New York: CBS Local.com
*FAN SUBMISSION by Sharvey Smith, her second, on the Ravens playoff matchup. Follow on twitter @SharSEsq.*
Per my previous predictions, the Ravens have advanced to the AFC Championship. Once again, they are 9.5 underdogs. Like myself, the team does not care, and they shouldn’t care; after all, they were huge underdogs up against the Denver Broncos, and we saw how that turned out for the haters, national media, and the odds-makers. It was a beautiful sight to see my beloved Ravens take down one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, Peyton Manning, along with his number one-seeded Denver Broncos; an epic classic, and a double OT thriller.
Manning made the mistake of throwing across his body, and the ball was intercepted by CB Corey Graham. I have to admit, it was very “un-Manning” like; this play put the Ravens in field goal range, and rookie-kicker Justin Tucker nailed it. Tucker has been on-the-money this year for the Ravens, and the coaching staff made a great decision in ditching former kicker, Billy Cundiff.
However, the critics are hot, they did not get their dream match-up of Manning and Brady; instead, it will be Flacco versus Brady. And now that Tom (terrific) Brady is on the schedule, the national media will still hold the Ravens in the lowest regards, not giving them much of a chance. According to ESPN reporter Jamison Hensley, “the teams that won the NFL’s two longest games since 1970 – the 1971 Dolphins, and the 1986 Browns – failed to end their playoff run with a Super Bowl title.”
James Welker of ESPN said, “Brady won his first title in New Orleans [against] the St. Louis Rams 11-years-ago to begin his storybook career. Flacco, Ryan, and Kaepernick simply aren’t good enough to stop Brady from winning his fourth championship in the same place where it all started.” And according to Michael David Smith of Pro-football Talk, “[The] Ravens aren’t going to have much of a chance in the AFC Championship game.”
Let’s remember, these are some of the same critics that predicted the Ravens were not going to win another game, even in the playoffs. I can’t predict what kind of game this is going to be, but I promise you, the Ravens will prove the doubters wrong, and will be victorious again. National pundits are again predicting a blowout, and don’t seem to fathom that the Ravens will keep-up with Brady and his prolific offense. While the disrespect of the team continues, the Ravens keep their goal in mind: hoisting the Lombardi Trophy on February 3, 2013.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
You didn’t hear? The Patriots are deemed favorite to win Super Bowl XLVII. The critics haven’t learned their lesson yet, but they will in time; after this weekend, they all have egg in their face. The New England Patriots are an excellent team, and they too have a high-powered offense. Brady, well…Brady is Brady. After all, he is the “winningest”quarterback in the NFL with 17 playoff wins.
The Ravens are getting hot at the right time with the return of several key players. Not only have the Ravens taken down Manning, but they will take down Brady on their journey to New Orleans; that’s going to be one epic moment for the Flacco-led squad. Even though the media, critics, and so-called experts don’t want to see it happen, they will be forced to accept it. What the Ravens demonstrated at Mile High stadium is just the beginning of things to come.
Adversity pays off, and this is a team of destiny. Again, I can’t wait to see the headlines after Sunday, January 20, 2013.
I’d like to believe you, but I don’t think its gonna happen.