"Everything's different at this point," Brady said Monday, per WEEI.com. "We can never change anything that's happened in the past, nor can they. You can't bring players out of retirement, they can't either. It's the guys we've got versus the guys they've got, which that's an entirely new team that we have and an entirely new team that they have."
Brady is right that Ed Reed and Ray Lewis are not walking through that door. But this Ravens defense has been much better on balance than the group that won the Super Bowl after the 2012 season. Baltimore's defensive line is among the best run-stopping groups in the league, and they have a great pass-rushing duo in Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil. (Suggs was not himself coming off injury in 2012.)
The weakness is certainly in the secondary, and no one is better at picking out the right matchups before the snap than Brady. Baltimore's secret weapon against the Patriots in recent years has been defensive coordinator Dean Pees. The former Patriots' defensive coordinator shares a trait with Bill Belichick: He can cover up defensive mistakes. He also knows what bothers Tom Brady.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast previews the Divisional Round and ranks the eight remaining quarterbacks in the playoffs. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
