Can we please just stop with the comparisons of this 2011 Ravens team to that of the Super Bowl XXXV Champions? Look I get that we want to find the silver lining in a season that has had great promise up to now but was recently derailed – something we all hope is temporary.
But this is not the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. There can’t and won’t ever be a team that goes 21 quarters without a touchdown on their way to the title. The league isn’t built that way anymore so it makes no sense to seek solace from the Cameron/Flacco woes with memories of Festivus Maximus.
Now there’s no denying that Chuck Pagano’s squad is playing very good football and there’s reason to believe that their best football is ahead of them, provided of course the offensive ineptitude doesn’t continue, eventually dividing the locker room. But the 2000 Ravens were so fast, tackled flawlessly and they had an outstanding linebacker corps.
And let’s not forget that the Marvin Lewis led unit played under vastly different rules that were more conducive to defensive dominance. The very same personnel would be highly challenged today to repeat the performance.
We should also not overlook the fact that the 2000 Ravens played against a lengthy collection of stiffs at quarterback during their season ending 11 game winning streak. Even 3 of the 4 playoff QB’s they faced weren’t exactly juggernauts (Gus Frerotte, Bobby Hoying in for Rich Gannon and Kerry Collins). Do you think for a second the 2011 squad can successfully navigate through the post season without meeting up with Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers?
Then there’s the offense…
The 2000 offense was pretty vanilla. They ran the football first, protected it second and threw when they had to. Their goal was to go and get 14-17 points per game and let the defense protect the lead. It worked. And those 21 quarters without scoring a touchdown could have forced an implosion but the Ravens benefitted from having leaders on offense like Trent Dilfer and Shannon Sharpe.
Do you think this team could withstand such pressure? Who would lead like Dilfer and Sharpe? Terrell Suggs is already popping off about the offense (and justly so) but what might he say about 21 quarters without hitting pay dirt?
C’mon man!
The Ravens are fortunate this week to be in the cozy confines of M&T on Sunday against a cupcake opponent, the Arizona Cardinals. It will give them some time to clean up that cluster-you-know-what from Monday. But the real test, the defining moment in the season will come when the Ravens travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers (November 6) on Sunday night before another national TV audience.
Should the Steelers lose to New England (a 3 point favorite) this Sunday, the Ravens would then encounter a wounded, desperate team. Either way THAT game will give us a true read on the 2011 Baltimore Ravens and not the revisionist history that seems to comfort many.
