Baltimore to struggle matching up?

With the AFC Division playoffs coming this Sunday, everyone's getting nervous about what type of game it will be. Will it be a blowout like our last game against the Texans, or a last-second luck kinda thing we had going on last season when the Ravens lost just because of that one field goal they missed?

One thing that us Pats fans can keep in mind is that we have the personnel advantage when it comes to matching the Ravens' players up with ours. In this edition of "Scout's Take," one NFL scout said this about the offensive matchups:

“This week against the Ravens, the Patriots should use the multiple attack that they used last week, for several reasons. They have several personnel matchup advantages against the Baltimore defense. As we saw last week, Shane Vereen out of backfield as a receiver is a winnable matchup. In addition, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd spread out the defense individually and as a group, and will also make things tougher for a Ravens’ secondary that has matchup problems. Adding Stevan Ridley and potential of the run makes it even harder for Baltimore to prepare for, especially when several of the pieces are in packages together and New England runs the hurry-up, no-huddle offense.”

Even with Gronk out of the picture for the rest of the playoffs, we can expect to see New England using the undersized runners to keep the Baltimore defense on their toes and to score points. Don't forget we still have Hernandez, Lloyd, and Welker too. Vereen could really effect the game this week, as the Baltimore defenders have had trouble with tracking smaller running backs.

This game is not going to be a game to miss...