Banks Blueprint: A Pissed Off Ravens Squad Heads To Foxboro To Pummel A Boring Patriots Team
Last week sucked. No two ways about it. Ravens played an awesome 3 quarters of football and looked to be well on their way to a statement win. When Lamar made that house call I was ready to declare the Ravens as a top AFC contender all over again, and I think everyone else was too.
Then the unthinkable happened. No need to recap it, just gotta move forward and get the next one.
That brings us to today. Bill Belichick and the Patriots are typically a formidable rival. But there's little to suggest from the first two weeks that that's the case this year. They played a sloppy game in Miami and lost 20-7 and they eked out an ugly win over a lifeless (and TJ Watt-less) Steelers team last week 17-14. Belichick is a smart enough coach to know that with his roster and QB, they have to muddy the waters and try to win ugly week in and week out. We can't let em.
3 keys to a Ravens victory in Foxboro today:
1. Give Mac Jones Nothing Over The Top Today
The highlight of the Pats win last week (and the ultimate nail in the Steelers' coffin) was a deep ball to Nelson Agholor. Agholor has been around long enough for us to know he's far from a top tier receiver in this league, but he still has the speed and ability to beat you deep. On the flip side, the Ravens clearly had a some major communication issues in their secondary last week. DC Mike MacDonald looked like he didn't sleep this week and ya gotta think getting the ship righted back there is a major reason why.
The Patriots offense is capable of putting some points on the board, but they're far from explosive. They rely heavily on making that small handful of splash plays to give themselves a chance in winning those rock fights. Marlo and Marcus Peters are both expected to play today and I need those guys on Agholor and company like glue, and I need Marcus Williams playing a deep center field. We can afford to give up the 15 yarders here and there. We can't give up the house calls. Great opportunity today to get some things fixed back there today.
2. Get The Ground Game Going
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JK Dobbins is back today. I'm hopeful that that kickstarts the ground game, but it may be ambitious to think he's just going to come out and flip the switch on for the offense. We need OL to lead from the front, literally and figuratively. The defense can be a hell of a lot more effective if they can get some rest between drives and stay fresh. We've gashed the Pats on the ground before and we can do it again. Need a big step forward today.
3. Play Mistake-Free Football
And that's it. Would love to see the Ravens build a healthy lead and stomp on their throats. Love them -3 today.
Prediction: Ravens 31 Patriots 17