It has been six months since the Ravens? most hated rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. So far, there has been nary a word from the Ravens training camp about the team?s foe. Nor has anything emanated from the team?s Owings Mills facility.
So, where is the chest-beating and the bravado that has defined the Ravens in years past? The one bit of candor toward the Steelers came on June 7. Linebacker Ray Lewis addressed the media after he had been criticized for his frustration with the organization. He let loose a nugget that went largely ignored.
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“Pittsburgh is the Super Bowl champs, and they are in our division. That?s cute to me,” he said with a wry grin.
Since then, there has been no fodder for the headlines. Head coach Brian Billick has said the rivalry needs little more intensity and has taken the safe road, calling the team?s division, the AFC North, the best in football.
Meanwhile, the Ravens? rivals are talking trash. Last year?s division champ, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Steelers have exchanged words during the offseason. The Ravens almost seemed like an afterthought.
Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, a University of Southern California graduate, told Sports Illustrated, “I hate the Steelers more than I hate UCLA. Yeah, it?s because I?m jealous and want what they have. … It?s how everybody in our locker room feels.”
Steelers linebacker Larry Foote responded in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review: “Carson Palmer only beat us one time, so he should hate us. I?d hate a team, too, if I only beat them one time and [lost] in the playoffs.”
The Ravens are taking the high road.
“Our special teams coach [Frank Gansz] brings us something interesting every time we meet, and [Gansz pointed out] that the team that won the division did not win the Super Bowl,” Ravens defensive lineman Trevor Pryce said. “So proof is in the pudding. This is a tough, tough division. If I had my wish, I would have put Baltimore in the NFC West. Let?s transfer and get out of this.”
Actions, apparently, are speaking louder than words out in Westminster.
“We are ready for the season to start,” defensive tackle Kelly Gregg said. “Whoever comes to town or whoever we go to see, we are ready for them. Each week is a big game in the NFL. Just have to take it one game at a time.”
Kyle Siskey contributed to this story.
