appearance in the Brady-Belichick era.

Prediction: Ravens 23-31 Patriots

Belichick could get his 20th win in the postseason tonight which would leave him tied for 1st all-time

Lucky number 6 or will Luck end the Patriots hot streak? New England vs Indianapolis

Many people associate the "Lucky number" phrase with the number 7 or the movies Lucky Number Slevin and Ocean's Seven but did you know that the number 6 is auspicious in matters with love and relationships in Chinese culture? There was also a fragrance for men made by fashion designer Liz Claiborne called Lucky Number Six and the Patriots will be hoping for their sixth consecutive victory when they face off against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts tonight.

Out with the old and in with the new is an expression that billions across the globe know very well but in the National Football League that saying doesn't always ring true. Tom Brady has continued to defy the odds in his career and he has done that more than ever since the defeat to Kansas City back in week 4. He and the Patriots continued their fantastic streak last week when they blew out the Denver Broncos 43-21.

The Broncos are in the eyes of many the best team in the AFC if not in football but with the New England victory last week it caused many to rethink their opinions and once again the win gave Terrific Tom some more pulling power in the Brady-Manning debate as he extended his winning record over his long term record to 11-5. After trailing a close first quarter 7-3 the Patriots battled back to completely smash Denver in the second quarter scoring 24 consecutive points.

From then on out the Patriots were in cruise control with Brady, making his 200th career start with the win giving him his 155th win (the most of any QB ever), completing 33 of his 55 attempted passes with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski hauling in 9 receptions each for a combined 194 yards. Those two were Brady's main targets as the Patriots offense continues to up the gears week by week; Gronk was the standout player though as he decimated the Broncos defense and made one of the most spectacular catches of the season.

Now the Patriots walk in to Lucas Oil Stadium tonight to take on the epitome of "the new" type of NFL quarterback in the shape of Andrew Luck and his Indianapolis Colts with huge playoff implications. With seedings, home field advantage and a potential bye week at stake on the line it makes tonight's game an intriguing contest as with New England at 7-2 and the Colts at 6-3 a win for either team would put them in prime position for one of the two byes on offer going in to the postseason.

With both teams coming off a bye week giving them an extra weeks preparation ahead of tonight's crucial game you can expect it to be a fantastic affair. The Luck led Colts have been high flying this season. After starting the season 0-2 the Colts went on a five game winning streak of their own before losing a crazy game to Pittsburgh 51-34 on the road but bounced back at MetLife Stadium when they convincingly defeated the Giants 40-24.

Since Luck came in to the league the Colts are 17-4 at home including their amazing comeback against the Chiefs in the wildcard round of last seasons playoffs. Tom Brady and co are use to overcoming obstacles and Indianapolis are slight favourites ahead of tonight's matchup in what many are anticipating to be a close one. In the two previous encounters between Brady and Luck the Patriots have blown out the Colts 43-22 in last years playoff game and 59-24 in Luck's rookie season back in 2012.

Both of these teams have come a long way since last years playoff game and both are very improved in various departments which is what makes, in my opinion, tonight one of the games of the season especially with all that is at stake. If the Patriots get the victory tonight it'll give them a huge boost in terms of going on to clinch the 1st seed as well as home field advantage for the postseason which is what they will want to keep away from Denver so that they can guarantee that the road to Super Bowl 49 goes through Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots and Broncos had an arms race this past offseason to improve their rosters in hope of ensuring a trip to Arizona next February but the Colts are the dark horses in the conference especially as Andrew Luck is the best young quarterback we have ever seen just because of the impact he has had on the NFL in his first 2 and a half years and the talent he has displayed. When the Colts last faced New England they had no running game with only Donald Brown, now a Charger, playing and lacked any offensive weapons due to injuries.

Since then Colts legend Reggie Wayne has returned to action, TY Hilton has broken out to improve his game and become an established wideout in the league who provides a down field threat along with tight end Dwayne Allen who provides a nice balance to Luck's friend from Stanford Coby Fleener. Add that with Hakeem Nicks, who despite not having a good year so far is a good player, along with rookie receiver Donte Moncrief and a one to punch of Bradshaw and Richardson in the backfield and it is clear to see why this Colts offense is on pace to potentially break records in 2014.

With that being said they are facing a Patriots defense tonight which under the guidance of defensive mastermind Bill Belichick has the potential to stop any offense in the league and did stop what many feels to be the best last week when they made Peyton Manning's Broncos look ordinary. Despite having Chandler Jones absent due to injury the brilliance of New England's secondary has given the front seven opportunities to be creative in getting to the quarterback and stopping the run which has helped the likes of Jamie Collins, Hightower and Rob Ninkovich as we saw last week with the latter's interception against Peyton.

With Revis and Browner playing man coverage on the outside they can stop near enough any receivers in the league. Revis' skill set is amazing for a corner and with one of the best safeties in the league in the form of Devin McCourty just behind him it allows for not only Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia to be creative with defensive play-calling but it also benefits the strengths of the two corners as it allows them to be aggressive. This also allows Patrick Chung and, when he gets on the field, Kyle Arrington to be effective in the secondary and break up plays.

When I previewed the Patriots and Broncos game I said it would come down to who wins the battle between the Denver offense vs the Pats D. With the latter winning it ensured that New England held on to their healthy lead which gave their offense the opportunities they needed to score more points to finish their opponent off and I would say that the same applies tonight if not more with the Pats being on the road. The offense will have to deal with crowd noise etc and while we know Tom Brady is one of the best QB's of all-time in road games you need your defense to come up big and make stops in order to take some of the pressure off of your offense as well as give it opportunities.

If this happens I expect the Patriots to have the tools to defeat the Colts. Indianapolis' defense played lights out during their 5 game winning streak but were brought back down to earth against the Steelers after their star cornerback Vontae Davis was knocked out the game. Davis is one of the better players in the league at the corner position but depsite is talents this Colts defense usually struggles against tight ends and when you considering that the Patriots have the best tight end in the league in Rob Gronkowski, 8 touchdowns this season, you would say that the Patriots have a critical advantage which could make the difference needed in a game that is anticipated to be so close.

Offensively you can expect the Patriots to spread the ball round like they've done in the past 5 games to Brandon LaFell, Danny Amendola, Shane Vereen, Julian Edeleman and even Tim Wright who I think will be used a lot more tonight considering the Colt's vulnerability to tight ends. In the big moments though it will be Gronk who is thrown to and if the Colts don't come up with a game plan to try and limit him especially in the red zone then I think the Patriots will pick off any weaknesses this Indie D has and will punish them.

One thing's for sure and that is that tonight's matchup is a mouthwatering encounter with both QB's at the top of their respective games. Tom Brady has rediscovered his hall of fame form following a run of 5 games which has seen him throw 18 touchdowns to just one interception with a completion percentage of over 70% meaning he is now 5th with 22 touchdowns on the year to just 3 interceptions (tied with Aaaron Rodgers for the lowest among starters). The Patriots winning run also means that Brady now has a passer rating of 103.5 which also ranks 5th. His opposite number Luck ranks 2nd in touchdowns with 26 TD's and leads in terms of passing yardage with 3,085 yards. Despite the fact that Luck thrown more passes than other QB in the league it is a testament to his abilities that he has managed to keep his completion percentage at 63.6%

So with everything being weighed up now we just have to wait a few hours to see who wins when the best of the old guard takes on the best of the new guard in the third dual between Tom Brady's Patriots and Andrew Luck's Colts. A Patriots win means they will take control of the AFC following Denver's defeat to St. Louis earlier on today which is exactly what they need as they have two tough tests against the Lions and Packers coming up. New England would be a game ahead of the Broncos and two games ahead of the Colts with the head to head over both so tonight's game is huge but will their Luck run out when they go in to the Dome tonight?

Historically the Patriots are 9-2 in their last eleven post-bye games. Bill Belichick with an extra week of preparation is a recipe for disaster for any opposing team as he will have planned everything to the exact final details along with the fact that quarterback Tom Brady's record when playing inside a dome is 10-2 record, 26 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions I will go with a New England victory.

Prediction: Patriots 35-27 Colts

Bold Prediction: With the Colts down by a point 28-27 Andrew Luck looks to seal off a memorable 4th quarter comeback victory but a tipped play by Jamie Collins give Brandon Browner a 'lucky' pick 6 to gain some personal redemption after TY Hilton embarrassed him when the Colts faced the Seahawks. The return goes all the way in to the Colts end zone to put the Pats up by 8 and seal the game for New England as the Colts have just 10 seconds remaining and no timeouts!

NFC South Preview

The NFC South will be an interesting division this year as the New Orleans Saints look to challenge the Atlanta Falcons for the division title. Tampa Bay and Carolina are still rebuilding but have good pieces in place to put up a fight in the 2013 season. The NFC South is the only division to have each of its four teams make a conference championship game and funnily enough all four on each occasion won that particular game to go the Super Bowl with the Saints and the Buccaneers winning theirs in Super Bowl's XLIV and XXXVII respectively whilst the Falcons and Panthers lost in their lone Super Bowl appearances.

With the 2013 season underway shortly let's now look at how each of these four NFC South teams will fair this year:


Carolina Panthers

For the Panthers it is pretty short and sweet: Despite a losing season in 2012 they finished second in the NFC South as opposed to 3rd in 2011 and their 7-9 record last year was a one win improvement on their 6-10 campaign from the previous season. Head coach Ron Rivera will be looking for further development from his Panthers team as he looks to mould this team so more in his third year in charge. Despite not enduring as much hype as 2011 due to the influx of young QB's in the league last year third year QB Cam Newton may feel he has a bit of a point to prove in 2013 as he looks to get back in to the spotlight.

His sophomore season saw him put up just as good numbers as his rookie year with the best sign being that the interceptions decreased from 17 in 2011 down to 12 last year. Newton rushed for more yards than the previous year but threw marginally less than 2011 and had 2 less touchdowns and 6 less rushing TD's but his raw talent is something that will keep him in the league for years to come. He may not be able to pass as good as the likes of Luck, Wilson and RGIII but his ability to be so dynamic is what makes Newton quite unique

How will Newton & co fair in 2013?

So it is clear that the Panthers had a productive 2012 season especially after winning 5 of their last 6 games which included wins over division rivals Atlanta and New Orleans. If they are to improve in 2013 they need their defense to catch up with the offense so that they can have a chance of reaching the playoffs. The Carolina defense ranked 23rd in total yardage but they have good discipline and the ability to force turnover opportunities so if the likes of Luke Kuechly, Chase Blackburn and other members of this defense step up to the challenge they could help this Panthers team succeed.

Season prediction: 6-10. 4th in NFC South


Atlanta Falcons:

Despite going 13-3 last season and even being 8-0 and one point in the year the Atlanta Falcons didn't receive a lot of love from many for their 2012 season. Their wins may not have been convincing but the main thing is they did get that W in the column for 13/16 games as well as an appearance in the NFC championship game. The main thing for the Falcons is that they have progressed especially since Mike Smith came in as head coach back in 2008; they got back to the playoffs for the first time since 2004 and that year as a rookie head coach Smith and Matt Ryan who was a rookie too at the time became the first rookie quarterback and rookie coach tandem to take their team to the playoffs.

After leading that NFC title game by 10 points at halftime the Falcons failed to score in the second half which ultimately caused them to lose to the 49ers and miss out on a trip to the Super Bowl but it was progress as Matt Ryan got over the one blemish that was on his record which was not having a playoff win with victory in the divisional round. Despite arguments regarding his playoff success I'm prepared to give Ryan and the Falcons the benefit of the doubt as his first defeat was Ryan's rookie season, the second was to Green Bay who went on to win the Super Bowl that year and the year after in 2011 despite the on the field collapse the defeat to the Giants was to again the eventual Super Bowl winner. Last year's loss to the Niners was another learning experience which should spur this Falcons team on for the 2013 season especially as legendary tight-end Tony Gonzalez has decided to join the team for one last ride as he enters his 17th season in the league; 5th as a Falcon. With Gonzalez and other top offensive weapons Julio Jones and Roddy White, 17 touchdowns between the two in 2012, as well as new running back Steven Jackson the Falcons offense can cause opposing defenses lots of trouble this year especially as Matt Ryan has grown in to one of the best and most reliable quarterbacks in the league.

As cool as ice!

His touchdown numbers have increased every year since he entered the league with the QB throwing over 30 touchdown passes for the first time in his career in 2012. His interception rate has always been low and that is proven by his career touchdown to interception ratio of 127:60. Although there are many positives this Atlanta offense needs to move on to an even higher level of play because on defense they don't have too much to be excited about and ranked 20th in total yardage last season. Now that may not be much to complain about but in this league your luck can easily turn and those close wins can start to become close losses so they need to improve from a defensive perspective and start to play to their strengths by attempting to dictate games on offense by putting up more points. They may have some hard games against the Patriots and Seahawks this year but Atlanta's three defeats last year only came against division rivals but regardless of their record this team should reach the playoffs which are where the wins really matter so until then they'll hope for a productive regular season and will be aiming for consecutive division titles.

Season prediction: 10-6. 2nd in NFC South.


New Orleans Saints:

The New Orleans Saints will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2012 season which saw them fall from division champions to 7-9 and a 3rd place finish in the NFC South. The Saints defense was shredded up for 7,042 yards of offense which was 440.1 yards per game marking the most yards allowed by any defense in NFL history. The knight in shining armour for New Orleans will be head coach Sean Payton who returns as the team's head coach following his one year suspension for his involvement in the bounty scandal.

So how does New Orleans bounce back? Many people have had their opinion on how much of an impact Payton will have in reviving the Saints' fortunes in 2013 and personally I think he will guide them to a good season. Like the Patriots tore teams apart after the whole spygate inquiry you just get that feel that Payton's 2013 Saints will defy the odds in a sense and prove themselves once again. Although the difference between spygate and the bountygate is despite the severe punishment you can't disagree with the fact that the Saints were wrong for rewarding their players in the form of a slush fund. In a way and although controversial to say you could say that after having a more than dreadful season on defense last year that this Saints team needs to get back to playing nasty on that side of the ball but obviously within the rules. Now that they have Rob Ryan it is safe to say he will help steady the ship and if they can at least make them average instead of looking like they're not even on the field then yes that would help.

Here to lend a helping hand

If the defense can improve it will take some pressure off the offense and then they have a chance to make it back to the postseason especially as they have one of the best quarterbacks in the league leading their team. QB Drew Brees has been consistent for the Saints ever since he joined them in 2006 and since the Super Bowl win in 2009 he has really taken his game to another level; in the past two seasons he has thrown for over 5000 yards and in 2011 he set the record for most passing yards in a season with 5,476 yards. There are so many stats that show how great Brees is with one being that his passer rating has only been below 90.0 once in his 7 years as the team's QB and that was 89.4; his best ever passer rating was 110.6 in 2011. The past two years have seen him throw 89 touchdown passes to just 33 interceptions which is phenomenal; he has 244 touchdowns as a Saint to 112 interceptions. Brees has improved and established himself in the top bracket of quarterbacks especially when you consider he has a postseason passer rating of 103.9 ranking him 1st among active players and 2nd all-time he has a solid regular season rating of 94.3, 7th all-time. So with Brees under centre, Sean Payton back as head coach along with one of the most dynamic players in the game in the shape of running back Darren Sproles plus Jimmy Graham who is no slouch at tight-end the Saints will be quietly hoping they bounce back in style this season and personally although it is obviously a long season I feel that if the Saints defeat Atlanta in their week 1 matchup I feel if they will end up winning the division.

Season prediction: 10-6. 1st in NFC South. *Saints win title on best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division*


Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Although they finished bottom of the division to finish 7-9 last season was a decent achievement for Tampa Bay especially as it was Greg Schiano's first year as the Buccaneers head coach. The NFC South is a tougher division than some make out especially when you consider that Tampa Bay, Carolina and New Orleans all finished on 7-9 last season and that division winners Atlanta's three losses all came against those three division rivals.

There is a mixed feeling to how the Bucs will fair in 2013 especially as the like of 5th year quarterback Josh Freeman have come under criticism. He helped guide the team to 6-4 in 2012 before they lost 5 of their last 6 games and that has put some pressure on this young man's shoulders. Personally from looking at his 2012 tape yes the pass completion rate went down by 8% but he set franchise records for most touchdown passes with 27 and most passing yards with 4,065 so I would say that Freeman deserves all of 2013 to quarterback this team. The team wasn't good enough to sneak by in to wildcard contention last year and I'm not saying they are this year but the Bucs front office has helped Greg Schiano improve his roster with good draft picks like Akeem Spence and William Gholston. As well as that and most importantly was that Tampa Bay made a big move in free agency when they acquired Darrelle Revis who is one of if not the best cornerback in the league. He will automatically improve the Bucs defense and even better for Tampa Bay is the fact that Revis can tutor 2013 second round draft out of Mississippi State pick Johnthan Banks which can only be beneficial to the franchise.

Is this the start of a new era in Tampa?

Overall for the Bucs to have a successful 2013 and any chance of pulling off a surprise in the NFC South they will need the likes of sophomore Doug Martin and wide receiver Vincent Jackson to perform at the top of their game along with the likes of Freeman as well as hoping Revis has a big impact on defense. Doug Martin had a great 2012 with the running back setting a franchise rushing record of 1,454 yards in his rookie year; he also was tied for 4th among running backs in terms of touchdowns with 11. As for Vincent Jackson well he hauled in just below 1,400 receiving yards and caught 8 touchdowns so he will look to have another good year this season. Personally I feel the Bucs will record at least 6 wins and to be honest sometimes there isn't much difference between 6-10 teams to 10-6 teams so for Tampa Bay it will come down to whether they are victors in the close games this season and how they fair against their division rivals throughout the year

Season prediction: 7-9. 3rd in NFC South