Ray Lewis’ storied career ends with tonight’s Superbowl
Colm O’Donnell | Features Editor
When the city of Baltimore got a football team back in 1996, it marked the return of the game to a city steeped in tradition. The city used to have the Baltimore Colts which enjoyed a successful run under legendary quarterback Johnny Unitas. The Colts, now in Indianapolis, were in Baltimore between 1953 and 1983. They their ups and downs, losing Super Bowl III to the Jets under Joe Namath, but beating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V. In their current incarnation, the Ravens have never lost a Super Bowl. Admittedly, their record of 1-0 doesn’t quite match up to the 49ers record of 5-0, but frankly, it’s a meaningless statistic considering the Niners last appearance was a year before the Ravens came to Baltimore, in 1995, and the Ravens win came back in 2001.
Under the guiding hand of General Manager Ozzie Newsome, and Head Coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens have been a steady team in the last five years, with clever player drafting, and management, notably drafting quarterback Joe Flacco from Delaware and running back Ray Rice from Rutgers with the first two picks in the 2008 draft marking the beginning of the new era of Ravens football. In the 2001 season and the accompanying era the team was built around a historic defence, some of whom still remain, notably future hall-of-fame linebacker Ray Lewis, who, win or lose, will retire on Sunday.
Colin Kaepernick, 49ers quarterback, has had an incredible half season but that is the extent of his experience, Joe Flacco is the first quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to the playoffs in his first five seasons. He is, along with Atlanta Falcons gunslinger Matt Ryan, is part of the next generation of franchise quarterbacks in the model of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. His ascension from steady to great regular season quarterback to the leader of this team through a somewhat unexpected postseason run has been what has propelled the ravens to this point, and what will be the difference against San Francisco.
In the past few years the meaning of the term ‘Ravens Football’ has shifted; their offence has become the dominant side of the ball, with powerful linemen such as Michael Oher (inspiration for the book/movie sensation ‘The Blind Side’) and Marshall Yanda. The deep ball passing game has been huge, personified by the game winning TD pass to Jacoby Jones in the divisional round against Denver. Jones is possibly the fifth option in the passing game, behind second year receiver Torrey Smith out of Maryland, and Anquan Boldin, who has a much deserved reputation as probably the toughest wide receiver in the league, and is enjoying a phenomenal vein of form. The Ravens followed the Patriots two tight-end set, drafting Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta in the same year as the Pats got Hernandez and Gronkowski. The final option, which is nothing to sneeze at, is Ray Rice, or rookie Bernard Pierce, out of the backfield.
Looking at the defence, it really speaks for itself. Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs, and obviously, Ray Lewis. All of these names could conceivably end up in Canton, Ohio, where the Pro Football Hall of Fame is situated. In reality though, it’s the lesser known names such as Jimmy Graham, Daniel Ellerbe, Corey Graham and others who will decide what happens Sunday night. How they react to the San Francisco Pistol offence, and their discipline in defending the run against Kaepernick, Frank Gore, and LaMichael James will be vital. If the running game isn’t working, then the San Francisco passing game will be tested. Targets such as Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree and the legendary Randy Moss have performed well against weak enough pass defences like Atlanta and Green Bay, but the Ravens present a unique proposition. The experience of Ed Reed in the secondary is such that in last year’s AFC Championship game Tom Brady had written on his wrist ‘Find number 20 on every play’.
The Ravens have been so very close in recent years, and they couldn’t possibly have been closer than last year. They lost to New England in the AFC Championship when wide receiver Lee Evans dropped a pass in the last minute which would have been a touchdown and sent them to the Super Bowl. Immediately afterwards, kicker Billy Cundiff missed a very makeable field goal which would have sent them to at least overtime. Thats about as close as you can get to the Super Bowl. San Francisco have had two good years, yes, but the steady experience of the Ravens will prove enough to win the game. Their defence and offence have been working in tandem throughout the playoffs and they have the firepower on both sides to win. My prediction. Baltimore by 3.
