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The
Baltimore Ravens celebrated in New Orleans Sunday after
they held off San Francisco 34-31.
Long tome Raven, Ray Lewis went out
on a high note as a Super Bowl champion. Photo
courtesy of baltimoreravens.com
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Flacco lets play do the talking in Ravens'
Super Bowl victory
nfl.com
NEW ORLEANS -- Believe it or not, two hours after Sunday's Super Bowl
ended, Baltimore Ravens outspoken linebacker Terrell Suggs still had
something more he wanted to say. It wasn't eloquent. Nor did he whisper
it. Quite the contrary to both, actually.
He wanted to remind everyone within earshot -- a very distant earshot
-- that Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley, before the 2012
season started, belittled Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco's potential
during an interview with NFL Network.
"LaMarr Woodley said the Ravens wouldn't ever win a Super Bowl with Joe
Flacco as the quarterback!" Suggs screamed. "Ahhhhhh!"
From the other side of the room, another Ravens defensive player
concurred: "You tell 'em, Sizzle! You tell 'em what's up!"
Maybe we now understand why Flacco doesn't say very much. Maybe we know
why he doesn't outwardly complain about a lack of a contract extension.
Or why he hasn't once given a speech during a team meeting.
Flacco, the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLVII, can now let his
actions (and his teammates) say everything for him after his
three-touchdown, no-interception performance on the biggest stage in
sports.
"He never talks," said linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, asked if Flacco
ever had a message for the team this week. "How do you talk here?
You've got Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, John Harbaugh, Matt Birk.
So many guys in double-digit years. So many guys who are constantly
talking."
You know how Flacco constantly talked during the 2012 playoffs? By
throwing 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions, joining Joe Montana
(1989) as the only quarterbacks to accomplish such a feat.
You know how Flacco has spoken out since he joined the Ravens in 2008?
He has won nine playoff wins, joining Tom Brady as the only two
quarterbacks to win as many playoff games in the first five seasons of
a career.
And you know how he acted throughout the process, which included
Sunday's fantastic outing?
"He was himself," wide receiver Anquan Boldin said. "I think that was
the big part of the entire day. I don't think the magnitude of the game
changed anything about what he did. He was the same Joe. That's what I
like about him: He doesn't change.
"He doesn't get too up or too down."
Read the rest of this article at NFL.com
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