I heard a comment on ESPN radio where the commentator said explicitly that the Ravens are one of the most stable organizations in the NFL. I take that to mean this: the front office is fiscally prudent and analytical. It does not make big name deals to sell tickets. It takes care of the players who produce and look out for valuable cogs. The result of this? The ability to contend every year! Think about that for a minute. Think of all the teams whose fortunes go up and down, who make a playoff appearance once in a blue moon and then sink back into the quagmire of mediocrity. Think of the teams that are eternally rebuilding, who just can't seem, for whatever reason, to take that next step. The list (in no particular order) is long: Miami, Tennessee, Washington, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Arizona (Super Bowl year was a fluke, really), Buffalo, Dallas, Atlanta, San Diego, Houston, Minnesota, Seattle, Chicago, Denver, and Carolina. There are very few solid teams: Green Bay, New York Giants, Pittsburgh, New England, and New Orleans. That's it. Detroit? San Francisco? Cincy? Philadelphia? New York Jets? Let's see what next season brings...I can see all of them missing the playoffs.
Think of all the teams that are just dying to find out what happens with Peyton Manning. So many teams need a quarterback. We don't. Flacco is not elite, but he's very good, especially when coupled with our defense.
We have one of the best teams in the NFL, period. The Patriots are only in the Super Bowl because of what we didn't do. We had them beat. We not only just as good, we're better. Their defense is made of paper.
Food for thought.
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