Postgame Report Card: Ravens 31, Chargers 26

The word of the game is... sweltering. The players on the field in Qualcomm were dealing with 100+ degree temperatures, and the game matched that in its intensity. The Ravens and Chargers played to a thrilling shootout; certainly all of Baltimore was sweating as the Chargers continued to slice the Ravens’ secondary through the second half. The Chargers had the Ravens on the ropes defensively; however the Ravens offense took the game over for the second week in a row. Joe Flacco threw for two more touchdowns and Willis McGahee added two more to match San Diego’s scoring.

But for as unorthodox as this game was for the Ravens, it did find a way to end in a classic fashion. With the Chargers going for it on fourth and two Ray Lewis shot through the line and crushed Darren Sproles along with the hearts of all Chargers fans in attendance. The secondary might’ve stunk up the joint this afternoon, but the Ravens’ linebackers are still alive and well.

Offense - Overall Grade: A
Quarterbacks: A-
Without Joe Flacco the Ravens would be winless at this point in the season. He has been able to not only manage the offense but bring it to an all new level for this franchise. No, he wasn’t perfect, but he did everything he needed to for the team to win. Flacco couldn’t find the deep ball today, but executed well on short ot intermediate throws. The one interception was more a result of a freakish jump off the line by Shawne Merriman than anything else.
Running Backs: A
Willis McGahee was absolutely brilliant, and was the stabilizing force for the Ravens in this game. Ray Rice continues to show vastly improved patience from last year which is allowing him to finally find some open running lanes. All three backs are starting material.
Wide Receivers: B-
This unit was unable to get any deep separation, which in turn took a key part of Joe Flacco’s game away. Still, Derrick Mason was his usual reliable self and Kelly Washington stepped up big-time for the Ravens and looks to be a huge contributor throughout the season. Clayton’s drop late in the fourth quarter was inexcusable and nearly cost the Ravens the game.
Tight Ends: A
Todd Heap continues his comeback tour, hauling in another touchdown and showing some of that athletic ability which made him a top-tier tight end before he encountered his rash of injuries. His leaping ability led to a huge pass interference call which set the Ravens up for a big score with what would otherwise be an incompletion (or worse). Still, the Ravens are looking for LJ Smith to come back from injury soon to free up Heap to get still more involved in the open field.
Offensive Line: B+
For a stretch, this group was absolutely dominant, taking advantage of a battered San Diego defensive line. Still, late in the game they weren’t able to assert their will when they needed it; if this group could just make that one more step up, this team can be something special. Oher already looks like an NFL veteran – and a good one at that.

Defense - Overall Grade: C+
Defensive Line: B+
This group was excellent against the run and got some good penetration, however they need to start finishing on some of those quarterback pressures. If Rivers was able to sidestep as many of the tackles as he did today, this unit will have its head spinning against Roethlisberger. The biggest key is for Suggs to show up, because he was nearly absent today when he should have thrived against the depleted offensive line of the Chargers.
Linebackers: A
From Ray Lewis to Tavares Gooden to Jarrett Johnson to Antwan Barnes (et al), the Ravens franchise just continues to find and develop the finest linebackers in the league. The entire linebacking corps had an excellent game, although it would have been good to see more pressure on Rivers (though the secondary made that more difficult). And speaking of which…
Defensive Backs: F
An abysmal performance. This unit was humiliated by a veteran quarterback and a corps of physically dominant receivers. Surely it was not for lack of effort; this group was just overmatched and embarrassed. The Chargers were able to throw away from Ed Reed all game, rendering him ineffective.

Special Teams - Overall Grade: A
Kicker: A
Steve Hauschka only had one field goal to make, but without that score the Ravens are most likely on the losing end of this game. His kickoffs were great, with the exception of the fluky out-of-bounds kick due to the returner catching it with a foot out of bounds.
Punter: A+
Sam Koch is an artist. Three of his punts were within the 10 yard line, and two were within the 5. Very very impressive.
Returners: B+
Chris Carr rebounded with a much better week on punt and kickoff returns. Still looking for him to break one, but this was a good start.
Coverage: B+
For the most part, Darren Sproles was contained on kickoffs. Prescott Burgess was a monster on special teams, and Lardarius Webb made a great save on a Koch punt to plant it at the one.

Coaching - Overall Grade: A-
Offensive: A
Cam Cameron had an excellent feel for the game this week. He had the run and pass balanced very well throughout the afternoon, and finally seemed to get a good rhythm going with how and when to use his three backs. It’ll be exciting to see this offense develop as the season progresses, because it’s clear that they’ve only touched the surface of their potential.
Defensive: B
The jury is still out on how this defense will fare down the line wit Greg Mattison at the helm rather than Rex Ryan. For this game it’s awful hard to blame the coaching staff for the horrendous secondary play; most of the time the players were in position to make plays, however they were just flat-out beaten. Still, they were gashed for the second week in a row…

And for my MVP/LVP...
MVP (Most Valuable Player) –Willis McGahee– Like Todd Heap, he seems to be enjoying a bit of a comeback tour this year. He, more than any other player, seemed to recenter the Ravens’ offense when they needed it the most. He’s showing the vision, power, and speed which made him such a sought-after commodity by the front office when he was acquired. Two touchdowns to back him up don’t hurt either.
LVP (Least Valuable Player) –Fabian Washington– Quite frankly, he was the worst player on the worst unit in this game, so that’s why he has this dubious honor. He certainly was not alone in his struggles, but Foxworth had at least a few impressive pass defenses.

(Photo Credit: NFL.com)

Ray Lewis and Matt Birk Agree to Join the Ravens

According to the Baltimore Sun, Ray Lewis has agreed in principle to a contract which will have him stay with the Ravens, and according to ESPN, center Matt Birk has agreed to a three-year deal. None of the details have filtered out as of yet, but these are two tremendous signings for the Baltimore Ravens.

It's difficult to argue which signing is more significant, but probably the least surprising signing of the two was Ray Lewis deciding to come back to the team. After Lewis' brief foray into free agency, it became abundantly clear that the Ravens were the only team willing to pony up significant money to sign him. This makes perfect sense for both sides, because his intangibles mean far more to this Baltimore franchise than any other he would go to. There is no way he would enjoy the same respect and the same clout with the franchise if he went to any other city, because he would have to respect players who had been there longer. In Baltimore, he is the unquestioned Alpha of the defense; this is how Ray Lewis is most effective and is the only way that he can be an elite player. Lewis only has a few years left, and this is the situation where he can maximize those years. There's a framework in place for him to win the big one, and there's no locker room he can command better than this one. The Ravens need him to transition this new defense, and he needs the Ravens to give him his swan song.

The Matt Birk signing was wholly unexpected (at least from my point of view), but avoids any potential drop off from the loss of Jason Brown. Certainly in the short term Matt Birk is an upgrade over Jason Brown, but it is somewhat surprising that the Ravens would let such a young promising center get away in favor of an older veteran. Regardless, Matt Birk has been one of the top three centers in the league for the past few years, and he brings that pedigree to a still-young Ravens offensive line. His veteran presence will further help Joe Flacco with getting the protection schemes right, and he maintains that tough mentality that this offensive line needs to survive in the AFC North. It doesn't surprise me that Birk would leave Minnesota, based on the fact that in Baltimore there is far more top-to-bottom consistency, from the coach to the quarterback.

It will be very interesting to see where these contracts fit in under the cap, but assuming the contracts are reasonable these seem to be two excellent signings for the Baltimore Ravens.

Free Kicks- Extended Ravenswatch 2009

Well I am out of town again this week, hence the late entry. However, rather than having 3 topics I decided to go with an extended Ravens free agency category, with just one topic about non-Maryland sports. I had to throw in my two cents about Marbury. Anyways, let us commence Ravenswatch 2009 as we line up for the kick…

Stephon Marbury: The Next Manny Ramirez?
With the Stephon Marbury buyout and his impending trip to the Celtics, I foresee an interesting phenomenon taking place this offseason. Regardless of what happens over the rest of this season in Boston, Marbury will hit the market looking for a big payday even at the age of 32. Look, I am making no statement as to Marbury’s skills- he can be a dynamic playmaker even at his age, and he will be looking to be paid as a premier guard in this league. This is where he becomes Manny. He won’t get the money. No where near it. In fact, he could be waiting until October (basketball’s equivalent to baseball’s March) still waiting for that starting job and, more importantly, starting money. The man has an ego and an attitude unlike any other in the NBA, but unfortunately doesn’t even have the skills that Manny does. He is not a first or even second team All NBA player even at his best, unlike Mr. Ramirez. He will wait, and wait, and wait to get paid. He should be used to it at this point, he has sat for the last 3 months.

Now I know he will be signing with the Celts for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million, but don’t expect that to stand when the offseason hits. Boston is too smart to sign him past this year- and it looks like most of the league is even smarter to pass up on him altogether.

Ravenwatch 2009 Officially Begins
Well, here we are. Baltimore fans are poised for one of the most anxiety-ridden (or exciting, depending on how you look at it) free agent periods in recent memory, with the Ravens not hoping to drastically improve but just hold on to the players they had this past season. As predicted by yours truly, it looks as though Bart Scott is leaning towards signing with Rex Ryan and the Jets for $40 million, a move that makes sense for Scott and at least knocks one name off of the list of players the Ravens need to keep. I am not nearly as worried about the Ravens linebacker situation (Tavares Gooden, Prescott Burgess, and others are all ready to step in and take some of the load off) as I am about their cornerback or offensive line situations.

I really like the signing of Dominique Foxworth, and not just because he is an ex-Terp and Maryland native. The 25 year old cornerback has a great deal of upside and should fit in with a similar player like Fabian Washington, particularly if Foxworth is not forced into a starting role right away. Additionally, Foxworth had to play deep with John Lynch at safety, who has about as solid coverage skills as Roy Williams with the flu. With the safeties coming into the box to support one of the league’s worst run defenses, Dominique was left on an island far too often to appear as effective as he could be. Last season in Atlanta he was in his first year in the system, and his performance should take a major boost behind one of the best run defenses in the NFL. His $28 million deal over 4 years is more than I would have liked to pay for a player who was traded for a 7th round pick last season, but it should still allow the Ravens enough room to resign either Ray Lewis or Jason Brown (Brown highly unlikely as he is close to a deal with the woeful Rams), and even pick up a mid-level free agent.

A potential bargain free agent wide receiver could be Nate Washington, Pittsburgh’s 3rd wideout who I have raved about in my previews. Keep an eye out for Washington as a deep threat with excellent speed and leaping ability- consistent hands have been an issue, but he often gets in a groove at times and will take over a drive at a critical point in the game (too often against the Ravens this season).

Meanwhile, Baltimore’s cross-town rivals just got much stronger on defense with the addition of Albert Haynesworth at defensive tackle and resigning of DeAngelo Hall at corner. People say Hall has an attitude problem, but I thought he would have been a worthwhile investment for the Ravens. However, this is the classic pattern of behavior for ‘Skins owner Dan Snyder, who perennially makes a big splash in free agency only to watch his team get marginally better- but for a team that needed a powerful presence in the middle, Washington now has it in Haynesworth.

Free Kicks

For those of you who missed it (sorry for not posting a reminder), Falco and Windsor had one hell of a show on Tuesday on our Around the Harbor radio show on WMUC (every Tuesday night at 10 PM). Be sure to check out next week’s program, they save some of their best stuff for the show- you simply can’t get the same effect reading Windsor rant as you can hearing it when he just goes off on something. Now let’s line up for the kick…

Tech-nically Unsound
By signing a contract extension for 5 years yesterday, Mike Leach scored a major victory over some highly questionable employment decisions by Texas Tech University. After fighting for months to negotiate a new contract for the successful Red Raiders coach, Leach announced that he was ready to sign a new deal. However, as soon as he made the announcement, Tech went back and changed some of the language of his contract- including guaranteeing only 12% of his contract (most schools have upwards of 40%), mandating that Leach must get permission from the athletic department before he speaks with any other schools, and that all of his money from speaking engagements can be taken by the university. Look, I actually have no problem with these restrictions. I don’t care what it in the contract- but I care how it was done.

Texas Tech waited until Leach committed himself to the contract, and then changed the deal. What is this, Cloud City (sorry, had to make the reference)? After Leach rejected this sudden about-face (understandably), the Board of Regents decided to call an emergency meeting to discuss whether to fire him for not signing the extension. Come again? Who fires someone for not agreeing to extend with you? You keep them for as long as you can and hope you can work something out. Luckily this idiocy was stopped and a new deal was worked out. Don’t these Regents have something better to do? I don’t know, maybe something that has to do with educating students? I wonder how many emergency meetings were called about skyrocketing tuition costs…

So Much for Hometown Discounts
Okay, so forget all the hopeful words I said about Terrell Suggs, Bart Scott, and Ray Lewis coming back to Baltimore on a discounted deal to stay together. Apparently, like so much else said in the offseason, they were just thrown out there to assuage the fan base and earn good-will while the negotiations dragged on. Yahoo Sports is reporting that Terrell Suggs’ agent, Gary Wichard, is looking for the Ravens to pony up a Dwight Freeney-level deal for the DE/OLB, which would demand roughly $12 million a year. It is no surprise then that the Ravens were forced to use the franchise tag. This of course coming on the heels of Ray Lewis’ announcement that he is available to the highest bidder (that bidder will likely be the Ravens, but you would hate to see them put in that situation).

Against this backdrop it feels silly to have ever thought that Baltimore’s stars would take a discount to be in the city. As much as we love our pro athletes in this town, especially the ones who stay for their entire careers, I suppose they just don’t take discounts to stay. Nick Markakis’ deal contained no hometown discount whatsoever, as his deal was entirely in line with comparable players. Likewise, Brian Roberts would have probably gotten even less than he did from the Orioles in this free agent market (if he would even be employed- see Orlando Hudson). Both Baltimore teams have had faces of the franchise on the brink of free agency. Is it possible that the Orioles may do a better job of holding onto their talent this year than the Ravens?

Call Me an Optimist
I may be the only one in the world, but I think the Orioles starting rotation will be better than last year’s. Maybe not by a lot, but it will be. Windsor and Falco are watching for the sky to fall, but I would cite some big differences between last year and this year. First of all, the Orioles have more pitchers who are closer to major league ready (another year in the farm system does that). Last year they did not have Rich Hill, Hayden Penn (injury), or Dave Pauley to cushion the blow between Guthrie and having to call up Radhames Liz. That won’t be as big of a problem. The O’s also return numerous relievers from injury, including former closer Chris Ray, Danys Baez, and Jamie Walker could also return to form after an injury-plagued and ineffective season.

Troy Patton should be available later in the year, and let’s also not forget the acquisition of Koji Uehara who, even if he is not as good as he used to be, should be a serviceable pitcher in the majors for a couple years. No, the Orioles rotation is not good, but it has far more depth than ever. Baltimore won’t be dipping into AA nearly as early or often has they were tempted to last season. Invariably, some of this borderline talent will take strides, and there will be plenty of opportunities (and arms) to do so.

Harbaugh Says Lewis Wants to be a Raven, Ravens Want Lewis Back

Head coach John Harbaugh has said that he is "convinced that Ray (Lewis) wants to finish his career as Raven. And there's no question the Baltimore Ravens definitely want Ray." All according to Ken Murray of the Baltimore Sun with the quotes being told to the USA Today.

One particular quote by Harbaugh probably won't ease anyone's worries about Ray leaving: "Ray Lewis is going to be a guy we're going to pay a lot of money to in order to keep." But it was assured that Steve Bisciotti would pay more than any other team. Still though, it is a little unsettling to talk about your defensive leader as a person you will "pay a lot of money to keep," as if you didn't want to but had to.

This situation has gotten increasingly difficult to maintain since the beginning. Some national football analysts believe Lewis is not coming back, but considering all that has been said, he should be in a Ravens uniform next season. Ray Lewis has every right to want top dollar for his performance, and John Harbaugh should want his defensive leader back. Bisciotti has not been the most fluent when it came to talking about the money matters, but he should be bringing him back. His own teammates, mainly Terrell Suggs, want him to return. Basically, anything less would be a tremendous disappointment. This situarion has not been handled well, but just because two big market teams want him does not mean they will.

Re-signing Ray Lewis is the #1 priority in the free agent period. Nothing else is as important. Harbaugh knows it.

He won't take a hometown discount, and he won't return for the goodness of his heart. But he knows what it means to be here and that the Ravens want him back. And he will, we all hope.

(Photo credit: Flickr)

ESPN's Maryland Mount Rushmore

ESPN has released Mount Rushmore for each state, emcompassing all sports. Here is the state of Maryland:

-Brooks Robinson: The "Vacuum Cleaner" at third base, the Hall of Famer had 16 Gold Gloves, 15 All-Star Games, an MVP award in 1964, plus two World Series rings in his 22-year Oriole career.

-Cal Ripken Jr.: The "Iron Man," at shortstop/third base, the Hall of Famer played in 2,632 straight games. He had 19 All-Star Games, two MVPs, had over 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.

-Johnny Unitas: The "Golden Arm," the Baltimore Colts Hall of Famer was a 10-time Pro Bowler, threw a touchdown in 47 straight games, and won three championships, including "The Greatest Game Ever Played" in 1958.

-Michael Phelps: Called by many as the best ever Olympian, this swimmer amassing 14 gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Games out of 16 events in those contests. He currently holds seven world records.

For me, I would keep Robinson, Ripken, and Unitas. Though I feel Ray Lewis should be on instead of Phelps, just because of how much the Ravens have meant to the state, and Lewis has been the leader of the team throughout its history, including when they won the Super Bowl in 2000. But Phelps is a good choice. Overall, ESPN did a very good job.

So this is a nice Mount Rushmore. The question I pose to you all, who would be on your Maryland Mount Rushmore?

(Photo credits: SI (Ripken), Oriolesnumbers.com (Robinson), US Magazine (Phelps), Pro Football Hall of Fame (Unitas))

Ray Lewis Rules out "Hometown Discount"

A few weeks ago we discussed with cautious optimism the recent statements that Terrell Suggs made asking the three star linebackers heading for free agency (himself, Ray Lewis, and Bart Scott) to take a collective “hometown discount” so that they can stay together as a team. Leave it to the most unlikely of suspects to slash the optimism right out of that equation. According to an interview on the NFL Network, Ray Lewis has quashed any ideas of a hometown discount, and will play where he will get paid as competitively as possible. I can see Bart Scott or (prior to this offseason) Terrell Suggs making this sort of statement, but Ray?

Look, I have no problem with a player asking for money commensurate with his experience and ability, but I would hope that Ray understands that his role is far more than a player. He is not just “52”, he is a leader in the locker room. Even when he hasn’t played his personal best, he has raised the level of play of everyone else on that defense. I am sure that this is a major talking point for him and his agent in negotiations, but he misses one salient point. In the interview with NFL Network, he implies that he would be such a locker room force on whatever team he joins. I am not sure that would take place. He would be new to the players, new to the organization, and would be coming up against other leaders on the team. Ray has been the face of this franchise because all other potential leaders are subsumed under his fury and passion. I am not sure that other teammates would respond as well to his approach, and I am not sure that Lewis would be content to be a supporting figure in the locker room.

Moreover, one thing Lewis has been adamant about amidst the rumors of his diminishing abilities is that he must be a starter and take just about every snap. The Ravens have been loyal with him, passing over other young talent to keep #52 in his spot. Will his other suitors be so patient if he has an off-year next year? We all know Ray wants to play another 3 years, but what if his new team drafts a linebacker after next season and wants to put the legendary linebacker in a backup or mentoring role? Lewis is not that kind of player, and he should know that if he stays in Baltimore he will be a starter for just about as long as he wants. He has earned that- if he gets in another uniform, he won’t have earned that right.

What alarms me most about this report is that he specifically names two teams he would like to join, the Cowboys and the Jets. Why? He sounded more like a free agent hungry for dollars than the face of the Ravens franchise. I understand he can win with the Cowboys or the Jets, and he may get loyalty from new Jets head coach Rex Ryan, but the assumption that those situations would be comparable to his situation in Baltimore are preposterous. These comments also come on the heels of his announcing that he didn’t want to discuss his offseason plans, and I understood that to mean that he wanted to silence speculation. Here he is stoking the flames himself, either trying to force the Ravens to up the ante or get his money elsewhere. He should realize that if the Ravens are forced to pay top dollar for his services, they won’t have the money to resign important other pieces of the team or perhaps even their draft picks.

Ray has to pick which one he wants more from the Ravens, the money or the chance to win another Super Bowl. Based on this interview it sounds like he wants to go to the highest bidder. I understand this sentiment in principle, but I have trouble hearing it from the face of the Baltimore Ravens, it just doesn’t seem right. Ray Lewis the mercenary? I don’t want to believe it, I hope it is just posturing. I always thought he cared about the team’s rings, not just the ones on his hand.

Photo Credit: AP Photo

Ray Lewis Doesn't Want Advice for the Offseason

In about a month, Ray Lewis could be going into free agency for the first time in his career unless the Ravens re-sign or franchise him. Many things have been said in the media by other people giving Lewis suggestions on the situation, including CBS analyst and former teammate Shannon Sharpe saying he shouldn't leave, Terrell Suggs saying Lewis and he take hometown discounts to stay, and even Steve Bisciotti saying he would like him here. But all of that doesn't seem to matter much to Ray Lewis.

While at an event in Tampa, Jamison Hensley of the Baltimore Sun reports that Lewis told the media this: ""What I'm thinking, nobody needs to know. I've given my prayers to God. It's between me and him. It's nobody else's business. That's between me and God."

It is not often that many figures would come out and suggest to them what to do in the offseason. Unless you are Brett Favre. But for Lewis, apparently it does not matter what anyone else thinks.

Lewis is right on one thing. This is his decision, and only he knows what he is thinking. We don't know everything. Clearly it is a hard decision he has coming up, and only he can make it. Sure we can tell him to stay, but what if the Ravens don't give him a better offer than another team? Then should he still stay? The fact is until the Ravens make or don't make an offer, only then can something be decided. There is nothing wrong with people wanting Lewis to come back, but it won't be that easy.

(Photo credit: MASN)

Ravens Offseason Juggling Act Begins

I just had to take this opportunity to outline some of the turnover going on with the Ravens in the postseason, so please excuse the Free Kicks-esque format, it was necessary for organizational purposes. It seems that with the free-fall of Maryland basketball (and the accompanying questions about how the game has passed Gary Williams by) and the annual attempt to piece together a starting rotation on the Orioles (with so many cheap free agents, why haven’t we brought them in?), it is easy to forget that the Ravens have a good deal going on themselves, in the front office, the coaching staff, and on the field.

The Front Office
I sure hope George Kokinis has the same impact on the Cleveland Browns that Phil Savage did. For that matter, I hope his departure from the Ravens has the same impact Savage’s did. That is, very little. The Ravens have a long history of reloading in the front office, like the USC of pro football front offices. There are a lot of great groups, but so long as the Pete Carroll/Ozzie Newsome is there, they will succeed. Since Kokinis is in the division, I won’t wish him the best of luck, but I hope he is happy there in his 4-6 win seasons. Kokinis, as many of you know, has served for the last 6 years and has just been hired as the new General Manager of the Mangini-led Cleveland Browns. I don’t know much about Kokinis except that I hate it when division rivals get our front office people because they have an in-depth knowledge of our personnel and Eric Mangini is a perfect coach to make full use of it. I for one love the Mangini hiring for Browns fans; but I hate it for the Ravens. With any luck I will be wrong, and Mangini/Kokinis will turn out as bad a match as the feared Crennel/Savage duo.

The Coaching Staff
Speaking of Mangini, his former post as Jets head coach has been filled by beloved Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. The man deserved that top spot eventually, and he will have his team fired up like no other. The good news for Ravens fans is that Ryan likely will not be calling the defenses, so the best defensive coordinator in the league won’t ever have the scheme or quality of defense he had here in Baltimore. His replacement, Greg Mattison, is a safe choice. You knew it had to be a Harbaugh hire, and would have to be someone in-house with the unique defense and personnel on that side of the ball. Moreover, in order to persuade Lewis/Suggs/Scott to return you had to have someone at the top they would like and respect, and they have that in Mattison. I doubt he will be a great defensive coordinator in the traditional sense, or he would have been offered an NFL coordinator job earlier. He has only been in the league for one season, either for lack of interest or lack of production, but I don’t anticipate that will be a huge problem- he will take input from the veterans and if the group stays intact there may be a slight dropoff in the defense, but it may not be noticeable if the offense is able to hold onto the ball longer.

There is word that he wants to blitz more, and while I am not sure that is possible, I wouldn’t buy much into it anyway. I have seen a lot of coordinators hired, and I have never once heard any of them say they want to blitz less. They all say they want to be more aggressive, attack the quarterback, etc. Once they are in the booth and are worried about those short crossing routes, we see how committed they really are to sending the house.


The Team
Nothing yet, but it is coming. The move not to franchise Lewis was a good move; he is just not worth that much on the free agent market to merit it. Remember how tough it was to move Jason Taylor? And he was a defensive end (perennial position of need on many clubs) and reigning defensive player of the year! Ray just would not get that kind of money. Hopefully he knows it. I can’t see a scenario where they let Lewis go, not after what he has meant to this franchise. There isn’t even an Aaron Rodgers situation here that would merit pushing out the face of the franchise. Terrell Suggs has suggested that he, Bart Scott, and Ray should take hometown discounts to stay together, and Scott made similar remarks earlier in the season, noting that when players leave this scheme they tend to have less success with other clubs. I certainly hope they are genuine sentiments, but they will not settle for pennies on the dollar, and I don’t blame them. The Ravens will be in a real crunch this season, with Jim Leonhard and others also looking at other clubs. I doubt Leonhard will want to stay if he has a shot at losing his job to a healthy Dawan Landry, so Baltimore may have to pony up a respectable contract offer or make him some promises in order to keep him. This will be a dicey free agent market for the Ravens, and they won’t even have to look past Owings Mills to keep it interesting.

Ravens Not Getting Respect, but Winning Because of It

So I spent the morning scouring the news to find that gem of an article about the Ravens in the national media- something huge and detailed about the rise of a team that most expected before the season to finish under .500 and some expected to be downright awful*. No matter what happens the rest of the way, the latter won’t have happened. If things continue as they have been, they might even crack the playoffs. However, aside from a brief article on Yahoo sports, there has been nothing in the national press about the Ravens. Trust me, I’ve looked. Not even Clark Judge of CBS Sportsline has something on the Ravens resurgence. For whatever reason he seems to usually jump on the chance to write a positive piece on the Ravens, but there was radio silence on that front.

What are they talking about instead? Well there is the Falcons with the other rookie quarterback; most TV and print articles about the rookie starters write glowing appraisals of Matt Ryan for roughly 90% of the article and then mention at the tail end that “Joe Flacco is doing pretty well in Baltimore too.” They talk about what a great job Mike Smith has done, and give the same offhand remark about John Harbaugh to close it up. I watched ESPN for about an hour and a half right after the afternoon games let out on Sunday to catch a peak at the carefully tailored recap and a 5-minute rundown of the rising team from the Old Line State. Nothing. If there was a recap it was during the 1 ½ minutes I desperately flipped to the NFL Network to get some analysis. Unfortunately they were talking about the Falcons, too.

Look, I know the Ravens aren’t a big market team, and I know that the Ravens had some solid elements going into the season, but they are currently in the top wildcard spot in the AFC and are approaching a brutal stretch in their schedule that will determine whether they are true contenders. They also happen to be a tiebreak away from sole possession at the top of the AFC North. The Falcons (I hope y’all are noticing the theme here) are, for all their wins, are still a tiebreak out of second place in the division and sit behind a Carolina team on a mission. It can’t solely be the market, either. Buffalo got dap for their 5-1 start (and attention for their 0-3 streak since), and they can hardly be considered a major market franchise.

For as much as we want to hear Ravens analysis or detailed recaps, we should remember that for this team, attention is probably not a good thing. This is a team that has struggled notoriously in primetime in recent years and when expectations are particularly high. With a rookie quarterback and an offense starting to find its momentum, the last thing this team needs is to enter games against top-flight competition as the favorite, especially since this team hasn’t yet beaten a great team with a winning record aside from 5-4 Miami.

I would love to see the Ravens as the top story on ESPN, the front page of the USA Today sports section, or even get an article on page 8. However, the Baltimore Ravens have thrived on lowered expectations, flying under the radar and shocking opponents even as their record gets better and better. The year the Ravens won the Superbowl they were 60-1 long shots going into the AFC Championship game, far and away the worst odds of any of the 4 remaining teams. If the Ravens win against the Giants, the spotlight might be unavoidable, but for now living in a media blackout might be just what this team needs to remain successful.

*Okay, maybe I did predict a 4-12 finish before the season...

P.S. It took every ounce of energy I had not to insert a Rodney Dangerfield picture somewhere in this post... screw it, I can’t resist.
*UPDATE* Okay, so apparently the Baltimore Sun blogger Ray Frager had something about Ravens fans upset with the team not getting respect, quoting Bruce Cunningham on his radio show talking about how all fans talk that way. It says it was posted at 8 AM, but as soon as this post went up it heads to the front page of the sports site. I'm not saying I'm suspicious, but...