BLOG: Super Ravens?
Three games is but a portion of a 16-game NFL regular season but so far the signs are super (as in Super Bowl) for the Ravens. Baltimore was in the championship conversation before the season kicked off and they've nothing but bolster that notion so far. The victories over Pittsburgh and St. Louis were complete and dominant. The loss at Tennessee was disappointing but not embarrassing considering the nature of the league. The bounce-back from Tennessee to St. Louis says more about the Ravens than the loss to the Titans itself. Again- it's a LONG year. We'll see if what Torrey Smith did against the Rams was a "beginner's luck" scenario, but it doesn't hurt that an offense with questions (offensive line, wide receivers, Joe Flacco) has provided impressive answers so far. And the thinking is that a developing offense can only get better, so stay tuned.
What's also noteworthy is that no other team in the AFC appears to be un-beatable, or even better than the Ravens. The unbeaten Bills were impressive in their victory over New England, but let's allow that cute story to play out before we consider the Bills a championship threat. New England, by the way, is porous on defense. The two teams that eliminated the Ravens from the last three post-seasons are unimpressive so far. The Colts are toast without Peyton Manning and the Steelers look old and tired after stumbling to a win at Indy and being flattened by the Ravens in the opener. The Titans? Matt Hasselbeck is a neat, old-guy story but their best player is Kenny Britt and it remains to be seen if he'll be of any use after a knee injury Sunday. The Jets? Well, Sunday night will say a lot about what they have after their loss to the Raiders. Texans? No defense. San Diego? Maybe as good as the Ravens and they will meet out west later this season.
So far, so good for the Ravens. It's early but their 2-and-1 record looks Super in the early going.
~Posted by Mark Viviano
