What's Old Is New

Ravens Look To Rebound

By Tim Sullivan
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Coach Brian Billick confronted unfamiliar territory this week at Ravens headquarters in Owings Mills, Md.

For first time in six weeks, he had to greet a team that was coming off a loss.

"It was going to happen," Billick said. "But this is a good group of guys. I am excited about what I hope will be a very physically and mentally fresh group of guys that is going to come back. I am confident."

He needs to be. The Ravens (9-3), even with their two-game lead in the AFC North on the Bengals, face a tough trek these final four weeks.

And it starts Sunday with a difficult road test at Kansas City (7-5), a team that just got a little more desperate and may be just a little more hungry than Baltimore.

"Kansas City has great fans. I don't know whether it's the configuration of the building or what, but it is as loud an outdoor venue as there is in the National Football League," Billick said. "You have to understand, you're constantly telling the players, 'Boy, this is going to be loud; this is going to be hard' any time you go on the road. This time, it's as real as it gets."

The good news is that the Ravens have had two extra days to prepare for the uncomfortable Kansas City surroundings. Baltimore's 13-7 loss at Cincinnati was all the way back on Nov. 30.

So the Ravens could be ready. Or rusty.

"The players, you want to be very careful. We've talked about it many times before. You can spend too much time on an opponent," Billick said. "If you install that game plan too early, it can become stale. We'll get ourselves prepared and not put ourselves at risk of it becoming too long."

The extra time could prove to be a benefit, though, when preparing for Chiefs running back Larry Johnson. The potential MVP has 1,312 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns.

"I'm very [impressed]. He's matured as a back," Billick said. "[He] is very, very physical. That's the best offensive line in football, clearly. I don't think I am alone in that assessment. That's a tough combination, and at home. They are impressive to watch, and their commitment to the run is substantially different than it has been."

Either way, it'll be a good test for the Ravens, who still have Super Bowl aspirations. The Chiefs are -3 on http://www.nfl-sports-betting.net