| | Ravens swagger into divisional playoffs
By Wayne Drehs
ESPN.com
MIAMI -- Shannon Sharpe was merely speaking the truth, keeping it real, as they like to say. His biggest disappointment during his team's three-day stay in South Florida? Not being able to get a morning massage before Sunday's wild card game against the Dolphins.
"I couldn't get one," Sharpe said. "They were booked."
|  | | Baltimore's defense held the Dolphins to 134 total yards. |
Sharpe had already become accustomed to such treatments in Florida. Head coach Brian Billick brought the Ravens here an extra day early -- even letting them tear it up in South Beach -- in hopes that the cocky swagger that carried the Ravens through last year's postseason would return.
Judging by Sunday's 20-3 drubbing of the favored Dolphins, the superstar pampering treatment worked.
"Man, we got the massage, the body scrub, the manicure, all that stuff," Sharpe said of his memorable Friday night relaxation regime. "And no curfew on Friday night? Brian let us be us. I mean how many teams would be trusted to handle that? So c'mon, we had to win."
And with the win came a warning message for AFC contenders: Forget the 10-6 imposters from the regular season, and the team you saw last Monday night, because the group you saw on Sunday, the one that was brash and brazen off the field and backed it all up on the field, is the real Baltimore team. The same as last year.
You remember last year? The group that paraded through the playoffs like it was their own house party, dancing, jawing and intimidating their way to the championship. This year is no different. The goals are the same: Run the football, don't turn it over and let the defense do the rest.
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Getting Defensive
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The Ravens' win over the Dolphins looks eerily similar to Baltimore's victory over Denver in last year's Wild Card round. The Ravens did not allow a touchdown in either game and allowed only allowed nine first downs in both games, and Baltimore was even better in the turnover and sack categories against the Dolphins.
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'00 vs. DEN
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'01 vs. MIA
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Pts. all.
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3
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3
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Total yds. all.
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177
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151
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1st downs all.
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9
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9
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Takeaways
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1
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3
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Sacks
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4
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3
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So far, it's worked. Billick is 5-0 in the postseason, the second-best start ever. And the 2001 Ravens were the only road team to win on a lopsided wild-card weekend.
"What does it mean? That we're the best of the road teams," Sharpe said. "We have the trophy, remember?"
No NFL team has won three road playoff games en route to a Super Bowl championship. This year, that's the goal. And just to maintain a sense of continuity from last year's run, the Ravens again have adopted the "No Respect" mantra as their driving force.
Led by Billick, Baltimore spent much of Sunday's postgame crying that nobody loved them.
"I almost told our bus driver on the way here, just go straight to the airport," Billick said. "Playing the 4 o'clock game on Sunday, we got to listen to all the conjecture. And the overwhelming opinion was that we don't have any business showing up for the game today. So just take us to the airport, so we can beat all the postgame traffic and head back home."
Somehow, such words never came out of Billick's mouth. And five hours later, his team was pointing and saying, 'I told you so.'
"We like being the dogs. We like it when they tell us how bad we are, when they tell us we don't belong," veteran defensive tackle Tony Siragusa said. "Because that challenges your self-respect."
It was a challenge the Ravens had little trouble answering on Sunday. From the very start, the Ravens seemed to have that bounce in their postseason step. There was Ray Lewis, egging on the heckling Miami crowd some 55 minutes before game time. There was Woodson, standing nearby, and doing much of the same. And as the final minute ticked away, there was Sharpe, moaning to the crowd that the game was out of reach and yet the Dolphins were throwing the football.
"Man, can we just go home?" Sharpe yelled to anyone near the Ravens bench who would listen. "I mean, come on already. Some of these guys want to get back and see their kids."
The formula that brought Baltimore to that point was no secret. Everyone knew they wanted to run the football. Everyone knew they weren't going to take chances in the passing game. And everyone knew the defense was going to fly to the ball and smack people around.
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“ |
We heard the talk the last couple weeks. Everybody wanted to play the Ravens in the postseason because we weren't that good. Well, Miami had a shot. Failed. Now Pittsburgh gets its shot. And we'll see. ” |
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— Rod Woodson, Ravens safety |
And yet the Dolphins still could do nothing. Despite the absence of 1,300-yard rusher Jamal Lewis, who has been out for the year with a torn ACL, Baltimore rushed for a team playoff-record 226 yards against the NFL's fifth-best defense.
Though they dominated the ground game, running the ball 50 times, the biggest Miami back breaker -- similar to last year -- was a 45-yard strike from Elvis Grbac to Travis Taylor on 3rd-and-1 from their own 10-yard line. The Ravens went on to score, capping a 99-yard drive with a four-yard pass from Grbac to Taylor. But it was the sudden aerial attack that shocked the Dolphins, who were smelling, looking and defending the run.
"It was demoralizing," said Miami cornerback Patrick Surtain, who was beaten on the play. "It switched the momentum. If we could have made them punt, then we would have had good field position. Our offense could have done something."
Don't bet on it. The Ravens defense, led by Woodson, Lewis and Peter Boulware, flew around the field like crazed banshees on Sunday, not only physically dominating the Dolphins, but forcing turnovers as well. Miami fumbled twice and had another pass intercepted.
The Dolphins' only score came courtesy of a fumble by Jermaine Lewis on the opening kickoff, which gave Miami the ball at the Baltimore 24. Four plays, nine yards and one 33-yard field goal later, and Miami had its only points of the game.
When the numbers were tallied at the end, the Dolphins would muster 151 total yards, their second-lowest output in postseason history. And just like the Broncos, Titans and Raiders of last year, the Dolphins went home wondering what went wrong.
"We came out ready to play. We had the enthusiasm and the energy," Miami coach Dave Wannstedt said. "I think that we were just unable to gain any confidence as the game went on. I don't know why. I was surprised. We are obviously a much better team than we showed tonight."
The Ravens seem to have that effect on people. Since last Monday night's ugly win over the Vikings, such is what Ray Lewis promised -- that the offense would go conservative, the defense would again dominate and the Ravens would have the inside track to the Super Bowl. One game in, he's right.
"It's the easiest formula for success in the NFL," Sharpe said. "If we don't turn it over, we're tough to beat. We like our chances. You think you gonna drive 80 yards on that defense and beat us? Good luck."
And so, AFC playoff contenders, beware. Caution to Pittsburgh, New England and Oakland -- the swagger is back. The bounce is back. The mantra is back. And the Ravens are again starting to feel like they can't be beaten.
"We heard the talk the last couple weeks. Everybody wanted to play the Ravens in the postseason because we weren't that good," Woodson said. "Well, Miami had a shot. Failed. Now Pittsburgh gets its shot. And we'll see."
Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com.
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