Ravens confident in re-signing Flacco

Only a few days removed from winning the Super Bowl, the Baltimore Ravens have already started looking ahead toward the 2013 season.

General manager Ozzie Newsome expressed confidence Thursday that the team will sign quarterback Joe Flacco to a long-term deal. The Super Bowl MVP's contract expired after Baltimore's season-ending 34-31 win over San Francisco last Sunday.

Obviously Newsome and the Ravens would love to repeat as champions next year, but they don't intend to mortgage the future to mount a singular run at the top, as in 2001.

Owner Steve Bisciotti says the team would not ''make decisions in the euphoria of winning that could hurt us in 2014 and 2015.'' He says the Ravens want to ''try and build a consistent winner.''