Iggy’s Ravens Report – January 23, 2012

News & Commentary

Ravens:
Unbelievable… Again! The Ravens are going to the Super Bowl. Let me say that again: The BALTIMORE RAVENS are going to the SUPER BOWL! We exorcised the ghost of Bob Irsay. Then we conquered the man, myth, and legend known as Peyton Manning (and the A-hole GM John Elway >*spit*<), and now, we defeated our own failures of years past. We earned this trip. We pulled ourselves together at the perfect time: the playoffs. By how, after 16 games, did we rise above the inconsistency that has plagued us for, oh…um… 5 years? There are many answers to that question. First, it is Caldwell. Jettisoning Cam Cameron was a long time coming. Caldwell understands quarterbacks. He understands Flacco. He understands how to use the weapons we have and build a plan around it. Next is getting healthy at the right time. Our "starting" defense didn't take the field at the same time until the playoffs, and now it shows what we can do. Thirdly, it is Bryant McKinnie. We renegotiated his contract to start the season with a bonus for snap counts and then benched him until the playoffs. He was the missing piece of the offensive line that has given Joe the time pick his receivers, and not settle for one in a panic. These are a few of the many factors that have come together at the right time, and given us a chance to become legendary, once again.

Well, now that we are here, can we finish what we started? Can we send Ray Lewis out with the biggest bang possible in this league? The answer is simple. YES WE CAN. But we need to find new motivation. There is no Irsay, Elway, Manning, Lee Evans, or Billy Cundiff to overcome now. If anyone, it is the San Francisco 49ers who have a chip on their shoulders. They lost the only previous meeting of two brotherly Head Coaches in NFL history 16-6 on Thanksgiving night just over a year ago. They have a very passionate head coach, and a 2nd year quarterback who continues to find ways to win. In our corner, is the winningest quarterback in the NFL over the last 5 years, an emotional Ray Lewis, and a 4+ point “underdog” rating to stoke our fire. We have experience, and are the only underdog team to have won this post season, and we’ve done it twice thus far. So, can we do it? We have the heart and we know what it takes. No it is only a matter of execution. Just take a few extra minutes in practice on special teams, please, or I’ll have to talk about another type of execution.