By Zach Wilt, on April 12th, 2012  Breathe easy Ravens fans, Ray Rice was knocked out of the pool for the cover of Madden 13. I don’t consider myself a to be a very superstitious person, but I certainly buy into the Madden Curse. Last year’s curse on Peyton Hillis was so strong that it effected Peyton Manning and Sean Payton too.
You have to assume that a curse on Ray Rice could only do bad things to future hall of famer Ray Lewis.
Rice was edged by Aaron Rodgers in the Madden cover tournament on ESPN.com. Rodgers takes on Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson in the semi-finals.
Panthers QB Cam Newton and 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis also remain contenders for this year’s curse cover.
By Dave Gilmore, on January 23rd, 2012 
Given what occurred in Foxboro yesterday, it seems appropriate to channel some positive memories of Ravens special teams play.
Matt Stover will turn 44 years old on Friday, and could probably still jump in and kick in the Super Bowl if either team needed him to un-retire. In fact, Stover is the oldest player to ever play in AND score in Super Bowl history (he was 42 while kicking for the Colts in his final season).
The Ravens did right by inducting Stover into their Ring of Honor this year. The Louisiana Tech product missed just three extra points in his entire NFL career, and is currently 5th on the NFL’s all-time leading scorer list. Somehow, he only made the Pro Bowl once, which seems a bit criminal.
Stover made the transition from Cleveland Brown to Baltimore Raven seamlessly, and came to embody all that was good about the young franchise. Has there ever been a more fitting jersey number?
Got an item for TWIBSH? Send it to baltimorecaps@gmail.com or @BalSportsReport on Twitter.
By Dave Gilmore, on January 17th, 2012  A sparse chant of “let Joe throw!” echoes down from a small cadre of fans in purple camo pants sitting in the 200-level. From the same corner of M&T Bank Stadium, a season ticket holder shouts in a hoarse Dundalk pitch “let Rice run the f$#%ing ball!” Their dissonance melds into a single cacophony that breezes in the general direction of Malcolm “Cam” Cameron. The Ravens offensive coordinator hears none of this. He glances up at the game clock. 5:54 remains in the third quarter. It is Christmas Even 2011, and the Ravens have just stretched their lead over the Cleveland Browns to 20-0. Nobody seems pleased.
They say the best position to have in a football town is backup quarterback. You get to wear a baseball cap and a pair of headphones and look like you’re listening intently during timeouts. Nobody knows what you might be capable of if called in for duty. Thus, you might be the next Joe Montana. If backup QB is the most desirable job in football, offensive coordinator ranks dead last, just behind the guy responsible for washing Terrence Cody’s jock.
The play-caller is the most important decision-maker in the scope of a single football game. A non-play-calling head coach might make a crucial “go for it on 4th” decision or throw a pivotal challenge flag, but ultimately, everything that leads a team into those situations is dictated by the decisions made by the offensive coordinator. Cam Cameron made 62 decisions on that chilly Christmas Eve afternoon. Every single one of them was questioned. Maybe Cam Cameron deserves to be questioned. To a certain extent, so does every decision maker in pro sports. However, what Cameron endures publicly would make most of us crumble privately. How much of it is warranted, and how much of it is “Mobtown” simply piling on? READ MORE >>>
By Lindsey, on January 7th, 2012  At times, Baltimore fans are like high schoolers – they want the coolest friends, the newest gadgets. What they fail to realize is that the cell phone they have does its job, and their friends are good friends -regardless if they are head cheerleader. Joe Flacco is not Tom Brady, Drew Brees, or Aaron Rodgers. He does not have a perfect quarterback rating, or outstanding stats for that matter. But he does his job, and he is good at what he does. While there is room for improvement, he does not get enough credit.
People seem to overlook the fact that he has the most wins of any NFL quarterback in four years. Also, keep in mind, none of the current Ravens wide receivers or tight ends had been on the roster prior to 2010. While he is not Rodgers or Brees, he is also not any of the following quarterbacks – and, Baltimore, you should be thankful.
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By Zach Wilt, on January 6th, 2012  Image via Baltimore Sports Reportr: BSR's epically awesome Tumblog As the only division in the NFL to have three teams make the postseason, it’s pretty obvious that the AFC North is the best division in football.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh agrees with that statement.
“This is the best division in football.”
See. Told you.
“It’s not even close,” Harbs added.
As BaltimoreRavens.com’s Garrett Downing points out, six match ups against the best division in football might not be the end for the Ravens. The Bengals travel to Houston and the Steelers to Denver this weekend and both hosts have lost three straight games.
“That just says we got a tough division,” fullback Vonta Leach said in Downing’s article. “Our division is one that everybody has a tough time playing against.”
Yet somehow in August, everyone seems to think the NFC East has turned the corner and put the mediocrity of all four teams behind them.
By Dave Gilmore, on January 3rd, 2012  The Baltimore Ravens wrapped up their 16th regular season NFL campaign yesterday. On paper and on the turf, this season was a complete success. Perhaps it’s an indication that we’re a little spoiled, given that such a campaign might not even be in the top three seasons in the team’s brief history.
This felt like an amazing season, but of course it’s easy to say that when it’s fresh in our hearts and minds. Still, I think it stacks up nicely among the best ever played by the franchise. READ MORE >>>
By Zach Wilt, on January 3rd, 2012  After a light and fluffy 2011 schedule, the Ravens 2012 opponents were released on Monday. Baltimore will play all the teams of the always overhyped NFC East and Tim Tebow’s AFC West.
Though the dates won’t be released until April, here’s the home and road games according to Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com.
Home games: Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants.
Away Games: Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles.
Mink points out that the Broncos won the AFC West with a .500 record and the Giants won the NFC East at 9-7.
Though no division is more difficult than the Ravens’ AFC North.
By Ross Gore, on December 28th, 2011  The annotated WPA Graph for Week 16 is shown above. The graph is taken from NFL Advanced Stats, while the annotations are ours. If you are new to WPA graphs please see our WPA Reader’s Guide. The game was effectively sealed at half time when the Browns showcased unprecedented levels of ineffectiveness. With just over a minute to go, Greg Little broke several tackles to get the Browns into a 2nd-and-1 situation at the 8-yard line instead of a 2nd-and-14. The Browns burned their final timeout presumably because it would’ve taken awhile to gather everyone together up to the line of scrimmage. After the Browns got a fresh set of downs by running the ball, they had two options: clock the ball to discuss the next play, or run the next play. The chose to run the play, a pass to Evan Moore in the flat near the sidelines at about the 3-yard line. As soon as Moore turned around, he was driven back about a yard, thus when we went out of bounds, the clock can kept running. With 11 seconds to play, the Browns inexplicably chose to run the ball. Peyton Hillis was stopped for no gain and the half ended. It was an absurdly aggressive decision (apparently made soley by Seneca Wallace) not to choose to clock the ball and the Browns paid for in terms of the scoreboard and in terms of WPA. Their inability to get any points in that situation vaulted the Ravens to a 93% chance on winning the game.
However, the Browns were not done making awful mistakes. Due to a solid come back against a putrid Baltimore offense in the 4th quarter, the Browns had the opportunity to attempt a game-winning drive with two minutes remaining, all they had to do was stay out of the neutral zone before the snap. They could not. An overly eager Phil Taylor jumped into the neutral zone giving the Ravens a fresh set of downs and sealing an ugly win.
More observations from the game after the jump.
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By Matt Lund, on December 25th, 2011 The Baltimore Ravens entered their final home game of the 2011 season looking to make franchise history against their divisional opponent, the Cleveland Browns. The chance to wrap up the home schedule with an 8-0 record hung in the balance, giving them the distinction of becoming the first team in the 16-year history of the franchise to finish with a perfect home record. The Ravens wanted to deliver not only an early Christmas present to the fans on Christmas Eve, but also to send a message to not be counted out after the loss to the San Diego Chargers.
 The Ravens breezed through the first half leading 17-0 as the Cleveland Browns showcased some of the worst coaching and mis-managing of the game clock in NFL history. The Ravens were aided by the Browns having exactly zero timeouts when they received the ball back for the final time of the 1st half. Driving the distance of the field, Browns RB Peyton Hillis was stopped for no gain at the 3-yard line and without a timeout, the Browns and their head coach Pat Shurmur could only watch in disbelief as time expired in the half.
With the way the Browns had played in the 1st half, one would think the airplane taking the team back to Cleveland would be fired up and on stand-by at BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport, but they actually made a game out of it and the Ravens at times, seemed to almost want the Browns to get back into the game.
Very questionable play-calling and lack of execution by the Ravens in the 2nd half and a couple of long drives by Cleveland brought the Browns to within six points after TE Evan Moore caught a six-yard TD from QB Seneca Wallace to cut the Ravens lead to 20-14. The Ravens bent all game, but didn’t break as they looked at a 4th and 2 at the Cleveland 37-yard line. True to form, the Browns promptly shot themselves in the foot that held open the door of opportunity in this game.
After Joe Flacco barked out a few hard counts, somehow he lured Browns’ defensive tackle Phil Taylor off-sides on a play the Ravens were never actually going to get off. The penalty gave the Ravens a first down and after running out the clock on the next three plays, gave them a 20-14 victory, their eighth straight win against Cleveland in front of 71,083 fans at M&T Bank Stadium.
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By Ross Gore, on December 23rd, 2011  Ray Rice and company look to stay undefeated in the AFC North this Saturday. The Ravens face off against the Cleveland Browns in their final home regular season game of the 2011 Season. The Browns are currently ravaged by injuries, the Ravens need to win to maintain their #2 seed in the AFC playoffs and the Ravens are 7-0 at home this year. Its really hard to make any case for the Ravens losing this game but then again the Indianapolis Colts (2-13) beat the Houston Texans (10-5) putting in jeopardy their chance at the #1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Its referred to as the coin flip league for a reason, no single game outcome is improbable. Without further ado, lets jump into the bullets after the jump:
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By Dave Gilmore, on December 23rd, 2011  Available at Danburymint.com The Baltimore Ravens have played on Christmas Eve twice before in their history. In 2006 they went to Heinz Field and left a big lump of coal, trouncing the Steelers 31-7. In 2000, in a game I was lucky enough to attend, the eventual Super Bowl champion Ravens would outlast the Jets 34-20. I will never forget that game because a) it was Christmas Eve and it seemed weird to be at a football game, and b) I watched Vinny Testaverde attempt 69 passes for the Jets. You read that correctly.
Over a decade later I’m heading back to M&T for my second Christmas Eve with the Ravens, thanks to the generosity of my wonderful aunt. Given the history, am I expecting a weird game? Absolutely. Here’s what I’d like to see on Saturday. READ MORE >>>
By Dave Gilmore, on December 22nd, 2011  The Ravens will be without their main threat at wideout for the final two games of the season.
Anquan Boldin will have surgery to repair a slightly torn meniscus, the team’s web site reports. While everyone was concerned about Billy Cundiff’s lack of work at practice this week, there was a discomforting air about Boldin sitting out Thursday’s practice. Now we know why.
Boldin sits at 57 catches on the season, second on the team to Ray Rice’s 71, a disappointing campaign for a player who has caught 100 balls twice in his career.
Boldin’s absence will give rookie wideout Torrey Smith and beleaguered veteran Lee Evans an opportunity to get some quality repetitions in against two very good pass defenses. The Browns are ranked 3rd in the NFL in pass defense while the Bengals are ranked 11th.
By Dave Gilmore, on December 22nd, 2011  As reported by ESPN, former running backs Jamal Lewis and Dorsey Levens, along with two other former NFL players, have filed suit against the league for allegedly concealing the dangers of head injuries during their playing days.
This comes just a day after the league announced new protocols intending to increase the efficiency of treating on-field head trauma.
Litigiousness is rarely looked among kindly by fans, especially when the crux of the case is, “you played football your entire life and didn’t realize your brain could be seriously damaged?” but people should remember that this isn’t the first lawsuit from former players against the league and it certainly won’t be the last.
Ray Rice certainly is making strides his direction, but as of today, it’s hard to argue with Lewis’ legacy as the Ravens’ greatest runner.
By Zach Wilt, on December 13th, 2011 With the playoffs in sight, Baltimore needs just one more win to clinch their fourth straight trip to the postseason. They’ll have to travel out the west coast to do so, but they face the slumping San Diego Chargers in a game that Baltimore will use to stay on top of the AFC.
On Monday, ESPN’s Jamison Hensley reported that Baltimore can earn the AFC’s top seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs by winning their remaining three games. ”The reason is because none of the AFC playoff contenders can have a better strength of victory than Baltimore,” Hensley wrote.
As he later pointed out, the Ravens have never finished a season as the AFC’s top seed. They finished as a number two seed in 2006.
They’ll have to win in San Diego, at home against Cleveland and in Cincinnati to finish on top.
By Zach Wilt, on December 7th, 2011 
I’m still waiting for an explanation on why Grantland.com’s Bill Barnwell hates the Ravens. I enjoy reading the ESPN/Bill Simmons love child that is Grantland, but I just haven’t taken their NFL staff writer serious after he called the Ravens lucky when the embarrassed the Steelers in week one.
Barnwell’s anti-Ravens bias reared its ugly head again in week nine when he called Torrey Smith a “flop of the week” after he caught the game winning touchdown on the road in Pittsburgh. ”Again, maybe this is a little harsh for the player who scored the game-winning touchdown, but Smith also dropped what would have been the game-winning touchdown four plays earlier by slowing down on his route prematurely,” he wrote.
My favorite Ravens critic is back at it after Baltimore ran all over the Browns 24-10, this time calling out Joe Flacco.
Flop: Joe Flacco, who couldn’t capitalize on the incredible performance his running back was giving him. Flacco was just 10-of-23 for 158 yards and didn’t throw a touchdown pass, while just seven of Baltimore’s 24 first downs came through the air. He threw for just two first downs on third down all day, and naturally, one of them was to Rice.
I guess my problem with Barney (I’m calling him Barney now) is that he sees one side of the box score. He listed Torrey Smith as a flop of the week despite the fact that the Ravens burned Steelers safety Troy Polamalu all game. The same is true this week.
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Breathe easy Ravens fans, Ray Rice was knocked out of the pool for the cover of Madden 13. I don’t consider myself a to be a very superstitious person, but I certainly buy into the Madden Curse. Last year’s curse on Peyton Hillis was so strong that it effected Peyton Manning and Sean Payton too.
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