Shannon Sharpe picks the Ravens to reach Super Bowl 52 on UNIDSPUTED

On his new show, UNDISPUTED, Skip Bayless is known for making outlandish predictions (i.e. Bayless once said that Johnny Manziel would be bigger in Cleveland than LeBron James). It’s something that his debate partner, and former Ravens tight end, Shannon Sharpe has not shied away from doing either. But recently on the show, Sharpe made a prediction that Ravens fans may not find as crazy as the panel around Sharpe seemed to think.

Sharpe predicts that the Ravens will be the team to represent in the AFC in Super Bowl 52. Sharpe’s argument for the Ravens is that he believes quarterback Joe Flacco will be much better now that he is two years removed from his knee surgery. Sharpe also “loves” the moves the Ravens have made this offseason. He specifically noted the additions of Jeremy Maclin and Danny Woodhead as excellent moves.

In addition, Sharpe talked about the Ravens defense, and specifically, how the unit has never feared the Patriots, and never will fear the Patriots. The Ravens have consistently been the one team that will walk into Gillette Stadium, and will not back down in the slightest. Sharpe believes that it is this mentality on the Ravens defense that will allow them to take down Tom Brady and what looks to be a loaded Patriots team.

On the NFC side, Sharpe believes the New York Giants will emerge as the Super Bowl representative. This Super Bowl matchup is very appropriate for Sharpe, who was a member of the Ravens 2000 Super Bowl champion team, which beat the Giants to win it all.

The Ravens have been largely under the radar coming into this season. While the Patriots, Raiders and Steelers have garnered headlines as the top teams in the AFC, the Ravens are quietly building one of the best defenses in football, and have finally given Joe Flacco legitimate weapons to work with. It seems that this Ravens team could surprise that masses that are overlooking it come this fall.