NFL Teams Betting - Baltimore Ravens - AFC North

Bright if Boller lifts his game a notch or two. He has more weapons than ever and a new coordinator ready to let him loose. If he can double his 13 touchdown throws of a year ago the Ravens are in the playoffs. Although Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are a year older, the Ravens are still strong contenders after going undefeated at home last season and sweeping the AFC North. Getting back to within one game of the Super Bowl will be an arduous challenge, however, as the Ravens face the leagues fourth toughest schedule. Baltimore faces 11 quarterbacks whove been named to the Pro Bowl, have consecutive games against Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, and play eight games against playoff teams.

Convinced that the Ravens are on the verge of reaching the Super Bowl, owner Steve Bisciotti issued a quick reply when asked what the AFC North champions needed to do to make it to the big game: “Hold on to a ball.” Bisciotti was referring to Lee Evans dropping a potential game-winning touchdown in a bitter AFC title game loss also remembered for kicker Billy Cundiff misfiring on a short field goal.

Although middle linebacker Ray Lewis and free safety Ed Reed are a year older, the Ravens are still contenders on the heels of a 12–4 campaign in which they went undefeated at home and swept the division.

“Teams like the Patriots and Steelers are older than we are,” Bisciotti says. “I don’t see age being a window-closer.”

Getting back to within one game of the Super Bowl will be an arduous challenge. The Ravens face the fourth-most difficult schedule in the NFL. They face 11 quarterbacks who’ve been named to the Pro Bowl — including consecutive games against Peyton Manning and Eli Manning — and eight games against playoff teams from a year ago. “It’s a tough schedule, but it’s a schedule for the Baltimore Ravens,” cornerback Lardarius Webb says. “It makes us work a little harder.”