The Baltimore Ravens came up to Foxboro just two years ago and they sent the Patriots home with a 33-14 defeat.  The Patriots have been waiting for a shot at revenge and it will come this Sunday in the AFC Championship Game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Patriots are going to come out passing the ball against the Ravens.  The key for the Patriots is going to be keeping DE/OLB Terrell Suggs away from Tom Brady.  If Brady keeps his uniform clean, I think he’s going to have a good game.  The passing game will likely be kept short with the idea of letting the WRs and TEs get yards after the catch.  TEs Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are going to be a problem for the Ravens as Ed Reed is a little dinged up right now and Bernard Pollard’s game is defensing the run. WRs Wes Welker and Deion Branch are going to have tough matchups with CBs Lardarius Webb and Cary Williams.  The Patriots aren’t going to run the ball too much, but I see BenJarvus Green-Ellis getting most of the work as he protects the ball a lot better than rookie Stevan Ridley does.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are going to try to play smash mouth football with Ray Rice and Ricky Williams pounding away at the front seven of the Patriots.  That might backfire on them as the Patriots shut down the vaunted running game of the Broncos last weekend.  That being said, Joe Flacco is a much better QB than Tim Tebow is.  The Patriots’ corners will likely need help with coverting WR Torrey Smith deep as he is a blazer.  Anquan Boldin is still a good receiver and Lee Evans could be the Ravens’ secret weapon this weekend.  Flacco also likes to throw to his TEs alot on the short stuff and Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta are decent receivers.  The problem for the Ravens in this game is that Joe Flacco NEVER steps up in the playoffs.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 31, RAVENS 20

The New England Patriots got some nice players last April.  They might have even found Tom Brady’s eventual replacement in Ryan Mallet.  Here is a look at what the rookies did in 2011 for the Patriots:

23-year old OT Nate Solder fell to the Patriots late in the first round and they were very happy to take him.  Solder played in 16 games (13 starts) for the Patriots this year.  He is going to be a big part of the foundation of the Patriots’ O-Line moving forward.

23-year old CB Ras-I Dowling came to the Patriots in the 2nd round.  He played in 2 games for the Patriots this year and he had 3 tackles before his season ended due to a hip injury.  Dowling will get a shot to earn more P.T. in 2012 and he has a pretty nice upside.

22-year old RB Shane Vereen came to the Patriots in the 2nd round last April.  He played in 5 games for the Patriots this year and he carried the ball 15 times for 57 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He is currently buried on the depth chart at RB for the Patriots.

22-year old RB Stevan Ridley was picked in the 3rd round of last April’s NFL Draft.  Ridley played in all 16 games for the Patriots this year and he carried the ball 87 times for 441 yards (5.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 13 yards (4.3 avg) and he returned 7 kickoffs for 152 yards (21.7 avg) this year.  He could push BenJarvus Green-Ellis for carries in 2012.

23-year old QB Ryan Mallet was picked in the 3rd round of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He didn’t get into any games for the Patriots this year.  He was an excellent QB at Arkansas, and he could just be the QB to replace Tom Brady down the road.

23-year old T/G Marcus Cannon came to the Patriots in the 5th round.  He played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Patriots this year.  Cannon could develop into a starter down the road for the Patriots.

24-year old TE Lee Smith was a 5th round pick by the Patriots.  He was cut before the season started and the Bills claimed him on waivers.  Smith played in 10 games for the Bills last year and he caught 4 passes for 11 yards (2.8 avg).

22-year old TE Markell Carter was a sixth round pick of the Patriots.  He spent his entire rookie year on the Patriots’ practice squad.

24-year old CB Malcolm Williams was picked in the 7th round of the NFL Draft.  He played in 2 games for the Patriots this year but he didn’t have any tackles.

GRADE FOR 2011:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B+

The Patriots have lost 23-year old rookie cornerback Ras-I Dowling for the rest of the season.  They have placed him in the Injured Reserve List due to a hip injury that resulted from a torn tendon in his leg.  Dowling played in 2 games for the Patriots this year and he had 3 tackles.  This is a big loss for the Patriots as they were hoping that the would step up later this year.

22-year old rookie RB Stevan Ridley is starting to push 26-year old BenJarvus Green-Ellis for carries.  Ridley has played in all four games for the Patriots so far this year and he has 18 carries for 148 yards (8.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also has caught 2 passes for 11 yards (5.5 avg) so far this year.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis has played in all four games for the Patriots so far this year and he has carried the ball 50 times for 197 yards (3.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Green-Ellis has also caught 2 passes for 14 yards (7.0 avg).  With Danny Woodhead out tomorrow against the Jets, both Ridley and Green-Ellis should get decent workloads.

I thought the Patriots were going to add defense in this draft but I was dead wrong.  The Patriots only used 3 of 9 picks on defense and 2 of them came in the 6th and 7th rounds.  Coach Belichick isn’t stupid.  He knows that Tom Brady (despite being awesome) is getting older, so the protection will have to be better as the years go on.  With that in mind, the Patriots picked OT Nate Solder in the first round of the NFL Draft.  He will likely be a starter from day #1 for the Patriots.  In the fifth round, the Patriots took G/T Marcus Cannon out of TCU.  He is a second round talent that slid to the Patriots because of a tumor in his stomach.  He is expected to recover and be 100% healthy in the near future.  This was a steal for the Patriots.  RBs Shane Vereen (2nd round) and Stevan Ridley (3rd round) were picked pretty high by the Patriots despite them not having a huge need there.  Belichick does like to have a committee approach at RB so look for Vereen and Ridley to get some carries behind BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead in 2011.  QB Ryan Mallet could be a huge steal for the Patriots as he slipped to the 3rd round due to off the field issues.  The talent is there to be one of the best QBs in the NFL down the road due to his ability on the field.  He will get to learn behind Tom Brady for a while before maybe eventually replacing him down the road.  TE Lee Smith came to the Patriots in the 5th round and his game is blocking in the running game.  CB Ras-I Dowling came to the Patriots in the 2nd round of the 2011 NFL Draft and he should help right away.

PROJECTED GRADE:  B

The Patriots took CB Malcolm Williams out of TCU with the 219th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  This is a classic pick for Bill Belichick as Williams wasn’t even a starter in college.  He had 22 tackles and 1 fumble recovery in his two years at TCU.  Williams has the raw ability to develop into a player down the road but he will need to be coached up by Belichick and his coaching staff.

The Patriots took OLB Markell Carter out of Central Arkansas with the 194th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Carter is 6’4, 252 pounds.  Carter had 62 tackles, 19 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks and he forced 3 fumbles for Central Arkansas last year.  He played four years for Central Arkansas and he had 143 tackles, 35 tackles for a loss, 16.5 sacks, he forced 3 fumbles and he had 1 interception.  The Patriots hope that they can coach up Carter because they could use some pass rush help.

The Patriots took 23-year old TE Lee Smith out of Marshall with the 159th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Smith is 6’5″, 269 pounds and he runs a 4.9 40.  Smith is a old school TE as he is a nasty run blocker and a receiver with good hands who does his best work over the middle of the field.  He also likes to lower a shoulder against a defender to try to get a extra couple of yards.  Smith played in 12 games (11 starts) for Marshall last year and he caught 38 passes for 358 yards (9.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He played in 48 games (27 starts) in his four years with the Thundering Herd and he caught 75 passes for 791 yards (10.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  The Patriots are overflowing with young TEs with game.

UPDATE:  (9/5/2011) – The Patriots tried to sneak Lee Smith through waivers to put him on the practice squad, but he got claimed by the Buffalo Bills.

The Patriots picked 23-year old T/G Marcus Cannon out of TCU with the 138th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Cannon is a huge man at 6’5″, 363 pounds and he plays a big man’s game.  The Patriots got Cannon so late because he has a tumor in his stomach, which will require chemotherapy.  The prognosis is good for Cannon down the road, so the Patriots may have a steal here as he was projected to be a starter early on in his career.  Cannon played in 12 games (all starts) for TCU last year and he played in 51 games (36 starts) in his four years with the Horned Frogs.  This was a classic “steal” pick for the Patriots.

The New England Patriots are rumored to have had Ryan Mallet rated as the top QB on their draft board.  Therefore, they couldn’t resist taking him in the 3rd round with the #74 overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Mallet stands at 6’6″, 240 pounds and he sports a rifle for a throwing arm.  Off the field issues caused him to drop, but if anyone can straighten him out, it will be Bill Belichick and the rest of the Patriots.  Mallett played in 13 games (all starts) for Arkanas last year and he completed 266 of 411 passes (64.7%) for 3,869 yards with 32 TD passes and 12 INTs.  Mallet played in 37 games (29 starts) in three years with Michigan & Arkansas in which he completed 552 of 955 passes (57.8%) for 8,385 yards with 69 TD passes and 24 INTs.  Mallet landed in the perfect spot as he won’t be thrown into the fire any time soon.  He will learn from Tom Brady for a few years before eventually replacing him as the starter.  I love this pick for the Patriots.