the Ravens have better receivers than the Patriots, only made worse by the pats missing their all pro tight end, whilst the Ravens have better pass coverage than the Pats, only made worse by their corner backs injury. I felt kind of sorry for Brady,the Ravens had receivers jumping into the stratosphere, whilst Brady was throwing to slow clumsy oafs (I don't even like the pats but it was pretty noticeable that Brady was forced to thread the head of a needle whilst Flacco's receivers had a lot more space...or he could just lob it).
The difference between us and BAL was that they nutted up and stopped NE on 3rd downs, and they scored TDs instead of FGs. I'm still shocked at how many batted passes they had on Brady. We're the best in the league at that but I can't remember even 1 in the two games against them. So frustrating. I'm ready for Cushing to get healthy so we can have our elite defense back.
Welker couldn't catch a cold when it matters, if they'd been nice enough to give up such gimmes last week, who knows.
Hell, we couldn't stop them period. They got to the end zone several times without being in red zone.
people do realize that the great Flacco scored the exact same amount of points as Schaub right? then again the defense giving up 5 td's is Schaub's poor body language and bad arm
good point. He gets too much blame and not enough credit. why, oh why couldn't he have stuck the ball in Casey's facemask instead of trying to squeeze it right between his hands.
and why couldnt he hit andre in stride instead of airmailing it on the next play.. you guys want to get some moral victory cause schaub put up a couple tds and some yards after the texans were down 38-13 go ahead.. its just more of the same, the numbers tell the whole story crap from the schaub crowd.. when the game was close, schaub did nothing, when the defense gave him the ball, he gave it right back, when the patriots scored, he answered with an interception.. when he escaped pressure, he threw the ball away, when he had to make a play he was fumbling off his own leg.
Patriots couldn't score in the red zone in 1 game and they didn't make it. The Texans couldn't score in the red zone in a month, they didn't make it. Defense wins championship, the 49ers before this season was known for their D, as well as the Ravens. We just need to have a change in attitude, just hit people with authority, but legally. As much hate as we give Kareem Jackson, I think next year his presence could make the defense better with his jarring hits..
Definitely defense is what killed us and is the reason why Baltimore won. I think people lose perspective. Texans gave up 24 second half points and the Ravens gave up none. Thats the difference. Also, comparing Schaub and Flacco is slightly unfair. Flacco is in his 4th postseason run and Schaub was in his first. Also, Boldin, Smith and Jacoby are better WR options than AJ,Walter and whoever our 3rd option is on a given Sunday. Ravens offense is well rounded. Pitta is good as well. Schaub definitely lacks a big arm and it showed that it was his first postseason trip but he is certainly good enough to take us to the SB. If the defense can get healthy and be better and the rookie right side of the line develops well into next year we will have as good a shot as anyone.
Schaub is almost as slow as Brady, which means, they need either a better offensive line (or figured out what happened at the end of the season as to why they went porous) or they need someone with at least mobility to be able to pass on the run (or even better a duel threat like RG3 or Kaep). Schaub lost faith in his line and was bailing out because he feels like every linebacker can swallow him up, probably because every linebacker can swallow him up, Brady does the same thing .
I wasn't paying particularly close attention to the game and only this morning saw Brady's spikes up slide on Ed Reed. Did the broadcasters make mention of it during the game?
The Ravens handled the Pat's hurry offense, while the Texans did not. The Ravens defense look comfortable in a playoff setting, while the Texans did not. Cushing would have made a difference. Wade preparing the defense to handle the hurry-up would have made a difference. More playoff experience would have made a difference.
Biggest difference is that the Ravens defense has essentially 2 coaches on the field. The hurry up offense wasn't as effective because Ray can make calls at the line of scrimmage and Reed can call the back end. Overall, the Ravens defense just look less confused.
Additionally, the Ravens revamped O-line controlled the LOS. Both the 49ers and Ravens have amazing O-lines that allow them to be more creative on offense. I believe more and more that the Texans biggest downfall this year was the inexperience they tried to stick with up front... similiar to when they tried to go with the young CB's in 2010. The running game became inconsistent, forcing them to pass more and more... which inevitably led to diminishing protection for Schaub, and diminishing production from him. This team was built to be a run first/opportunistic passing team. It was never supposed to be a sling it around/get your QB to win the game every week. They spent a ton of $$$ on Foster to carry the load... they need to fix the line up front to allow that to happen.
Right on the Money.... Just sling the ball dont be scared.. (this is the way to beat the Patriots no other way)
People always want to say that a good offense will spark a good defense, well a good defense can pump up the offense just as much.
