"After nearly 30 minutes, it was apparent that the theme of the "State of the Ravens" address was about kissing up to quarterback Joe Flacco.

In the weeks leading up to the AFC championship, Flacco had talked about being underappreciated here in Baltimore and was concerned about his role in the offense. Some of the national experts were saying he was nothing more than a clock manager, and you could see it irritated Flacco. Inside The Castle, the coaching staff knew that Flacco hasn't handled criticism well, and they were hoping he continued to grow in that area.

And in case he hadn't, the Ravens were prepared to slobber all over him with love Wednesday."