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Getting yards is what he does.
Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Maurice Jones-Drew is a great running back.

Yes, I know. That's the kind of top-notch observation that keeps you coming back again and again to the AFC South blog.

This week, Advanced Stat of the Week will look at running back success rate. Success rate is one of the most important ways to judge the true effectiveness of a runner. Consider the following hypothetical runners.

Runner A has one 80-yard carry and nine carries for no gain. His stats are 80 yards, 10.0 yards per carry.

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Can Jake Locker become an average quarterback?
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The parade is practically still filing through the streets of Baltimore, but 31 other NFL teams are already taking aim at the Ravens.

The Tennessee Titans have to take great comfort from the Ravens' victory in Super Bowl XLVII. Tennessee may not be a great team, or even a good team, but Baltimore proved that mediocre can still win the day in the NFL.

What will it take for the Titans to get to the same level as the Ravens?

Not as much as you might think.

The following qualities led the Ravens to a title and offer a road map for the Titans to follow.

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Andre Johnson could hoist Lombardi next year.
Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

When the 2013 odds game out, the line makers didn't give the Baltimore Ravens extra credit for their miraculous 2012 run.

According to Justin Boyd of the Houston Chronicle, the Ravens and the Houston Texans actually have the same odds to win next year's Super Bowl at 14 to 1.

That's not really a surprise because heading into the 2012 playoffs, the two teams had relatively equal chances of pulling off a four-game sweep to New Orleans.

Houston pummeled Baltimore in the regular season, and if the two teams had matched up in the playoffs, Houston would likely have been favored to do so again.

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The Jaguars new logo is an upgrade (image courtesy Jaguars' press release).

The Jacksonville Jaguars are undergoing a facelift that has nothing to do with the roster.

The team unveiled an outstanding new logo Tuesday, accenting gold and drawing more white into their traditional growling cat image.

The team released the logo via a press release sent to B/R in which owner Shad Khan said the logo would be part of a rebranding effort. Khan said:

The team recently moved on completely from the Wayne Weaver era with the dismissal of general manager Gene Smith. The image changes are meant to herald a new direction for one of the worst teams in football in 2012.

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Luck needs just a little help to get past Baltimore.
USA TODAY Sports

The confetti hasn't stopped falling from the Baltimore Ravens' victory in the Super Bowl, but 31 other teams are already gunning for them.

The Indianapolis Colts know better than most what they have to do to get to the level of play the Ravens reached. After all, Baltimore's super run began with a victory over the Colts. Indianapolis was competitive with the Ravens for a half before Baltimore pulled away.

So what will it take for the Colts to get to the Ravens' level?

Given the fact that Baltimore was hardly a great team, its victory gives hope to everyone in the NFL. The playoffs have become so random that even a mediocre squad can win it all if it just gets hot at the right time.

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USA TODAY Sports

Chris Johnson may be the least effective good player in the NFL.

On the surface, his numbers are terrific. The only problem is that they don't lead to wins.

This week, Advanced Stat of the Week will look at running back success rate. Success rate is one of the most important ways to judge the true effectiveness of a runner. Consider the following hypothetical runners.

Runner A has one 80-yard carry and nine carries for no gain. His stats are 80 yards, 10.0 yards per carry.

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Schaub crushed the Ravens in the regular season.
Bob Levey/Getty Images

Stock in Joe Flacco Inc. will never be higher.

Fresh off a Super Bowl MVP award, suddenly perception of the Ravens' perpetually average quarterback has changed.

Randy Harvey and Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle engaged in a debate about whether Flacco is better than Matt Schaub.

The two articles both point out the same essential truth. There's just not much difference between Schaub and Flacco. While Flacco has a bigger arm, his accuracy has always been an issue until the last month.

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Freeney got more pressure late in the year.
USA TODAY Sports

The Indianapolis Colts paid Dwight Freeney $14 million for five sacks in 2012.

While most assumed that would be the end of Freeney's historic tenure with the club that drafted him, Dan Pompei isn't so sure.

Pompei reported in the National Football Post that he hears the Colts could be considering making an offer to retain Freeney.

While such a move could have merit, it would represent a significant change in strategy from the Colts. Indianapolis declined to even discuss an extension with Freeney in the offseason, leading to him playing for the bloated final year of his existing contract.

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Watt won DPOY.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

There was no suspense and little debate as to who was the best defensive player in the NFL in 2012.

The Houston Texans announced via press release that J.J. Watt was named the AP Defensive Player of the Year, capping what was a historic season.

Watt was arguably the best player in the league on either side of the ball in 2012. He was unstoppable when rushing the passer, ringing up 20.5 sacks and 16 bat-downs at the line. Teams couldn't run at him either as he piled up 39 tackles for a loss.

Watt missed being a unanimous choice by a single vote.

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Pagano and Arians formed quite the team.
Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Bruce Arians technically never won a game in 2012, but the Associated Press saw fit to recognize him anyway.

Arians took over for Chuck Pagano after three weeks and piloted the Indianapolis Colts into the postseason, defying all odds and expectations.

For that, he was rewarded with the Coach of the Year award, despite the fact that all the victories he rang up technically get credited to Pagano.

Fittingly, Pagano finished second in the voting.