Hello CTB Citizens,
Your friendly neighborhood self-appointed Bishop here.
Are you awake yet today? I have a feeling many of you are still face-down on Cross Street trying to come out of the coma the Super Bowl induced last night. Stand up! Brush yourself off! I’ve got a hypothesis I need you to consider.
I, on this fine Monday, would like to propose that we just witnessed the greatest post-season of all time.
Let’s review for a moment shall we.
In the Wild Card Playoffs the Ravens took on the Indianapolis Colts. No one thought the Ravens had a chance. It was “Andrew Luck this…” and “Andrew Luck that…” The boys from Baltimore were counted out from the beginning; but this was Ray Lewis’ final home game. No one was going to take it away.
- The Raven’s D completely shut down Andrew Luck’s Colts. Kruger had 2.5 sacks.
- And don’t forget – Joe’s got 3rd and 19 behind his own 10 yard line in the 3rd Quarter. The score is 10 to 6 Ravens. Joe scrambles out of the pocket and tosses a huge bomb down the field to Boldin. Then a minute later, a second huge bomb down the sideline from Flacco to Boldin. The drive ends in a touchdown that broke the game open for the Ravens.
- Then in the 4th Quarter – Boldin on the right side runs a post route. The Colts defender’s hand is under Boldin’s arm reaching up into his face, but still Anquan in a pure show of strength pulls the ball in for a touchdown.
AMAZING GAME! Everyone touted the supremacy of Andrew Luck and the Colts O, but the Ravens rolled over them.
Next came the Division Playoffs in Denver. For sure, the commentators pontificated the Ravens would be done. No one, they said, could withstand the might of Manning at home.
- At the beginning of the game things looked bleak when the Broncos return a punt for a 91 yard touchdown.
- But then Joe tied the game at 7 to 7 with a 59 yard pass to Smith down the middle of the field.
- Later in the 1st came the tag team Chykie Brown / Corey Grahm interception for a touchdown.
- In the 2nd Quarter Tory Smith pulls in a touchdown over Champ Baily tying the game at 21.
- But Denver wasn’t dead. They began the 3rd Quarter with a touchdown return.
- Next huge plays was a Manning sack/fumble. A few plays later Ray Rice drives the ball over 30 yards into the endzone.
- Denver then answered. They marched down the field on penalties. Manning capitalized with a 17 yard touchdown pass.
- BUT WAIT!!! With 31 seconds left in the game, Ravens down by 7, Flacco unleashed a 70 yard miracle to Jacoby Jones sending the game into overtime.
- Game ends in the second overtime with a Manning interception and a 47 yard kick by Justin Tucker.
They called it a miracle game. Many said it was the greatest playoff game in history…a good way for Ray to end his career. No one guessed what was coming next week.
AFC Conference Championship. Everything seemed to be against the Ravens: New England Patriots at home; Tom Brady, an unstoppable post season force, one of the greatest quarterbacks in history; 2011 AFC Championship game lost hanging over the Ravens head. No one outside of the B-More believed the Ravens had a chance. The commentators proclaimed Brady to be a football god. As far as they were concerned, the game was over before it began.
- At half-time the Ravens were trailing 13-7. This is significant because Brady was undefeated in post-season play when leading at half-time. It looked as if all the predictions of Patriots domination were going to come true.
- But Joe would not be put down. In the second half he threw for 240 yards and put 21 unanswered points on the board.
- And the defense…oh the beautiful, beautiful defense held the Patriots scoreless. That’s right! They shut the great Tom Brady down completely. No points for you Tom!
- My favorite moment was the first play of the 4th Quarter. Boldin caught a touchdown pass with two Patriots hanging on them. The camera zoomed in on his face and he was laughing at the defenders. Pointing and laughing! That was the moment I knew the Ravens had the game in the bag.
- Then the power of Pollard caused a fumble, Ellerbe intercepted, and Williams ended with game with a final pick.
Everyone at CBS was shocked. They didn’t know what to say. The great Tom Brady had fallen to Lewis and his band-o-brothers. The taste of victory was sweet!
Then there was last night. Ray’s final ride. Super Bowl XLVII. Once again, pregame commentators overwhelming pick the 49ers. Even after the Ravens destroyed Manning, even after they silenced Brady, the announcers didn’t get it. “They won’t be able to handle Kaepernick’s speed,” they proclaimed. How wrong they were.
- At first it looked like the game would be a one-sided route. In the 1st Quarter Joe to Boldin over the middle put 7 on the board. Then Kruger sacked Kaepernick in the red-zone forcing a field goal.
- Things really started to fly in the 2nd Quarter. Jones got the first turnover of the game. Flacco to Pitta for 7. Reed grabbed an interception. Tucker tried to fake a field goal. Flacco dropped a huge bomb to Jones who shake-n-baked his way into the end zone.
- To start the 2nd Half Jones returned the kickoff for a touchdown. I felt like the game was over. They put the camera on Kaepernick and he looked like a lost little kid…but then the lights went out.
- The 30 minute break gave the 49ers a second wind and Kaepernick put 17 unanswered points up. Flacco was sacked. Nata went out with an injury. Ray Rice fumbled. Things seemed to be falling apart for the Ravens.
- But we would not go quietly into the night. Oh no! The Ravens were not done. Joe drove down the field for a field goal.
- Kaepernick answered with the longest touchdown run by a Quarterback in Super Bowl history.
- The game ended as it should have. Ray’s defense made a goal line stand, stopping a hard driving Niners short of the touchdown.
I submit these event for you to review as evidence. The Ravens just gave us the greatest fuckin’ post-season story in history; and I didn’t even have to get into whole brother vs brother story-line, or the dude in a wheel chair we-won-this-one-for-you deal.
Seriously CTB Citizens, this post-season has been like watching a blockbuster movie. Revel in it for a moment. Soak it in. You couldn’t have written a script better than this one. Incredible stuff.
Thank you Ravens. This is a run Baltimore will remember forever. I will be telling my grand-kids about it.
You can’t make this shit up.