Don Pierson

The Baltimore Ravens are the most overlooked 12-3 team in recent NFL history. Everybody talks about the 13-2 San Diego Chargers in the AFC. Nobody remembers the Ravens beat them.

Nobody outside Baltimore, that is. In Baltimore, they are beginning to get out the scrapbooks from that Super Bowl year of 2000 and see if there are any empty pages. This is a team that looks every bit as good.

The Ravens aren't quite so intimidating on defense, but they still lead the league in fewest points allowed. And their offense is better than it was in 2000. Running back Jamal Lewis might not be as powerful as he was as a rookie, but quarterback Steve McNair is much better than journeyman Trent Dilfer.

It was McNair's addition that has made the biggest difference in a team that fell to 6-10 last season and began the year with the kind of questions that usually end up getting coaches fired.

Instead, Brian Billick has come up with his most impressive coaching job yet, firing offensive coordinator Jim Fassel and taking over the play-calling after the Ravens hit a two-game skid in October. Since then, the Ravens have won eight of nine games, scoring at least 20 points in all but their 13-7 loss at Cincinnati.

With a defense that gives up only 12 points a game, the math suggests the Ravens don't need a genius calling plays to score two touchdowns a game. With McNair, the Ravens are never out of a game. He's the king of doing what it takes to get a team into an end zone under pressure. Sometimes, he seems to save his best work for last.

With one game to go against Buffalo to assure a playoff bye, the Ravens are honing in on January and they don't care if they remain under the radar. It only fuels the fire that linebacker Ray Lewis still brings to any huddle.

"With the type of defense we play and the way our offense is clicking right now, we're going to be a hard team to beat in the playoffs," Lewis said.

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Lewis doesn't care if you take that as promise or threat.

"I think this team really believes we've still got our best football ahead of us," Billick said. "There's only one reason to go to the playoffs and that's to get to the Super Bowl. You're not going to have anybody just happy to be there. We're earned that right to think in those terms. Our focus is Buffalo, but we're at that point in the season where the Super Bowl is why you're in this thing."

If the Ravens have to go to San Diego for the AFC title game, they know that defense travels well. They beat the Chargers 16-13 in Baltimore in Week 4 in a game San Diego fans thought marked the end of conservative Martyball by coach Marty Schottenheimer. If the Chargers think they're better now, the Ravens say bring them on.

The Ravens of 2000 forced more turnovers, 49 to 37. But the Ravens of 2006 have more sacks, 57 to 35. In their last five games, the Ravens have out-sacked opponents 27-1. That means McNair isn't taking the beatings that have marked his career.

While the Ravens of 2000 had only one receiver with more than 60 catches (tight end Shannon Sharper), the Ravens of 2006 have three (tight end Todd Heap, 68; and receivers Mark Clayton, 65, and Derrick Mason, 63). Plus, they have rookie Demetrius Williams, whose 20 catches for a 19.1 average gives McNair a serious deep threat.

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Jamal Lewis is rushing at a pedestrian 3.6-yard clip compared to 4.4 as a rookie, but he's over 1,000 yards and the Ravens can also bring Musa Smith and Mike Anderson. With McNair, they no longer need to rely on a one-dimensional offense as much as they did in 2000.

The Ravens' three losses have been to Denver 13-3, Carolina 23-21 and Cincinnati 13-7. They dismantled defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh twice, 27-0 and 31-7. The only team to score more than 13 points against them in the last six games was Cleveland in a 27-17 Baltimore win.

In the Aikman ratings, which many teams follow more closely than NFL ratings, the Ravens rank No. 2 to San Diego in combined offense and defense, but nobody beats Baltimore's defense. The Aikman ratings, named after Hall of Fame quarterback Troy, combine more statistics than the league rankings, which include only yardage. A formula assigns a number to performance, much like the league's complex passer rating.

Barring a collapse against Buffalo, the Ravens will become the third defensive unit in 12 years to top the 90.0 mark in the defensive Aikman rankings. The record of 101.0 by the 2000 Ravens appears safe, but this year's Baltimore team (at 92.8) is running ahead of the 2002 Buccaneers (91.6) for second place. 

The Chargers and the Ravens are running 1-2 now in the Aikman combined rankings. The balanced New England Patriots are third. Fourth are the Jacksonville Jaguars, ahead of the first NFC team, the Chicago Bears. The Indianapolis Colts are sixth, giving the AFC five of the top six Aikman teams.

It looks like an AFC year again, with so many good teams that one of the best, Baltimore, gets lost in the shuffle. That's OK. The Ravens still have plenty of time to get noticed.

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