deeshopper Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 My preseason pick out of the AFC, of course — the Baltimore Ravens. With Sunday’s win over Cleveland, Joe Flacco became the third starting quarterback since 1970 to lead his team to the NFL postseason in each of his first three seasons, joining Bernie Kosar (1985 to ’87) and Dan Marino (1983 to ’86). Coach John Harbaugh, meanwhile, became the fourth NFL head coach since 1990 to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first three years, joining Bill Cowher, Dennis Green and Barry Switzer. The Ravens, though doing without any love whatsoever from the national media, have quietly rattled off three straight wins and victories in five of their past six games. Willis McGahee and Ed Reed appear to be healthier this December than ever before, Ray Rice seems to have woken up from his season-long slump and the defense — after a pair of games in which it struggled in the second half — finally put the clamps on a running back, shutting down Peyton Hillis last week. When asked about Hillis rushing for 144 yards against the Ravens earlier this year, Ray Lewis sternly told the media: "A blind cat will find a meal every once in a while." The Ravens are never short on swagger, but toss in a national media that's all but dismissing them from the Super Bowl conversation, and I like their chances even more. More: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Baltimore-Ravens-playoff-bandwagon-122810?gt1=39002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millz58 Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Yeah, I read that report. I don't buy the comparisons; the media has been much more favorable of the Ravens lately and they have played well (at list in terms of winning games) over the last month, unlike last year's saints. and for real, who DIDN'T want the saints to win it last year once we saw it was really possible? I think everyone outside of the Southern Indiana region was rooting for Brees & co. I don't see the Ravens as any kind of 'sleeper' team either, they're too well known and I don't think there will be any remarkable adjustment in the way they play in the postseason that would surprise anyone who has been paying attention to them to this point. The only thing that would make them into an elite-caliber playoff team between now and next weekend is better execution, that's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yagersports Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I do recall that the Saints of last year did kind of stumble into the playoffs. Didn't they lose to the deadskins? Also, let's not forget that Adrian Peterson was a Saints fan too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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