FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- He began the night in everyones face, the New England Patriots oldest and greatest player bouncing around the field and the locker room shouting at anyone who would listen and a few who didnt know what to think.Monday Night Football! Tom Brady bellowed at his teammates in the moments before the game. Playing the Ravens! Whats better than that?!?!?He was very excited, I know that, Patriots tight end and amused relative newcomer Martellus Bennett said after it was over. Any midgame glimpse of Brady on the sideline, barking animatedly at teammates after third-down plays gone wrong, was all you needed to know about how fired up he was for this one. If you needed it, a look at the postgame stat sheet would drive home the point.It shows three touchdowns and 406 yards on 38 throws (25 completions) against the NFLs best defense. A 30-23 victory over a traditional rival and potential playoff opponent. A 79-yard enough-already touchdown strike to Chris Hogan in the fourth quarter, after too many turnovers and too many missed chances had made the game closer than it ever should have been.Someone asked Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh what happened, how his defense got so thoroughly roasted, and he couldnt have been more matter-of-fact.I think you just chalk it up to Tom Brady does a great job and obviously had a great night throwing the ball, Harbaugh said.Shrug.Sometimes, its just that Brady is too darn good, and theres nothing you can do. With the playoffs just a couple of weeks away, Monday night was a reminder that the biggest difference-maker in the field is still the guy flinging perfect passes at Patriot Place.You cant make a mistake against this guy, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said. Hell make you pay for it, and he made us pay big.Harbaugh has a pretty good team. The 7-6 Ravens seem good enough to make the playoffs, and if they do they may be good enough to win a game or two. This is an apt description of pretty much any AFC contender right now. Its a flawed, muddied field, and much of Monday nights game made that clear.The Patriots looked ready to run away with the game until Brady threw a terrible second-quarter interception in the red zone and their punt-return and kick-return units handed the Ravens 14 points in the third. At that point, the game started to look like a coin flip that would clarify little about whats to come in January.Then, Brady split the hashmarks with a laser, Hogan caught the ball in stride and delivered it to the end zone, and all of a sudden everything looked clear again. The AFC playoff field may be a collection of imperfect, at-times-unimpressive squads. But only one of them has the quarterback who has won more games than any other in NFL history, and come January that might just be what makes the difference.I still think its amazing to be on the same field as him, Hogan said.Legitimate greatness in a time of parity is a thing to sit up and notice. Brady is playing without his best offensive weapon -- injured tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Ravens came in allowing a completion percentage of 35.2 on deep passes (balls thrown at least 15 yards downfield), and Brady completed 8-of-10 of those throws for two touchdowns. Overall, hes at 22 touchdowns and two interceptions in the nine games he has played since his four-game suspension ended. Theres no one on the league playing his position any better, and as fired up as he was before the game, he was just as satisfied when it was over.Yeah, it was a big game for us, Brady said. Playing at home in December on Monday night against a great defense, it was important for us to come out and play well.They played well in some aspects of the game, poorly in others and escaped in spite of three turnovers. And as the time ticked down at the end of the fourth quarter, the crowd at Gillette Stadium began chanting the biggest reason why.Brady! Brady! Brady! they cried.The playoffs are less than a month away, and after all of the tumult this season has brought, it still looks as if the road through the AFC cuts through Foxborough and the biggest factor in deciding the biggest games is still the guy wearing No. 12 and screaming at his teammates to try to get them as fired up as he is. Kevin Knox Jersey . Thousands of Southern California fans enveloped the Trojans to celebrate an improbable win secured by an interim coach, an inconsistent kicker and a thin defence that wouldnt break. Carmelo Anthony Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. http://www.knickssale.com/kids-phil-jackson-knicks-jersey/ . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Custom New York Knicks Jerseys . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Phil Jackson Knicks Jersey . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Parramatta legend Luke Burt is confident the club can find a replacement for failed signing Kieran Foran as soon as next NRL season.The Eels last week granted Foran a release from the final three years of his contract after the New Zealand international quit the game to focus on addressing personal issues.Foran was trumpeted as the man to lead the Eels to the finals for the first time in six years after signing a lucrative deal almost worth a reported $5 million last year.And after leading the side to a 5-2 record to start the season, the Eels were on their way.That was when Forans off-field struggles became public, and he played just two more games in the blue and gold before he decided to leave the NRL.And while the club will rue the departure of one of the competitions best players, Forans exit means there should now be at least $1 million worth of space in their salary cap for 2017.The club has also yet to commit big money to off-contract five-eighth Corey Norman.Burt, who holds the record for most tries in the clubs history, said the clubs success on the field in 2016 was reason for optimism next season.Obviously hes a quality player. Theres no doubt about that, Burt told AAP.But the players that have stepped up this year through injury or whatever, theyve steppped in and done a really good job for us.dddddddddddd Why cant someone do it again next year?Former captain Nathan Cayless also pointed out how the Eels, with 10 wins from their 19 games this season, would be in the top eight if it wasnt for salary cap breaches.Cayless is confident the club could repeat their form and break their finals drought next year.If you look at how many wins and losses the boys are sitting on at the moment, theyve got themselves within the eight, he said.Theres certainly a real good core of players, and a good core of senior players, wholl definitely expect to play finals next year.While marquee talent is thin at this time of the year, Burt said off-contract code-hopper Jarryd Hayne would be at the top of list of every club in the competition.There is space for him and if he can fit in there, then 100 per cent youd throw him in there because we all know how good a player Jarryd is and how good he was for this club. For him to come back itd be a great acquisition, he said.* Australian readers seeking support and information about depression can contact the Depression Helpline (from 8am to midnight) on 0800 111 757. ' ' '