One year later, the Baltimore Ravens find themselves in a similar spot. Seemingly overmatched against a fearsome New England Patriots’ team with the Super Bowl on the line, the Ravens will have to prove the nation’s critics wrong yet again.
This whole week has been filled with questions such as “How will the Ravens stop Tom Brady?” or “How will the Ravens cover the Patriots’ receivers?” Rather than shutting down Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith, it’s been covering Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd. Rather than matching up against Dennis Pitta, it’s been all about Aaron Hernandez. Everywhere you look, the Ravens are being dismissed in one way or another. Although it won’t be one the field, this is being portrayed as a David vs. Goliath battle by many off the field.
Perhaps the media is caught in the past and have visions of Tom Brady and the Super Bowl engrained in their minds, or maybe they just refuse to give the up and coming Joe Flacco the praise he deserves. Either way, the Ravens aren’t expected to win. In fact, more than 75% of major media members have the Patriots winning and going on to the Super Bowl. Of course it’s the popular pick, but is it the right one?
If we learned anything from last week, the answer would be no. The Ravens were overlooked and once again labeled as overmatched against Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Yet, proving that he’s anything from ordinary, Joe Flacco led the Ravens past the Broncos and into the AFC Championship for the second consecutive year.
Many will credit the Ravens’ post-season success to the so-called “emotional shockwave” that the team has been riding since Ray Lewis announced his retirement less than three weeks ago. However, the Baltimore Ravens as a whole are ready to deliver their own shockwave today. One that will ripple throughout the league and prove their doubters wrong as they earn a trip to the Super Bowl. The Baltimore Ravens are ready to shock the world.
