Dear Coach Harbaugh,
Well, John, you made it to the tournament. Somehow.
Forget all the complaining about officiating and bad breaks for the Ravens this year. Outside of East Ruthford, N.J., the Balmer Ravens are the luckiest football team in the NFL. 9-7 to make the playoffs in the AFC? Wasn't it just last season that the New England Patriots ran up an 11-5 record and MISSED the playoffs?
What kind of evil joo-joo did you have to unleash to get your team a rematch with those Pats -- to whom you lost early in the season when your team was still thought to be elite -- on Sunday, John?
The Ravens did prove themselves, John. They proved they are one of the best teams in the NFL, although that doesn't seem to mean as much as it used to in a league that tried for parity and, at least this season, morphed into mediocrity.
All along we've said all you need to do is find some way into the playoffs, though. Look at the Arizona Cardinals last season for proof that a 9-7 team can overcome its deficiencies and make a Super Bowl run. I'd argue that you don't do anything as consistently well as the Cardinals passed the ball last season, John, but you do run the ball extremely well most of the time (No. 5 in the NFL in rushing) and play pretty good defense (No. 3 in total defense while allowing the third-fewest points per game in the league, 16.3). Joe Flacco is also capable of a huge game if his receivers help just a little and the offensive line picks up the blitz.
All this to say, John, that your Ravens actually have a snowball's chance in hell at beating the Pats on Sunday. I actually think they will, and I'm not sure why. New England has a better coach, a battle-tested Hall of Fame quarterback in Tom Brady, a Hall of Fame receiver in Randy Moss, a huge offensive line and a decent defense aided by the scheming of Belichick. And they're playing at home.
But for some reason, John, I feel OK about the matchup. Maybe it's because Wes Welker's knee exploded. Maybe it's because I'm still angry about that's dropped fourth-down pass and the ridiculous roughing penalties the Ravens sustained when rushing Brady that first time around, so I'm assuming the players are angry too and won't let the Pats steal the game again. Maybe I'm trying to talk myself into it because as much as I hate watching your team each week, John, I'm not ready to stop. And maybe I won't have to.
The Ravens are getting healthy at the right time, or at least what amounts to healthy for an NFL team in January. Jared Gaither is back on the left side, which is perhaps the most important development on the injury front. There was a time this season when I thought Michael Oher was ready to play the left side, but recent weeks have changed my mind, perhaps because we're getting late into the season and the man is just flat out tired after playing 16 games. Oher's quickness, easily the most impressive part of his game, has declined as the season has worn on, allowing speed rushers to run around him in recent weeks, never more prominently than against the Packers in Green Bay.
With Gaither -- who should be rested with all the time he's missed due to injury this season -- the offensive line is stronger on the blind side and on the whole, even though they didn't always look it on Sunday against the Raiders.
Getting Ed Reed back is important, but the defense played pretty well without the All-Pro. Working Tom Zbikowski into the game doesn't seem like a bad idea heading into the playoffs, whether it be spelling Reed to prevent him from taking too much punishment or relieving Dawan Landry on occasion so he can think back about his most recent blown coverage.
Speaking of working guys into games, by all means John, continue to work in Willis McGahee. But don't do so by limiting Ray Rice's carries -- just run the football more. Keep Brady off the field, keep your backs fresh, keep Flac out of situations where he may be caught off guard by a Patriot blitz.
Of course if the defense can't stop Brady from moving the chains, Flac will have no choice but to throw. But if the game is close, don't be greedy, John. Run the ball. Use that Pro Bowl backfield and toss in McGahee to add some speed to the mix. Balmer became more of a passing team this season, John, which is understandable given the talent of Flacco. But remember that Flac is still only a second year quarterback and is just as capable of imploding as he is of exploding. Let the best players on your team -- the backs -- win the game for you if you can. It was a return to power football against Oakland that allowed Balmer to get into the playoffs. Don't stray from that now, or I'll only be writing you one more letter this season John.
I know you'd miss me.
Your pal,
ap
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