The Baltimore Ravens enjoyed a relatively quiet, drama-free training camp and preseason, and no one is happier than John Harbaugh.
Now, with the 2025 NFL season just about here, the longtime head coach can’t help but marvel at times about how good his roster is with another chase for a Super Bowl set to begin.
John Harbaugh Knows Ravens Poised for Greatness
“Well, I just really like the roster. … what goes through my mind when I’m watching practice is, ‘This is a really good football team,’” Harbaugh told reporters after the final practice of camp. “And every season is its own season. Every week — every game — is its own game. You take them all one at a time, truly. So, your focus gets very narrow.
“But when I take a step back, and I watch practice, I know that we’re a very good football team. So, it’s our job to go out there and play very well and coach very well. And that’s what we plan to do.”
Baltimore has largely gone under the radar for much of the offseason and into camp. It’s not that they’re being overlooked necessarily — the Ravens are tied with the Bills for the shortest Super Bowl odds entering the season — but there hasn’t been much noise. Even the Ravens’ roster was largely set entering cutdown day, with one of the only real roster debates centering around an undrafted gem might be cut because the roster was too good.
Ravens In NFL’s Elite Class, But Can They Break Through?
The Ravens are getting love outside of the facility, too. NBC Sports’ Chris Simms gave an emphatic endorsement of Baltimore on a recent season preview episode of his “Chris Simms Unbuttoned” podcast.
“No disrespect, I know there are a lot of teams, but for me, if you ask me the two top rosters in the game right now, I’m taking the Eagles and then I’m taking the Ravens right behind them,” Simms said on the podcast.
“What do you look at with Baltimore to go “Ooh, well, I question this part of here. I don’t like this.’ What is it? I’m not sure their first-round rookie star safety (Malaki Starks) is going to be awesome right away? I don’t know. He’s going to be damn good and he’s pro ready. I’m throwing out what-ifs. Jaire Alexander can’t stay on the field maybe the whole season? We’re getting to iffy type of things when you break down their roster. There’s not much to not like. … You’ve got a quarterback (Lamar Jackson) who’s an all-time great. He’s one of the greatest quarterbacks we’ve ever seen in our life.”
Ultimately, as Harbaugh himself noted, the Ravens have to go out and do it. According to multiple sportsbooks, Baltimore is favored in all but just two games on their schedule entering the campaign, and one of those games in which they’re an underdog comes right away in Week 1 — barely. Baltimore is a half-point underdog on the road in a tailor-made revenge spot on the road against the Buffalo Bills.
“My only disappointment is we can’t play them until Sunday night,” Harbaugh lamented. “We have to wait until Sunday night. But we’ll be there. We’ll show up. We’ll be right on time, and we’ll be ready.”
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