By: Corey Johns:
All of the detractors say the same thing: the Ravens don’t have enough at receiver and don’t have enough explosiveness to win a Super Bowl. And it does not matter one bit. Being an air-it-our team that puts up huge points with huge yardage totals just is not the Ravens style, it’s not Baltimore’s style. We’re hard-nosed, blue-collar people who scrap and work hard for everything we do and football is no different.
What led to both Super Bowls the Ravens won? It was not a prolific offense; it was a tough as nails defense and a grind-it-out offense that just got the job done.
Very few franchises have been as successful as the Baltimore Ravens since 2008 when the John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco era began. Despite the limited number of explosive receivers – no Calvin Johnson or Julio Jones types – the Ravens still always find a way to move the ball and get the job done as much as they need. They understand that a one-point win is the same thing as a 21-point blowout and there is no reason to believe they won’t win a bunch of games again this year.
Sure, wide receiver may not look that sexy in comparison to what other teams have, but the overall roster looks like the best in the league. The simple fact that players like DeAngelo Tyson, Jah Reid, Asa Jackson, and Fitzgerald Toussaint were released during final cut downs just shows how deep this year’s squad is. It might even be the best roster the Ravens have ever had.
Flacco does not put up the gaudy numbers, but he is top five in winning-percentage among current NFL Quarterbacks. The always reliable Steve Smith Sr. might not be the speedy guy he once was running up and down the field, but you’d be hard pressed to find a tougher guy who plays with more emotion in the entire NFL. The offensive line is one of the best in the league with arguably three of the best players at their position (Kelechi Osemele – LG, Marshal Yanda – RG, Rick Wagner – RT). If you want to talk about explosive, just look at Justin Forsett, who had more 20-yard plays than anybody in the NFL last year.
Are any of those guys All-Pros? Yanda is, but after him it is a bunch of guys who quietly get their job done.
Defensively, try to find a better pass rushing duo than Terrell Suggs and Elvin Dumervil. While you’re at it, find a better inside linebacker duo than C.J. Mosley and Darryl Smith. The Ravens always have the best linebacker corp. in the league and that does not look like it’s stopping this year.
The defensive line might have lost Haloti Ngata, but the group proved they were more than capable without him while he was suspended last year. The secondary lacks huge stars but Jimmy Smith is back, Will Hill hits very, very hard and Kendrick Lewis is another quiet guy who does his job and does not hurt his team.
While the Ravens might not have many top of the line stars, they don’t need them. They never really have needed them. The Ravens, more than any other team in the league, play hard and find ways to win. They don’t need to look good doing it.