Ravens - Patriots Notes: Second Half

> The second begins with a decent kick return, Suggs stopping Faulk for a yard, Brady taking the hot route to Baker for two, and on third from the gun, Brady can't connect with Edelman. WELKER! WELKER WOULDA HAD IT! IT'S SO UNFAIR! A short punt is punctuated by mouthy special teams play, and so much for Genius Belichick's Halftime Adjustments. 80-72 Celtics!

> Rice for six yards on first down, and his yards after contact today is just huge. McClain dives for three on second. On third and one, the Ravens look discombobulated before Flacco throws a good deep ball that WR Demetrius Williams can't hold on to. The ball was there, but the wideout just couldn't hold on, so this is still a game.

> Edelman for a good short gain, and Brady goes to the hurry-up. Moss finally gets into the box score on an out as a half dozen Ravens take a shot at him. Brady has time again and takes a four yard checkdown to Faulk. The Raven pass rush looks gassed, but the secondary makes a huge play as Brady tries to force it TE Ben Watson; the tipped ball is picked and returned to the Patriots 23 by S Dawan Landry. Not to put too fine a point on this, but that Brady's third pick and fourth turnover of the game, and he's been brutal today.

> Rice for seven yards on first, then another six on second; he just disappears into a pile and keeps going. Three more yards as the clock runs. Flacco tries a bootleg that fools no one. On third and six from the Patriots seven, they give it to Rice from the gun, and he's stopped at the four yard line. A Cundiff field goal makes it 27-7 Ravens, and the road team is up by 20 points in game where their QB has thrown for 9 yards in 39 minutes. Hard to believe, Harry.

> After a good kickoff return, Faulk drops a short crossing route, and as bad as Brady has been today, his receivers haven't been much better. Faulk takes a delay for eight yards and makes Lewis miss. On third, it's an easy conversion to Moss as New England stays in hurry up. Reserve RB Sammy Morris gets the Faulk route for seven yards. His fresh legs look good on a second down run for the first, and the Ravens are looking tentative and/or worn on defense. Moss gets five yards and a Foxworth hit, and a Ravens sack is then overturned on a flag in the secondary. That's a song that Ravens Fan has heard before, and frankly, it's a terrible call.

> Moss for four yards, then gets held up and lit up; I suspect he's getting Quite Tired of that route. On second and six, Faulk on a delay gets seven and the first. Faulk to the one, and you get the feeling that it's just a clock battle now. Brady finds Edelman for an easy out and touchdown as CB Chris Carr falls down, and this one is Not Over, especially if the Ravens offense can't burn clock. Ravens 27, Patriots 14.

> The festival of short kickoffs continues, and the Ravens make the Patriots pay with a good return by safety Tom Zbikowski. Rice for five on first down, and four on second; the Ravens now have over 180 yards on the ground. They are four for four running it on third and short, but they decide to throw instead, and Flacco finds WR Derrick Mason on a slant to move the chains, end the quarter, and get them close to field goal range. 99-88 Celtics in the fourth!

> McGahee for three to start the fourth. Flacco misses the open WR Mark Clayton on an inside route, and Flacco was high and tentative there. Not sure why you throw there, but they do it again on third, and Clayton collects it for 17 yards and a huge first down; that also makes the field goal to go up 16 much more manageable. Rice slips forward for two as much mouthiness happens. Rice is stopped by NT Vince Wilfork, who seems to have his fat dander up as the Ravens get closer to 200 yards on the ground. On third and seven with the clock running down, its the Patriots taking the timeout -- wow, not good. From the gun on third down, Flacco scrambles and is marked out before the sticks, and this time, the Ravens challenge, rather than settle for the short field goal. I think they've got a real chance at this; we'll find out after the commerce.

> After a long review, the Ravens get a better spot to win the challenge, and the measurement gets them a first down by the nose of the ball. IT'S AN OUTRAGE! THE PATRIOTS WUZ ROBBED! IT'S A CONSPIRACY! And, more importantly, a first down, more time off the clock, and a fine reason to note that it's 108-102 Celtics. McGahee runs it twice into the line, then in standing up with Monster Power Left. Wow. The Patriots can't get lined up properly to stop the 2-point conversion, amazingly, and take an offsides intentionally, giving the Ravens a 2-point try from the one. More Monster Power for McGahee, and he's stopped close enough to make me wonder if the Ravens will challenge again. They do, but don't get it. In any event, that's a 6.5 minute killshot drive, the fourth Ravens rushing touchdown today, and a 19-point lead with 10:32 left. Boy, these wild card games have kind of sucked, haven't they?

> Another short kickoff -- is there wind? freaky kicking balls? a strategy? CBS won't say -- starts the Patriots at their own 43. Seven yards to Faulk as the Patriot passing game is always short. Morris takes another checkdown for eight as Faulk limps off. Watson for three yards, in bounds, something the Ravens are happy to give up. Through Morris's hands in the flat sets up third and seven as Faulk returns. 33 pass attempts, 111 yards for the Pats. Wow. WR Sam Aiken is spiked and can't hold on, and he's hurt. We're looking at the coup de grace fourth down here. But hey! Celtics 114, Raptors 107, and that is a final. Massholes, you never liked the Patriots anyway!

> Edelman makes a huge effort to get to the sticks on a bad bubble screen, but it comes back on a clip; at least the Scrappy One bought them another down. Brady has all day to find Edelman, who bobbles but holds on for the first down. A terrible duck ball to the end zone is nearly picked as Brady goes to some reserve WR, and in other news, Moss is now on the same milk carton as Maroney. Foxworth takes down Faulk for a loss and clock burn. On third and 11, Brady and Watson lobby for a flag that doesn't happen, and... IT'S AN OUTRAGE! Down 19, the field goal has some value, and PK Stephen Gostkowski misses from 44 yards. The field mics pick up somone saying "And they are restless now", which amuses me nearly as much as the Ravens waving bye bye to the departing Massholes. With 7:15 left, they are right.

> McGahee runs through the eco-friendly Patriots defense (no wasted energy) for a first down despite the Beyond Telegraphed playcalling. Rice goes outside to move the sticks. TE Todd Heap goes down badly, and that's not going to make Baltimore's chances any beter next week in San Diego. I spend some Quality Time reading Twitters from disgusted Patriot Fans and gamblers -- in the words of Eric Cartman, Your Tears Are So Yummy! -- and five minutes later, Baltimore punts from the Patriot 35 for a meager 15 yards, so that the defense can hit Brady some more. Good times! And congratulations to Flacco for Least Deserving Road Win Ever. I'm pretty sure that you or I could have won this game for Baltimore today.

> The last play of the season for the Patriots sees Brady spun to the turf, AGAIN WITH NO FLAG. IT'S AN OUTRAGE! A Flacco knee later, and that it that; Ravens 33, Patriots 14 is your final, and honestly, it wasn't that close. There isn't more than 1,000 people left in the stands as the final gun sounds, and most of them are wearing purple as Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh takes a victory lap. New England's Fans are the greatest!