Many Marquee Matchups For The Ravens In 2011
By Riley B
Next season, there will be a number of intense games that are more meaningful than any other regular season game. Some are new found rivalries, and others have long storied histories that span generations. Players will collide and titans will clash as some of these headline games will make their way to televisions across the U.S..
v.s. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts return to the city they were founded in for a matchup that means a lot to the residents of Baltimore. Many can still remember that gloomy day when Bob Irsay closed the Mayflower truck’s doors, and set forth for Indianapolis (Bastard!) . In a series where the Colts lead 9-2, many Ravens’ fans and players still seek revenge towards the town that stole our team. We still want our colors back!
v.s. New York Jets
A great game to kick off Monday Night Football and one of my personal favorites from last year. The Jets were one of the most physical opponents the Ravens faced last year, other than the Steelers. Stemming back to ’69 where Broadway Joe lead the Jets to the biggest upset in NFL history against the Baltimore Colts, the Jets and Ravens rivalry was non-existent until Rex Ryan, Jim Leonard, and Bart Scott joined the Jets two years back. As Terrell Suggs said, “It’s the student v.s. the teacher” with Rex Ryan being the teacher and the Ravens’ D being the students. In a game that should pick up right where it left off last year (Ray Lewis jacking up Dustin Keller), I expect a hard hitting, smash mouth, football game that will be decided by a field goal.
v.s. San Francisco 49ers
Little and Big Brother, Jim and John Harbaugh, meet in the same town where Jim quarterbacked the Ravens in 1998. The pair are the first brothers to be head coaches in the National Football League. Although currently the teams seem to be unfairly matched, expect both the Ravens and 49ers to play their hearts out in order to give their coach bragging rights at Thanksgiving dinner.
at Tennessee Titans
The two juggernauts who battled it out three times in the Ravens’ Superbowl winning season face each other again in a game that should be fun to watch. In Joe Flacco’s rookie season, the Ravens and Titans played twice, including the AFC Divisional Playoffs where the Ravens defeated them on a controversial drive led by Joe Flacco where a delay of game penalty was never called. Look for the Ravens and Titans to slug it out again in what should be a great game.
v.s. / at Pittsburgh Steelers
Need I say more? The most intense, heated, hardest hitting event the NFL has to offer. You know what to expect when you tune in to a Ravens/Steelers matchup. My only question is, when will the Ravens finally beat them? And I mean with their starting quarterback. Hopefully the Ravens can reverse the curse that the Steelers have seemed to put on them over the past few years.