The Big Lead

Colin Cowherd Says He's Not Crazy After Making Crazy Statement About Ravens

By Brian Giuffra

Colin Cowherd.
Colin Cowherd. / Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images
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Colin Cowherd isn't crazy. He's opinionated and knowledgeable. And as an opinionated, knowledgeable, sports hot-take maestro, he occasionally makes crazy statements.

Exhibit: 146,124,604,169,416:

Ok, hear him out. The Ravens have the best offensive line, running game and defensive backfield in the league. They ONLY travel 6,000 miles this season and don't have to travel west for a game. The Chiefs will still be Super-Bowl hungover when they play the Ravens in Baltimore in Week 3. The Bengals suck. Ben Roethlisberger is a question mark. The Browns could be good, but they've got a rookie head coach. And outside of those seven games, the Ravens' other nine opponents (including the Texans, Colts, Eagles, Cowboys and Titans) aren't even worth mentioning. Well, 16-0 here we come.

Except ...

Cowherd is crazy. The Ravens' schedule is treacherous. The Chiefs won't be too hungover from the Super Bowl to win a primetime game seven months later, especially when the No. 1 seed in the AFC could be determined in that contest. The Titans, Texans and Eagles were all playoff teams last year. The Cowboys, Colts, Browns and Steelers have playoff-caliber rosters this year. And let's not forget, Baltimore plays the Patriots in Foxborough. That game isn't as scary without Tom Brady there, but winning on the road against Bill Belichick is never easy. Hell, winning on the road in the NFL isn't easy, especially in division games. That's probably why the Ravens haven't gone undefeated in the AFC North since 2011.

Good for Cowherd for going out on a limb here. He said he rarely, if ever, predicts a team will go undefeated -- which makes sense because only two teams have ever done it in the regular season. But he sees something in these Ravens. They're motivated, talented and don't have to travel much. In the NFL, that's certainly enough to win a lot of games in the regular season. All 16? I don't see it, but that's why he's the hot-take maestro and I'm just a member of the band playing out of tune.