Why is it that when it comes to the world or sports, things NEVER seem to go the way you want them to go? God, it gets so damn frustrating. The NFL seems to lead the way when it comes to this frustration, as evidenced by this weekend's conference championship games.
Pardon me if you are a Baltimore Ravens fan. I do not mean this column personally against you. I'm sure you are a pretty good guy or gal. You pay your taxes, don't commit crimes and probably like the color purple. But I can't help but saying that it really SUCKS moose balls that your team is in the Super Bowl!
Heading into this weekend, I said on the air that the one thing that I don't want to happen is that the Ravens upset the Patriots. I don't particularly LIKE the Patriots, and I was pretty neutral about both the Falcons and the 49ers. The one thing I knew was that I didn't want the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl. Of course, in my sports world, that was the "kiss of death"--it was a relative certainty that Baltimore would go into New England and beat them down like bad dogs. Of course, that is what happened.
Has there EVER been a more boring, more non-descript, more bland Super Bowl participant than this years Baltimore Ravens? Quick, tell me one thing you think about when it comes to this years Ravens?
I said quick....stop stammering, scratching your head and saying "ummmm". Yeah, you get my point.
This is not the Ravens defense from 2000 that rolled through the playoffs. Ray Lewis isn't 25 years old anymore and a beast. He is 37, an average middle linebacker now and retiring after the season. The Ravens were 17th overall this year in yards allowed and 12th in points allowed. Not exactly stunning.
Offensively, maybe you think of Ray Rice. Well, not this year. Rice's averages fell in yards per carry, yards per game and total yards. He only had 1143 yards rushing, which was 11th in the league. Heck, even CJ Spiller had more yards rushing than Rice. He was 2nd in the league in 2011 with over 200 yards more! So no, now they don't even focus on Ray Rice in Baltimore.
So it must be Joe Flacco who is the reason for the Ravens monumental success getting to the Super Bowl then right? Well, not really. Flacco was a whopping 14TH in the league in yards passing. Josh Freeman, Matt Schaub and Carson friggin Palmer had more yards passing than Flacco. Flacco was 12th in QB rating. He was 15th in TD passes (Ryan Fitzpatrick had two more for cryin out loud!).
OK, so it's not Rice. It's not Flacco and the passing game. It MUST be intangibles right? How bout defensive opportunism? Not quite. The Ravens were tied for dead last in the NFL in forced fumbles with six. They only had two interception returns for a touchdown. They were smack dab in the middle of the NFL pack in sacks with 38.
See what I mean? There are just no amazing redeeming qualties about this Ravens team, yet somehow, they are still in the Super Bowl. They don't stand out in a single way. They have a quarterback and leader who has a need to hear others praise him. Flacco only seems to be quoted in the national media when he talks about how no one respects him.....no one gives him the credit he deserves....all anyone does is bash him yada yada yada.
I HATE that about a quarterback, especially one who hasn't really given anyone any reason to give him the credit he thinks he deserves. Put up some league leading type statistics AND/OR lead your team to Super Bowl wins, or else shut up with your sob story there Joe!
I am a Bills fan. As such, I have just gotten used to just rooting for the best possible matchups in the Super Bowl. If you had the Falcons and the Patriots, you would have had the best offense of the past decade against the upstart, possibly best offense of today. You'd have the savvy veteran Tom Brady against the young and approaching his prime Matt Ryan. If you had the 49ers against the Patriots, you would have one of the league's best offenses versus one of the league's best defenses. You'd have the savvy veteran pocket passer in Brady, against the young mobile leader in Kaepernick. You'd have the young cocky coach in Jim Harbaugh against the old cocky coach in Belichick.
With the Ravens and 49ers, what is the storyline? The "battle of the Harbaugh brothers". Oooh, book me the first flight out to New Orleans!
Just horrible! Thanks Baltimore. Thanks for ruining my Super Bowl. Hope the 49ers beat you the color of your uniforms.
