While we sit and wait for the 49ers and Giants to get going this afternoon, the Patriots and Ravens do battle starting at 12:00pm pacific time on CBS. The 49ers and Giants get going at 3:30pm PT, so Patriots-Ravens should be wrapped up by then.
The Patriots are getting a lot of love from fans and from the oddsmakers, but as I said yesterday, I think the Ravens actually will win this game. I think the Ravens defense is strong enough to handle the Patriots offense, and I think the Ravens offense, while inconsistent, can do more than enough against what I consider to be a truly awful Patriots defense. But, I've had a pretty awful week of sports gambling in Las Vegas, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I will NOT be betting on the 49ers as I have never found that to be a wise idea.
This should actually be an intriguing game because of the various matchups. Aside from just Patriots offense versus Ravens defense, Joe Flacco and the Ravens passing attack will need to figure something out. If they can find some manner of consistency today, I think they pull this one out.
We'll be back at approximately 2:00pm PT with the 49ers-Giants inactives and then the first open thread at approximately 3:15pm PT.