The HERD: Brett Keisel picks the Ravens to win

[teegre]

Brett Keisel was on Colin Cowherd's show this morning, and Keisel had an interesting take on the SuperBowl.

Keisel said that he is not necessarily "rooting" for the Ravens, but he wants the Ravens to win.

Why? (Cowherd asked, because, Cowherd thought that a Steeler would "obviously" root against the rival Ravens.)

Keisel said that he believes that the AFC North is the best division in football, and that the Ravens winning proves that fact. (Keisel & Cowherd discussed how even the Browns are a "tough out", and that indeed, the AFC North is a very tough divsion.) Thus, in summation, Keisel picked the Ravens to win... even though, he is not "technially" rooting for them.

[SteelersCanada]

Makes sense. While I disagree it's the best division in football and talking about the resurgence of the Browns might be a tad early, I do think that we have the best rivalry in sports right now and the best two-team competition in the league.

That being said, go 9ers.

[Lady Steel]

I think the Ravens are going to win, too. I don't want them to, though, and I definitely won't be cheering for them. GO NINERS!

[maddog78]

If Kaepernick starts off cold like he did in Atlanta, the Ravens have a chance. If Kaepernick plays well from the start, I don't see how Baltimore is in it in the 4th quarter.

SF is just loaded everywhere.

[SteelersCanada]

Originally Posted by maddog78

If Kaepernick starts off cold like he did in Atlanta, the Ravens have a chance. If Kaepernick plays well from the start, I don't see how Baltimore is in it in the 4th quarter.

SF is just loaded everywhere.

They're loaded very well on defense but their offense is shaky. I don't understand why people aren't doing what the Rams did - spy a LB in the middle of the field and dare Kaepernick to throw to win. It's not a hard concept, the dude has a terrible deep ball.

If Flacco can attack that mediocre secondary that the 9ers boast then I don't know if San Fran can rebound the yardage Flacco can put up. The match-up that no one is talking about for whatever reason is probably the most important in the game - McKinnie vs. Aldon Smith. If Smith wins that battle, the Ravens have no chance of winning this game. Absolutely none.

[torpedoshell31]

On Mike and Mike this morning, Greenie stated that this is the last chance for the Ravens to win a ring for a while with the retirements and age of the team. However he said that the 49ers are poised to be in the mix for the title for the next several years. I'm still rooting for the 49ers, but I wouldn't like them to get 2 or 3 Lombardis in the next 5 years.

[Fire Arians]

not gonna lie i'd take baltimore +3.5 if i were betting. i just won't because i'll never cheer for them

[austinfrench76]

After reading the story about Lewis's "cheating" this year to come back from a torn bicep - even more reason not to root for the Ratbird!!!

http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2012...-connected-ped

This guys unbelieveable. You can ask him questions only not the one's anyone would actually care about! He refuses to talk about the Atlanta murders and now this?!?! And he is the most respected athlete in the NFL today (by his peers)???!!! I hate em even more now. A cheater that you can't confront. Looks like Bubba Suggs should have looked around the locker room for calling old Billicheck a cheater after the AFC title game, he had one in the locker right next to him! But I'm sure he already knew that...

[tanda10506]

If I were betting, my money would be on the Niners. Better defense, much more mobile QB, better running game (all around). Can't say I'd be surprised either way. I'm not going for anybody though, I likely won't even watch the game. Makes me sick.

[teegre]

Originally Posted by torpedoshell31

On Mike and Mike this morning, Greenie stated that this is the last chance for the Ravens to win a ring for a while with the retirements and age of the team. However he said that the 49ers are poised to be in the mix for the title for the next several years. I'm still rooting for the 49ers, but I wouldn't like them to get 2 or 3 Lombardis in the next 5 years.

True, the 49ers are loaded... to a degree. Their secondary needs help, as does the receiving corps. More importantly, all of those young players will be getting (or wanting) contracts very soon; in other words, I could see free-agency taking away Navorro or Willis... or, maybe even Aldon. Lastly, like the Steelers, some of their key guys are very old: Justin Smith, Frank Gore. Their upcoming drafts will be interesting to watch. Otherwise, they will be like Green Bay: one championship... and then, "good" for a number of years.

Oh, and when Ray retires (after losing this SuperBowl)... that will make my decade.

SteelCanada,
Agreed. The Steelers-Ravens rivalry is the best in the NFL right now. Sure, other teams can claim to have more storied rivalries (heck, even the Steelers-Raiders has more history)... but, right now, there is no bigger mathc-up than Steelers-Ravens.

Why?

Because, a) both teams are great, and b) because they are so similar in their styles.

The Raiders-Chargers rivalry is weak, because neither is any good. The Cowboys-NYGiants rivalry is decent, but the Cowboys have won one play-off game in over a decade... so, no one really cares. Whereas, the Steelers & Ravens have each been to three AFCCGs in the past five years.

Then, there is the Taperiots-NYJets, which had a few good years... but... it is the finesse team veruss the slobber-knockers... making it more of a "style" battle than an actual rivalry. Conversely, the Steelers & Ravens are both slobber-knockers... and as Jim Rome once said, "It's like watching two heavyweights stand there and go blow-for-blow, until one falls down... and I can not take my eyes off of it."