Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots: Will defence maintain ranks and files? –NFL Feature
The 2011 National Football League (NFL) season is one of the most successful runs of the Baltimore Ravens in the major American football league.
They finished the regular season with 12 wins and four losses (12-4) on the league table and captured the American Football Conference (AFC)-North Division title for yet another year.
The playoff berth was their fourth consecutive over the past four years.
With a perfect record at home, Baltimore was eligible for the bye of the wild-card game as the perfect home record helped them claim their first playoff game on their own ground.
It helped their chances of victory over the visitors, Houston Texans, at the M&T Bank Stadium, on Sunday, January 15, 2012.
All seems to have set well on their course to the AFC championship, for the first time since 2008, when they will play a game against the New England Patriots.
The tie is scheduled for coming Sunday, on January 22, 2012.
It is for the first time, probably, that the Ravens face a team better than their outfit.
The Patriots are coming out of the regular and playoff rounds with 14 wins and only three losses.
The Ravens are behind them with an extra loss, 13 wins and four losses (13-4), combined.
The key to their success, during most of the games, had been their defence.
The Ravens are best known for their experienced and strong defensive line-up which includes players such as Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Ed Reed. Almost all of the players are nearing the end of their careers.
All of them are well known among the offences of their oppositions, especially the quarterbacks.
They have helped their side to topple the strong line-up of the Pittsburgh Steelers twice, earlier in the regular season, and have overpowered all other attacks in their way until their last game, the playoff tie versus Houston Texans.
The young and inexperienced Texans' attack apparently did not have an answer to the Ravens' defensive stubbornness.
So far, it is a job well done by the Ravens' defence department which had been a key to their successive wins throughout the season.
Ravens’ coach, John Harbaugh still backs the experience and maturity of their defence. He, as a matter of fact, projected the Ravens' defence to overshadow their apparent weakness in road games.
With four losses and four wins in the regular season, Ravens road-game's record is half done, and leaves them vulnerable to their opponents next Sunday.
More to say of their defence, however, even Tom Brady, the quarterback at the Patriots, has spoken highly of it. He, in his latest comments, was expressive and cautious in his approach and wary of the Ravens' defence.
Some of the commentators and analysts around the league have predicted the strong defensive line-up of the Ravens maintaining their ranks and files against the Patriots.
It might not be an easy task given the Patriots' attack tops the NFL rankings.
They have crushed all the oppositions in their way which could be seen in their recent matchup against the Denver Broncos.
It will be a real test for the Ravens on the weekend.
Irrespective to its outcome, the game is expected to be very closely fought as there is already intense hype around the match-up.
The Ravens are just one game away from the Super Bowl and if their defence comes up with another success story, they can surely write another chapter in the recent history of their success.
It is yet to be seen that offence runs through their strong defence or if it manages to slow down their opponents from running a riot on the field this weekend.
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