Baltimore Ravens Are The Best Team No One Is Talking About

Aug 23, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) runs with the ball against the Washington Redskins at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to Lunchtime Links, where we round up all the latest Ravens news from around the web for your convenient consumption.  Today we discuss why the Ravens are one of the best teams no one is talking about, look at preseason report card grades for the preseason, find out the latest Vegas line for game 1, and look back on some preseason stats.

Baltimore Ravens, best team under the radar?

When you compare the preseason hype for all 32 NFL teams, the Ravens certainly aren’t near the top by any means.  And the guys at Bleacher Report agree, naming the team as one of the best teams no one is talking about (except maybe us). In the video, they name the addition of Gary Kubiak, Joe Flacco’s arm, the strong defensive front seven, and solid coaching staff while making a case for the under the radar team.

We couldn’t agree more. But flying under the radar is a good thing for an NFL team, in our humble opinion. When the pressure from the media is on other teams, the Ravens are better off. The problem is, when the wins start piling up, attention will inevitably shift their way. But for now all is quiet, which is probably just the way the Ravens like it.

Ravens Preseason Report Card

Also at Bleacher Report, Russell S. Baxter is handing out preseason report cards for all 32 NFL teams.  The Ravens received a glowing A+ from Baxter, and he points out that it would be hard to have a much better summer than the team has had.  The organization did seem to address every issue that plagued it during a tumultuous 2013 on its way to a perfect preseason.

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But going undefeated is nothing new for the team, who have achieved preseason perfection five times since 1998.  The Ravens rushing performance was very encouraging, as was the dominance of their defensive front at times. While preseason success doesn’t always translate into regular season success, there are bits and pieces to get excited about.

Ravens early favorites over Bengals

The Ravens aren’t flying under the radar with Vegas oddsmakers, and are currently the early favorites over the Cincinnati Bengals in week 1.  Even though the Bengals (for some reason) have better odds of winning the AFC North.  At least they got this one right.

Ravens have leading rusher and scorer in preseason

And in case you are still interested in preseason stats, the Ravens had both the leading rusher and scorer in fake games. We aren’t surprised about either, seeing as how Taliaferro got a lot of carries, and Tucker had a ton of opportunities while the second and third team offenses often stalled in the red zone.