By Dave Gilmore, on November 25th, 2011  Terrell Suggs does not do anything quietly. Quiet people do not found “Ball So Hard” universities. Quiet people don’t have offensive formations named after them when they don’t play a down of offense. And yet, looking at the last decade of Baltimore Ravens football, it’s been easy for Suggs to get a little lost in the shuffle at times. As a self-admitted third-in-command behind Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, Suggs has not been synonymous with the Baltimore Ravens in the way those two players have.
With his three-sack performance and tremendous leadership in Baltimore’s crucial 16-6 victory over San Francisco, Terrell Suggs has etched himself firmly in at least third position not just on this current team, but in all-time Ravens defensive history. READ MORE >>>
By Zach Wilt, on September 15th, 2011  You know that crazy statistic about 80 percent of retired NFL players going bankrupt? You can count former Ravens defensive back Chris McAlister to that list.
C-Mac made headlines today after it was reported that he has been living with his parents since he last played in the NFL in 2009. The celebrity gossip website TMZ.com reports that McAlister has to pay his ex-wife Marlene $11,000 per month in child support.
“I have been unemployed since 2009. I have no income,” he said. ”My parents provide me with by basic living expenses as I do not have the funds to do so.”
McAlister signed a 7 year, $55 million deal with the Ravens in 2004 and played five years before being released by the team.
By Ross Gore, on July 28th, 2011 In the wake of the Albert Hayenesworth trade, Dan Steinberg reported that The Redskins were willing to sell Haynesworth jerseys for $9.99. Out of curiousity I logged onto the Ravens Team Store to see what “Sale” jerseys were available. My search was filled with the usual suspects: Kyle Boller, Jamal Lewis, Bart Scott and Chris McAlister. However, one “Sale” jersey seemed out of place: Kelly Gregg. While Gregg was cut from the team this week, we heard from Jason LaCafora as recently as yesterday that “the Ravens are hopeful to re-sign … DT Kelly Gregg“. Drastically pricing down his jersey and attempting to re-sign him seem very much at odds with one another. If I am reading the tea leaves correctly I wouldn’t expect Gregg back with the Ravens this season. 
By Zach Wilt, on December 22nd, 2009 Even though four weeks ago he was nothing more than a special teams player, Lardarius Webb ended his season as Baltimore’s best player in the secondary.
Who would have thought that the Ravens 2009 third round draft pick would mean so much?
Webb’s injury was first described as a right knee strain, though it was later called a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
The talk of the town was that the Ravens may consider bringing back Chris McAlister, but I never bought it. Not to say that C-Mac isn’t the best candidate for the open position, I believe that. But I think he interferes with John Harbaugh’s “agenda” in Baltimore and that even if the two cleaned up their relationship that Harbaugh still wouldn’t bring back McAlister as it would be too damaging to his reputation.
So who’s the next man up? Right now it looks like Corey Ivy. Remember him? He should fit right in here in Baltimore’s secondary. Ivy played one game with the Steelers (against the Ravens ironically enough) before being cut.
I’m not a big fan of the move, but personally I don’t think it will matter too much. The Ravens have their hands full against the Steelers, but I honestly don’t their they are strong enough to truly be successful in the playoffs if they do make it.
By Zach Wilt, on November 19th, 2009 If you’ve been snoozing this week you missed out on some big news out of the Ravens camp. Here’s a brief summary of what’s gone down.
- Hauschka cut, Billy Cundiff signed - The Ravens released kicker Steve Hauschka and signed 8 year veteran Billy Cundiff. We don’t know a lot about the new kicker, but John Harbaugh said the competition between Cundiff and Mike Nugent was close, though Cundiff won on kick offs.
- C-Mac is back – Chris McAlister has found a new team. He signed with the New Orleans Saints this week.
- Suggs out for Sunday – Terrell Suggs was hit low by Brady Quinn in Sunday’s 16-0 win over the Browns. The shot was controversial, actually it was straight up dirty, and John Harbaugh said Terrell Suggs will be out this week. ESPN reported that Suggs is out the rest of the season, though that was never confirmed by the Ravens
- Ray Lewis upset at Quinn – Lewis was fined $25,000 for his shot on Chad Ochocinco, while Quinn hit Suggs low and was only fined $10,000. “To lose a person like that, there’s no dollar amount on that,” Lewis said.
Of course the last big story is that Matt Stover will be coming into Baltimore this Sunday with the Colts to face the Ravens at 1 PM.
By Zach Wilt, on October 19th, 2009 A good quarterback/receiver combo is the Baltimore defense’s krptonite. Brady and the Pats, Palmer and the Bengals, and Favre and the Vikings (still feels weird saying that last one).
This off season, the Ravens spent a lot of money to shut down those combinations. They’ve always had good coverage from Chris McAlister and decent stuff from Samari Rolle, McAlister is out of football and Rolle likely will not return due to health issues.
The Ravens’ answer? Domonique Foxworth. Baltimore brought to University of Maryland native back to Charm City from the Atlanta Falcons. All they had to do was drop $28 million bucks.
I was skeptical when the Ravens dropped $28 million on a guy that no one else seemed to go after. Sure, it was a good story, but I couldn’t figure out why they were so interested since he really didn’t do too much in Atlanta and Denver.
So far their four year investment hasn’t quite paid off. Foxworth is getting torched by wide receivers that are 3-4 inches taller than him. His speed isn’t as bad as Frank Walker‘s, but he’s not making tackles after he gives up catches and he just hasn’t stepped up as the number one guy. Kind of reminds me of #23′s contract.
This year Foxworth has 13 tackles and a pick. New England, Cincinnati, and Minnesota have picked on him as he’s averaged just two tackles in those three games. Sidney Rice has six catches for 176 yards, Chad Ochocinco had 7 receptions for 94 yards, and Randy Moss had three catches and a TD.
The high paid cornerback can’t shut down the high paid wide receiver. Unacceptable.
By Zach Wilt, on October 11th, 2009 Another heart breaker lose for Baltimore fans. Back-to-back, come on football Gods, I’d rather lose 44 zip than 17-14.
- This ain’t our defense – The secondary is terrible, get C-Mac on the phone immediately. And since when did we allow a 100 yard rusher? This Ravens defense was pathetic in the lose to Cincinnati. Cedric Benson ran all over them and another good quarterback exposed Baltimore’s gaping hole in the middle.
- Where’s Cam? – The big criticism of last week’s game was a lack of balance between the pass and the run. Even though the numbers show that is was more balanced today, it truly was not. Balance doesn’t mean run, run, run, run, pass, pass, pass, pass. It means run, pass, run, pass, etc. I don’t know if Cam Cameron didn’t show up in the second half, maybe he was playing gameboy or eating a sandwich, but for the first time in a while the play calling was terrible for the latter part of the game.
- Reed kept the team in the game – Ed Reed kept Baltimore in this one, a crucial pick-six and a forced fumble on Chad Johnson made this game closer than it really should have been. Good to see Reed show up, but all he really did was prolong the inevitable.
- Joe had a baaaad day – The quarterback that we put so much hope in looked bad today against the Bengals. He had a critical interception that would have given the Ravens at least three points. He forced throws and and hung around pressure for too long today.
By Zach Wilt, on March 5th, 2009 The Ravens have had quite an eventful off season this year. But should we be worried about their future? In my mind there are a lot of question marks the Ravens face going into 2009. In Ozzie we trust though, right.
Here’s a brief summary of what has gone on:
Looking to the list above I can tell you two losses that I’m not worried about. Both of them went to the Jets. Bart Scott was way over paid in New York and Jim Leonhard was a good fill in for Dawan Landry, but is nothing more than that. Don’t worry about these two Baltimore. Players like this come and go in this town, they get their big deals (and good for them) but you won’t hear their names again.
They are the Jamie Sharpers, the Duane Starks, the Ed Hartwells, and Adalius Thomases. Highly paid, but they’re system guys. You take them out of the Ravens’ system and you’ll see the kind of puzzle piece players that that they really are.
What I am worried about is Domonique Foxworth, a cornerback that Atlanta and Denver seemed to give up on and a guy the Ravens lovingly tossed 27 million dollars to. How is this guy going to do matched up one-on-one with Hines Ward twice a year? Because he certainly doesn’t seem to be the second coming of C-Mac.
The Ravens have also run Samari Rolle out of town. “Honestly, I don’t want to play in Baltimore anymore because I feel I’m not wanted,” Rolle said. The 32 year old cornerback has caught a lot of heat from some fans because he’s been burned a few times. I’ve always challenged that by wondering whether Ed Reed left him high and dry trying to make the play of the week. Though you’d never hear him say that. Last year he thought Fabian Washington came to replace him, now its Foxworth.
And what about Matt Birk? The Ravens obviously couldn’t afford to give a center $37.5 million dollars. But they were able to give a 32 year old 12 million over 3 years. I’m not saying that signing a 6 time Pro Bowler is a bad idea, but I’m just a little skeptical.
Finally, Mr. Baltimore, Ray Lewis, is back. Unfortunately for him, no star on his helmet. The length and terms of the deal have not been released yet, but Ozzie told the press that Ray can “retire as a Raven.” We’ve heard all kinds of rumors about the deal. Despite his history here, I just hope the Ravens didn’t break the bank on a 34 year old tattered linebacker.
So what do you think? Are you still following Ozzie blindly, or are you starting to feel a little uncomfortable like me?
By Zach Wilt, on February 27th, 2009 For years in Baltimore, the purple and black clad faithful have clamored for one thing: a quarterback whose jersey they can feel safe purchasing. After years of amending Zeier, Grbac, Banks and Boller jerseys with duct tape and magic marker, Ravens fans have found their man in Joe Flacco.
“Now get ‘im some weapons!” their cries echo through the talk radio and message boards.
Don’t get me wrong, the Ravens have never had a wideout even worth sniffing the early rounds of any fantasy draft. It would be nice to see a Reggie Wayne or Andre Johnson streaking down the sidelines of M&T Bank Stadium, surely. However, when you take a look at the AFC North in 2008, it seems apparent that sticking to their guns may be what keeps the momentum of the surprising 11-5 2008 season going.
In an interesting case of perception vs. reality, regardless of its reputation of a hard-nosed, mud-faced, cold weather division, the AFC North is pass-happy.
In 2008, despite an injured Carson Palmer and a no-show season from Chad Johnson, the Bengals still threw the ball 55% of the time. The Browns chucked it on 54% of their snaps. The Super Bowl champs? Well, even though their reputation, like the Ravens, speaks to three yards and a cloud of dust, the Steelers actually passed the ball 52% of the time.
The Ravens, in fact, are the only team honoring the North’s reputation as The Other Black and Blue (with the original mantle going to the NFC North, naturally). Baltimore passed the ball just 42% of the time, which is remarkably low not just for the AFC North but for the modern era of the NFL. Granted, this is largely in part to having a rookie quarterback at the helm (by comparison, the Atlanta Falcons’ rookie Matt Ryan and threw the ball 46% of the time, which also can be traced to having one of the best rushers in the game in Michael Turner). Still, the Ravens’ meal ticket was the three-headed monster of McClain, McGahee and Rice. Now, in ’09 the attack may break down differently (I’d like to see more touches for Rice), but philosophically, the Ravens are the lone wolf (or bird) in their division when it comes to old school football.
So what does this all mean? Well, for one, Cam Cameron might as well be using be using Brian Billick’s old stationary, which reads “Former Offensive Pass Guru Turned Woody Hayes Enthusiast.” Secondly, and more importantly, it means that in the AFC North there is a clear rift in the economics of moving the chains.
While this year’s free agent market is a thin one, there are still going to be pass-catchers on the market. The temptation, and the pressure, will be there to ink a commodity name wearing a number in the 80s. If the Ravens are unable to sway a receiver from the open market, the pressure will intensify to grab one in April’s draft. With an especially deep receiver class the temptation will certainly be there to select one in the first two rounds. But we’ve been there before. Taking receivers early means big money, and more importantly big expectations (anyone seen Travis Taylor lately?)
Nobody is claiming that Derrick Mason is a spring chicken, but he is extremely reliable. Like Marvin Harrison before him, the man has made a heck of a career of turning around and catching the football consistently. His ability to stay healthy and limit drops on the safe routes has been and will be crucial in Flacco’s development. For now, the inconsistently explosive Mark Clayton will have to be the Big Play Guy. There may be better number three guys in the league than Demetrius Williams, but there are certainly worse. All in all, it’s not an outstanding corps of receivers, but one you could survive on. Throw a late round pick into the mix, a dollop of Heap and a dash of Yamon Figurs for good measure, and you have a pretty good pass-catching group for a team that never passes. You can’t get A’s in every subject in the NFL. Somewhere, you have to sacrifice resources. With the Browns and Bengals, hopelessly trying to pass their way to the top of the North, they are sacrificing not only their ability to control the clock by running the football, they are exposing themselves defensively.
The other thing that this lopsided offensive mindset in the AFC North means is that there is an absolute premium on the ability to defend the pass. The priority on inking Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis, and/or Bart Scott is noble, but it is clear that to win in this division you had better be ready to defend the past. With Chris McAlister unceremoniously shuffled out the back door and Samari Rolle not far behind, the Ravens most pressing rebuilding needs to happen in the secondary. The amount of free agent d-backs worth their salt will not be great, and rookie corners have a hit-and-miss record. This makes the decision to let breakout safety Jim Leonhard slide into the free agent pool a frustrating one. Granted, there won’t be a penny leftover if the Ravens are able to re-sign Lewis, but with everyone else attempting to air it out, wouldn’t it make sense to specialize in stopping the pass?
Warren Buffet once said, “You cannot buy what is popular and do well.” In a division where teams are overpaying due to demand for receiving, I’d heed Mr. Buffet’s advice.
By Zach Wilt, on February 26th, 2009 Free agency is just hours away! Yahoo! posted a list of the Top 100 Free Agents of 2009. Which Ravens made the list?
Check out the full list here.
By Zach Wilt, on February 18th, 2009 By now you’ve heard that the Ravens cut former Pro Bowl cornerback Chris McAlister. A move that freed up more than 8 million dollars in cap room was expected by everyone and finally happened yesterday evening.
In an interview with 105.7 The Fan McAlister told Anita Marks that he is “still dealing with the shock of the whole thing.”
“Ten years here, I had my ups and downs. But there’s no greater football town, no better football city than here in Baltimore,” he said.
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Terrell Suggs does not do anything quietly. Quiet people do not found “Ball So Hard” universities. Quiet people don’t have offensive formations named after them when they don’t play a down of offense. And yet, looking at the last decade of Baltimore Ravens football, it’s been easy for Suggs to get a little lost in the shuffle at times. As a self-admitted third-in-command behind Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, Suggs has not been synonymous with the Baltimore Ravens in the way those two players have.
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