Ravens Vs. Patriots 2012: Tom Brady Removed From Injury Report; Ed Reed Will Play

The Patriots and Ravens will meet in Foxborough for Sunday’s first game at 3:00 p.m. (ET). The game will be aired on CBS. Following that we’ll have the 49ers hosting the Giants, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (ET) on FOX. For those of you already planning a trip to Indianapolis, here’s the 2012 Super Bowl schedule.

In the early game, the oddsmakers have the Patriots as favorites over the Ravens, as high as nine points in some places. Prior to last week, the Patriots hadn’t won a playoff game in four years and they last played Baltimore in the postseason two years ago, a game in which the Ravens embarrassed them, 33-14, on their own home field. Despite their recent postseason history, there are plenty of reasons to pick the Patriots and that’s the direction most people seem to be going.

For updates and analysis on these teams leading up to the 2012 AFC Championship, visit Ravens blog Baltimore Beat Down, Patriots blog Pats Pulpit and SB Nation Boston. Don’t forget to check out SB Nation’s NFL hub for all your playoff news.

Ravens vs. Patriots

Date/Time: Sunday, 3:00 p.m. ET

Date & Time: Sunday, January 22nd, 3:00 p.m. ET

Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

For updates and analysis on these teams leading up to the 2012 AFC Championship, visit Ravens blog Baltimore Beat Down, Patriots blog Pats Pulpit and SB Nation Boston. Don’t forget to check out SB Nation’s NFL hub for all your playoff news.

The Boston Herald asked Brady about missing Wednesday’s practice and he said, “It’s not the first practice I’ve missed.”

The Patriots are favored over the Ravens in New England which is a good sign that the oddsmakers aren’t concerned about Brady’s injury.

So far, Reed is the only injured Raven. He was limited in Wednesday’s practice with the ankle injury and he was also the only player to appear on Wednesday’s injury report. The Ravens shouldn’t have any injury concerns heading into Sunday’s game.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick thinks very, very highly of Ed Reed and praised him on Wednesday. Unfortunately for Belichick and the Patriots offense, It sounds like Reed will be out there.

Via Sports Radio Interviews, here’s O’Brien with Atlanta’s 790 the Zone:

How exciting it is to be Penn State’s head coach and New England’s offensive coordinator:

For updates and analysis on these teams leading up to the 2012 AFC Championship, visit Ravens blog Baltimore Beat Down, Patriots blog Pats Pulpit and SB Nation Boston. Don’t forget to check out SB Nation’s NFL hub for all your playoff news.

With the advent of new rules that protect quarterbacks and defenseless receivers over the middle, 2011 was shaping up to be the season where old football adages came to die. Running the ball, playing good defense, and controlling the time of possession were always what it supposedly took to win. This season, the 15-1 Packers, 13-3 Saints, and 13-3 Patriots thumbed their nose at those adages.

Think back to the first game of the 2011 season, Saints at Packers on Thursday night. Defense was nonexistent. Both teams combined for 76 points and 876 yards of offense. Nearly 900 yards of offense, points aplenty, and superstar quarterbacks showing off their multimillion dollar arms.

The San Francisco 49ers beat the Saints on Saturday and the New York Giants were able to beat the one-loss Packers on Sunday. The NFC Championship game will take place next weekend in San Francisco between the 49ers and Giants.

Both games will be played on Sunday afternoon and the winners will advance to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. But who will those two teams be? We have our early predictions on the AFC and NFC Championship games.

Flacco righted the ship against the Texans, to an extent, throwing for 176 yards and two touchdown passes, but that came in front of a friendly Baltimore crowd. Traveling to Gillette Stadium will be a different sort of test, though it will bring with it a chance to throw against a terrible Patriots defense.

For updates and analysis on these teams leading up to the 2012 AFC Championship, visit Ravens blog Baltimore Beat Down, Patriots blog Pats Pulpit and SB Nation Boston. Don’t forget to check out SB Nation’s NFL hub for all your playoff news.