Patriots await aggressive Ravens defense

FOXBORO, Mass. -- On a rare Sunday off, Patriots players relaxed in front of their television sets to watch the only team standing between them and another Super Bowl appearance.

They were impressed, though not surprised, by the Baltimore Ravens. "They're a great team," wide receiver Wes Welker said Monday. "They wouldn't be in this spot if they weren't. They do some great things out there."

They were good enough on Sunday to beat the Houston Texans, 20-13, with the help of four turnovers in a matchup of dominant defenses.

Now the Ravens must face the only one of the top three offenses in the NFL remaining in the playoffs. No. 1 New Orleans and No. 3 Green Bay were eliminated in their divisional games. The No. 2 Patriots are 71/2-point favorites in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday. They got there by beating Denver, 45-10, Saturday night behind Tom Brady's six touchdown passes.

Brady was one of those Patriots who watched the Houston-Baltimore game that would determine which players would be trying to knock him to the ground and intercept his passes. "I did watch that game, which is pretty rare," he said during a radio interview.

Players can learn a lot more from watching video of games in team meetings, which resumed Monday, where they can view plays from different angles while coaches zero in on the finer points.

"You're just kind of watching the game more than anything and kind of seeing what happens and maybe pick up things here and there," Welker said, "but, for the most part, [the team video] is a different shot so you're able to watch all the players from their perspective, from their positions and be able to see everything.

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"It is a little bit different, being able to rewind back and see a guy's footwork or leverage or different things like that."

No matter what the angle of the camera, the perception of the Ravens' defense is the same -- physical, aggressive and filled with playmakers such as linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs and safety Ed Reed.

Lewis led Baltimore with seven tackles and Reed came up with a game-clinching interception near the goal line in the final minutes against the Texans.

New England and Baltimore also had a big game two years ago in Foxboro when the Ravens won a wild-card game, 33-14. "We really haven't given it much thought because it is a different season and a different team," Patriots special-teams captain Matthew Slater said. " . . . Those guys beat us from the opening snap all the way through. We have to try to avoid that."