The Ray Lewis Interview

I completely messed up on this one. I promised a post about the over-blown Ray Lewis interview, and completely had the wrong interview. What I have to say about it now is completely the same as everything else you've heard. Here's hoping Ray is a Raven next year; the more days pass that he isn't, the less faith I have, though. 

Late Night Ravens Stream of Consciousness

So, it's 12:30 at night, and I'm home because of some blood tests I had to have done. All of my friends are at college, so what else do I have to think about besides Ravens football? And when I think of something sports-related, I generally write it down on here. So, here are my thoughts on the Baltimore Ravens' offseason. 

I don't think Ray Lewis is going to be a Baltimore Raven next year, but I also don't believe he will be a New York Jet. In terms of salary cap money, this should tell you all you need to know. The Jets are dead last in the league in terms of cap space. The Cowboys don't fare much better, but I still think he's going to end up there. All they've lacked (or so they think) the past few years has been a leader in the locker room, and Ray Lewis provides that instantly. They will make a few cuts, and then break the bank for Lewis. After they choke their way out of the playoffs the next two years anyway, Tony Romo will rightfully be looking elsewhere for a job. 

Speaking of departures, I don't think Rex Ryan is going to be a very good head coach in the NFL. Rex is all about the buddy system. He loves his guys. This isn't college, though, where a bunch of young guys are going to follow every word you say because you recruited them. He's in a locker room with a bunch of 30 year old men teaching them a completely new way of playing. His way worked in Baltimore, but he also had Ed Reed, the best free safety in the NFL. He had one of the best linebackers in the NFL behind one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL. His scheme worked because he had the personnel to make it work. I think the Jets will be better on offense because he will run Thomas Jones into the ground, but I have my doubts whether the defense get much reward out of his risk-reward system. 

Now, as far as people staying, Terrell Suggs (pictured, right) is number one, and he will become the new leader of the Ravens next year. Harbaugh is very practice-oriented, and Suggs is energetic and doesn't mind practice. Ed Reed is getting up there in years, and the his nerve impingement in his neck isn't helping matters. Rumors have it him and Lewis smiled for the cameras, but neither was a big fan of Harbaugh. Suggs will be the man for the next five seasons or so, and expect Bart Scott to do everything he can to fill in Lewis's shoes at middle linebacker. Also, expect Jim Leonhard to be back, Dawan Landry to go elsewhere and succeed, and the Ravens will get a complementary pick for it somewhere in the draft. Jason Brown will also be back to anchor the offensive line. 

This is why I'm not buying into the now commonplace theory that the Ravens are due for a down year next year. Any defense with Trevor Pryce, Haloti Ngata, Kelly Gregg, Terrell Suggs, Bart Scott, Ed Reed and Fabian Washington playing for it will not be worse than a top 10 defense, and I don't care who the other four guys you line up are. (By the way, the other four will likely be very solid players in Jim Leonhard and Jarret Johnson, a potential star in middle linebacker tavares gooden, and a first round cornerback picked up in this year's draft.) Ngata and Gregg are both top 10 defensive tackles in the NFL, and if you don't believe me, look up Kelly Gregg's stats and compare them with other defensive tackles from 2003-07. You will find that Kelly Gregg has more tackles than any of them. Terrell Suggs is considered by all to be a top 5 outside linebacker. Already said is how dominant Reed is. The talent on defense will still be there. What will be missed is Ray's leadership, but leaders leave teams. New guys step in. John Harbaugh is a natural leader, and I believe in him.

To be continued in an immediate post following this; I don't have too much space left in this post. 

(Photo Credits: allposters.com)

AFC Championship: Why the Ravens Are Heading to Tampa

I abandoned the 12-part post thing as you can tell. This makes more sense; Tyler knows much more about the Steelers than I do, and neither of us really knows about the NFC. So if you were really looking for a Cardinals-Eagles preview, go to ESPN. As a rebuttal, here are my five reasons why the Ravens will emerge victorious today. 

Reason #1: The Steelers have already beaten the Ravens twice this year. Normally, that means that the Steelers would have the advantage here, but if you think that, you don't know the Ravens. Still instilled from the Billick era is a sense of pride in this team unmatched in any I know. Also instilled is a sense of undeniable hatred for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens are admittedly an arrogant bunch, but this will definitely play into their hands. There's no way the Ravens let the Steelers beat them three times in one year. 

Reason #2: I don't know how beating a 4-12 and 9-8 team qualifies you as world beaters. The national media absolutely fell in love with the Steelers this week. They were on the cover of SI twice in a row, and the latest prognostication trend has been to shy away from predicting a close, hard fought game, and to say the Steelers are going to win along the lines of 27-10. Since the week 15 game - a truly epic game that showed just how much separates these two teams (a half-inch, if you recall), the Steelers have lost handedly to the Titans, beat a Browns team that quit in Week 10, had a bye, and then took care of a San Diego team that was only there because for some reason they have the Colts' number. In that same time frame, the Ravens beat the Cowboys in their last game in Texas Stadium, destroyed the Jaguars to clinch a playoff spot, walked all over the Dolphins in Miami, and made enough clutch plays to escape Tennessee with a win. You tell me who has more momentum.

Reason #3: I can fully envision a scenario in which the Steelers rely too heavily on Willie Parker for too long. That's been another theme of this Steeler resurgence: the resurgence of Willie Parker. I will be the first to admit that Parker was awfully impressive in gaining 146 yards against San Diego last week. However, that was against the Chargers' run D, ranked 11th in the league. I know, still solid, but not Baltimore's. Plus, there is Parker's history against the Ravens; he has never gotten over 70 yards. You can talk about what Chris Johnson did all you want, but Chris Johnson is faster than Parker is. Also, the Ravens were playing on a 6-day week last time, and they're playing an 8-day week this time. 

Reason #4: No matter what parts are around them, lined up in the middle linebacker spot for the Baltimore Ravens today will be Bart Scott (pictured, above) and Ray Lewis. You forget how good Ray Lewis truly was against the Steelers in Week 4 this year until you go back and watch the game. It was the most dominating performance by any Ravens player all season. Then, there is Scott, who seemingly plays two good games a year, both against the Steelers. These two players, being - and I kid you not - 2 of the 4 defensive starters from the beginning of the year who are still playing healthy, will anchor this defense, and will be the reason Parker will go nowhere. Suggs is going to play, but even if he doesn't, then the Ravens would go to the 4-3, stick Marques Douglas at defensive end, and line Scott up at the outside linebacker to he can blitz Ben all day. He will rush the passer with a scary fervor. 

Reason #5: As the saying goes, big time players make big time plays in big time games. No matter how much the offense struggled against the Titans and the Dolphins, if you look back at the games, plays were there that were left on the field. The offense has done a brilliant job of holding onto the ball and the defense has done a fantastic job taking it away. They played the two most turnover-savvy teams in the league these past two weeks and stole the game away from both because of the turnovers. Still, that may not be enough against the Steelers, and I expect rookie Joe Flacco to rise up the occasion. Remember what happened in the Dallas game after he fumbled on the 5? He led them down the field in a tone-setting drive that only netted three, but gave the offensive confidence for the rest of the game. Remember what happened in the Jacksonville game when Jacksonville went up 7-0? Flacco went off the deep end, completing something like 11 of 12 passes for 200 yards in the second quarter alone for three consecutive TD drives. Remember what happened in the Miami game when they up 3-0? The very next drive, Flacco led them down the field for the tying score. And remember what happened when Tennessee tied the game at 10? Flacco led the team down the field for the game tying field goal. He's done it all season. When he's needed to make a play, he has - more often than not to Derrick Mason (pictured, right), the Steeler Killer. He may need to make several plays today, and I think he will.

I'm saying the Ravens come away with this one, 17-16. 

And because I'm 6-2 so far on my picks for this postseason, better than 12 of the 13 "experts" on ESPN, I'll pick the other game. In upset II, I like the Cardinals 27-17. 

They are who we thought they were

Steelers 23, Ravens 20.

A bit disappointing for me, obviously, but I can tell you that this was a great game to watch, and I wasn't even too upset after it. This game reaffirmed a couple things I already knew about both teams.

1. The Steelers have offensive line troubles. They could not really run the ball at all, and Big Ben was being pressured all game. He did not get sacked that many times, though, which leads us to ...

2. I am willing to admit it. Big Ben is a very good NFL quarterback. His ability to maintain contact and still make a play is phenomenal, and he really showed it tonight. He won the game with his toughness. And because they won the game, I will say what I've said before ...

3. The Steelers are the class of the AFC North. They will most likely win the division this year. But because the Ravens gave them such a game ...

4. It may not be the Ravens season this year, but as a fan, I love the direction this franchise is heading. We are not that old on defense. Lewis, Reed, and Pryce are all old, but we have pieces behind all of them that can step in. And as far as the offense goes, its so young its amazing they're doing anything right now. The Ravens need some receivers, but other than that, they will be fine. I can say this confidently because ...

5. Joe Flacco is a rookie, but he will be good in this league. He showed he was a rookie in fumbling a snap, and fumbling on two sacks tonight. The Ravens told you he was a rookie when they didn't decide to go get a score when they got the ball back with 1:40. But the truth of the matter is that Flacco played better tonight than almost anyone expected him to. He made some very clutch throws, and showed he could find the open man. He lacks some pocket presence, but there are many NFL veterans who still struggle with that. I have been on several message boards and I can tell you that the Steelers are worried.

In conclusion, the Steelers won a game that they were expected to - and deserved to - win. It will be interesting to see how both teams do on their short week against tough opponents.