Loading ...Ravens fans are up in arms this week over Baltimore’s well-documented penalty-ridden self-destruction last Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. This loss hurt for a number of reasons but the biggest one may be the fact that for the first time in a couple of years the Ravens looked like the much better team against the hated Ben Roethlisberger-led rivals — and still lost.
As it turns out, while a win would have clinched the Ravens’ ticket to the playoffs, the loss itself didn’t change much. The Ravens still control their destiny heading to Oakland on Sunday and the Steelers still need a lot of help to defend their Super Bowl title.
So, as frustrating as the loss was to witness, here are some reasons why I’m bullish on a strong Ravens run during the NFL’s second season.
1) The Ravens will beat Oakland. John Harbaugh has not been able to get over the hump often against quality teams during his two-year tenure as head coach. However, one thing we know for sure is that a Harbaugh-led squad does not lose to bad teams. So, while traveling across the country is often seen as a recipe for defeat no matter the caliber of team being faced, the Ravens under Harbaugh simply don’t lose when they’re not supposed to. In other words, I’m clearing appointments for next weekend in anticipation of a Baltimore away wild card game.
2) Against the other presumptive AFC playoff teams this year, the Ravens have been more than competitive. Baltimore defeated San Diego earlier this year for the team’s biggest victory of the year. But, the Ravens also narrowly lost to Cincinnati once, they were a Mark Clayton dropped pass near the goal line from having a legit shot against New England, and they nearly defeated Indianapolis at home. The only game against these teams that the Ravens appeared to be manhandled was the second Bengals game and even in that game Baltimore was a Steve Hauschka missed field goal away from being down by 7 with about 5 minutes to go. In other words, not only have the Ravens not been blown out by the AFC’s best, they can rightly believe that all those teams are beatable.
The Ravens will play either Cincinnati or New England away in their wild card game. While both teams beat the Ravens this year and the Bengals have always given the Ravens problems, I’m hoping Baltimore plays Cincinnati. The Bengals have faltered down the stretch this year and don’t have a ton of playoff experience to rely upon. The Pats on the other hand have coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady. Enough said.
3) There are no truly dominant teams in the AFC. This point is a follow-up to point 2). The hottest team in the conference right now may very well be the San Diego Chargers. However, the big question is, can a Norv Turner-led team win it all? That certainly remains to be seen and history says no. And, while Indy was flirting with being unbeaten until the recent controversial pulling of starters against the Jets that led to the Colts’ first loss, even Peyton Manning has had to work quite a bit of last minute magic to win a number of those games. In other words, can the Colts be lucky for another 4 or 5 weeks? I don’t think so.
4) Todd Heap rediscovered. The Ravens receiving corps has been much maligned this year. But, one man who has made his presence felt over the last two games is tight end Heap. He’s scored four touchdowns over that the last couple of weeks and has shown strong hands, leaping ability, and athleticism that many had wondered whether he still possessed. Quality play from the tight end position is an NFL quarterback’s best friend, especially in the playoffs. Most defenses simply don’t have someone who can cover a playmaking tight end, whether it’s Heap, Antonio Gates, Jason Witten, Dallas Clark, or Tony Gonzalez.
5) The Ravens have Ray Rice. The second year running back from Rutgers is a star in the making and earned his first Pro Bowl berth this year. I’m predicting it won’t be his last. Rice has the ability to run the ball up the middle while also making plays as a pass catcher. However, there are two things that worry me about Rice — he has trouble in short yardage and goal-line situations and he has shown a propensity for fumbling in recent weeks. If offensive coordinator Cam Cameron does what he did against the Steelers last week and uses Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain more, Rice could be the NFL playoffs’ ultimate weapon (remember the Titans are out, so Chris Johnson will have to wait until next year to prove himself come playoff time.)
6) The Ravens’ flaws are mostly mental. Against the Steelers, Baltimore committed a number of untimely penalties — twice on plays that negated touchdowns and at least one other time that negated a turnover. On top of that, Derrick Mason made an uncharacteristic in-game mental mistake in dropping a sure TD pass to begin the fourth quarter. While the Ravens secondary has come under fire, the reality is that the team generally loses games because of mental mistakes, not physical ones. Why is this good? Because, mental mistakes can be corrected more easily than physical ones. You can’t teach athleticism but you can certainly teach a guy not to hold or not to block in the back. Correct these mental lapses and the Ravens’ are closer to winning 13 games instead of 9.
