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Friday, January 7, 2011

Playoff Preview: Baltimore Ravens


Offensive MVP: RB Ray Rice and WR Anquan Boldin

The Ravens offense has been inconsistent this year, but when they are playing well it usually means Boldin and Rice are having good games. Rice has really become a workhorse for the Ravens, he was responsible for over 34% of the Ravens offense this year rushing for 1200 yards and adding 556 yards on 63 receptions. Boldin may have had a down year personally, but he really opened up the Ravens offense for other players. Boldin lead the team with 64 receptions 837 yards and 7 TDs. He had a slow second half but he is too much of a playmaker to continue his rut into the playoffs.


Defensive MVP: Too Many to Choose From

Who do you give it to here? You could go with Ray Lewis who seems to be ageless, he leads the team in tackles and is the ultimate motivator. Ed Reed missed six games due to injury then comes back and does not miss a beat and ends up leading he NFL in interceptions with 8. Haloti Ngata had 63 tackles and 5.5 sacks as a 6'4" 350 lbs. lineman. He is an absolute beast and has to be in the top 3 for best defensive lineman in the NFL. Terrell Suggs continues to be a terror off the edge leading the team with 11 sacks. You really can't go wrong picking anyone of these guys.


Best Win: Week 15 - Against the New Orleans Saints

The former Super Bowl Champion Saints came into this game on a 6 game winning streak and they looked like they were back to their old form. In this game the Ravens showed how good of a team they can be when they play well. They ran the ball, were efficient in the passing game, and made big stops against a great offense when they needed them. When the Ravens are playing well in all three phases of the game, there is no team better in the NFL.


Rookie Grade: D+

The Ravens already had a lot of depth so it was a long shot for any rookie to get a lot of early playing time. There top pick, LB Sergio Kindle, who I thought was going to be a very good player, never saw the field after suffering an off the field injury. DT Terrance Cody played sparingly but has been a disappointment thus far. Tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta are stuck behind Todd Heap but could end up being good players. The fifth round pick WR David Reed may be there best pick he has been a big help on special teams.


How Can They Make It To The Super Bowl: Ray Rice and Defensive Turnovers

Rice is the key to the Ravens offense. Last year Ray Rice and the Ravens went into Foxborough and dominated the Patriots and Tom Brady (who has all sorts of records while playing at home) like few teams have done in the past 10 years. Rice was able to rush for 159 yards on 22 carries and the defense caused four turnovers. The best stat about that game is that they won despite Flacco passing for only 34 yards with an interception. With Flacco playing better and having new weapons, the Ravens just need Rice to step it up for the playoff run and the defense to change the momentum of games with their big turnovers.

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