Filmstudy
11-26-2006, 11:38 PM
Let's define "impressive" before we begin:
1. Big win by points
2. Over a good team
3. Bonus for doing it on the road
4. Great comebacks need not apply
5. I don't care if the game meant nothing to us
To start, I think it's their most impressive shutout.
The Ravens have administered 9 shutouts, but the only team among those that outscored their opponents for the season or had a winning record was the 2000 Steelers who went 9-7. Their other shutouts:
3 bad Cincy teams at home 99-01
2 bad Browns teams at Clev., 00 and 03
1 terrible Cowboy squad 00
TB in the opener 06
Subjectively, I'd say this Pitt team is better than the team they fielded in the 2000 opener (Graham at QB, remember?), but that Pitt team came back to beat us in Baltimore and finish 9-7 with a 321-255 edge in points, and that shutout was on the road.
Other impressive regular-season non-shutouts:
1996-1998 Their most impressive win in this entire period was a 31-17 home win on a soggy field in 1996 vs. Pitt. I can't put that in the same league as the one today.
1999 41-14 Drubbing of Tennessee who would go on to win the AFC
2000 Amazingly, that team had no one-sided wins vs. good teams, although they beat the crap out of a lot of bad teams.
2001 26-7 win over Tennessee at home in week 4 was most one-sided win, and that Tenn team was not good enough. They also beat Chicago 17-6 in week 1 before anyone had an idea they would be pretty good.
2002 IMO, the win over Denver on Monday night 34-23 ranks among their most surprising results, and the first half (31-3, capped my the McAlister return) was probably the most dominant half ever played in the regular season.
2003 26-6 blasting of Denver looks good on the surface, but they started their 3rd string QB in the game. The 2 wins over Cleveland were both very impressive defensive efforts (Jamal's 295 game, then the 35-0 shutout at Cleveland), but that Cleveland team was very bad.
2004 The 30-13 win over Pitt in week 2 was the season's most impressive win. They ran the ball 9 straight times on the first drive. Tommy Maddox was knocked out by the Ravens in that game, ushering in the Big Ben era in Pitt, and a season that would not see Pitt lose again.
2005 GB finished 4-12 and was outscored by their opponents by 46 points on the year, but the Ravens contributed 45 of that in their 48-3 Monday night win. This has to go in the big win vs. a bad team category for me, and the team benefited from Aaron Rodgers frist significant NFL playing time.
OK, for what it's worth, here is my top 5 for the regular season:
1. 1999 Tennessee 41-14 at home
2. 2006 Pitt 27-0 at home
3. 2000 Pitt 16-0 at Pitt
4. 2004 Pittsburgh 30-13 at home
5. 2003 Cleveland 35-0 in Cleveland
Add in the Post season and it looks a lot different:
1. SB XXXV 34-7. Let's see, we beat a very good team by 27 at a neutral site. Forget the importance of this game, the Ravens have never beat anyone this good, this thoroughly. Boring answer, but think how lucky we are to have our most dominating ever performance come in the franchise's biggest ever game.
2. 2000 at Oakland for the AFC championship. A 5-turnover defensive throttling that is not accurately reflected in the 13-point win. I know you are going to say the game was in "doubt" till Sharper's interception in the final minutes, but the Ravens then ran the ball right down the Raiders throat for 2 FD's that closed out the game.
3. 1999 Tennessee
4. 2001 20-3 win over Miami in the playoffs. A good team, beaten by 17 on the road. In no other game in their history have the Ravens beaten a team with a winning record by 17 or more on the road.
5. 2000 21-3 trashing of Denver in the playoffs. Wow, that was some playoff run.
6. Honorable mention to today's Pitt game.
1. Big win by points
2. Over a good team
3. Bonus for doing it on the road
4. Great comebacks need not apply
5. I don't care if the game meant nothing to us
To start, I think it's their most impressive shutout.
The Ravens have administered 9 shutouts, but the only team among those that outscored their opponents for the season or had a winning record was the 2000 Steelers who went 9-7. Their other shutouts:
3 bad Cincy teams at home 99-01
2 bad Browns teams at Clev., 00 and 03
1 terrible Cowboy squad 00
TB in the opener 06
Subjectively, I'd say this Pitt team is better than the team they fielded in the 2000 opener (Graham at QB, remember?), but that Pitt team came back to beat us in Baltimore and finish 9-7 with a 321-255 edge in points, and that shutout was on the road.
Other impressive regular-season non-shutouts:
1996-1998 Their most impressive win in this entire period was a 31-17 home win on a soggy field in 1996 vs. Pitt. I can't put that in the same league as the one today.
1999 41-14 Drubbing of Tennessee who would go on to win the AFC
2000 Amazingly, that team had no one-sided wins vs. good teams, although they beat the crap out of a lot of bad teams.
2001 26-7 win over Tennessee at home in week 4 was most one-sided win, and that Tenn team was not good enough. They also beat Chicago 17-6 in week 1 before anyone had an idea they would be pretty good.
2002 IMO, the win over Denver on Monday night 34-23 ranks among their most surprising results, and the first half (31-3, capped my the McAlister return) was probably the most dominant half ever played in the regular season.
2003 26-6 blasting of Denver looks good on the surface, but they started their 3rd string QB in the game. The 2 wins over Cleveland were both very impressive defensive efforts (Jamal's 295 game, then the 35-0 shutout at Cleveland), but that Cleveland team was very bad.
2004 The 30-13 win over Pitt in week 2 was the season's most impressive win. They ran the ball 9 straight times on the first drive. Tommy Maddox was knocked out by the Ravens in that game, ushering in the Big Ben era in Pitt, and a season that would not see Pitt lose again.
2005 GB finished 4-12 and was outscored by their opponents by 46 points on the year, but the Ravens contributed 45 of that in their 48-3 Monday night win. This has to go in the big win vs. a bad team category for me, and the team benefited from Aaron Rodgers frist significant NFL playing time.
OK, for what it's worth, here is my top 5 for the regular season:
1. 1999 Tennessee 41-14 at home
2. 2006 Pitt 27-0 at home
3. 2000 Pitt 16-0 at Pitt
4. 2004 Pittsburgh 30-13 at home
5. 2003 Cleveland 35-0 in Cleveland
Add in the Post season and it looks a lot different:
1. SB XXXV 34-7. Let's see, we beat a very good team by 27 at a neutral site. Forget the importance of this game, the Ravens have never beat anyone this good, this thoroughly. Boring answer, but think how lucky we are to have our most dominating ever performance come in the franchise's biggest ever game.
2. 2000 at Oakland for the AFC championship. A 5-turnover defensive throttling that is not accurately reflected in the 13-point win. I know you are going to say the game was in "doubt" till Sharper's interception in the final minutes, but the Ravens then ran the ball right down the Raiders throat for 2 FD's that closed out the game.
3. 1999 Tennessee
4. 2001 20-3 win over Miami in the playoffs. A good team, beaten by 17 on the road. In no other game in their history have the Ravens beaten a team with a winning record by 17 or more on the road.
5. 2000 21-3 trashing of Denver in the playoffs. Wow, that was some playoff run.
6. Honorable mention to today's Pitt game.