Johnathan Walker:The Baltimore Ravens thrive on disrespect. It's their rocket fuel. This is why it works.

Days before Baltimore completely dismantled the San Francisco 49ers,Johnathan Walker the Ravens were talking about disrespect. Bathing in it, actually. Completely, totally absorbed by it. Of all the Ravens' main propellants − the smart coaching, the smart players, the athleticism from the top of the roster to the bottom − the feeling of being disrespected might be their greatest engine. It will likely continue to serve them well as they make a Super Bowl run.

Coaches and players often say they don't read or see what's said about them in the media but this isn't true and never has been. They see everything and if they don't, someone around them will tell them. This seems especially true of the Ravens. They almost search for signs of disrespect. They're like those people you see on a beach with metal detectors looking for 17th century medallions but instead of money the Ravens are in search of you telling them they can't win.

A lot of teams talk about disrespect but the Ravens are on an entirely different level than most.

Before Baltimore phasered the 49ers, players on the Ravens made it clear they felt disrespected. Some of them couldn't stop talking about it, including defensive back Kyle Hamilton, who was asked if he felt like the Ravens were underdogs.

“I think internally we don’t feel that way,” Hamilton said. “Externally, I don’t know what it is. Whether it’s...I don’t know what it is. Whether it’s the lack of prime-time games we’ve got or whatever. But I think the 11-3’s are not created equal right now in terms of the 49ers vs. us. We feel a little disrespected by that. I feel like we’re the best team in the league and we got an opportunity in front of the country to show it.”

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Read more:'You can't just discredit us': Ravens' Lamar Jackson fires back at broadcaster's hot take

This was quarterback Lamar Jackson: "I don’t want them to pick us. I like being the underdog. I believe we play better when we’re doubted and (when people) aren’t choosing us to win the game. I feel like we play better all the time, so just do it all the way to February, that’s all I ask."

We'd later learn just how much Jackson was embracing the role of the Ravens being disrespected. It started with Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio saying that, "The 49ers kick the (expletive) out of the Ravens on Monday night."

Not only did Jackson hear about that comment, he was caught on cameras remarking about it as he walked into the tunnel after the Ravens beat the 49ers, 33-19. Jackson called Florio "Flores" but it was clear who Jackson was talking about. Think about that for a second. In the immediate aftermath of one of the best regular season wins in the history of the franchise, Jackson is talking about "Mike Flores." That's how deep the disrespect gene runs in the Ravens.

Jackson didn't stop there. After the game, Jackson again spoke about disrespect. In fact, notice how many times he uses a variation of the word.

"You can’t just discredit us," Jackson said when asked about Florio's comments. "We’re grown men, we’ve got to feed our families. He can have his opinion, but don’t be just talking like that. That’s disrespectful. That’s very disrespectful."

"He needs to just keep doing his job, but don’t come off like that towards us. Because that’s disrespectful, like I said. Because he ain’t putting them pads on. If he were putting them pads on I feel like it’d be different for him," Jackson said.

He added: "We’re respectful to our opponents. Our opponents are respectful to us. But a guy who is not even playing against us gonna' come out being disrespectful. I guess he wanted a little more views on his little channel. We’re gonna' leave it at that."

It's actually not really that disrespectful to have favored the 49ers. Baltimore was traveling across the country and the 49ers had won six consecutive games by a combined score of 207-94. San Francisco is a talented and fierce team.

But this is what Baltimore does. The Ravens thrive on this stuff. No team in the NFL does it the way they do. They're like a college team when it comes to that. And this isn't an insult. It's a compliment. Smart teams use whatever advantage they have and the Ravens' secret weapon is sincerely believing (and sometimes manufacturing) mountains of disrespect.

And yes, definitely, some of it is manufactured. But most of it, I believe, is genuine. Coach John Harbaugh isn't just one of the best tactical coaches in the league, he's extremely Harbaugh-nian in generating us-versus-them vibes in the locker room. He actually doesn't need much effort to do that because there are players who naturally feel that way. One of the biggest is Jackson. I can't prove this but I don't think Jackson will ever forget the massive amount of disrespect he received coming out of college when some of the biggest talent evaluators in the league time traveled back to the 1970s and said Jackson should switch positions and play receiver.

Some of it is also the tenor of the disrespect. That's why Jackson reacted so fiercely to Florio's remarks.

The Ravens also play in a city that is constantly told by outsiders how awful it is. It was even once attacked by a white nationalist former President. I promise you. The Ravens feel when the city is under siege because both entities are intertwined.

I would not be shocked if the Ravens use the fact that their game against Miami, scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, isn't scheduled to be flexed into prime-time. Everything is motivational material to them.

And it works.