Usually after a team wins the Super Bowl, analysts and fans speculate their chances of going back, what personnel moves they’ll make and how this year’s team will compare to the championship team. Heading into the 2013 season, that team is the Baltimore Ravens.
Ravens wide receiver Torre Smith said his squad will be perfectly fine, according to NFL.com.
"I feel like there's no pressure at all," said Smith on “NFL Total Access.” "Because nobody expected us to be there in the first place, so the defending title thing is kind of overblown."
Last year the Ravens finished the regular season with a 10-6 record and made in into the playoffs as a wild card team. They proceeded to go undefeated on their way to a Super Bowl title.
Not everyone agrees with Smith. Warren Sapp, an analyst on NFL Network and a former Super Bowl champion with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said the team will no longer be able to surprise anyone. Each foe will prepare more than ever for the reigning champs.
Smith said he agreed with the former defensive tackle “100 percent”. However, he also explained that for the Ravens, the Super Bowl championship is already a thing of the past.
"We're trying to get No. 2. And for us to get No. 2, we gotta worry about Tampa Bay in our first preseason game," said Smith. "Before that, the 25th (of July) when we come back, our practice, whatever (coach John) Harbaugh has in store for us. We're grinding, getting ready for that."
The Ravens play the preseason game against the Buccaneers on Aug. 8 at 7:30 pm.
