Most of the 43 million turkeys consumed on Thanksgiving Day in the United States were baked or roasted.
Some of the holiday birds were deep-fried.
But the Thanksgiving Night meal served yesterday by the Baltimore Ravens in their 16-6 victory over the visiting San Francisco 49ers, left the guests from San Francisco feeling "Sizzled" – "T Sizzled", specifically – and came straight from the pressure cooker.
Pressure: as in a franchise record-tying nine quarterback sacks of quarterback Alex Smith.
Pressure: as in an additional dozen quarterback hits.
The Ravens’ sous chef, Ray Lewis, missed his second consecutive game at middle linebacker in the Ravens’ lineup.
But Defensive Coordinator, "Chef" Chuck Pagano, had plenty of other ingredients with which to create a game-winning entrée.
Pagano started with a heaping of Terrell "T Sizzle" Suggs, who gobbled up three quarterback sacks, three quarterback hits, and two tackles for lost yardage.
Who knew that Ball So Hard University offered a "Quarterback Sizzling" elective?
Pagano added a cup of Cory Redding, who is still digesting four quarterback hits, three tackles for lost yardage, and two and a half quarterback sacks.
Pagano mixed in a bowl full of Haloti Ngata, who registered three tackles for loss, two sacks and two quarterback hits.
Feeling full? Leave room, because there’s more from Chef Pagano’s kitchen.
Such as Lardarius Webb, who garnered half of a sack, two passes defensed, a quarterback hit and an interception that he picked cleaner than the turkey leg bone left on your plate.
And Tom Zbikowski, who sampled one apiece from the sack, tackle for loss and quarterback hit dishes.
It’s hard to believe that the 49ers’ defense entered the game more highly-touted than the Ravens’ defense. True, the 49ers do serve a tasty defensive offering, but after Thursday night’s beat down, Zagat, Michelin, the NFL Network, ESPN, CBS, Fox and all of the other critics are left without any choice – all must agree that the Ravens, at least when cooking in their Baltimore home, are the indisputable kings of the defensive kitchen.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Ravens’ much-maligned Offensive Coordinator, "Chef" Cam Cameron, offered a no-frills, balanced meal of running and passing.
Chef Cameron probably feels as though he has been toiling in Hell’s Kitchen for the past couple of seasons, what with all the ranting and raving on the talk shows and blogs, where folks have been telling him constantly to get out of the kitchen and go home.
Pointedly, these critics have sharpened their criticism in the past month to focus on Chef Cameron’s unbalanced offerings. "Too much passing, not enough running," they groused. "We want more Rice."
Cameron arrived at M&T Bank Restaurant, er, Stadium, yesterday with a revised menu. The new menu featured 21 carries by Ray Rice, and 23 passes thrown by quarterback Joe Flacco.
With balance such as that, all of the 71,345 patrons wearing purple attire went home feeling satisfied, without the least bit of indigestion.
The service at the M&T Thanksgiving Night meal was impeccable, yet one could not help but notice the timing of the services performed.
While we do remember first and second down courses, uh, I mean plays, the "meat" of the meal is served on the critical third down. The gold star standard for successfully converting third downs into first downs is 40 percent or more for offenses, and less than 40 percent for defenses.
And the Ravens earned three Michelin stars for their performance in those situations.
On offense, the Ravens successfully converted seven of 15 third down situations, or an impressive 47 percent.
The Ravens’ defense, on the other hand, held the 49ers’ offense to a third down conversion rate of merely 17 percent (two for 12).
It was a festive atmosphere at M&T, and some of the holiday revelers spilled various libations during the meal. But the Ravens’ offensive line was immaculate, opening running lanes for Ricky Williams, and not allowing a sack of Flacco, whose uniform pants at the end of the game were as white as a new chef’s jacket.
Every Thanksgiving gathering has an embarrassing moment, and the one witnessed at M&T last night was minor, and involved what can only be described as youthful indiscretion.
I’m speaking, of course, about young Flacco’s thin attempt at facial hair. That hint of a "Fu Manchu" that you may have seen on the television screen, which evoked memories of an earlier "Joe Cool" (who since January 12, 1969 is referred to only as "The One Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken"), will hopefully be long gone before the next holiday gathering.
By "holiday gathering", I’m not referring to Hanukkah (or even Chanukkah, Chanuka or Hanukah). I’m not referring to Christmas. And I’m not referring to Kwanzaa.
I am referring to the NFL playoffs ("Playoffs?" Yes, Coach Mora, playoffs), which kick off on January 7, 2012.
The Ravens desperately need to make like Santa Claus and check their to-do lists twice in the interim to avoid any let downs that could cause them to lose their current status as American Football Conference leaders for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The difference in the Ravens’ play in Baltimore, and outside of their home stadium, is dramatic. The purple clad are undefeated at M&T, and are a paltry 2-3 on the road. In fact, the Ravens have now won 17 of their past 18 games at M&T.
Head Coach John Harbaugh’s team has been prone to let-downs on the road this season, as witnessed in three horrible performances in losing "efforts."
With New England, Pittsburgh and Houston only a half game behind the Ravens for best AFC record (the Ravens have the tie-breaker advantage over Pittsburgh and Houston), Baltimore cannot afford such repeat failings.
Here’s hoping that the Ravens do not suffer a tryptophan hangover after their Turkey Day success.
For the opportunity to cook in the M&T Pressure Cooker in January is too important.
The Ravens clearly have the winning recipe in their own kitchen.
