I’ve got to take a moment to comment, briefly, on something that’s been bugging me in the 24 hours since the Ravens loss to the Giants. This is an out-of-the-norm post for this blog.

Already today I’ve been greeted by numerous articles from local and national media outlets proclaiming “what do the Ravens do now?” and “what does this loss mean for the Ravens?” It’s as if the Ravens season has ended with their loss to the Giants. It’s as if all chances of making the playoffs have been squashed out.

But guess what? The loss wasn’t that surprising.

Even on Ravens-oriented sites, the Ravens were considered underdogs. ExtremeRavens has been experiencing server issues, so chat leading up to the game here was not possible. But I can bet you that if it were, you wouldn’t find anyone calling the game a cakewalk, a sure win, or anything else along those lines. In fact, for the first time all season, I even picked against the Ravens (that’s another story).

Look at the national and local media for a moment.  The Baltimore Sun’s eight sports writers all picked the Giants. Every single analyst on ESPN (both on the website and on Sunday Countdown) picked the Giants. Bill Simmons picked the Ravens… with the spread. He did not pick them flat out. I do not remember reading a single national voice that thought the Ravens would win on Sunday. Not one.

So why is this loss the end of the world?

Read more: http://blogs.extremeravens.com/ravens/2008/11/17/apocalypse-in-baltimore_140/