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Volin: Ravens Lead NFL In Drawing Pass Interference Penalties

BOSTON (CBS) - When the dust settled and the final playoff field was set, most Patriots fans looked at the AFC opponents and said the following:

"I'd rather face any team but Baltimore."

"The Ravens scare me."

"Baltimore is not intimidated by us. They can come in here and win."

And much to their dismay, Baltimore is the team heading to Foxboro Saturday afternoon for another playoff showdown.

98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich had on Ben Volin of the Boston Globe Tuesday morning to break down the game, and he agrees with the sentiment that the Black Birds present a tough challenge to the Pats.

"The Patriots aren't too afraid of Peyton Manning coming to town, or the Colts, the Bengals or maybe even the Steelers. But, shoot, the Ravens are the one team that's done it. They've done it twice, and probably should have done it three times if Billy Cundiff hit a chip shot field goal. I know, it's not the same team and blah blah blah. But it is. It's still the Ravens. It's still Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh. It's still Terrell Suggs. They can still get after the passer with Elvis Dumervil. They still love to run the football and hit you with deep shots."

Volin cautions the-sky-is-falling crowd by admitting the Patriots much improved since their last meetings, but as we know, anything can happen -- especially in the postseason.

"The Patriots are a much, much, much better team this time around, especially in the secondary with Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. Absolutely, this is a very dangerous Ravens team. Forget the regular season record. On paper the Patriots are a much better team, but weird things happen in the playoffs. If a crazy turnover happens, or the ball bounces the wrong way, this is definitely a troubling game for the Patriots."

Flacco-Harbaugh
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco and head coach John Harbaugh celebrate after defeating the New England Patriots in the 2013 AFC Championship game at Gillette Stadium. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Offensively, we know the Ravens like to push the ball down the field with Joe Flacco's big arm and Torrey Smith's speed. Steve Smith (79 receptions, 1,065 touchdowns, six touchdowns) has been a great offseason addition and gives the Ravens offense another weapon.

The Ravens tendency to stretch the field, coupled with the Patriots propensity (especially Brandon Browner) to commit penalties in the secondary, and New England could have themselves a big problem Saturday afternoon.

"The Ravens drew the most pass interference calls of any offense this year. They love to chuck it up. I think they got 17 calls, which is more than one per game this year. It's a big part of their game plan, just kind of chuck it up. They've got two guys who can go up and get the football in Torrey and Steve Smith," explained Volin.

"That said, Brandon Browner is not going to get burned six times a game on the deep ball. But fourth quarter in a close game, he could be a big liability in that sense. If it's close in the fourth quarter, Brandon Browner better be careful and good with his technique, because I can guarantee the Ravens are going to go after him."

The Patriots led the NFL in defensive holding penalties (14), and were also tied for third in defensive pass interference calls (9). In just nine games played, Brandon Browner finished the regular season second in total penalties (13). **

Listen below for the full game preview with Ben Volin on Toucher & Rich:

Tune in to Saturday's Patriots-Ravens AFC Divisional Round playoff game on 98.5 The Sports Hub -- the flagship station of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins at 1:30pm with Patriots Preview, and stay tuned for three full hours of postgame coverage following the game. Tune in to a special edition of Patriots GameDay on WBZ-TV at 11:30am on Saturday, with Patriots 5th Quarter on myTV38 immediately following the game.

** All penalty stats from nflpenalties.com

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