Not sure what to make of the Niners game yet. I think the Niners win and hope they do, as I think they are the better team. However, they are off of a huge underdog win in a statement game and are now going up against a red-hot Giants as favourites, not an easy spot. If the Niners beat the G-Men I think they go all the way and I feel that they are better than both AFC teams remaining.
Ravens +7 (-107) to win 40 units
Last week I said a lot of bad things about the Ravens when I won with the Texans +7.5. One thing about sports is that quality teams can look bad one week against one team, but look great the next week in a better matchup, and I think that's the case here. Baltimore is being absolutely underrated because they looked very mediocre at home "against a 3rd string QB and an unknown Texans team." The Patriots stomped and looked invincible against the "magical Broncos." In my opinion, if Matt Schaub did not get injured, that Texans team was the best team in the AFC. The Texans have the best running game and 2nd best defense in the league. There's a reason they were such a tough out and made Balty look bad. Last week I said the Ravens struggle under a lot of pressure, but this week they don't have pressure to win and that's when I love backing them.
No one expects Joe Flacco to do anything. He was very mediocre last week, but what quarterback wouldn't look bad against a great D. Flacco, however did not turn over the ball and do anything stupid and got 2 clutch TDs with 0 INTs. This week the Ravens face a mediocre Pats D. The Pats are so-so against the run so I expect Ray Rice to do much better. This will take some pressure off Joe Flacco and he'll do better in short-yardage situations against a Pats pass rush that is nothing compared to the Texans D-Line. Boldin and Smith should get open a few times. If Flacco plays smart and doesn't turn it over the Ravens will be lookin good.
The hard part of this of this bet is going against Tom Brady in Foxborough, which is always playing with fire. However, a focused Ravens D on the road is a unit that I wouldn't mind going into the fire with. The Ravens D is stout and absolutely shuts down the run. New England gets into trouble when they fall in love with the pass too much and I think that might happen this week. The Ravens were one of the best teams at covering tight ends which is huge as they'll be going up against the best tandem in Hernandez and Gronkowski. The Pats have Welker on the outside, but defensive back Ladiarius Webb is one of the best in the league so Welker shouldn't go off here. One way to rattle Brady is by getting pressure on him. Suggs, Johnson, Ngata, and the other Ravens front 7 are great at getting to the QB. Yes, they didn't get a sack last week, but that's because they played more zone to bait an inexperienced Yates into turnovers. This week the D steps up and creates pressure on Brady so their secondary can hold up against the Pats wideouts.
Brady's on a mission, but so is Ray Lewis and the Ravens who know that this might be their last legitimate shot at a title.
GL
Bmore
Hot Forum Topics
