Divisional Predictions: Ravens vs. Broncos
Pencils down. Turn in your picks.
Now who out there sees the Ravens winning in Denver?
I’m not hearing much … Anyone? Anyone?
Of the 36 experts below, only four are taking Baltimore.
Baltimore Sun: 6 of 7 pick Broncos
ESPN.com: 11 of 12 pick the Broncos (Mike Golic with the Ravens)
Yahoo! Sports: 3 of 3 pick the Broncos
CBSSports.com: 7 of 8 pick Broncos (Mike Freeman with the Ravens)
ProFootballTalk.com: 2 of 2 pick Broncos
SportingNews.com (Vinnie Iyer): Broncos 27, Ravens 17
FoxSports.com (Peter Schrager): Ravens 27, Broncos 20
Do Broncos Have Any Weaknesses?
The experts’ picks are less about snubbing the Ravens and more about drooling over the Broncos.
There’s good reason to be impressed.
According to Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders, the Broncos finished in the top five of their in-depth, crazy math whiz ratings on both offense and defense. (Hey, maybe their special teams aren’t that good???).
That left the Football Outsiders wondering whether the
Broncos have any weaknesses at all.
“It is often said that football is a game of matchups. But it may be more accurate to say that football is a game of strengths and weaknesses. Coaches examine all the matchups to figure out where they have an advantage, then try to attack the opponent's weaknesses through certain plays or tendencies.
“That presents a real problem for the Baltimore Ravens as they enter Saturday's divisional-round contest against the Denver Broncos. The Broncos are an extremely well-rounded team without a lot of glaring weaknesses.”
Divisional Upsets Not Unheard Of
The Ravens aren’t the first team to be an underdog against a top-seeded team. It happens every year.
And there are
upsets every year too, as pointed out by the Denver Post.
Since the NFL instituted the current 12-team postseason format in 1990, the AFC's top seed is 13-9 (.591) in the divisional round, which is the first game a No. 1 seed would play in the playoffs.
Manning has led the AFC’s top-seeded team twice in his career. He lost in that situation in 2005 to the San Diego Chargers. Then he won in 2009 against the Ravens in Indianapolis.
The Ravens knocked off the top-seeded Tennessee Titans in 2008 on their way to the AFC championship game.
So it’s not like this hasn’t been done before.
Must Watch Video: Clash of the Titans
While Manning and Lewis
didn’t seem interested in talking about their impending final matchup Saturday, it’s a historic event.
This is two of the best players of all time at their position going at it one last time.
In that spirit, this is a must-watch video that will probably make you wish the game was tonight.
Ngata pondering how long he’ll keep playing.
It’s an odd position for a 28-year-old player who signed a five-year contract extension before last season.
"It makes you think, especially now that I have kids, is this job worth the head traumas you're probably going to end up having when you're older?" Ngata told The Baltimore Sun.
"I just think about being able to raise my kids, see them through college, see them have kids. It makes me think more about how much more I want to play."
