My Wes Welker Blog

One of the most anticipated first round matchups in the 2010 NFL playoffs is the Patriots and the Ravens. People are really enjoying the prospects of this game for many different reasons. Let's take a look at some of those here.

First of all, everyone outside of New England loves to hate the Patriots. This franchise has become the nemesis of many teams during the course of the decade, as they coasted to three Super Bowl victories and became a dynasty of sorts.

Fans enjoy rooting against the team for this reason. They also admonish (or possibly envy) the picture perfect nature of Tom Brady, so they always enjoy seeing an underdog come in to upset them.

Here are the key points to keep in mind when it comes to Sunday's game. This will help to give you an idea as to what chances the Patriots have of winning.

First of all, it should be noted that the Patriots are 8-0 at home this season, one of only two teams (the Vikings were the other) to have finished the regular season with an undefeated home record.

This makes the task of beating New England at Foxboro an extremely daunting one for the Ravens. On the other hand, Baltimore nearly beat the Pats in New England when they played earlier this season, only to fall short in the 4th quarter.

Another factor that bodes well for Baltimore is the fact that New England just lost its star receiver, Wes Welker, to an injury that will keep him out of the entire playoffs.

Welker's 1348 receiving yards were second best in the NFL in 2009, and his 123 receptions were more than any other player in the league. Clearly, the loss of Welker to injury will be a major blow to the Patriots and could put their chances of winning at risk.

All in all, the competitive fire of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the rest of this organization come through more often than not. Most fans would be surprised to see the Patriots come away with anything short of a victory.

Scott Maloney also writes about the vessel sink vanity at http://vesselsinkvanity.org.