Baltimore Ravens set Seattle Seahawks standard

The Seattle Seahawks are clearly one of the best teams in the league at the moment. Partly defined by last year's Super Bowl loss and the last 10 years of excellence, the Seahawks have set a high bar for how to play football in the NFL and be successful.

General Manager John Schneider recently had a pre-draft press conference and answered some really great questions. One of the more interesting to Ravens fans is exactly how the Seahawks have become who they are over time. The Seahawks' own site had this to say about the press conference:

An interesting nugget to stem from Schneider's conversation dated back to his early days at the helm in Seattle, when he and Carroll came to the conclusion that the way the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens played was the NFL "standard" they would strive for.

The Steelers and Ravens, teams that reside in the AFC North, have had one of the League's most physical rivalries since before Schneider and Carroll came to Seattle. Schneider said the Seahawks' goal was to target "smart, tough, and reliable" football players to build a team that could "play you anywhere" - at home or on the road.

The Seahawks face both the Steelers (at home in Week 12) and Ravens (on Sunday Night Football on the road in Week 14) this season.

Now Ravens fans know that the Ravens and Steelers are a great definition of success in this era of football. While most of the NFL teams continue to push high flying offenses to the forefront, both the Ravens and Steelers stick with a bruising run game and defense along with accurate quarterbacks who can throw the ball deep if needed. So it comes as no real surprise that one of the best teams in the league models itself after the Ravens.

The Seahawks have made smart moves as of late. Getting focused players that play the type of football they want to play and are able to stay healthy and on the field. The Seahawks have been able to get great players from deep in the draft, most notably Richard Sherman in the 5th round of the 2011 NFL Draft. In the past few years, the Seahawks have been able to pick up good players for a good price in free agency, with this year being Jimmy Graham through trade of their first round pick.

As noted in the original story from the Seahawks.com, the Ravens will face off against the Seahawks on Sunday Night Football in week 14. Luckily for the Ravens, they get a tough team at home and can hopefully keep the student firmly in place while the master moves on.