The preferred way for a team to go into the NFL playoffs is with a swagger and a string of wins. That's not the Ravens' style.
They will go into the postseason winning ugly. Forget about style points. The Ravens had to go down to the wire Sunday against the sorry Oakland Raiders.
Some might say the Ravens were lucky to get into the postseason, and others have said they don't deserve to be there. Those people have never played football.
The Ravens are exactly what their record indicates. They are a slightly-above-average team with average talent and one of the five or six best in the AFC. They are playing in the watered-down NFL, where it has become hard to produce 10 good teams a season.
Baltimore fans got caught up in the euphoria from last season, and there were high expectations for 2009, even from those in the Ravens' front office.
But now that the Ravens have clinched their second straight playoff bid for only the second time in the team's brief history, it's all about the big picture.
I've said it several times this season, and it's worth repeating. Since the second week of the season against the San Diego Chargers, the Ravens haven't beaten a good team with a good quarterback, and it was apparent Sunday that they still can't. Oakland quarterback Charlie Frye completed 18 of 25 passes for 180 yards in the first half before being removed because of a back injury.
If Frye can do that to the Ravens, what will Peyton Manning or Carson Palmer do? Are the Ravens really ready for the New England Patriots' Tom Brady?
Despite playing against weak competition recently, the Ravens secondary - we were hoping - had improved enough so that the Ravens could sneak into Foxborough or Indianapolis and pull out a victory.
But Oakland, especially with Frye, riddled the Ravens' secondary with 15- to 20-yard passes. The Ravens' pass rush has improved in recent weeks but not enough to mask problems in the secondary. Even star middle linebacker Ray Lewis has become a liability on passing downs because he can no longer backpedal fast enough or cover one-on-one.
You see other evidence that the Ravens won't last long in the postseason. Penalties will be an issue, even though they weren't for the most part Sunday. Ravens receivers still disappear from big games, and second-year quarterback Joe Flacco looks lost at times. Poor clock management has also been an issue with second-year head coach John Harbaugh.
Despite the problems, the Ravens deserve to be in the playoffs because they're still almost as good as the teams rated above them. Of the team's seven losses, five have been to division winners.
If the Ravens had converted a field goal here, completed a pass there or committed one or two fewer penalties, then we're talking about an 11-5 team.
But let's go deeper than the record and look at the personnel. Offensively, many key starters - Jared Gaither, Ben Grubbs, Michael Oher, Marshal Yanda, Flacco, Ray Rice - are only in their second or third years, two seasons away from being in the prime of their careers. Once the Ravens find a big receiver or two, they could be dominant for quite a while.
On defense, the Ravens have some rebuilding to do. We're aware of the problems in the secondary, but veterans like Lewis, defensive tackle Trevor Pryce and safety Ed Reed had less-than-stellar seasons compared with their own standards. There are several new faces that could become permanent fixtures for next season on all three defensive units.
The Ravens are a team with problems, but name one playoff team that doesn't have any. There were rumors circulating Sunday that Brady has been playing with broken ribs, and slot receiver Wes Welker might miss the opening playoff game because of a knee injury.
Nobody fears the Patriots' defense, and the same can be said about Indianapolis'. San Diego appears to be the media darling of the AFC now, but the Ravens know that the Chargers are soft and overrated.
It's nearly impossible to figure out which two teams will advance to the Super Bowl. There weren't too many people who picked the Arizona Cardinals to appear in the Big Show a year ago.
Anything can happen. Maybe Manning or Brady might get hurt. Or maybe the Ravens step up their game a little.
In the words of former Ravens coach Brian Billick, you would like your team to kick down the door carrying a spear and screaming like a banshee ...
Most of you know the rest.
The Ravens aren't coming in with a lot of noise. In fact, they're just happy to be there. Hopefully, they stay a lot longer than it appears.
Listen to Mike Preston from noon to 2 p.m. Mondays and Fridays on 105.7 FM.