Ray Rice drives Baltimore's offense on the ground and, perhaps more importantly, through the air. Rice led the NFL with 2,068 yards from scrimmage during the regular season. He was second in the league in rushing (1,364 yards) and second among running backs with 76 receptions and 704 receiving yards.
"I don't think, obviously, any one person can stop a player of his caliber," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. "It takes a great team effort to do that, whether it's running or covering or screen passes. … We've seen him do it against us, so I have all the respect in the world for Ray Rice. He's a tough football player. He's versatile, and he really can kill you in a lot of different ways."
As strong as Rice can be on the ground, he might be more valuable as a pass catcher. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has infamously struggled this season, but he looks at Rice as a safety blanket. Rice's 76 receptions led the team and are 19 more than wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who was second on the Ravens in the regular season, but Flacco's efficiency when he targets Rice is the most telling stat.
Rice caught 76 of 104 passes (73.1 percent) thrown his way, which is a superior percentage to the other three Ravens who caught at least 50 passes in 2011. Tight end Ed Dickson caught 54 of 89 passes (60.7 percent), Boldin caught 57 of 105 passes (54.3 percent), and wide receiver Torrey Smith caught 50 of 95 passes (52.6 percent).
If Flacco can't get into a rhythm with Rice, he'll have a difficult time keeping the offense moving at a consistent level.
"Obviously, you try to take away their biggest targets, and Ray Rice is obviously a real big target for them," Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich said. "The more you can disrupt him coming out of the backfield, and not let him just completely free release, it's going to help you out. Definitely, you have to account for him on the field at all times."
Not to take away from anything Rice does on the ground, but the Patriots have been very susceptible to the run in their last five games, including Saturday's playoff victory against the Broncos. Over that stretch, they've surrendered 158.3 rushing yards per game, and to put that in perspective, the Buccaneers ranked last in the NFL in the regular season by allowing 156.1 rushing yards per contest.
Belichick also compared Rice to a pair of running backs who squared off against the Patriots in Weeks 16 and 17. Miami's Reggie Bush had 22 carries for 113 yards and two catches for 26 yards, and Buffalo's C.J. Spiller had 13 carries for 60 yards and four receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown.
The experience may help the Patriots prepare for Rice, who has averaged 116.7 rushing yards, 4.3 receptions and 29 receiving yards to go along with two total touchdowns in three career games against the Patriots, including the playoffs. But the execution standpoint is always the most challenging when gearing up for a player of Rice's stature.
"He's one of those guys that can do it all," linebacker Jerod Mayo said. "He's a small guy, but at the same time he's strong. He always has his feet going, breaks a lot of tackles, so he's a dangerous weapon for them. There's a reason why he's their leading receiver and leading rusher. You rarely see that. He's a great player."
Have a question for Jeff Howe? Send it to him via Twitter at @jeffphowe or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
