NOTES: "FLACCO'S ELEVEN"

By Joe Platania

OWINGS MILLS -- With the Ravens advancing to play in Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3 in New Orleans, they have reached uncharted territory.

For one thing, Baltimore was one of a pair of road teams that swept the conference championship games, or their nearest equivalent, for only the fourth time during the 47-year Super Bowl era.

Denver and Green Bay turned the trick in 1997, as did Buffalo and Dallas in 1992 and -- under the old AFL-NFL title-game format -- Green Bay and Kansas City in 1966, the first season to conclude with a Super Bowl.

Not only that, but the two quarterbacks that will start the Super Bowl -- Delaware product Joe Flacco and Nevada-bred Colin Kaepernick -- are only the second big-game tandem who played in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).

The first was the Kurt Warner-Steve McNair duo that tangled during Super Bowl XXXIV; they respectively attended Northern Iowa and Alcorn State.

The Ravens were also the last visiting team to play in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome before Hurricane Katrina leveled New Orleans in 2005. They are now the first AFC team to play in a Super Bowl there since the Crescent City was restored to the championship rotation.

But besides those rarities, plenty of coincidences to Baltimore's 2000 championship run keep popping up. On top of the list of scary parallels we compiled a few weeks ago, here are a few more:

- The offensive coordinator for the 2000 Ravens, Matt Cavanaugh, participated in two Super Bowls (XIX with San Francisco, XXV with the New York Giants) and never got on the field because he was a backup quarterback during both games. This year's coordinator, Jim Caldwell, participated in two Super Bowls while working on the Indianapolis coaching staff and, naturally, never got on the field.

- Once again, the Ravens will be facing a Super Bowl quarterback who, while in college, played against the University of Maryland. Kerry Collins, the New York Giants' starter in 2000, was on three Penn State teams that beat Maryland during the early '90s, while Kaepernick and his Nevada side fell to the Terps, 42-35, during the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl, which was played on the blue turf at Boise State.

- The 2012 Ravens will be facing an opponent that has never lost the big game; San Francisco has won all five of its Super Bowl appearances. In 2000, the Ravens faced a New York Giants team that, at the time, was 2-0 during Super Bowls.

- In 2000, as they will to close the 2012 season, the Ravens played in a Super Bowl hosted by a present-day NFC South Division team (Tampa in 2000, New Orleans in 2012), even though the present-day divisional lineup was not established until the 2002 realignment.

- During the AFC Championship Game win at Oakland, the 2000 team forced five Raiders turnovers and gave the ball away twice itself, a margin of plus-3. Sunday, this year's Ravens also won the turnover battle against New England with a plus-3 ratio (no giveaways, three takeaways).

- During the 2012 playoffs, the Ravens were the only AFC team to win a road postseason game, emerging victorious at Denver and New England. In 2000, Baltimore was also the only AFC visiting squad to win in the playoffs, taking wins at Tennessee and Oakland.

- In 2000, the Ravens' starting free safety (Rod Woodson) ended his career with 71 interceptions, among the league's top 10. This year, the Ravens' starting free safety (Ed Reed) has 61 career pickoffs, also among the 10 best.

- The Super Bowl XXXV-winning team featured a Defensive Player of the Year (Ray Lewis) playing in the big game near his hometown (Lakeland, Fla.). This year, the 2004 award winner (Reed) will be participating in a Super Bowl near his hometown (St. Rose, La.).

- In 2000, the fourth-seeded Ravens were seeded ahead of only Denver and Indianapolis, the two franchises they defeated this year to get to the Super Bowl.

***

And, in case you missed it, here is the earlier list of 2000-2012 coincidences:

- During the 2000 regular season, the Ravens lost a one-score game at what is now FedEx Field against the Washington Redskins (10-3). The same thing happened this year, a three-point overtime defeat.

- The Washington loss in 2000 was part of a rare three-game losing streak, which also featured defeats during a pair of home games (Tennessee, Pittsburgh). This year's loss to the Redskins was part of a three-game slide that also encompassed two home games (Pittsburgh, Denver).

- In 2000, the Ravens won the Pittsburgh road game without allowing a touchdown to a first-string player, shutting out the Steelers, 16-0. This year, backup quarterback Byron Leftwich scored Pittsburgh's only touchdown during the Ravens' 13-10 win.

- Head coach Brian Billick's title-winning team lost twice at home, twice in the division and went unbeaten during four November games. The 2012 Ravens duplicated those feats.

- Billick's coaching staff included a defensive coordinator not far removed from a Super Bowl appearance; Marvin Lewis was part of Pittsburgh's Super Bowl XXX staff. John Harbaugh's coordinator, Dean Pees, coached in Super Bowl XLII with New England. Both Pees' and Lewis' teams lost those Super Bowls.

- In the Super Bowl year, Baltimore's best offensive quarter was the second, during which it scored 134 points. This season, the Ravens scored 108 during the second, their best during any frame.

- Despite going five games without a touchdown at one point, the 2000 Ravens finished 16th in the league in overall offense. The 2012 Ravens also came in 16th; despite being ranked in the teens seven times in team history, these two seasons are the only occasions they have come in exactly at the 16th spot.

- The Ravens have played just two games in their history that have ended with a final score of 9-6. One was in 2000 during a home loss to Pittsburgh, and the other was this year's win in Kansas City.

- Jamal Lewis led the 2000 Ravens with a 4.4 yards-per-carry average; his longest run of the regular season covered 45 yards. This year, Ray Rice averaged 4.4 yards per carry, with his longest run lasting 46 yards.

- During both seasons, the Ravens' leading receivers, who put up similar numbers, were better known as being dominant forces with other teams. In 2000, that player was ex-Denver tight end Shannon Sharpe, who had 67 catches and five touchdowns. In 2012, the role was filled by ex-Arizona standout Anquan Boldin, who gathered in 65 receptions and four touchdowns.

- In 2012, return specialist Jacoby Jones won the November Special Teams Player of the Month Award. In 2000, kicker Matt Stover won the same award in the same month.

- The Ravens clinched their 2000 playoff spot, the first in team history, on the day they played their 14th regular-season game at home against an AFC West team, a win against San Diego. This year, they got their wild-card berth after they lost game 14 to another visiting AFC West squad (Denver), because Pittsburgh lost to Dallas.

- During the interconference schedule rotation, the Ravens played three NFC East teams in 2000 and got wins against Dallas and Arizona. The NFC East again furnished the opposition in 2012 and Baltimore again got two wins, with one of them coming against the Cowboys. Incidentally, both Ravens wins against Dallas were at home.

- In 2000, the Ravens drafted a player out of the talent-rich University of Miami during the fifth round who surprisingly failed to make an impact, guard Richard Mercier. The team did the same during the sixth round this year, tabbing wideout Tommy Streeter.

- During both drafts, the Ravens also took two Southeastern Conference products from the same side of the ball, Jamal Lewis (Tennessee) and Travis Taylor (Florida) in 2000 and Courtney Upshaw (Alabama) and DeAngelo Tyson (Georgia) this year.

- The Ravens ended the 2000 season with the fourth seed in the AFC playoffs and won a Sunday home game by a double-digit margin, 21-3 against Denver, before going on the road against the top seed and winning a memorable game. Ray Lewis' interception/touchdown at Tennessee (2000) and Joe Flacco's game-tying bomb to Jacoby Jones at Denver (2012) were the signature moments.

***

JOEY P'S TRIVIA TIME: Today's question:

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who has defied odds and predictions his entire career, now has more road postseason wins than any signal caller in NFL history (six).

This may be a broad question, but should Flacco win Super Bowl XLVII, what other distinction would he be the first to achieve?

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's entry.

***

FLACCO'S ELEVEN: The Ravens were able to open up the AFC Championship Game offensively during the second half by turning the unit into "Flacco's Eleven."

But Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frank Sinatra and others that starred in the movie versions of "Ocean's Eleven" did not play a role in Baltimore's second-half rally against New England.

Rather, it was co-conspirators such as Jacoby Jones, Dennis Pitta and Anquan Boldin that robbed New England of its Super Bowl treasure on the eve of a holiday and made off with their hard-earned reweard.

The Ravens' "11" personnel grouping consists of one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers, and it worked magnificently as the Ravens put together three long touchdown drives, scored 21 unanswered points and kept New England's offense away from the field.

As a result, Flacco, who failed to complete five of his first six passes early during the game, was able to complete 21 of 36 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns.

"[Eleven] is a good personnel grouping for us," Flacco said Monday. "I knew we had to open it up a little bit. Coach Harbaugh said that we didn't come all this way just to play it safe.

"We felt like we had to make some plays, get some drives and put some points on the board. When we got out there [for the second half], we had to lay it all on the line."

Seven different targets caught passes from Flacco during the win, led by five catches each from Pitta and Boldin, who was once again shut out during the first half before exploding during the final two quarters.

***

DRAFT STATUS: Naturally, with the Ravens appearing in the Super Bowl, they will be assigned either the 31st or 32nd spot during the first round of the late-April draft, depending on whether they win or lose.

Should the Ravens lose the Super Bowl, they will draft 31st, the same spot at which they selected Arizona State tight end Todd Heap during the 2001 first round.

But at that point, the league had only 31 teams -- the expansion Houston Texans didn't begin play until 2002 -- so the Ravens were actually drafting last as defending Super Bowl champions.

Besides the Heap draft, the lowest first-round spot the Ravens have ever had was the 29th selection in 2007, the year after Baltimore advanced to the Divisional Round and lost to the Indianapolis Colts.
 
But even at that rather low slot, the team came away with Auburn guard Ben Grubbs, one of the first Ravens at that position, along with Marshal Yanda, to make the Pro Bowl.

In 2011, Baltimore came off another Divisional Round loss to select 27th during the first round and tabbed Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith.

This year, the Kansas City Chiefs will have the first selection in the draft, followed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Both teams finished with 2-14 records, but the Chiefs played a weaker schedule, thus getting the higher draft position.

***

BOGER TO REF: Perhaps the worst-kept secret in the world of football officiating was made official with the announcement that nine-year NFL official Jerome Boger will referee the Super Bowl.

Boger has not worked a game involving the Ravens since the fifth game of the 2010 season, a 31-17 home win against the Denver Broncos.

Speaking of Denver, the referee at the Ravens' double-overtime Divisional Round win against the Broncos, Bill Vinovich, is the Super Bowl alternate.

The most experienced official in the Super Bowl crew is line judge Byron Boston, who works with Walt Anderson's crew. Boston, father of former NFL receiver David Boston, has been on the field for 15 postseason games, including Super Bowl XXXIV (Rams-Titans).

Here is the rest of the crew, including their normal crew chiefs: umpire Darrell Jenkins (Pete Morelli), head linesman Steve Steljes (Anderson), field judge Craig Wrolstad (Ed Hochuli), side judge Joe Larrew (Boger), back judge Dino Paganelli (Gene Steratore).

***

QUOTES OF THE DAY: Center Matt Birk is usually known for having a dry, subtle sense of humor. But on Monday afternoon, he was letting the funny lines fly.

"Your 20 percent admission fee will be refunded because you got me [at the podium] instead of a star [player]," Birk said to the assembled media.

When asked how he got a rather prominent scar on his face, Birk said, "I was playing Scrabble, and one of the pieces got out of hand."

***

JOEY P'S TRIVIA TIME ANSWER: Here's what we asked you earlier in this entry:

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who has defied odds and predictions his entire career, now has more road postseason wins than any signal caller in NFL history (six).

This may be a broad question, but should Flacco win Super Bowl XLVII, what other distinction would he be the first to achieve?

ANSWER:

Flacco would not be the first graduate of a non-Football Bowl Subdivision school to win the big game at quarterback, for Terry Bradshaw (Louisiana Tech), Phil Simms (Morehead State), Doug Williams (Grambling) and Ben Roethlisberger (Miami University) have beaten him to the punch.

But should the Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome at New Orleans on Feb. 3, Flacco would be the first quarterback to wear jersey No. 5 to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Already, Flacco is the first signal caller for an AFC representative to even wear No. 5 at a Super Bowl.

Two previous NFC entrants have worn the digit during the big game: Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb and the New York Giants' Kerry Collins. Both lost during the Super Bowl, McNabb to the New England Patriots (XXXIX) and Collins to the Ravens (XXXV).

No. 5 is already rather sacred to Baltimore sports fans, given the rich legacy Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson provided. Like Flacco, Robinson is a modest, self-effacing type who would rather give his teammates credit.

As far as winning Super Bowls is concerned, No. 12 has had the most success, with six different quarterbacks wearing it and taking home 14 championships.

Posted Jan. 21, 2013