(Photo by Yahoo Sports)
by Dakota Antelman
Steve Smith set to draw big coverage from secondary
Baltimore tight end Steve Smith caught five passes for 101 yards against the Steelers. In a game dominated by a focus on diversifying the Ravens offense, Smith excelled, making the most of the few passes QB Joe Flacco tossed his way.
Smith as a player has a long engraved history of making teams pay with big plays. He is a big bodied tight end, similar in playing style to the likes of former Ravens great Dennis Pitta and similar in attitude to Patriot anchor Rob Grokowski.
He adds an interesting facet to the impending Patriots/Ravens meeting as his being a slightly slower player would make it hard for New England to assign him to any of their shut down corner backs. At the same time though, leaving Smith to the linebackers could spell disaster for the Patriots.
Stage set for battle of the kickers
Two kickers who have been near perennial Pro-Bowl contenders for multiple years now will be facing off in the Patriots/Ravens divisional game.
Stephan Gotskowski of New England kicks against Justin Tucker of Baltimore. The two had similar numbers even in a somewhat down year for Tucker.
Tucker made 29 of 34 field goal attempts this season leading the team in points scored and nailing long distance kicks in several clutch situations for the team. Gostkowski was slightly better hitting 35 of 37 field goals.
Tucker and Gostkowski figure to be big factors in Saturday's game with both teams relying heavily on the presence of a consistent kicker when their offence stalls.
Dan Connolly, Nate Solder and O-Line tested again by Baltimore pass rush
After allowing four or more sacks in back-to-back games, the Patriots offensive line appears to be one of the team's weakest units going into the postseason opener.
Despite a stock of fundamentally strong offensive tackles, the pocket has been consistently collapsing on Tom Brady. If they do not turn things around, the future hall of famer could be suffering the same claustrophobic fate by halftime on Saturday. This is because the Baltimore Ravens sacked opponents a league best, 49 times in the regular season, utilizing one of the best pass rushes in football with brutal effectiveness.
The one story line running in their favor as Saturday approaches does feature Nate Solder returning to the team after leaving the Week 17 finale against Buffalo. Solder could solidify the offensive line which, notably, played its worst after Solder was injured.
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