Dan Shaughnessy created quite the stir last week when he (correctly) predicted a Patriots' romp over the Texans in the AFC semifinals.
This week? No bulletin-board material for the Ravens from Shaughnessy. None at all.
"The Ravens, they got their big-boy pants on," the Boston Globe columnist told Lou Merloni on Monday's 'Uno's Sports Tonight. "They're not afraid of the Patriots, they don't turn into a puddle, Ravens coach John Harbaugh knows what's going on, he can go face-to-face with Patriots coach Bill Belichick . . .
"They've got history of beating the Patriots. I mean, the Ray Rice game three years ago (159 yards rushing, two touchdowns in Baltimore's 33-14 win on Wild Card Weekend), the one-point victory in Baltimore this year, and last year they should have won the AFC Championship Game over the Pats in Foxboro. Lee Evans drops a touchdown pass (in the final minute that would have won the game), Billy Cundiff misses a chip shot (field-goal attempt) at the end that would have tied it . . .
"They're cocky. We know they lost four out of five near the end of this year's regular season, we know they're old, there's a lot of reasons they're in trouble . . . But they're serious, serious contenders."
He later concluded: "This is a formidable challenge."