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Ravens at Dolphins

The Ravens and Dolphins are both 11-5 in the standings. But there are great differences in the stats which got them into the playoffs.

Each stat contributes some point value to scoring on offense and points allowed on D. One of the constant values over the years has been that of the rushing play. One point is contributed for each rush. Example: Your team runs 30 times and my team runs 20, then you have a 10-point edge going into the game.

The Ravens lead the league with 37 rushes per game. The Dolphins run 28 times. See this stat graphic picturing your team's position relative to the league leader:

Total Rushing Plays

Percentile Chart

100=Stongest 50=Average 0=Weakest
Lines: Playoff Avg=55 SuperBowl Avg=44

Win Mrg Points Change

Winning Margin Points Change
Sorted by Points Change, 2007 to 2008

Rank	Team	Pctl	Stat Value	Points behind Leader	Win Mrg Pts Chg vs 2007	Games Won
1	BAL	100	37.00	0.00	10.49	11
2	ATL	87	35.00	2.30	12.58	11
3	MIN	71	32.44	5.25	1.73	10
4	N E	69	32.06	5.68	4.46	11
5	TEN	67	31.75	6.04	-2.52	13
6	CAR	65	31.50	6.33	3.81	12
7	NYG	64	31.38	6.47	2.37	12
8	WAS	55	29.88	8.19	-1.44	8
9	PIT	48	28.75	9.49	-3.67	12
10	OAK	47	28.69	9.56	-3.52	5
11	T B	44	28.19	10.13	0.14	9
12	MIA	43	28.00	10.35	4.10	11
13	BUF	39	27.44	11.00	-0.65	7
14	G B	38	27.31	11.14	3.52	6
15	CHI	37	27.13	11.36	0.79	9
16	HOU	37	27.00	11.50	1.08	8
17	PHI	35	26.69	11.86	0.43	9
18	JAX	34	26.63	11.93	-6.90	5
19	NYJ	33	26.38	12.22	-1.73	9
20	S D	32	26.31	12.29	-4.60	8
21	CIN	32	26.25	12.36	0.29	4
22	STL	31	26.06	12.58	0.93	2
23	SEA	31	26.06	12.58	-0.93	4
24	CLE	27	25.56	13.15	-2.23	4
25	DAL	24	25.06	13.73	-1.29	9
26	N O	23	24.88	13.94	0.43	8
27	S F	23	24.81	14.02	2.88	7
28	DEN	19	24.19	14.73	-3.02	8
29	K C	15	23.69	15.31	-0.29	2
30	IND	12	23.13	15.96	-5.46	12
31	DET	5	22.00	17.25	1.94	0
32	ARI	0	21.25	18.11	-4.53	9

2008 Season, YTD through Week 17

In season 2007 Ravens ranked 13th on Total Rushing Plays at 27.88.
In season 2008 they ranked 1st at 37.00, up 10.5 points per game on this one stat.
From 2007 to 2008 Ravens improved by 15.6 points per game on Winning Margin.

Now CKICK HERE and take a look at the MATCHUPS and the points advantage for other key Killer Stats. The biggest advantage goes to the Ravens' running game.
It will be hard for the Dolphins' QB Pennington to play his game if the Ravens run-run offense controls 40 minutes of the clock. Remember When Coach Parcells played Coach Marv Levy's Bills in the Super Bowl? Way back in history. And kept Bills QB Kelly and RB Thurman Thomas siting on the bench.
That's what the data in the MATCHUPS suggests.
Good chance of a close game. But in the end the Winning Index set of stats suggests the Ravens over the Dolphins by 1.
It will be another great playoff game.
Bud Goode
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