Ravens Dark Horse Super Bowl Contenders, Harbaugh Underrated
By Brett Foote
Sep 28, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) celebrates with fans from the stands after defeating the Carolina Panthers 38-10 at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-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 explore the notion that the Ravens could be dark horse Super Bowl contenders, why John Harbaugh is underrated, and look at the latest NFL quarterback power rankings.
Ravens Dark Horse Super Bowl Contenders?
The Ravens had a relatively shaky start against the undefeated Bengals in the opener, and won a game against the Browns that went down to the wire. But following those two games, the Ravens have blown out both the Steelers and the Panthers.
Chris Simms at Bleacher Report thinks that this team has the talent on both sides of the ball to contend for a Super Bowl, and even goes so far as to call them the best team in the AFC in the video below. We are certainly optimistic with the Raven’s prospects, but we won’t go that far yet.
Is John Harbaugh the Most Underrated Coach in the NFL?
In another B/R video, Chris Simms calls out John Harbaugh as one of the most underrated coaches in the NFL. We absolutely agree, and he just doesn’t get enough credit for taking this team to the playoffs consistently along with winning the Super Bowl just two years ago.
We also like that B/R recognizes Bruce Arians. Arians turned around a downtrodden Cardinals team that seems to win no matter who is on their roster. Like Harbaugh, Arians is getting consistency out of his teams, which is one of the ultimate gauges of coaching effectiveness.
NFL Quarterback Power Rankings, Week 4
Another guy that isn’t getting enough credit is Joe Flacco, who was absolutely lights out against the Panthers and is steadily improving each week. Flacco has had a solid career overall, but now he is reaping the benefits of working with noted quarterback whisperer Gary Kubiak.
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B/R has Flacco moving up two spots this week to number 18 in it’s NFL quarterback rankings. For whatever reason, he is still behind the likes of Alex Smith (who has been playing well, admittedly), and Tom Brady (who has been awful). Cam Newton is right up there as well despite posting some fairly mediocre numbers.
Flacco looks primed to have another great performance against an underwhelming Colts defense on Sunday. Even though the Ravens defense has played well so far, expect a potential shootout as Andrew Luck will create problems for the Ravens questionable secondary.