Do you like the Superbowl or Bust expectations, or the Ravens being slept on and doubted

[BearArms]

I personally hate all the talk of "If the Ravens doing don't get to or win a Superbowl, the season will be a failure."

This to me, is a seriously faulty approach in a sport of one and done. We saw this vs. Tennessee. It's fun for the off-season , but being on top puts the target on your back

However

I've watched New England for years overcome this mantra and win over and over. Yeah they play in a division that has been cake for years also, but they showed up in big games.

Last season the target was on The Chiefs, and they rose to the occasion.

To me it's still more fun to shock the shit out of the doubters beating supposedly better teams and sending them home.

[camdenyard]

I personally hate all the talk of "If the Ravens doing don't get to or win a Superbowl, the season will be a failure."

If you win the Super Bowl, it means you got there. So I don't understand the "or" there.

[Bhcforlife]

Bad memories from the Billick years makes me rather the team be overlooked and doubted than a favorite to win it all. It seemed like during those mid 2000's years, every time they had high expectations coming in, it was a bad year. I think it's a lot easier to use that as motivation, also. We heard all about that last offseason, how motivated the team was to show that the solid run with rookie Lamar wasn't a fluke and to defend the AFCN. We also saw how the Browns collapsed under that pressure of being picked as a favorite all offseason.

Having said that, nothing about Lamar or the character of the team we saw last year makes me think the team may have a letdown season because of expectations. If things go sideways this year, I think it's because LJ gets hurt or something like that. Not because they couldn't handle the expectations. We have solid veteran leadership especially with the addition of Campbell and Wolfe, and Harbaugh has been here before.

[BcRaven]

It took 5 years for the Ray Lewis/Jon Ogden Ravens to win the Super Bowl.
It took 5 years for the Harbaugh/Flacco Ravens to win our 2nd.
While I fully believe we have the roster to win another, let's temper that with all that can go wrong after a team makes the playoffs. "IF" the current LJ8-led Ravens win one in their 5th year too, I wouldn't be disappointed... Bc

[Purplenemesis]

It took 5 years for the Ray Lewis/Jon Ogden Ravens to win the Super Bowl.
It took 5 years for the Harbaugh/Flacco Ravens to win our 2nd.
While I fully believe we have the roster to win another, let's temper that with all that can go wrong after a team makes the playoffs. "IF" the current LJ8-led Ravens win one in their 5th year too, I wouldn't be disappointed... Bc

I think you make a good point. This is a young team, but they are shaping up to possibly go on a run like the 2008-2012 Ravens. You just have to keep knocking at the door and hopefully you eventually get in. This team just has to figure out how to make some noise in the playoffs. The 2008-2012 Ravens seemed to have gotten better when the playoffs came around, whereas this team has come undone in back to back years. Of course, the teams that made noise were lead by legendary veterans like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. This team is lead by a quarterback that is barely old enough to legally drink. I have faith they will make that next leap. Decosta is making the moves. The core of this team will continue to grow, and hopefully they learned some valuable lessons from getting punched in the mouth by the Titans. The 2008-2012 Ravens went through lots of adversity and heart break to achieve their end goal of the superbowl. The future looks bright for this team, so I'm not going to freak out over them taking their lumps the first 2 seasons.

[Waywatcher]

I don't know about what I like more, but my personality is such that I've started to get really worried by the recent spate of "man, we're good" and "how long will this dynasty last?" threads popping up. I don't consider myself particularly superstitious but this mainstream mainlining of the purple Kool Aid really makes me feel like we're tempting fate.

[Sarcasticfury]

The Ravens went 14-2 and have the league's MVP. I'd rather hear the Super Bowl or bust talk than every talking head sleeping on the Ravens and calling Lamar a fluke.

[The Excellector]

Personally? I have always been a fan of dynasties. I’ve never liked being the guy who had to rely on others doubting me to reach my potential, and then once I’m at the mountain top, nobody doubts me and I only stay there temporarily. I want to be the one with all of the huge expectations on that everyone’s looking up at.

[GOTA]

I hate that Super Bowl or bust view but how can it possibly be anything else? History does not look kindly on teams with high win totals that don’t win a title. When is the last time you heard someone talk about the great 2015 Panthers team that went 15-1 or the 1998 Vikings with the same record? They are thought of as teams that underperformed and choked when it mattered most. The following year did not produce that same great win/loss record or Super Bowl win for either.

The most famous of these teams is the 2007 16-0 imperfect season Patriots. They proved that a perfect regular season and playoff wins isn’t enough when you can’t win the Super Bowl. Expectations were very high for the next year and Brady gets hurt and they miss the playoffs with an unheard of 11 wins.

The expectations for the Ravens are crazy high and based on history not very realistic but there’s just no way around them.

[sailorsam]

I loved winning 9-10 games and going on playoff runs.
I remember the talking heads on tv with 'oh and the Ravens are still in it'.
only downside was the extra week, and being on the road.

some teams get shaky with big expectations. here's hoping the Ravens will say 'screw it' and go out and win.

[The Excellector]

I loved winning 9-10 games and going on playoff runs.
I remember the talking heads on tv with 'oh and the Ravens are still in it'.
only downside was the extra week, and being on the road.

some teams get shaky with big expectations. here's hoping the Ravens will say 'screw it' and go out and win.

You make a great point about shakiness. I would even go so far as to say that the vast majority of teams get shaky with big expectations. That’s why it’s so difficult to find dynasties.

[BearArms]

If you win the Super Bowl, it means you got there. So I don't understand the "or" there.

Getting their, but losing the game. That at least means the AFC title which also means the Chiefs didn't make it. I assume that in itself with the at least two playoff wins would amount to a great season, even in Marcellus Wiley's book.