The Baltimore Ravens are, what many sports enthusiasts would call, infants in the NFL. The originated in Cleveland, and after much debate, Art Modell finally got his wish of moving them to Baltimore. They did not have their own stadium, at first, so they plated in Memorial Stadium, home of the Colts. It only took two years for their stadium to be ready; although, the name of the stadium changed numerous times over the next ten years (it took some time for the team to settle in).

Like it or not, Ravens fans should be thankful of the Colts.

Indianapolis (13-0), which has clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, will play their starters in Thursday’s game at Jacksonville even though the Colts have nothing to gain.

This works in the favor of the Ravens, who need the Jaguars to lose. Although the Ravens and Jacksonville are both 7-6, the Jaguars have a slight edge because their AFC record (6-3) is slightly better than the Ravens’ 6-4 conference mark.

Ravens may be thankful to the Colts as the undefeated team (13-0) goes into Thursday’s game with their starters on the field right from the start.

After his team clinched the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs, coach Jim Caldwell announced it will be business as usual Thursday night at Jacksonville.

That means healthy starters will play — start to finish. And it means players who are dealing with injuries won’t play. Caldwell’s decision will be embraced by the majority of players, who were not pleased at the thought of limited playing time for front-line starters in the final three games.

Maurice Jones-Drew was held out of today’s practice to rest his ailing knee, according to Michael C. Wright’s (Florida Times-Union) twitter page. Jones-Drew is averaging 19 rushing attempts per game in his first year as a full-time starter with Jacksonville, and it is a good idea to get him some rest during the practice week. He should be good to go for Sunday’s game against Houston, who are ranked 22nd in run defense.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are still a fairly new NFL franchise. Jacksonville was one of the last places the NFL thought they would add a franchise, but it has proven to be a profitable decision. Fans, every year, stand by their team by purchasing tickets and merchandise, regardless of how good or bad they may be playing. After a rough year last season, fans are already talking about buying season tickets for 2009.