Super Bowl or bust for Ravens

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Updated: February 16, 2012 8:18AM

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Matt Birk made his NFL debut as part of a Minnesota Vikings team that went 15-1.
The Vikings reached the playoffs in each of his next two seasons, too.

Although the Vikings never made it to the Super Bowl during that span, Birk figured it was only a matter of time before he would be fitted for a ring.

Now the starting center for the Baltimore Ravens, Birk is 35 and in 15th NFL season. He still is waiting for a chance to part of the biggest spectacle in pro football.

‘‘Two out of my first three years in the league, I went to the NFC Championship Game,’’ Birk said. ‘‘At that time, I probably didn’t know what it meant or just how precious is was. And I haven’t been back since.’’

Birk is one of 35 players on the Ravens’ 53-man roster to have participated in an NFL playoff game. Only one, linebacker Ray Lewis, owns a Super Bowl ring.

For many of the Ravens’ veterans, this playoff run might represent their last chance to win a championship. Although the Ravens have reached the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, this team just might be the best of them all.

After winning the AFC North and going 12-4, the
Ravens enter their home game Sunday against the Houston Texans as the No. 2
seed in the conference. With a victory, the Ravens will move a game away from booking a trip to Indiana-
polis for the Super Bowl.

‘‘This is probably my best shot at it,’’ Birk said. ‘‘My first year, we were 15-1. That team and this team are the two best I’ve ever been on. The last three years, we’ve been kind of building to this point. I think we’ve gotten better each year. Somebody my age, I realize this is probably my last and best shot at it.’’

Lewis has a ring but wants another. Mostly, though, he wants his teammates to
understand just how special it is to own one.

‘‘That’s what it’s all about,’’ Lewis said. ‘‘You see these young kids that come in this business, and they really don’t understand how hard it is to win a Super Bowl. They don’t understand how everything has to be in place, how your health is a big issue.

‘‘We have the team to do it now. We don’t have too many more excuses. Let’s go do it right now.’’

AP