Wild Card Weekend...continued

The NFL supplies us with two more wild card matchups today. Here's a quick look.

Baltimore @ New England

Season stats: Baltimore - offense: 13th overall (18th pass, 5th rush), 9th in scoring - 24.4 points per game; defense: 3rd overall (8th pass, 5th rush), 3rd in scoring - 16.3 points per game

New England - offense: 3rd overall (3rd pass, 12th rush), 6th in scoring - 26.7 points per game; defense - 11th overall (12th pass, 13th rush), 5th in scoring - 17.8 points per game

In a rematch from week 4, the Ravens travel to Gillette Stadium, again. The game as marked by some roughing the passer penalties called against the Ravens. Pats QB Tom Brady was seen turning to the referee which resulted in one of those penalties. Ravens LB Ray Lewis did not take to the act too well.

"Without totally going off the wall here, it is embarrassing to the game. Brady is good enough to make his own plays, let him make the play."

Ravens: We all know the main threat on offense is RB Ray Rice, but did you catch the perfermance Willis McGahee pulled out last week? If McGahee can duplicate that effort, the Patriots could be in for a long day. It was against the Raiders (29th against the run), but McGahee displayedan effort not seen from him in a while. Rice is a dual threat and must always be accounted for. TE Todd Heap showed he's not done playing either. Heap had a good '09 racking up 53 catches and 6 TD. Not bad for a guy some had written off. WR Derrick Masin, who at one time had "retired", eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards and showed he can still make an impact on a game. Outside of Rice, Heap and Mason, QB Joe Flacco doesn't many other options. The success of the running game will dictate the Ravens fate. They did tie with Miami for the league lead in rushing TDs (22).

And when we think of the Ravens D, we think of two guys, LB Ray Lewis and S Ed Reed. Former DC Rex Ryan is in NYC, but after a few bumps in the road, the Ravens got back on track and showed they are still a formidable unit. There is still a question at corner, though. And that's where Reed and S Dawan Landry's presence must be felt. And putting pressure on Pats QB Tom Brady is of exteme importance.

Watch the return game. Chris Carr can flip a field on you with his ability.

Partiots: People have been knocking the Patriots for the lack of a running game this season. Huh? They finished 12th in what can be termed as a pass happy offense. The loss of WR Wes Welker has been all the talk since the Houston game and he will be missed. Look for the RBs (Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, Sammie Morris) and WR Julian Edelman and the TEs (Benjamin Watson and Chris Baker) to help soothe Welker's absence. They all can't replace him, but they all can help keep the Ravens D from piling up on WR Randy Moss. The O line is the key. They have to keep QB Tom Brady from the feeling pressure. A nice screen game can go a long way.

Remember that infamous 4th and 2? Remember the drubbing in the Superdome a couple of weeks later? Now, remember holding the Jags Maurice Jones-Drew in check? Remember that 59-0 squashing of the Tennessee Titans? The defense has pulled a Jeckyl and Hyde all season long. This is not the time to be pulling such an act. If the "good" unit shows up, a Pats win will be in the works. If not, the Ravens win. It really is as simple as that. The Pats D hold this game in their hands.

The loss of Welker will also be noticable in the punt return game. He had a knack for finding a seam and supplying good field position.

Green Bay @ Arizona

Season stats: Green Bay - offense: 6th overall (7th pass, 14th rush), 3rd in scoring - 28.8 points per game; defense: 2nd overall (5th pass, 1st rush), 7th in scoring - 18.6 points per game
Arizona: 14th overall (12th pass, 28th rush), 11th in scoring - 23.4 points per game; defense: 20th overall (23rd pass, 17th rush), 15th in scoring - 20.3 points per game

Yet another rematch from last week, and that game told us nothing about what could happen this week. Arizona pulled QB Kurt Warner early in the affair since there was no way the Cards cold get a first round bye with a Vikings win earlier in the day.

Packers: QB Aaron Rodgers was the story in Green Bay this season. Emerging from the shadow of #4, Rodgers had a regular season that had a few saying he could've been condiered from MVP votes. Despite being sacked a league high 51 times, Rodgers was 4th in passing yards, pass TD and QB rating. Anyone believe in numerology? 4th. Hmm. Rodgers' season may have caused some defenses to overlook RB Ryan Grant. Grant rushed for over 1,200 yards and 11 TD. What you might find a bit shocking is with all of Rodgers' success, Green Bay did not have a single receiver in the top 10 receptions, yards or TD. Donald Driver led the Pack in receptions (70) and TD (6) and Greg Jennings led in receiving yards (1,113).  The guy the Cards may want to look out for is TE Jermichael Finley. His continued improvement in occupying the middle of the field has also contributed to Rodgers' year.

And what about Green Bay landing Dom Capers as the DC? This unit was the weak link last season (20th overall). He changed a few things. Well, he changed the whole philsophy. Landing DT B.J. Raji and LB Clay Matthews in the draft didn't hurt. Even after losing LB Aaron Kampman and CB Al Harris to IR, the Packers continued to play very well. But here's the main point of defense and it's no secret: pressure Warner. The whole league knows he's turnover prone. The only drawback is that Warner sniffs out a blitz a mile away.

One last tidbit of info. Green Bay led the NFL in turnover ratio with a +24.

Cardinals: Was sitting QB Kurt Warner last week a good thing? In Warner's case, I'm thinking it probably was. He's not exactly the youngest QB in the league. The main concern is WR Anquan Boldin's health (knee, ankle). Boldin is the toughest reciver in the NFL and if he can crawl, he usually plays. I'm not overly concerned as the Cards have the NFL's best receiving group from top to bottom. One thing that's kind of gotten lost in thes season was the improvement of rookie RB Beanie Wells. Wells was drafted to propel the running game and after starting the season with fumblitis, Wells gathered himself and began to see the bulk of the snaps. The Packers cannot forget about Wells. Up until last week, Wells had a rushing TD in three straight games.

The Cards defensive units was viewed as a good early on in the season. They were even 1st against the run at one time. Through the first six games, the Giants Brandon Jacobs provided the most rushing yards by an opponent with 76 yards. Then, it began. They allowed five in the last ten games. And three of those five were over 150 yards. Think opponets had them figured out? But there's no denying that the Cards strength is the secondary. CBs Dominque Rogers-Cromartie and Bryant McFadden along with Ss Adrain Wilson and Antrell Rolle just might be the best the league has. It's the seven guys in front of them. There's no lack of talent. We've seent that sacking Aaron Rodgers is only that, a sack. Forcing turnovers is something the Cards aren't known for, a -7 turnover ratio is always reflective of the offense.