Baltimore Ravens: 10 Reasons They Are the AFC's Team To Beat
One thing most NFL fans can agree on is that the 2010 season has been more polarizing than ever. Usually there are several teams with undefeated records at this point, and we can draw some conclusions on which teams might represent their respective conferences in the Super Bowl.
Week 10’s slate of games didn’t make it any easier on analysts, when some of the NFL’s top Super Bowl contenders dropped key contests to teams outside most of the Super Bowl talk.
One of these teams is the Baltimore Ravens, who blew a late-game lead to the Atlanta Falcons last Thursday, 26-21—a game in which the defense failed to protect a one-point lead with only a minute to go in the game.
Some critics say the Ravens are excessively inconsistent and can’t rely on their defense anymore in order to make it to the big game. Over the course of this presentation, a case will be made that Baltimore, despite their inherent flaws, is still the team to beat in the AFC.
Now let's examine what sets the Ravens apart from the competition in 10 specific categories.
10. Baltimore Has the AFC's Most Improved Offense
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With the exception of Week 2, when the Ravens lost a close battle at Cincinnati, this year’s offense in Baltimore can finally score at will. We’ve already witnessed several occasions in which the Ravens offense came back from behind to steal the lead from their opponent in the waning moments of a game.
All were winning efforts, except for their most recent experience in Atlanta, when it was Baltimore’s defense that was charged with blowing the game—something that rarely happens to the veteran squad.
The acquisition of veteran WR Anquan Boldin has proved to be an invaluable commodity to a team that never really had a weapon at receiver in 14 years of existence. With several other key acquisitions at wide receiver, the Ravens finally have achieved the balance on offense they were looking for.
Third-year QB Joe Flacco is another reason why Baltimore has improved dramatically in recent years, and has single-handedly led the Ravens to a 6-3 mark at this point in the season. Since Week 2 of this year, Flacco holds the highest quarterback rating in the NFL, an impressive 105.0.
Flacco is even more impressive when playing at home, where he has yet to throw an interception in 2010. Baltimore’s offense is averaging an astounding 34 points when playing at M&T Bank Stadium and the team has won six straight games there.
Along with the contributions of RB Ray Rice in the passing game, the Ravens continue to own one of the AFC's more dynamic passing attacks.
9. Ravens Hold Key Wins over Other Playoff Contenders
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This reason alone is paramount to Baltimore’s success in 2010, a season when the AFC is tighter than ever. The Ravens have earned wins against the Steelers, Jets and Dolphins so far—all teams that are still in the playoff hunt. At this point, 10 AFC teams have five wins or more, so all three of these wins could factor into any tiebreaker situations that are likely to arise.
While the Ravens still have to face their division foes for the second time, wins against teams like Pittsburgh on the road have set Baltimore up for an easier second half of the season, when they play all but three games at home.
The only serious AFC playoff contender left on Baltimore's schedule is Pittsburgh, and one must believe another win over the Steelers will put the Ravens in great position to win the division, thanks in part to a weak upcoming schedule.
8. Ravens Flourish in November and December
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From 2000 to 2009, Baltimore has found much success during November and December. For some reason or another, the entire team starts firing on all cylinders, at a point during the season when wins really matter most.
During that nine-year span, the Ravens have posted a 49-32 record—the NFL’s seventh-best mark. With four of their next seven games at home, head coach John Harbaugh will look to improve on that record.
The 7-0 record Harbaugh and the Ravens boast at home since November 2009 also bodes well for the team. Baltimore does an excellent job of making midseason adjustments, and these stats really prove the point.
When most teams start to lose their head of steam, the Ravens always find a way to build on their own momentum.
Every year since 2000, during November and December, Baltimore has improved in all statistical categories—both offensively and defensively.
So far, the 2010 season has been no exception, so look for the Ravens to continue their winning ways during the cold months as the playoffs inch closer.
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7. Ravens Roster Is Injury-Free
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Yes, this is indeed a fact. For the second straight week, Baltimore’s roster is completely free of injuries. Safety Tom Zbikowski is still dealing with a foot injury, but Zbikowski is no longer a starter now that safety Ed Reed is back.
When most teams are starting to rack up injuries as the season progresses, the Ravens are managing to stay healthy and refreshed. The gift of having a completely healthy team is priceless during any point of the season, but it’s all the more important as the playoff race begins.
We all know how injuries factor into outcomes of games. Case in point, look at what happened to the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday when they faced the New England Patriots. Injuries to the Steelers offensive line translated into more pressure on QB Ben Roethlisberger. New England sacked Roethlisberger several times, and as a result, the Steelers star QB couldn’t find any rhythm over the course of the game.
The Patriots went on to shock the Steelers in their own home, 39-26, and looking back at the game, injuries played the biggest role in Pittsburgh’s inability to score points.
There’s no guarantee that having a healthy team will lead to Baltimore winning out the rest of the way, but it certainly gives the Ravens a massive advantage over their opponents.
I'll take a healthy team over a MASH unit any day!
6. LB Terrell Suggs Is Finally Heating Up
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Baltimore’s pass defense hasn’t exactly been the model of consistency as of late. However, one element of the Ravens defense is starting to heat up after a quiet first half of 2010.
LB Terrell Suggs, who has 6.5 sacks and a forced fumble to date, is finally returning to 2009 form, when he was a complete game-changing player.
Over the first half of this season, Suggs looked sluggish at times. Suggs often struggled in pass coverage too. With the Ravens having problems putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, Suggs looks to be stepping up his game, becoming more of a factor in blitz packages—an area where Baltimore has become less creative ever since defensive coordinator Greg Mattison took over for the departed Rex Ryan.
During Baltimore’s 26-21 loss to Atlanta, Suggs managed to sack QB Matt Ryan twice. The week before against Miami, Suggs recorded one sack on QB Chad Henne.
With all the problems the Ravens defense has had getting to quarterbacks this season, Suggs has been the bright spot in a unit of struggling linebackers.
Suggs should continue to have a very strong remainder of 2010, and will continue to be an integral part of Baltimore's defensive schemes.
5. QB Joe Flacco Is 2-for-2 in Leading Ravens to Playoffs
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As we all know, Baltimore’s star QB Joe Flacco was thrust into the starting role during his rookie year, due to a fluke illness that sidelined former Ravens QB Troy Smith at the start of the 2008 season. Flacco would guide the Ravens to their first AFC Championship Game since 2000, when the Ravens advanced to to Super Bowl XXXV and beat the New York Giants, 34-7.
In 2009, the sophomore quarterback would have similar success, taking the Ravens to the AFC Divisional round.
Flacco would become the first rookie quarterback to lead a team to a conference championship.
Flacco’s calm and collected demeanor is perfectly suited for big games, as nothing seems to ruffle the third-year quarterback.
Flacco happens to be on a hot streak now, and again is poised to lead the Ravens deep into the postseason. With Flacco starting to form into an elite quarterback, and the ease of Baltimore’s remaining schedule, Flacco will undoubtedly go three-for-three in leading the Ravens to the playoffs.
With the NFL being as distorted as it is, Flacco and the Ravens will remain consistent, making a major push towards their first Super Bowl in 10 years.
4. Baltimore's Three Losses Total 13 Points
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Sure, the Ravens are a solid 6-3, but this team could easily be undefeated. All of their three losses have come by five points or less, totaling 13 points for all three losses. Many argue that Baltimore is unable to win big when they’re supposed to, but that isn’t the case.
Indeed, you have to look back to 2000, when the Ravens posted four shutouts—completely stomping almost every opponent they faced.
Baltimore has admittedly changed as a team, and this year it is winning by smaller margins—but it is winning. So far, in each of Baltimore’s six wins, the Ravens have dominated statistical categories most important to winning football games. In other words, the Ravens are playing old-fashioned smashmouth football—controlling the clock and making plays when they need to.
If the Ravens can remain consistent with the way they like to play the game, they can run the table the rest of the way.
A smaller margin of victory doesn't always indicate a struggle. Every team has their own style of play, and the Ravens remain successful in winning close games.
3. RB Ray Rice Is Due For Some Big Games
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Need I say more? After a slow start to the 2010 season, Ravens RB Ray Rice has once again regained his footing in the Baltimore offense.
Although Rice only has two touchdowns on the year, this is the point in the season when the third-year back does the most damage.
Rice ranks 13th in the NFL with 665 rushing yards, and eighth with 279 yards through the air. NFC running backs mainly separate Rice from first place when it comes to total yards from scrimmage.
There’s no doubt Rice is overdue for some big games. Statistically, Rice has his best games during November and December, and has always been a bigger factor in playoff games.
Bottom line is, when Rice shines, Baltimore shines. With a ton of criticism coming from fans, calling for more involvement of Rice in the Ravens gameplans, look for Rice to double his total yardage by the end of the season and become the most dangerous weapon, once again, on offense.
2. QB Joe Flacco Playing Mistake-Free Football
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This touches on the Ravens being the most improved offense in the NFL since 2009.
QB Joe Flacco, like the rest of the Ravens, improves as the season progresses. In fact, Flacco has nearly doubled his quarterback rating from September, raising the mark from 66.3 to 112.8 in November.
Most importantly, Flacco has thrown only two interceptions since Week 3, with one in Pittsburgh, and most recently, one Thursday night in Atlanta.
The outstanding play from “Cool Joe” Flacco will go a long way, as the Ravens quarterback isn’t making any mistakes with the football, despite the lack of protection Flacco gets from time to time from his offensive line.
Last year, Ravens fans could almost count on Flacco tossing a costly interception at a key moment of a game. This year, we haven’t seen these costly mistakes due to the great job quarterback coach Jim Zorn has done in working with Flacco.
Without a doubt, Flacco has a wonderful opportunity to lead Baltimore to a Super Bowl appearance in 2010, and is the most likely quarterback to get his team to the big game.
1. Baltimore Is Destined for Super Bowl Greatness
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The Ravens were a trendy Super Bowl pick from day one of the 2010 campaign for a reason. LB Ray Lewis told Baltimore media during the preseason that this Ravens team is the most complete team he has ever played with.
It certainly would be fitting if the Ravens reached the big stage, 10 years to the day, when Baltimore first brought the Lombardi Trophy home to their exuberant fans.
This is a team of destiny—a team that finally has the talent once again to repeat their 2000 success story.
If Trent Dilfer could lead the Ravens to the big show, so can Joe Flacco, who has a much better offense to work with—a Pro Bowl caliber offense.
Never again, will there be another defense that equals the 2000 Ravens, but teams evolve over time, and this Ravens squad is as close to Super Bowl material as you can get.
Sheer determination makes this Baltimore unit the team to beat in the AFC this year.
Todd McGregor is a Baltimore Ravens Featured Columnist here on BleacherReport.com
Follow Todd's work on Twitter! Twitter.com/ravens023
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