At No. 16 overall, “I don’t really feel like they’re in a very sweet spot,” former NFL lineman and current analyst Ross Tucker said.

A season ago, Joe Vellano earned New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick's lasting respect.

Seattle's formula of pairing a fierce defense with a strong running game is a tried-and-true measure to winning Super Bowls.

He emerged as a valuable stand-in at right offensive guard when a season-ending foot injury to right tackle Rick Wagner forced the Ravens to shift Pro Bowl right guard Marshal Yanda to right tackle.

Welcome to the Ravens 10-Pack, where reporter Jon Meoli hits on 10 stats, notes, and thoughts after the New England Patriots ended the Ravens' season with a 35-31 win Saturday.

As he does each week, Baltimore Sun reporter Childs Walker shares his five biggest takeaways from the Ravens' 35-31 playoff loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC divisional round at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.

As the sixth-seeded Ravens (11-6) square off with the top-seeded New England Patriots (12-4) in an AFC divisional-round playoff game Saturday at Gillette Stadium, here's a checklist of things to keep an eye on:

Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Zrebiec breaks down the Ravens and Patriots offense, defense and special teams and offers his prediction for the AFC divisional round playoff game.

Columnist Mike Preston picks three key matchups in the Ravens' divisional round playoff game vs. the New England Patriots.

For all the talk about quarterback Joe Flacco's recent postseason play, the Ravens know they are going to need to run the ball in Saturday's AFC divisional playoff game against the Patriots, and doing so successfully starts with containing Vince Wilfork, a five-time Pro Bowl selection.

Julian Edelman just needs to be there for the New England Patriots. On the field. Moving the chains. In sync with Tom Brady.

A block by Kelechi Osemele bought Joe Flacco the time he needed to escape the pressure and find wide receiver Torrey Smith in the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown pass during the Ravens' 30-17 AFC wild-card playoff win at Heinz Field.

Breaking down who has the edge, and where, in Sunday's game between the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots.

Ex-Maryland defensive lineman Joe Vellano has helped stabilize the Patriots' defensive line by emerging as a productive starter. In 14 games and eight starts, the former undrafted free agent has recorded 48 tackles and two sacks.

The Patriots have an offense that is still in transition after losing tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski.

Baltimore Ravens six-time Pro Bowl center will decide whether he'll retire after the season

Team will have off Sunday before making trip for Super Bowl on Monday afternoon

CBS Sports will cover the Super Bowl with 62 cameras, CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said in a teleconference Thursday promoting the Feb. 3 game between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers.

The Baltimore Ravens are packing their backs for New Orleans because the front office and coaching staff have pulled the trigger on a bunch of key moves over the past 12 months, from extending Ray Rice and signing players like Corey Graham and Justin Tucker to changing offensive coordinators and switching up the offensive line. That last move was arguably the most impactful, as the offensive line has been great the past three weeks, paving the road to the Super Bowl.

Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston answers reader questions about the Ravens' 28-13 win over the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game, and looks ahead to the team's Super Bowl matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

Baltimore Ravens six-time Pro Bowl center gets the best of Vince Wilfork this time

Last season, New England defensive lineman Vince Wilfork dominated Ravens center Matt Birk in Patriots' victory

Baltimore Sun staff members predict AFC and NFC championship games, most see 49ers vs. Patriots in Super Bowl

Jeff Zrebiec's scouting report for Ravens vs. Patriots

In fourth season with team, 15-year NFL veteran continues to be leader of offensive line

Every morning, Monday through Friday, blogger Matt Vensel will hook you up with reading material -- mostly on the Ravens but with some other Baltimore sports stuff, too -- to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday.

Baltimore Sun columnists Mike Preston and Peter Schmuck predict Ravens upset of New England Patriots

Every week, we hope to bring you a quick Q&A with someone who covers the Ravens' opponent that week. This week, we chatted with Mark Daniels, who covers the New England Patriots for The Boston Herald.

This week, Baltimore Sun reporters Aaron Wilson and Matt Vensel looks back at the Ravens' previous game and that of their next of opponent.

The New England defense that will greet the Baltimore Ravens in Foxborough on Sunday isn't just different from the one they played in last year's AFC championship game; it's different from the one they dropped 31 points on back in Week 3.

After leading the team to the playoffs for a fifth straight season, the quarterback looks to prove doubters wrong by leading team to a Super Bowl

Jacoby Jones made it for the first time; Marshal Yanda is a first alternate

The no-huddle offense returned to prominence after disappearing a week ago in Philadelphia, using it on 44 of 65 snaps and piling up 503 yards of total offense.

Offensive line paid lot of attention to Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork after what he did to Ravens in January's AFC championship game

Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork wanted officials to review field goal, but it turns out that field goals are not reviewable

Instead of essentially abandoning the running game like they did a week ago during the second half of a 24-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Ravens found a way to make Ray Rice a vital part of the offense on Sunday night.

The Ravens get a chance for some regular-season revenge on Sunday night against the New England Patriots, the team that beat them in January's AFC championship game. But for whatever reason, this rivalry game doesn't seem to have its usual juice. Maybe it's because Terrell Suggs is injured and therefore quiet. Maybe it¿s because Billy Cundiff and Lee Evans are gone. Or maybe it's because both teams are coming off losses. Still, despite the lack of buzzing coming into Sunday night, you can count on the energy and emotion ramping up as soon as the lights come on at M&T Bank Stadium, where the Ravens haven't lost in nearly two years.