So they resist pondering the future, their place in football history, or an undefeated docket. They prevent themselves from lingering over positive results. They are maddeningly constrained.
And we are reminded yet again why it all makes sense.
It may have been a wild NFL finish in Baltimore Monday night, but the boring, brainwashed football team demonstrated the discipline required to respond when the game went haywire.
It would be stating the obvious to point out that the emotionally charged Ravens did not.
The 4-8 Ravens shook New England to its very core through 3 1/2 quarters. They shredded the Patriots' 4-3 defensive front with the same acumen with which they dominated the vaunted 3-4 formation. Willis McGahee was brilliant, even if his shameless gyrations after a nifty run were grimly reminiscent of Antoine Walker's hideous 3-point wiggle. Quarterback Kyle Boller was poised and efficient.
Defensively, the Ravens badgered Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and the guys into an unthinkable pattern: three and out. They stymied one of the most feared offenses in the NFL with verve and passion and energy. They pressured Brady as well as any team has this season.
But then, when it mattered most, it all unraveled spectacularly for Baltimore. Boller's inexplicable decision to throw deep - whom was he throwing to, anyway? - with a 24-17 lead in the fourth quarter was a mental error reminiscent of Eagles quarterback A.J. Feeley's ill-timed pass the previous week. It was a moment that required clarity, and instead was executed with haste, and a mild sense of panic.
We can debate whether Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan had the authority to call the timeout, or whether he should have called the timeout, or whether coach Brian Billick knew he was going to call the timeout on that critical fourth-and-1 play, but to me, what transpired after the call was also significant.
The emotional response of the defensive players was telling. Disappointment and frustration would have been understandable, but the anger and disbelief they directed toward the sideline was not only disrespectful, it was counterproductive. The game was still on the line, and the Ravens' dissension was there in full view, for all to see.
