Samari Rolle (right) did a god job summing up tonight's game against the Patriots when he called it the Ravens' Super Bowl.
Just as Army could have salvaged a losing season with a win over archrival Navy (it didn't), a victory for Baltimore (4-7) tonight would be a moral triumph of epic proportions. And it would, indeed, be historic.
When Miami stopped the 1985 Bears, 38-24, it was also in a Monday night game (on Dec. 2 with Chicago on a 12-game winning streak). Of course, the Dan Marino-led Dolphins were pretty good themselves. Miami was 8-4 at the time on the way to a 12-4 record. The game was in Miami and a bunch of guys from the '72 Dolphins were at the game. Tonight, former Dolphins coach Don Shula will be ESPN's visitor in the broadcast booth.
But the '07 Ravens are not the '85 Dolphins. There will be no Dan Marino standing behind center for the Ravens. Whatever hopes Baltimore -- an 18- to 19-point underdog -- may harbor of upsetting New England (11-0) will rest with its defense, particularly the front seven, and perhaps, its running game. And the weather. The game-time forecast is for temperatures in the high 30s and a stiff wind of about 13 mph. Not as blustery as this afternoon when the wind has been kicking up to near 20 mph but still windy enough, perhaps enough to bother Tom Brady a bit and make him miss an open receiver or two. Of course, the same wind could blow Matt Stover field-goal attempts off course as well.
Emotions will be running high at the outset but as the game drags on, as the cold sets in, it's talent and the will to win that takes over. Let's be honest, we know where the advantage lies as far as talent is concerned. And so the equalizer for the Ravens will have to be all those intangibles. From Ray Lewis and company, I think we can count on one intangible at the beginning -- passion. But in the end, there's another less obvious but more important quality the Ravens need to exhibit to win tonight -- and that's steadfast perseverance.
Photo credit: Christopher T. Assaf/Sun
