That Tom Brady some player isn't he :yep:

Defense I think will be the difference in this one. So I give the edge to San Francisco. Should be a good one though. Nice overview here: Here

He is relentless.

But not invincible

http://www.betterlivingthroughbeowul...0/01/brady.jpg


The Raven's kicker won it for them last season! :haha:

Need to protect against the short throws. Plus, once caught by the receiver, protect against their running. They were shucking and jiving against the Texan yesterday gaining yards at will.

A quarterback, regardless of individual quality, is only as good as his O-line, and New England has a very good one.

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorysta...true&Submit=Go

It wasn't last Saturday, and I don't think it will be this time either.

Tom Brady is the best answer to the old "defense wins championships" canard. If you can blow the other team out and win 52-17, I'll take that all day long over a team that wins every game 14-7. If you're playing that way, you're always one mistake away from losing.

I think everyone would take that! :haha:

That kind of play is becoming forced, as you don't see a whole lot of low-scoring affairs like you used to. The number of games where the losing team scores 20 or more points has increased dramatically within the last decade. Whether that is due to an increase of 'wide open' offensive play, a decline in defensive aptitude or a combination of both I don't know. What I do know is that when I started playing fantasy football I valued my team defense, and that payed dividends. This past season, I drafted my defense in the 15th round and still finished 3rd out of 16.

Bottom line; I agree. Defense doesn't matter like it used to.

Much of what you are saying Tak I think relates to the NFL becoming much more of a passing game. The traditional run game has been on the decline for awhile. With many teams it is more used to set up play action schemes.

Ray Rice begs to differ. :haha::O:

I don't know, Ray Rice only had four games during the 2012 regular season where he rushed for over 100 yards and only six games where he had 20 or more carries, which used to be the gold standard for a team relying on the run. Even good RBs don't seem to be used like they were. Granted, he's still a 1000-yard rusher, but barely.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/gamelo...11289/ray-rice

It would seem that there is something to RDP's statement.

No question the run is still an important part of the game, you could never not have it, it keeps the defense guessing and having to account for it, but the run has become secondary.

It has to become primary for the Ravens. The stats for Flacco say otherwise but watching Joe waffle the ball time and time again one begins to wonder just how we win a majority of the time. :hmmm::haha:

I agree on that one.

But coming back to Joe, he seems to just to do enough to win. To this point that has been his MO :yep:

:haha: It seems to be working for him.