The Baltimore Ravens pride themselves on their blue-collar approach to the game in a sport dominated by finesse, pass-happy teams.
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The Ravens Way seems to have rubbed off on running back Ricky Williams, who has taken to the team's hard-nosed mentality in his first season in Baltimore and wants to see his teammates bring the lumber during Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.
"If you hit them in the mouth and you stand up to them, that's the way you play it," Williams told The Baltimore Sun this week. "I think when you're as good as they are, you get used to people kind of being intimidated. And I think when you show them that you're not, it automatically makes them have to change the way they’re used to playing, and that automatically gives us an advantage."
Williams should know what does and doesn't work against Bill Belichick & Co., considering the veteran back saw the Patriots twice a season during his eight-year run with the Miami Dolphins. One Ravens teammate with a history of battling the Patriots, former Buffalo Bills wideout Lee Evans, agreed with Williams.
"Regardless of what happened in the first three quarters, they're going to play for four quarters," Evans said. "You've got to stand your ground and keep doing what you do and do what you can do to come out with the win."