THE TEAM THAT other NFL teams didnM-vt want in the playoffs got in yesterday. When the Cleveland Browns defeated the Cincinnati Bengals M-y to give the Ravens the AFC North title M-y there was a pause around the league.
Uh, oh - here come the Ravens.
Nobody wants to play this team. The Ravens can run the ball, which New England and Tennessee can't do. They can stop the run, which Kansas City and Indianapolis can't do. They're young and so unpredictable, a helter-skelter outfit that won another ugly game last night, 13-10, over the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium.
Pressure?
There is none on the Ravens (10-6), who are the third-youngest team in the NFL. But you can bet there is some on Indianapolis and quarterback Peyton Manning, who still has to prove he can win a playoff game. There is also heat on Kansas City, which got off to a great start. Denver is always under the gun because it has The Genius in coach Mike Shanahan, and simply because it's Denver.
As for Tennessee, the Ravens' opening-round playoff opponent Saturday, the Titans want to take one more step from a year ago, when they played in the AFC championship game.
The Ravens, in their second year of rebuilding, can play loose.
"If we don't turn the ball over, all things being equal, we can beat anybody," said Ravens coach Brian Billick. "That's why we're so scary."
Said Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis: "The last time we had that philosophy, we went to the Super Bowl. With Jamal [Lewis] running like that and our defense playing the way it is, I've said all along we're just going to be hard to beat.
"It's not about boasting, it's not about bragging, but we're just a physical football team. We love to play old-school football. That's the way we love to play and hopefully it will work."
It would seem the Ravens are a year, maybe two, from a serious Super Bowl run. Other teams have better passing games and quarterbacks who are more capable of making big plays than the Ravens. But Super Bowl champions are usually teams that are balanced.
New England is the most balanced team in the AFC, but Billick says his team is not far behind.
"What makes us scary is balance, and I'm talking about balance within the sub-groups of the larger group," he said. "Defensively, we can rush you. We can stop your run and we can cover you downfield. I don't know whom you're going to throw at. Chris McAlister? Gary Baxter is pretty damn good. It's not like you can come into the game saying we're going to throw at this person or that person. Where is that weakness?
