Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens Will Reach This Year's Super Bowl

Now really is the time.  With three games left, the pieces are set up and in favor of the Baltimore Ravens to not only win the AFC North, but possibly Super Bowl XLVI.

There won’t be any going to Heinz Field this year in the playoffs; the two regular-season wins against the Pittsburgh Steelers have assured the Ravens of that.  The only shortcoming as of now is the health of Ray Lewis.  Watching the Ravens' last four games, with all due respect to Ray Ray, as a defensive unit they seem to be just fine with Lewis playing the role of inspirational leader and player coach.

The rest of the AFC and the NFL know that Lewis will not let something as simple as a toe injury prevent him from chasing what has eluded him the last 10 years.  In the final moments of a storied career, he can’t and won’t miss this opportune time.

The offense in Baltimore has continuously been questioned over the years but this year seems to be different.   The Raven offense is putting points on the board but the motto is still all about the run and working the clock. 

Ray Rice has played with a determination and cleverness this year that strengthens his argument as a top-five running back in the NFL. 

Rice is fifth in the league in rushing and of course there aren’t many negatives to his game.  He keeps his feet and the chains moving.  Rice also holds onto the football, which is critical, only having two fumbles on the year. 

Anquan Boldin continues his solid, consistent, reliable play that he has had throughout his career while rookie Torrey Smith has been a pleasant surprise.  Lee Evans is fast and can get open.

Joe Flacco has shown flashes of what he can do with little time left in the fourth quarter during the regular season, but his play in a big-time playoff game remains to be seen.

Ultimately for the Ravens though, year after year, the season is on the 11 guys on the other side of the football that deny touchdowns.  You can kick field goals all day against this team but anybody that understands and truly enjoys football knows you don’t win football games on field goals.

Touchdowns and defense win Super Bowl rings.  Not chip-shot 30-yard field goals because an offense can’t convert in the red zone.

The AFC North collectively has been great this year on defense, save the Cleveland Browns against the run.  The Ravens have dominated the division and are undefeated up to this point against all three rivals. 

The Bengals looked great to start the season at 6-2, but since mid-November have experienced a complete meltdown.  They wonder why Carson Palmer was so persistent about getting away from them.      

The Browns probably wish they had LeBron James and the Steelers are always contenders and just as good as the Ravens at 10-3.

For the Ravens, Terrell Suggs has maintained his monster-of-a-specimen play and is fourth in the NFL with a team-leading 13 sacks.  NFL quarterbacks know where No. 55 is before the snap but find that they’ve been slung to the ground with quickness and a loss of yards a lot of times after the snap.           

Haloti Ngata, Terrence Cody and Cory Redding absolutely stuff the middle with nowhere to run for the opposition while Lewis, Jameel McClain and Jarret Johnson are sideline-to-sideline linebackers.  The basics of an offense aren’t going to get past them and the odds of a trick play fooling them are asinine. 

McClain leads the Ravens in tackles at 71 going into the final weeks of the season with Lewis trailing behind at 68 after missing the last four games.

Ed Reed is still the captain of the secondary and always an interception with a touchdown finish waiting to happen.  Safety Bernard Pollard is physical and although corner Cary Williams doesn’t have any picks this year, he leads the Ravens in pass deflections.  Williams is playing with precision and intelligence. 

Lardarius Webb always plays well and leads with four interceptions.  His occasional mishaps on special teams—muffed punts—would be one of few causes for concern heading into the playoffs.

The only suggestion for the Ravens as of now is to wear the all-black uniforms while taking everybody out on the way to winning the AFC North, AFC Championship and the biggest game of all, the Super Bowl.