Boston Sports Then and Now

Tom Brady sits on the ground following the interception that sealed the AFC Championship game win for the Ravens.

Remember when Tom Brady in the postseason was as sure as death or taxes? His 9-0 start to his postseason career had people all over New England thinking that this late-round diamond in the rough could never do any wrong. Three championships in his first four seasons.

None in his last eight.

Maybe it was payback. Maybe it was destiny. Whatever it was, Joe Flacco outplayed Brady, the Ravens defense outplayed that of the Patriots and as banged up as Baltimore  had been this year, it was the home team and favorite that felt the blows when it mattered most. Oh, and Ray Lewis, with the help if his good friend, God, has lived to play another day – and for the Super Bowl.

From the moment the coin hit the ground in favor of the Ravens and they deferred to the second half – stealing the Patriots’ bread and butter on their home field – it just seemed like it wasn’t meant to be. They committed fewer penalties, made less mistakes and completed a higher percentage of their passes. Most importantly, their zero turnovers, compared to three from the Patriots, were nothing less than huge. They were the team that executed better on Sunday.

Like it did towards the end if the regular season, the Patriots offense struggled to capitalize when their defense set them up with good field position and scored just 13 points – their lowest total of 2012. As the league’s No. 1 offense, the fewest points they had scored this year before yesterday were 18 in the Week 2 loss to the Cardinals.

The windy conditions at Gillette Stadium forced both teams to play conservatively and cost the Pats a couple chances at field goals they would normally attempt.

Their opening drive looked promising, but Wes Welker couldn’t haul in a deep pass from Brady when he had his defender beat by a couple if steps. They then almost caught the Baltimore special teams off guard, however, as Ryan Mallett snuck into the punt formation and forced the Ravens to burn a timeout.

A quick three-and-out by Baltimore gave New England the ball back, but only after a holding penalty called on Aqib Talib backed them up to their own 21. They had to settle for a 31-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski and took a 3-0 lead on their 32nd straight red zone possession that resulted in points.

The next Baltimore drive ended quickly as well, but came at a cost as Talib hurt his thigh while breaking up a pass on third and long. Some production from last week’s star Shane Vereen on the ensuing drive and a 15-yard personal foul penalty called on Lewis were for not as Brandon Lloyd ended up dropping a tough catch on third down.

Flacco then missed an open Dennis Pitta down the field and New England couldn’t convert following a 28-yard punt return from Welker as Paul Kruger influenced the Brady pass. The Pats D allowed just one completion in the first quarter and the Ravens went 0-for-3 on third down. New England led the Ravens 3-0 after one quarter of the AFC Championship game for the second consecutive year.

As the second quarter began, Flacco would lead a 90-yard drive in his first Title Game win to put the Ravens on the board with a two-yard run by Ray Rice. Jerod Mayo and Dont’a Hightower both missed tackles on the back as he then walked into the endzone on second down. Pitta had an 18-yard reception on third and four and Flacco took advantage of Talib’s absence, hitting Torrey Smith on a 25-yard pass to the New England 15.

Brady would answer right away, however, aided by another personal foul penalty, this time on Dannell Ellerbe. A 24-yard pass to Welker set the Pats up in good position and Brady found him again from a yard out to make it 10-7 Patriots with 4:18 left in the opening half.

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Mr. Consistency: While his looks have changed over the years, his play on the field has not and the many faces of Tom Brady are just another piece of the legacy he is still writing.

When you think of some of the greatest men to ever lead our country, the same names instinctively come to mind time and time again. Household last names, that don’t require a first name, a middle initial or anything else, like Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt and, of course, Washington.

The same can be said for NFL quarterbacks. If 100 random people were surveyed on a busy city street regarding who they believed the best quarterback of all-time to be, many of the answers would definitely be repeated.

Some would gravitate to the original greats like Johnny Unitas or Bart Starr. Others might lean on those with the greatest stats like Brett Favre or Dan Marino.

But, then there would be those fans smart enough not to look at what the quarterback has done for himself, but to look at what the quarterback has done for his teammates.

And coaches.

And ownership.

And his city.

But, most importantly, they would look at what he has done for, well, them. And what can a professional athlete do for the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of fans who follow his career, idolize all his triumphs and pick him up when he should make a mistake?

Bring a Lombardi Trophy back home, of course.

That’s what the real greats have done in the past, what others are trying to emulate in the present and what still others, some who may not even be born yet, will compare themselves to while striving to overtake them.

While there are undoubtedly other factors in determining who the greatest of all-time ultimately is, there is no denying that if a quarterback does not have multiple championships under his belt, he cannot be in the discussion. That is because there are those like Joe Montana, like Terry Bradshaw, like Troy Aikman and like Tom Brady, that have all hoisted the Lombardi Trophy three or more times during their playing careers.

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For the second consecutive year, the Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship in Foxboro. Last year the Patriots barely got by the Ravens to advance to the Super Bowl, and although the Ravens don’t seem to be as good as they were last year, and the Patriots seem better than they do last year, I think this year’s AFC Championship game will be even tougher than last year’s.

Over the past week the term “Team of Destiny” has been used by many analysts and sports talk radio hosts regarding the Baltimore Ravens. The term makes most people feel nauseous, as it should, but if you think about it the Ravens really are playing like they are the team of destiny.

A win in Foxboro on Sunday would avenge the loss of year. Last year was no ordinary loss. The Ravens had a chance to win the game when Joe Flacco threw what would be a touchdown to Wide Receiver Lee Evans. That pass which was in Evans in hands was knocked out by Sterling Moore at the very last second. The Ravens as we all know then tried to tie the game with a 32 yard field goal. The easy field goal was missed by Kicker Billy Cundiff.

To lose a game like that is something teams don’t forget. Sure, this year is a different team for the Ravens, but those players who were on the field last year surely haven’t forgotten about this. Every player has been fighting all year to get back to where they got last year for a chance at redemption.

Along with the storyline for avenging last year’s loss, throw in Ray Lewis, who is playing in his final season. Every player on the field knows how important it is to show up and win for the team leader, to extend his career one more game. Although Ray Lewis is one of the best motivational speakers and teammates, you have to wonder when the “Lets win one for the Gipper” speech gets old and starts to fade for players. They won one for “the Gipper” (In the case Lewis) in the Wild Card round against the Bengals, and then they went out and won ANOTHER one for the Gipper against the Denver Broncos.

On Sunday the Ravens won’t be the only team trying to avenge a loss. The Patriots haven’t forgotten about losing to the Ravens in week 3 on primetime. That game was an even closer game than the AFC Championship game last year with the Ravens defeating the Patriots 31-30 by kicking a game winning field goal as time expired. In that game, the biggest story was the replacement officials.

Here’s a recap of that game: http://boston.sportsthenandnow.com/2012/09/24/patriots-vs-ravens-recap-five-reasons-the-patriots-lost-sunday-night/

Of course there’s a lot to play for in the AFC Championship. Most of the sports media will be hoping for a Ravens win to create better storylines, but the Patriots will try to stop that, and make things harder on the media by making them report on meaningful stories pertaining to football. With everything on the line on Sunday, and with the recent history between these two teams, this game will be no walk in the park for the Patriots.

Dual threat: Shane Vereen scored three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) to lead the Patriots past the Texans and back into the AFC Championship game.

Remember just over a month ago when the Texans were the best team in the AFC? With the best defense in the league? Yeah, I’m having a little bit of trouble recalling that too. It seems just a bit far-fetched right about now.

It wasn’t quite like the first time around, but the Texans still gave up 40 points, J.J. Watt still didn’t bat a pass, Rob Gronkowski still ended up missing the majority of the game (more on that a little bit later) and the Patriots still scored 40-plus points. They also won and believe it or not, it is the first time in the Brady-Belichick era that the team has won a playoff game that was a rematch of a regular season game (1-6).

In the final game of the weekend, Tom Brady became the winningest quarterback in NFL history as he passed his idol Joe Montana with his 17th career postseason victory to set up a rematch with the Ravens at Gillette Stadium on Sunday following the 41-28 victory.

The Texans won the toss and, perhaps to the delight of the Patriots, elected to receive as the temperature reached 51 degrees in a January heat wave in Foxboro. The teams were each at full strength and it was time to see whether the game five weeks ago was a fluke or a preview.

What happened when the ball came down in the hands of Danieal Manning six yards deep in the endzone shocked everybody, however. After taking over the kick return duties just last week, he found a seam and took off running. It looked like he was gone until Devin McCourty caught him from behind at the 12-yard line of New England.

The Pats defense held and after fullback James Casey dropped a likely touchdown pass, Houston was forced to kick a field goal, which was good from 27 yards out by Shayne Graham. Following just eight yards on their first drive, however, Zoltan Mesko was on the field as the Patriots went three-and-out, but a monster punt and good coverage set Houston up back at their own 17-yard line.

Houston punted the ball back, but on a second-and-long, Gronkowski landed on his injured left arm while trying to catch a pass and looked to be in some serious pain. A conversion on third and 11 kept the drive going, but then Wes Welker, who took a big hit to move the chains on the previous third down, dropped a relatively easy pass on third and eight and the Texans got the ball back, still leading 3-0 with 5:49 left as Gronkowski went to the locker room. Again, Houston punted though after Aqib Talib nearly picked off a second-down pass and Arian Foster dropped one on third down.

Brady then led the Pats on a 65-yard drive following a poor punt by Donnie Jones. The six-play drive utilized Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen for five of the plays. A 13-yard reception by Ridley and a 25-yarder by Vereen set them up in the red zone. Vereen then took it in from a yard out and gave the Patriots the lead with 1:28 left in the first on the first postseason rushing touchdown of his career. After kicking the extra point, Stephen Gostkowski made sure to get all of the ball on the kickoff to keep Manning from running another one back deep into their territory. New England led 7-3 after one.

Houston picked up a few yards, but stalled again. Jones’ third punt of the day gave New England the ball back, but a good-looking drive stalled when Brandon Lloyd made a pretty big mistake in his first playoff game. He was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the red zone for throwing the ball at the official with a bit too much force, but again, Vereen looked very solid, picking up 48 yards on the drive, including a 22-yard run and a six-yard run on third and two in which he made Connor Barwin look pretty foolish. Gostkowski nailed a 37-yard field goal to extend the home team’s lead to 10-3 with just over 10 minutes left in the half.

Same story on the next Houston drive. After a solid start and the first good run from Foster on the day, Dont’a Hightower blew up a play in the backfield and Steve Gregory made a nice open-field tackle on third and 12 to force another punt. Gregory also made another play earlier in the drive to kill a little momentum with a pass break-up following a 24-yard hook-up between Matt Schaub and DeVier Posey.

With a chance to really grab momentum, the Patriots did just that with an 80-yard touchdown drive that included a 13-yard reception by Welker on third and 11 and a 47-yard, one-handed catch by the little guy to set up first and goal. Again, Vereen got into the endzone, this time on a Brady pass from eight yards out and just like that, it was 17-3 Patriots. Lloyd caught the first pass of his postseason career for seven yards earlier in the drive and Welker became the team’s all-time leader in playoff receptions on the 47-yarder. He broke Troy Brown‘s old record of 58 and at the end of the game, had 61.

Another impressive kick return from Manning forced Gostkowski to try to stop him, but he committed a horse-collar tackle that set the Texans up at the New England 47-yard line. They then rode Foster, who, on five carries in five plays, got the first Texans touchdown of the day. After review, the touchdown was confirmed and the New England lead was cut to seven. Foster now has scored a rushing touchdown in all four of his career playoff games.

It was just the third touchdown for the Texans in their last 13 red zone appearances. With just over a minute left, Brady and the Patriots took the field, but like Peyton Manning the night before, appeared content to get to the next quarter. He was hit again on third down and Houston got the ball back with 24 seconds left and three timeouts. Mesko’s punt was nearly blocked and the Texans set up at their own 38-yard line.

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The last time the Patriots played the Texans, it was pretty easy. This time, however, it likely won’t be.

It’s almost here. The rematch of the biggest game in Texans history. Thus, the new biggest game in Texans history. As kickoff between the defending AFC Champion Patriots and the revenge-minded Texans approaches, here are some things to keep in mind.

While many of the core of the Patriots players have been there early (and often) in their careers, it is the first playoff game for eight key members of the team. They include Brandon Bolden, Alfonzo Dennard, Aqib Talib, Shane Vereen, Michael Hoomanawanui, Dont’a Hightower, Chandler Jones and, perhaps most notably, Brandon Lloyd.

Lloyd has played the most regular season games without getting to play one in the postseason with 128 in his career.

In his 23rd career postseason game, Tom Brady could become the first quarterback to ever amass 17 playoff wins. His idol, Joe Montana had 16 in his 16-year career. Brady’s playoff record currently sits at 16-6. So, we got that going for us.

Also, we have the support of self-proclaimed nerd and eerily accurate predictor, Nate Silver, who has an uncanny knack for knowing exactly what will happen before it happens. Silver, who appeared on ESPN’s First Take earlier this week, explained why it will be the Patriots and Seahawks facing off in Super Bowl XLVII three weeks from now.

Silver correctly predicted the winner of 49 of the 50 states in the 2008 presidential election and was also right on the money in all 35 of the Senate races that year. Needless to say, he’s caught the ear of a few people. It can’t hurt to have him on our side.

Just to make things seem a little more comfortable, 11 of 12 ESPN experts have picked the Pats to win the rematch against the team they dominated a little over a month ago. Tedy Bruschi, Mike Reiss and Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com all picked the home team to win as well and were joined by simulations run by Madden ’13 and AccuScore.

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Jets receivers Braylon Edwards (left) and Santonio Holmes celebrate a playoff upset in 2010 that no one saw coming.

Could they have us all right where they want us?

Remember back to 2010. The first of three straight years of a dominant Patriots offense. An eight-game winning streak. A 14-2 regular season. Rob Gronkowski was just beginning his Hall of Fame career. Rex Ryan was a few pounds heavier.

The situation is all too familiar for Patriots fans. Think back to two short years ago when our beloved Pats took the field at Gillette Stadium on a Monday night in December. The opponent was the New York Jets. The hoodie was a full-blown parka. Remember now?

With the AFC East still potentially up for grabs, the Jets looked like the team from Little Giants. It was quite a good night for Patriots fans across New England, you see, because at the time, the Jets were actually good. They were playoff contenders. Heck, they went to the AFC Championship Game.

And the Patriots absolutely had their way with them behind 326 yards and four touchdown passes from MVP candidate Tom Brady. The final score?

45-3.

No one in the New England area thought the Patriots would be able to do any wrong for the rest of the year. Plans for a fifth Super Bowl appearance were in the works.

Fast forward a few weeks. The Jets, after winning a Wild Card game against the Colts, were back in Foxboro for another frigid showdown against their rival Patriots. This time, however, everyone knew they didn’t have a chance.

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