Willis McGahee is not the leading rusher on the Ravens (Ray Rice-295 yards) but he has had a acute nose for the end zone this year.  He has scored 7 TDs this season (5 rushing, 2 receiving) for the Ravens this season.  He has outscored kicker Steve Hauschka 42-28 this season and that is insane.  The key his dominance has been the fact that the Ravens are spreading the ball around in both the running and passing games making it hard for any team to actually key on McGahee.  He has carried the ball 37 times this season for 201 yards (5.4 ypc) and he has also caught 7 passes for 54 yards.  My wife has acutally been getting the last laugh in fantasy football because when she asked me about McGahee I said, “Don’t bother with him”. 

The Baltimore Ravens’ defense has consistently been one of the top defenses in the NFL year after year this decade, and this year is no different.  Terrell Suggs is one of the main reasons the Ravens defense has been so effective, as the linebacker has done everything the Ravens have asked of him.  Whether it is stopping the run, dropping back in pass coverage, or rushing the quarterback, Suggs knows how to get the job done.  He has done a good job getting at quarterbacks with 2.5 sacks.  He has a total of 20 tackles, three pass deflections, and a forced fumble.  Suggs is one of many Ravens’ defenders who is playing well and I don’t think any team ever wants to face this team, especially now that they have a productive offense to go along with their dangerous defense.

Veteran kickoff return specialist Chris Carr has been replaced on kickoff returns by rookie CB Ladarius Webb because of a costly fumble against the Patriots last weekend.  Carr has returned 12 kickoffs for 294 yards (24.5 avg) this season for the Ravens.  Webb was a 3rd round pick out fo Nicholls State.  He has returned 2 kickoffs for 53 yards (26.5 avg) so far this year.  Webb has a nice upside in this role and he will keep the job as long as he protects the football.

The Ravens will be without 33-year old linebacker Brandon Ayanbadejo for the year due to a torn left quadriceps muscle.  This is a shame for Ayanbadejo who was primarily a special teams player in the NFL until this season when the Ravens started giving him a lot of P.T. on the defense.  He played in 4 games for the Ravens this season and he made 22 tackles, defensed 1 pass, had 1 sack and he had 1 interception.

The Ravens traded punches with the Patriots the whole game until Mark Clayton dropped a pass deep in Patriots’ territory late in the game.  Joe Flacco did his part completing 27 of 47 passes for 264 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Ray Rice also had a outstanding game as he carried the ball 11 times for 103 yards (9.4 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 49 yards (9.8 avg).  Derrick Mason pitched in with 7 receptions for 88 yards (12.6 avg) with a TD grab.  The Ravens finished up with 363 total yards on offense (116 rushing, 247 passing).

The problem in this game for the Ravens was getting the defense off the field as the Patriots had the ball for 34:56 of this game.  Ray Lewis led the way for the Ravens’ on D with 14 tackles.  OLB Jarrett Johnson was solid again with 8 tackles, a sack  and he had 2 tackles for a loss.  DT Dwan Edwards made the biggest play of the game on defense for the Ravens in this game when he recovered a fumble in the end zone for a TD.  The Patriots finished up with 319 total yards on offense in this game (85 rushing, 234 passing).  The Ravens dropped into a tie with the Bengals atop of the AFC North with a 3-1 record.

The Ravens’ offense faces their toughest test against a Patriots’ D that is only allowing 262.3 yards per game.  This should be very interesting to see if the Ravens come out attacking the Patriots through the air as QBs (98.4 Rating) have had success throwing the ball against the Patriots this season. 7 players have at least six catches on the Ravens as Flacco likes to move the ball around.  That makes it very hard for defenses to double anyone.  The Patriots only allow 88.3 yards rushing per game but 4.0 yards per carry so the Ravens will also pound the middle of the Patriots’ D with Ray Rice and Willis McGahee. 

The Patriots realize that the Ravens’ defensive stats are skewed by the fact that Brady Quinn and Brodie Croyle started two of those games at QB.  In the other game the Chargers showed where the weakness is on the Ravens’ D and it’s at cornerback.  The Ravens like to blitz the QB but Tom Brady has only been sacked 1 time this year.  Randy Moss will likely have a huge game against the Ravens’ secondary which is allowing 231.7 yards passing this year. 

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 23, RAVENS 17

WR Derrick Mason decided to retire before training camp but then he changed his mind wanting to play for one more year.  The Ravens couldn’t be happier to have the veteran back as he is putting up some solid numbers so far this year.  Mason has caught 12 passes for 196 yards (16.3 avg) with 1 TD grab this season.  Mason appears to still be Joe Flacco’s favorite target so expect him to keep putting up huge numbers for the Ravens this year.