Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger? The dude is a head case. He likes drama. If he doesn't have an injury, he will invent one. The kid is scary, though. He makes big plays in crunch time.
But with the Patriots and Colts, the odds were high that the Ravens couldn't beat them. The Ravens, though, know they can beat Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Will they?
That's the $1 million question. But at least it's not the same situation with the Ravens and Miami. There was no way the Dolphins were going to beat the Ravens on Sunday. The Ravens had physically abused them earlier in the season, and you can't heal those psychological scars in a few months. The Ravens are tough, and Miami was soft.
But the final two games in the AFC playoffs will be brawls, and the Ravens thrive in those games. The Ravens will have to travel for both to get to the Super Bowl, but they've won big games on the road this season.
They have absolutely no fear of either Pittsburgh or Tennessee, and Ravens safety Ed Reed laid the gauntlet down Sunday when he said: "Tennessee, here we come. Here come the Ravens. The team you don't want to see."
There wasn't any swagger or arrogance, but confidence. The Ravens are feeling it right now.
The Ravens have had some things go wrong. They will be playing their 17th game without a week off Saturday, and they are on a short week for preparation. That might play head games with some teams, but the Ravens thrive on situations like these. Nothing disturbs them. They just keep grinding away.
The defense was overwhelming against Miami, and Ed Reed was Ed Reed. Big plays are expected whenever he is in the vicinity of the ball. The running game was strong Sunday, and the only downside was that the passing game didn't leave you feeling warm and fuzzy about the Ravens' victory.
But that's the style the Ravens play sometimes. And San Diego, Pittsburgh and Tennessee often play the same way. With the quarterback situation, Flacco isn't that far behind Rivers, Collins or even Roethlisberger.
Everything is close to being equal. There is no Brady, no Genius and no Patriots. And after this weekend with the departure of Manning and the Colts, the Ravens' chances of winning the conference championship increased significantly.
Listen to Mike Preston on Mondays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Fox Sports (1370 AM).
