A Little Sports Talk- Ravens Colts Preview

Fan Take

Alright Baltimore, listen the fuck up. You owe us Patriots some fucking winning. You swiped our Wild-Card spot last year only to lose to the hated Steelers in the AFC Championship game and let them win the Superbowl. Here we are again, with you bouncing us from the playoffs, this time via an embarrassing spoiling of Tom Brady's perfect home playoff record. FOR FUCK'S SAKE, please, please, PLEASE WITH FUCKING SUGAR ON TOP don't lose to the Colts. Outside of the Yankees (and a tie with the Steelers), there is no team that I hate more than the Colts and I feel like the rest of New England is with me. Maybe it's the way the commentators suck Peyton Manning's dick, or maybe the way he screams at his receivers for missing balls he clearly overthrew, but Peyton Manning is everything I hate in sports. Every time I see a Peyton Manning ad, I die a little inside. Luckily, his SNL appearance was hilarious!

"Oh wait, that's right. I vomited in my mouth when I saw this."

Again, he was handed the MVP by the league who seem to collectively have their heads up their asses. Consider this.

Matt Schaub, whose offensive line is considerably worse than Peyton Mannings, (He was sacked nearly twice as often as Peyton, whose OL held him to the lowest amount of sacks in the NFL. Don't give that shit about quick reads, Manning always has all day in the pocket), had a higher completion percentage, a higher yards per throw average, twice as many 40+ yard plays, fewer INTs, a practically identical number of passing attempts, and a better QB rating. Peyton did have him beat on touchdowns, though, so he is the clear MVP winner. Say what you will about Peyton's team being 14-0 in games he played all the way through, his team has a defense and Schaub's doesn't. I'm not saying Schaub is the superior QB, all I'm saying is that he had a better season then Peyton did. Not to mention a Tennesee Titan by the name of Chirs Johnson had kind of a good season.

In summary, fuck the Colts, go Ravens.

Real Talk

This game has all the makings of an upset. Which is exactly why it probably won't be one. If there was ever a chance to beat the Colts, it's now. The starters are frustrated and upset that their coaches allowed perfection to escape them. They are playing a Baltimore team that has all of the momentum heading into this game, coming off a convincing win over the Patriots. Not to mention that when Baltimore faced them this season, they nearly pulled off spoiler. The only problem is how pungent the reek of upset is coming off this game. This is such an upset scenario that the Colts will have been prepared for it. As much as it kills me to say it, they are very well coached and the coaches likely have them settled down. This should still be a doozy of a game.

Ravens O-Colts D- Part of the reason I hate the Colts so much is how similar the two teams really are. So why fix what ain't broke? Dwight Freeney could be a problem for their offense, but if this line does anywhere near the job they did on Vince Wilfork and the rest of the Pats defense last week, Ray Rice should have another huge day. Colts aren't a great run D, so if you are Baltimore you do what you did last week, run run run. Flacco isn't Peyton, so it's important to get that early lead for your defense to protect. If you are the Colts, you need to protect against the run and make the Ravens throw the ball. That's where this team is weakest, and you might be able to cause a few turnovers.

Colts O- Ravens D- This is the big side of the ball in this game, and easily the most compelling matchup of the week. The story of this matchup is "Get to Peyton". If I'm the Ravens, I'm bringing Ray Lewis to Peyton Manning and trying to put the hurt on him. He's Peyton, so if he gets time, he will get the ball to the receiver regardless of the coverage you have on the receivers. In my opinion, Addai is sort of a non-factor. Joseph Addai is not going to be what wins this game for the Colts. You've got to get those linebackers involved if you are Baltimore, though. For the Colts, it's very simple. Let Peyton be Peyton. Pats couldn't let Brady be Brady against this Baltimore D and the result was 4 turnovers from our beloved QB. If Peyton gets time, the Colts are going to make a good Baltimore D look very silly.

Bottom Line

I can't help but let my feelings creep into this one. I think Peyton Manning will be looking at 4+ sacks, that Ray Rice will have 150+ and 2 TDs, and we Pats fans will have our blood.

Ravens by 4.