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RAVENS AT BENGALSSunday, January 1 | 1:00 pm EST |
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It’s kinda weird to see two perennial division rivals (each with impressive playoff qualifying credentials over the past decade) finishing up the 2016 season with absolutely nothing on the line.
Oh sure, there’s the pride factor— and some backup players are going to put out max effort in order to put impressive tape on their resumes— but at the end of the game, both head coaches will have to endure countless questions from their respective hometown media reps asking “What went wrong?” in 2016.
The Bengals’ answer (5-9-1) will be too many injuries to key players and too many turnovers in tight games.
The Ravens’ answer (8-7) will be too many defensive breakdowns when trying to finish games where they either had the lead or were within striking distance.
Dean Pees, the Ravens defense coordinator, said his players get nervous about being the person that gets beat down the stretch, which makes them play too tentatively. He says they have to play loose in two-minute defenses, just like they do through the rest of the game.
Easier said than done, I suppose.
Entering Sunday’s game in Cincinnati, the Ravens are officially out of the playoff hunt. The Ravens and Bengals will face each other in Week 17 in Cincinnati for the fifth time in six years. This time, at least as far as the playoffs are concerned, it’s meaningless—for both teams.
For Ravens HC John Harbaugh, it’s a chance to move to 9-7 –– simple as that. The Ravens have had one winning season (2014) since hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in 2012. They went 8-8 in 2013, 10-6 in 2014 and 5-11 in 2015.
“We want to go win the game. We want one more win on the resume for sure,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what we’re working toward, to play our best football on Sunday. That’s our goal.”
“We’re professionals. This is what we do,” Joe Flacco said. “This is what we love to do, number one. … It’s another chance to go out there and play the game we love. I couldn’t be more excited about it.”
Hmmm…methinks Joe doth protest too much!! Easy there, Joe— without Rick Wagner at RT (concussion protocol), you better watch your back—and front—and side!
Here’s an “Awwwww” quote from T-Sizzle: “Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs reiterated Wednesday that he will be back for a 15th season in 2017, but he also knows that there won’t be too many games left.
“A lot of our Sundays are numbered,” Suggs said. “All of them are to be cherished.”
“A lot is riding on what you are as a person,” safety Eric Weddle said. “Your character is on the line. You have to come out and fight and show what you are all about when nothing is on the line. You learn a lot about your teammates. You know, do you really love the game?”
Weddle also talked about the defense’s desire to have a strong performance after a tough three-game stretch to finish the season, especially in the loss in Pittsburgh. There’s ending the Bengals’ four-year home winning streak versus the Ravens.
Then, at the end of the day, there’s just the feeling of winning.
“I’m very competitive. I don’t really like to lose,” Suggs said. “We want to win at all costs. We fell a little short [last week] and we’re disappointed, but we definitely don’t want our last game as a 2016 team to go down as a loss. We really want to win it.”
Okay, I’ll buy into the thought that the taste of winning is a really important thing to develop, especially for the younger players who may get extended reps in this game. But for the sake of common sense, I hope guys like Flacco, Suggs and Weddle are looking on from the sidelines for most of the game, if you are seriously thinking about bringing guys like that back for another run in 2017.
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