The Bottom Liner

Ed Reed on retirement, Ray Lewis and if he's the best safety ever

2009-07-31T22:40:00.003-04:00

Ravens Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed chatted up the Baltimore sports media today. He took on a couple of really interesting topics...

On if he is aware of the debate that is starting saying that he could possibly be the best safety of all time and if he enjoys it: “I mean, you’ve got to enjoy it. I listen to that, and like I [said], everybody’s good, and everybody’s the best in their own right. It was a different time when Ronnie Lott and [those guys] played. I feel like the game was more physical. There weren’t as many rules as they have on the game today, offensive rules and stuff to help the offense. With comparisons to Troy [Polamalu], knowing how Dick LeBeau moves him around, and he’s at D-line one time, linebacker another time, not playing safety the full right. He’s a great football player, though, not to take anything away from Troy. I just try to be my best to help my team. That’s all you can do. You let everybody else do the comparisons.”

On if the change in defensive coordinator has brought a new look or if it’s still business as usual: “It’s business as usual, and [there’s] some new stuff in there. You expect to have changes every year. Even with Rex [Ryan], we came in and we had different things we did year to year. It’s a couple of little changes. We’ll see how it goes, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to get out there and execute and play football regardless of who the caller is.”

On if he feels like his old self: “Yeah, I’m feeling all right. They let me practice a little earlier this year.”

On if he wants to return punts: “I don’t know. If I’m needed and coach [John Harbaugh] allows me to… Because sometimes it’s in the swing of the game that I ask to do it, and he lets me go back there. It’s really a point of whatever it takes to help the team win. But, we’ve got more than enough guys that can do different things on this team right now and great athletes back there returning kicks.”

On the feel he has for head coach John Harbaugh now compared to last year: “He’s all football, he’s all football. I think there is some stuff that comes with being a head coach, that you have to be a certain way. I think coach knows that, and he has great mentors around him to help him be a good head coach. At the end of the day, he’s my head coach, and I’m going to play on his team. There are certain things I have to abide by. It might not be all the time we agree with each other, but that’s a part of being a family and working with each other.”

On an athlete he’s never played with, but would love to play with and why: “I don’t think he’s in this league, not even in this sport. I grew up watching Michael Jordan – his work ethic and the intensity he brought to a team. I always patterned what I did on the basketball court after him, but I took things he said [about] work ethic and as a person. When you watched him, he made others around him better. But, he always gave his all at what he did, even when he was sick. It was really, more or less, in college than it was in the pros, because that’s when he was more or less still playing. If I had a chance to play anything, it would probably be a game on his team. We’d have to talk about 3-guard though, because that’s what I played. I can play the 2 right now, shoot, or go play golf with him. That’d probably be it.”

On what LB Ray Lewis demands and brings to the table as a teammate: “Ray is like that Michael Jordan figure on this team, to go back to [the earlier question]. His work ethic is totally off the charts. His intensity and his film study and what he knows about the game is what makes you want to get better. Obviously, I took my game to another step once he and I started watching film together, and just picking his brain on things. Now, Ray is that father on the field that’s getting guys lined up. And, they can learn how to play the game by just watching him.”

On if he or other guys go to Lewis with personal problems: “I’m sure guys go and ask him questions. I still would ask him things if it came across me. I mean, I’m 30 at this point, too. It’s like, guys come to me… Everybody feeds off everybody. There are so many things that go through the locker room. Guys go through many situations that you hear. So you can learn. Sometimes you don’t have to ask. Sometimes, Ray will just give it to you.”

Ray Lewis on flirting, Super Bowls and aging

2009-07-31T22:34:00.003-04:00

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis spoke with the Baltimore sports media July 31 at training camp. Here are his thoughts...

On his offseason workout regimen: “Same things, just shredded it a lot – lost about 15 [pounds]. I wanted to come in and play a lot lighter. Anytime you have two-deep D-linemen, I’m excited about that. We have a rotation that we wanted to have before, and when you have that type of rotation for your [linebackers], that’s a big thing. You can just run all day and have fun. It’s good seeing Kelly [Gregg] back; he’s out there like a little kid. He doesn’t know all the tackles just yet again (laughter), so we need to get him back in to that. But overall, for me, it feels good to be back, and I’m just excited for another year. Here we go.”

On how it feels to know it is his 14th NFL season: “First of all, it’s just a blessing to God that I can come back and do it year after year – come back with no injuries, no setbacks and things like that. Anytime that you can find yourself feeling as good as I’ve been feeling this past offseason, training-wise, you really have fun training. That’s what I went back to – I had a lot of fun training this year. There was no lagging and things like that. Fourteen – it’s a great number. For me, I’m always chasing to do some different and new things. I keep them to myself, but it’s a lot of great goals I have set for myself.”

On what his first-ever NFL training camp practice was like 14 years ago: “I can’t tell you. I can’t tell you what it was like then. That was too long ago. I was 17 years old. I was just running around, trying to figure it all out. You know, all the old guys were coaching me here and there, the [Rob] Burnetts, Eric Turners, all those guys, man. I’ll tell you, what you do get from it, you do get the sense of how many guys – when I was young, how many guys I leaned on – and now for myself, being the veteran, how many guys lean on me. You know, not just when we get here, but the whole offseason. If anything is more exciting, it’s just the advance from where I came from in 14 years is always a great thing.”

On the state of the defense after several offseason changes in personnel: “It’s always business as usual. People don’t understand – over the last 10 years – we have to know how many coordinators we’ve seen. We’ve seen coordinators come in and out. Who we are is who we are, bottom line. We’re going to always stick to our identity with who we are. Congratulation to Rex [Ryan]. Go ahead and do your thing at the Jets, but we’re Ravens. We’re Ravens for life, and that’s an honor. The bottom line is, the way we play defense is our mentality – it’s not a coach’s mentality – it’s the way we play. Whoever comes and goes, it was good playing with you, but it’s time to go on.”

On whether he can imagine playing for any other NFL team: “Never. Never. Never. I would never leave my city. I love it too much.”

On why he “flirted” with other teams in the offseason: “With who? I didn’t flirt with anybody. I mean, I flirt when I pass by a beautiful woman walking down the street. (laughing) That doesn’t mean I talk to her. (laughing) I’ll tell you the thing, when you really look at all of the things that go on – I’m not going to name names – but all of the people who change and try to do this and try to find out that, I don’t want to ever go anywhere. I’m bred here, I started my career here and I’m going to end my career here. I would never go put on another uniform and play for one year, two years. No, it’s just not worth it. It’s not worth what’s invested in my city, what I give back to my city off the field and what my city gives back to me. There’s no greater reward than that. When you hear the things that people say, that’s a reward, that you know you can help change someone’s life through your efforts and going out – whatever it is – on and off the field. I love Baltimore. It’s just a great place.”

On the state of the offense and public questions at wide receiver: “I say if you’re going to judge us, judge us as a team, because that’s what we are. We bought into that. Years, we’ve been dealing with the same thing for years. Last year, we had heard the same speculation coming into the year, that our offense was going to do this. Bottom line, we’ve got some great young talent over there. Ray Rice, to me, is just one of the most exciting players to watch play football. Joe Flacco is growing up. We get our first-round tackle drafted and our offensive line is back in tact, and that’s where winning starts from. It starts from in the trenches, and we have that again. That’s exciting, from the offensive side and the defensive side. On the defensive side, we’re running two-deep, bottom line on the defensive line. As a team, we’re built. We’ve got one mindset – beat us as a team – because you can’t beat us as an offense and defense. You’ve got to beat us as a team.”

On whether he gets hungrier for another Super Bowl as he gets older: “Yeah, what it is, is you try to get young guys to clue in on how important it is. You know, of guys who went 14 or 15 years and never saw a ring – you try to express that taste to them. Opportunities don’t knock like that. I still tell them, you think about the AFC Championship last year and you’re talking about five minutes away from going to a dance. Those opportunities don’t come every day. I used to watch football for a long time, and for me now, it’s just the excitement of having the right guys in the right place. That’s kind of what the energy is. So, getting them to focus in and clue in and say, ‘We can go be whatever we want to be,’ that’s my job.”

On whether he is the same player he was five years ago: “I think I’m probably better now because I’m just wiser. Wisdom overrides talent any day. Talent fades – wisdom never fades – wisdom grows. That’s why I’m a better player, because I can make my team better. I can make guys better around me. Making plays, for me, on a football field is the easiest thing I can wake up and do. Influencing men is what my challenge is every day. You know, to get a man to go full speed every play, to get a man to study, to get a man to understand if you want to do something great, [then] go work to be great. When you ask me if I’m good, I’m only better because what’s around me is better. Every year they say, ‘Your defense is getting old,’ but it’s hard to be old when you’re always No. 1 or No. 2. It’s hard to be old when you haven’t seen a 100-yard rusher in two-and-a-half years. It’s hard. Those things will energize me day in and day out, to come back and always be a better leader.”

On how they bridge the gap this year and advance to the Super Bowl: “Oh, easily. Bottom line, you leave no room for error. Last year, you go back to [the AFC Championship] – and coaches will hit on it in practice – you take one or two of those penalties away from any one of those Pittsburgh games, everything is different. That’s the bottom line. Now, you’ve got to come back and leave no room for error. You’ve got to come back with a different type of wisdom. If you’re going to hit someone in the back, boom. If you’re going to go make a tackle, [then] go make the tackle – things like that. The bottom line is this is a game of inches. You can go back and watch all three of those games that we played them, and it was always one play away from [winning]. That’s the thing that we have to go back and correct, and hopefully we get back to that position where we won’t make the same mistakes.”

On whether he has spoken to WR Derrick Mason and if he can speak to Mason’s mindset: “No, I can’t. I can’t. Sometimes you want to, but I can’t speak for [Derrick]. [Derrick] is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen. For him to make that decision, there’s a reason he made that decision. There’s a reason that whatever he’s going through… You know, I pray for him every day. Coach Hue [Jackson] gave me his number and I’m going to reach out to him, but I want him to take his time to figure out what he and his family are going to do. When he makes up his mind as a teammate, he’ll get in touch with whoever he’s supposed to get in touch with. That’s one of the greatest warriors to play this game, and you have to appreciate, whatever decision he makes, he makes. I won’t speak for him, but I know that Derrick Mason is probably making the decision that’s best for him and his family.”

On how many years he has left in his tank: “Only God can tell me that. Only God can tell me that. Anytime I feel as good as I feel, and I can keep leading these men the way I lead these men, life keeps going. The one thing about me is when I’m done, I’m done. I’m not going to keep going back and forth. That’s why I train the way I train – that when I do step back on the field, it’s like I can just go have fun again. So for me, year in and year out, it’s always, ‘What’s next? When is it over?’ Only God can tell you when it’s over. I’m having too much fun playing right now.”

On his impressions of LB Jameel McClain: “He’s a youngster, man. He’s a young warrior. I love his attitude about the game. The thing is, he really challenges me. When people say I’m so studious about the game, he challenges me every day like that, ‘Why’d you do this, or why’d you say that?’ That’s when you know a young guy is really interested in becoming better, and he’s one of those young guys. Talent-wise, he’s going to always be able to do that, but the bottom line is what he wants to learn. Every second of the day is what’s most exciting for me.”

On whether he feels more confident in saying they have to be beat as a team this year than he did last year: “Well, that wasn’t the question. The question was do we worry about the offense not being this and that. And I was like, ‘If you’re going to defeat us, you’re going to defeat us as a team.’ There’s no one side to any of this. When we step on the field, we’re one heartbeat, bottom line.”

On whether he feels more comfortable saying that this year than in years past: “Yeah, absolutely. Every year you feel confident, but with the young talent we’ve got now, why wouldn’t I feel confident?”

John Harbaugh's first press conference of training camp

2009-07-27T16:31:00.002-04:00

JOHN HARBAUGH OPENING PRESS CONFERENCE JULY 27

On if it is a relief to be at camp after what has gone on the past two weeks: “I wouldn’t consider it in those terms. We’re excited to be here. We’re excited for training camp. We had a nice break. We had a nice five-week break, four-week break, six-week break. A lot of guys have been working with Bill [Tessendorf]. Guys have been working on their own. Everybody that I have talked to is excited to go to training camp. They’re excited to go to work. I know the coaches feel that way, and the players feel that way.”

On what happened with WR Drew Bennett and where that leaves the Ravens at the wide receiver position: “Well, what happened with Drew was the fact that he went through a real tough workout. Part of the process… I think that’s why you put guys through a workout at this stage, is to find out how they recover the next day and what not. His knees just didn’t calm down, and he felt like this is going to be a problem now, and forever really, because it’s arthritic. And it is time for him to move on. He didn’t feel like he could get through a practice, let alone a season at this level.”

On if he was shocked to hear about Bennett’s sudden retirement: “No, I don’t get shocked. You would never characterize it that way. Things happen, and we’re getting ready for practice. I’m shocked by the question, actually, that you would even ask that after a year.” (laughing)

On whether he anticipates signing another wide receiver: “We’ll add another receiver because we need receivers now to fill out training camp. So, we’re looking for the best guys out there that we can – young guys, older guys, whoever that may be – to put 10 or 11 receivers into training camp. That’s what we’ve got to do right now, so we’ve got some irons in the fire.”

On whether his phone starts ringing off the hook when a player retires and a roster spot opens up: “My phone doesn’t – yeah, my phone was good. (laughter) No, we’re always working on that; we’re all on top of that as it is. You know, Ozzie’s [Newsome] been fielding calls and talking to agents and players, and Vince [Newsome] has been doing the same thing. It’s an ongoing process. I mean, everybody wants to talk about one specific position and it goes on with every single position. We’re not thinking about one spot. We’re thinking about our whole football team, our whole roster and making it as good as we possibly can. So, yeah, you may see a move at receiver, but you may see a move at linebacker or defensive line or somewhere else, too. We’re always going to try to make our team as good as it can be.”

On the status of rookie T Michael Oher’s contract negotiations and if he will be a camp within the next day or two: “Michael Oher, I know he wants to be here. He’s said that many times. Ozzie wants him to be here, and his agent wants him to be here. Not too many first-round picks have signed yet, so a lot of that hinges on how that all slots out. I think there’s going to be some… The agent wants to make sure he does the right thing by Michael. And we want to make sure that we do the right thing by Michael, too. We want to get the best contract we can for him as soon as we can. It should happen pretty soon.”

On if he has to set his tempo at his camp every year or if he’ll move to a new level in his program: “That’s a really broad question. What we’re focused on right now is having a great training camp. We want to have the best training camp in the NFL, and that starts with tomorrow. We want to have the best day we can have tomorrow. That’s how it was last year, that’s how it’s going to be next year, and that’s how it is this year. We’re excited to get going, and we’ll just go about the business of practicing football.”

On what went into the release of TE Quinn Sypniewski: “The knee… The surgery didn’t work. That’s the way you can describe it. So he’s got to have some more… He had some more work done on it, and that’s healing right now. We’re just giving him a chance to heal right now. He can’t be on the 80-man roster at this stage. We need to have all our guys at practice right now. We’ve got a plan for Quinn. He’s still very much in our plans down the road, and he’ll be working hard to get that knee ready.”

On how he handles the distraction of WR Derrick Mason’s retirement with the team: “Everything that happens to our football team, every bit of adversity we face, every bit of success we face, is an opportunity to get better. So, I don’t care what it is – who’s here, who’s not here – we don’t care about any of it. It’s irrelevant except to the extent that we can become a better football team today, and that’s what our guys are going to be focused on. We’re not talking about any specific players or anything like that. Everybody knows the situation. We’ve got a job to do today, our guys can’t wait to go to work, and that’s it. And that’s what training camp is about.”

On whether he has different feelings about Mason’s retirement process: “I haven’t spoken with him since [their meeting last week], so I’m sure it’s pretty much the same, and we’ll be seeing what happens in the next few days.”

On whether they have had to put anyone on the Physically Unable to Perform list yet: “Not yet. No, we’ll start tomorrow with that and the next couple of days.”

On whether he knows who will be placed on PUP: “No.”

Terrell Suggs teleconference transcript

2009-07-15T17:06:00.003-04:00

Baltimore reporters talked with Terrell Suggs about his contract extension today. Here's the transcript of that conversation and Coach John Harbaugh's thoughts as well.

LB Terrell Suggs

What is your reaction to this deal and what kind of responsibility do you feel to live up to the deal?
“You know I’m always trying to do better. That’s my reaction to it, and I’m just happy it got done, because like I said before, I consider myself a player of the fans – I play for them. I love the cheer that I get when I’m running out of the tunnel, and I’m just glad that we finally got back to football, and that they wanted me there and I wanted to be there. Ozzie [Newsome] and everybody, we all wanted the same thing, and we just had to agree on the little stuff. Both sides compromised a lot, and now we came to an agreement – a great agreement – that we both felt was great and now we can get back to the football.”

What was your reaction to the size of the contract? Were you surprised by the amount of money you’re going to be getting?
“Yeah, everybody’s saying, ‘You’re the highest paid this’ and, ‘just under Peyton Manning’ and all that type of stuff. That was never a focal point. That was never brought up once in the negotiation. I never wanted to be the highest-paid anything. I’m not that guy. I don’t care what the next man is getting. I just want it to be fair. This is a business, and everything is structured and branded a certain way. I think the reason that the number was so high is because of the whole hybrid thing – that I do play defensive end and linebacker. So I think that’s why it was so high. I think that’s where the extra little bit came from. But as far as the highest-paid anything, or second to Peyton Manning, that’s all just coincidence. You all know me. I would never say I want more money than Peyton Manning or anything like that. Like I said, I just wanted what was fair – what I felt that I’ve earned.”

Can you say in general the difference in you signing to stay here and LB Bart [Scott] signing to leave?
“I think it was just going to be hard to bring all three guys back, and we all knew that. You know, Bart – neither one of us is getting any younger – so we need to start thinking about the future and long term. And with me being the younger out of the three, it kind of worked in my favor there just a little bit. I think if Bart had a better opportunity to stay [in Baltimore] he would have. It was hands down – this is where we all got the foundation of our game from is in Baltimore. Bart was fortunate enough to leave with Rex [Ryan], so he was in a win-win situation – either I stay in Baltimore and be with a family that we’ve all grown to love or he went with Rex, who is a coach that we’ve all grown to love. So it was a win-win for Bart. I’m sure he wanted to stay just like I wanted to stay, but the lesser of two evils, he got to go with Rex.”

How do you explain the urgency [of getting the contract done] and what went right this year as opposed to last year?
“I think last year, the big debate was whether I was a linebacker or a defensive end. You all can clearly see that I feel I’m a defensive end. I even bulked up to show that I’m bigger than a linebacker – I’m a defensive end, I want to play defensive end. But they felt that I was a linebacker, because I was listed as a linebacker in the scheme, so it was just like they met us halfway and were like, ‘All right we’ll call him a hybrid and we’ll give him a little bit more [money] than a linebacker, but give him a little bit less than a defensive end.’ It ended up working out, and like I said, I think that’s why the numbers are like they are this year, because of that linebacker/defensive position. I think pretty much that’s what it was based on, because I do play both, so it was kind of like a hybrid number, somewhere in the middle.”

Was there ever a point during negotiations where you felt like a long-term deal was not going to get done?
“I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t have my doubts. I did have my doubts – I mean not my doubts – I was concerned. I was like, ‘All right, it’s the 14th [of July].’ But we were all on the phone all day yesterday and it was just like, you know, I mean what does it matter? It was little minor things here and there – and I think we both were like, ‘Would you really let something minor stop you from signing a long-term deal?’ That was it, so we just went in and got it done – we brought all of them in and involved, Pat Moriarty, Ozzie [Newsome] and my agent.”

Did you feel like the Ravens went the extra mile to get you signed? Did they show you that they really wanted you?
“Yeah. I think they did – especially [given] that we do have a salary cap. This isn’t baseball where you can just shell out a billion dollars to the best player. So, I think they did their best and now they made it the way so that they can sign some more guys and kind of keep the team together.”

Does a contract like this mean that you automatically become more of a leader both on and off the field?
“Well, we already have the vocal leader [in Ray Lewis] – that position is filled. I think mine is just falling in line, and I lead on the field just by playing and going the hardest every play.”

What are your thoughts on living up to and fulfilling the amount of the contract?
“Well, I’m going to continue to be the dominant player that I’ve always been. With me being 26, my best years are ahead of me, so I’m just looking forward to showing them that they didn’t make a mistake and that you’ve got the right guy.”

Did you always think in the back of your mind that you would remain a Raven for the long term?
“That never came to the back of my mind that they wouldn’t get it done. I mean, some people just fit the Raven identity, and I’m convinced – I’m pretty sure that I’m one of them. Some people, when they retire – like Dick Butkus and Walter Payton, they’ll always be Bears. Tom Brady will always be a Patriot. Ray Lewis, he’ll always be a Raven. I think this has given me the opportunity to solidify that I will always be a Raven.”

Given your respect for Ray Lewis, how does it feel to be the highest-paid linebacker in NFL history?
“Like I said, that happened merely on accident. Ray [Lewis] is hands down a Hall-of-Famer, and you know he’s probably the greatest ever to play the position. So, like I said, that happened merely on accident. I’m not sure if I’m a Hall of Famer yet, but I’m sure going to play to try to achieve that status. But until then, Ray is arguably the greatest linebacker ever to play the game. The fact that everybody is saying I’m the highest-paid linebacker, it’s merely by accident, and it’s also because I play defensive end, too. And as you already know, every year somebody gets a big deal, so in the next couple of years, don’t be surprised when you see the DeMarcus Wares start getting quarterback contracts and things like that.”

What was your general reaction to WR Derrick Mason announcing his retirement?
“I was shocked. Derrick is a warrior. But I can understand, because I know that he is going through a lot of things emotionally right now, especially with the loss of one of his great friends in Steve [McNair]. And he had to play all of last season with one shoulder and then have the shoulder surgery. At 35 years old you really start to put things into perspective. Either way it goes, I love ‘Mase.’ He’s a great teammate. You can’t say that about a lot of guys. He’s not selfish, not even in the least, and he’ll always look out for you. A guy like that is always great to have in the locker room. I don’t know if he decided to put his [retirement] papers in yet or whatever, but whatever he does, I stand by ‘Mase’ 100 percent. I would love to have him for another year, but only Derrick Mason knows what’s good for [him].”

Is your gut feeling that Derrick Mason will play for the Ravens in 2009?
“I don’t know. I don’t know. Like I said, I really would love to have Derrick back though – I really would love to. But like he said, ‘I just don’t love it anymore; I don’t want to do it anymore,’ I can respect that because all of our days are coming, and I wouldn’t want anyone to ask me to play if I was ready to hang it up.”

How important was it to be at training camp this year after missing all of it last year?
“Well, I don’t know. (laughing) The only thing about training camp is it brings you back closer with your teammates. You all get close again, you all become a team, you all go in there and run. So, last year I missed that, and it didn’t hurt me too bad – I don’t think. But it’s going to be good to finally get back in training camp in the hot summer days, with all the fans looking. It’s going to be interesting.”

Is it nice to have the contract situation over with after talking about it for a few years now?
“Yeah, because it robs the fans. They don’t understand the whole business side of it, and before last year I didn’t really understand it. But now I do, so it allows everyone involved to get back to football. That’s what really matters, is that we’re playing a game that we love and it’s just the business side of it that can really suck sometimes. It kept me out of training camp [last year], and a lot of the guys didn’t see me and the fans didn’t get to see me. So, it just allows the comeback.”

What kind of concessions did you make in order to get the contract done?
“It was just minor things. Just like years on the deal and money to be paid out, or like this portion of the time on the deal – just little things like that. You know, I’d rather not get into it, because we did all come to an agreement and now I’m [in Baltimore] for the better part of my career. Like I said, it keeps the fans, you know, a 10-year-old kid whose favorite team is the Ravens, who Terrell Suggs may be his favorite player and he doesn’t know why he’s not in camp, why he’s not practicing. He wants to see me line up and play because he just genuinely loves to see me play, and it’s kind of riding him for a contract dispute. I’ve never been a guy to go to the table or complain about my deal. I always thought I was a fair guy and they gave me what we all thought was fair.”

Head Coach John Harbaugh

The Ravens have a history of being very successful at keeping their best players. In your mind, what is behind that, and did you recognize that when you took the job?
“I don’t know if I can remember all that stuff now. I’m going to do my best. I guess the point is that it goes back to Ozzie [Newsome], and it goes back to, of course, Steve [Bisciotti] and Dick [Cass]. It’s been a tremendous organization. I think, first of all, players want to be here, and even the guys who leave here leave here with some regret. They were hoping to stay and be a part of it. And I know that Terrell [Suggs] wanted to be a part of it. He’s said that ever since I’ve been here. He’s told me that, and he’s said that publicly. He just wanted to be able to work out the kind of deal that could secure his future in the way he was hoping to do that. Ozzie’s done a great job of recognizing, as much as anything, also the guy that gives us the best chance to move forward and be the best team we can be. Sometimes there are a lot of good players that have been forced to leave, and that’s because you can’t sign them all. When you draft the way Ozzie drafts, you’re going to lose some guys over time that are going to go elsewhere and be successful and all that kind of stuff. I think it’s a matter of Ozzie drafting well, evaluating his team well, and then understanding the cap and setting it up where he… You know, you can sign one guy, but then maybe the next guy you can’t sign. So Ozzie understands the next contracts that are coming up and factors that into the one he’s working on at the time.”

Suggs mentioned that this contract solidifies how he fits into the Ravens’ mentality. From your viewpoint, how does he fit into the Ravens’ identity?
“First of all, he’s a great guy. You guys have been around him; you know he’s a heck of a guy. He’s kind of flamboyant in his personality. We tell the guys all the time, ‘Let your personality show. Be who you are.’ He loves football, he’s got a tremendous work ethic, and he plays really hard. He studies the game along with guys like Ed [Reed] and Ray [Lewis]. He’s really into the preparation part of it. He’s a Raven, he plays like a Raven. To me, he’s a core foundation building block for what we’re going to try to do for the next few years.”

This is a two-part question: How critical is it that Suggs is going to be at camp to be around defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, and also, have you had a chance to reach out to Derrick Mason? What are your thoughts on his surprising announcement earlier this week?
“As far as ‘Sizzle,’ being in training camp is something that I know he wanted to do. If he had his druthers, he’d have been here for the whole offseason program. As a matter of fact, he’s committed to me on a number of occasions that when this thing is done, he’ll be a leader in every part of our program – offseason, training camp, every part of it. Matter of fact, he said he’s moving to Baltimore as soon as he can, once he gets this thing done. So, he’s the kind of guy that really wants to work on football, and I think he understands that by being with Greg Mattison, being with his coaches, being with his teammates through the entirety of the program is going to give him the chance to take the next step as a player. Just because you sign one of these mega deals, I think he understands it doesn’t mean that you’ve arrived as a player. And a lot of what we’ve done in signing ‘Sizzle’ to this, is we’re anticipating the player he’s going to be over the course of the next six years. That’s really what you’re investing in: What do we think he’s going to be? I’ve got a lot of confidence in Greg Mattison, and I know ‘Sizzle’ has a lot of confidence in Greg Mattison as both coordinator and now his position coach, to help him even take it to another level as far as being a pass-rusher, as far as understanding the defense, being multiple in everything he does. He’s already a good run player, of course, and even the drop stuff, it’s all stuff he can improve on. Getting a full training camp is going to give him a chance to do that.

“As far as Derrick, I had a chance to reach out, at least in an informal way through texts and things like that, and we have an appointment to talk here real soon, either by phone or when I get back next week. It’ll be interesting to see where he’s at with everything. I know he’s gone through a lot in the last couple weeks with Steve’s [McNair] situation and those kinds of things. But I’m looking forward to talking to him.”

After losing Bart Scott, how helpful is it to have Terrell with the other linebackers ready to go by Day One of camp?
“That’s a great point. Heck, we’re looking forward to seeing all four linebackers out there together now for the first time, really, in any offseason program since we’ve been here. You’ve got Ray, you’ve got a battle going on for the other inside linebacker spot, of course Jarret [Johnson], and now Suggs will be out there for Day One working together. The system has been tweaked a little bit, and there is some new stuff for him to learn. I know he and Greg have been communicating regularly, and he’s been doing some tests and things like that, so he’s on top of the mental part of it. But, there’s nothing like getting those guys out there together and practicing together and competing together. Plus, the other thing I’m excited about is his personality being out there from early on in training camp. He’s a guy that perks up the whole practice field, so it will be fun to have him out there. I know the fans will enjoy seeing him out there early on, too, because he’s definitely a barrel of laughs at practice. He works hard, and he enjoys doing it.”

Will you wait until after you talk to Derrick, or will you maybe start to look at who’s available as far as receivers go?
“We’ve been in the process of doing that. We’ve said this many times, and receiver is no exception: We’re always looking at every available player that’s out there. Vince Newsome does a great job of keeping a thumb on all those guys. We know who’s out there at every single position, and we’re always working the roster. So, obviously if Derrick does retire, that’s going to perk us up even more as far as strengthening that position like we will any position. But, you can only do so much. There are only so many guys out there available, and a lot of what we do is developing the players that we have, and we think we have good players here, too. I just think there’s a lot of time to go between now and when training camp starts, and of course between now and when the season starts. Derrick Mason is a warrior, he’s a tremendous family man, and he’s got good relationships with everybody inside the building. I’m just looking forward to seeing how this goes.”

Were you surprised at how the news with Derrick broke, with it breaking on the Internet after he had reportedly been at the complex earlier that day?
“I try not to get into being surprised or not surprised, or put any values on it like that. As it presents itself, that’s what it is. Without having had a chance to get into any kind of in-depth conversation with him, I’m not exactly sure what his thoughts are on it. But, obviously he’s got some things he’s going through and thinking about and considering. But, this is the offseason, and this is a break where we get away and we give our guys the chance to really get themselves mentally prepared, and Derrick Mason is the kind of guy that if he is going to be on board, he’s going to be on board 100-percent-plus. He’s going to be doing all the things that great players do, because you don’t become a great player, and I think one of the premiere receivers in the game by far, without being committed to excellence. To me, getting mentally ready is part of that. To whatever extent this is part of that process, I don’t know exactly where he’s at with it, but I know if he decides to come back, he will be completely and totally committed and ready to go. And that’s what we’re thinking about. And if not, then we’ll move on as a football team, and we’ll still be the very best football team we can be. We don’t think that’s going to be… We think we’re going to be a heck of a football team.”

Concluding statement:
“I want to know where all these [reporters] are calling from. Are they all sitting around there, or do we have guys on beaches with cold drinks in front of them right now? Who are the guys who are there who obviously have no life? (laughing) We’ll be going hard here in a couple weeks, fellas. It won’t be long. I look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks for the first press conference. We’re going to have a lot of fun. We’re going to get after it. We’re going to have the best training camp in the history of the NFL. You guys will be there to document it.”

McNair worked on his own clock

2009-07-05T22:04:00.003-04:00

Steve McNair had nothing left in him.
Like any superstar at the tail end of his career, the 13-year NFL quarterback didn’t feel like being told he was done.
The King of Comebacks was meandering through the second half of the 2007 season with a litany of injuries he would have shrugged off in the early stages of his career. His passes were falling woefully short and he couldn’t hang onto the ball to save his life.
Four days after a 38-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers Nov. 6, McNair was ready for the Baltimore media. He heard all the scuttlebutt and swore up and down that he was still the same man who shared the NFL MVP award with Peyton Manning four years prior. The two fumbles and the interception he threw against Pittsburgh were merely a mirage, he said.
“Look what kind career I’ve had,” he said two days after that loss in which he completed just 13 passes for 63 yards. “I don’t let people tell me, outside this organization, I’m not capable of playing or I don’t need to be playing. For what? They ain’t never played the position of the quarterback. They never go through the things I go through — mentally or physically. How are you going to tell me I’m not able to play? I know what my body can do. My teammates know what my body can do, and I know what I can on the field.”
Four days after his rant, McNair took the field for the last time in his career against the Cincinnati Bengals., “Air McNair” was officially grounded after he suffered a shoulder dislocation during the 21-7 home loss.
“This is probably the lowest point in my career that I’ve had… What do I need to do about it? I don’t know,” he said in the team’s locker room afterward. “I’m trying to play hard to help this team, but it’s just not there. I don’t know what it is.”
It was so strange to see a man go from defiant to defeated in just days. It was like an addict passing through denial and reaching the acceptance stage. It was sad. Yet, he stood there taking a barrage of questions from reporters.
He spent 13 years dodging 300-pound monsters. Laptop jockeys were nothing.
The next several weeks saw McNair benched because of the injury. Then, in early December, he was placed on injured reserve.
The media rarely, if ever, saw McNair in the team’s Owings Mills facility following his injury. The team had pretty much considered the remainder of the season a wash anyway. They would lose in the ensuing weeks to the previously winless Miami Dolphins in overtime and then finish 5-11 for the year.
Coach Brian Billick was fired just days after the final game of the season and uncertainty set in for the Ravens. Could the team really bring back McNair for another season? Few inside the organization were really comfortable with Kyle Boller and Troy Smith as the quarterback in 2008.
Many still believed McNair was closer to his 2006 season than his 2007. In his first year with the team, he led the Ravens to a 13-3 regular season that included an AFC North title. They were two games removed from the Super Bowl largely because of McNair.
Even if the Ravens drafted a quarterback in April of 2008, the team was ready for McNair to return.
So, he returned to the team’s facility and began workouts. His desire, he said, was still there.
Quickly, though, he discovered his body was not as willing. Less than two weeks before the draft, McNair approached team officials and told them he was going to retire.
True to his word, he determined when he couldn’t play anymore.
After his April 2008 retirement, McNair quietly traveled back down south to Mississippi and Nashville, where he played for 11 seasons. The Ravens drafted Joe Flacco and McNair was quickly forgotten.
He was a quiet guy here in Baltimore, speaking basically twice a week to the media- Wednesdays and post-game.
McNair had friends on the team like Ray Lewis, Derrick Mason and Samari Rolle, but there was always the feeling he was just passing by. What we saw of him was pretty surface oriented.
Through it all, he was cordial.
It was clear he never belonged to Baltimore. He was merely on loan from Tennessee.
The salacious details of his July 4 death will undoubtedly be picked apart by people who never watched him play a down of football. That’s fine. It’s human nature to stop and watch the remains of a car wreck.
I’m not sure if I have much interest in hearing about it all, however. What matters is that a father is dead. Children who watched their father orchestrate the impossible for years are left knowing he’s never coming back.
That’s a brutal reality.
Whether he was a good man or a bad one will be discussed ad nauseam.
As fans of the game of football, we have endless amounts of McNair highlights to watch. We only really knew the football player. Man, was he great.

Skins, Ravens still have long way to go in offseason

2009-02-28T08:42:00.007-05:00

How can you look at the Baltimore Ravens and not think the future is bright?

The answer: Very easily.

How can you look at the Redskins' signings yesterday and not get excited?

Again, very easily.

Here's how:

THE RAVENS

People in Baltimore have every right to be proud of what happened during the 2008 season. Rookie quarterback Joe Flacco surpassed all expectations and became a quiet leader on the field who learned to minimize his mistakes. A year after going 5-11, the Ravens made the AFC Championship with a mix of old and new players under rookie coach John Harbaugh.

The key in all of that? The Ravens went 11-5 with the schedule of a team that went 5-11 the year before. Take a look at the last five seasons for the team.

2008: 11-5

2007: 5-11

2006: 13-3

2005: 6-10

2004: 9-7

There's a specific trend there. The Ravens have the DNA of a team that says they can take advantage of weak schedules but are mediocre enough to fail when given the chance.

Teams like the Patriots, Steelers and Colts churn out impressive regular seasons year after year, despite tough schedules. The Ravens don't have the talent to do that. They have some of the best individual players in the game, but there is too much disparity.

On top of that, the team stands to lose many of the players who helped make the 2008 season a success. Jason Brown has already signed with the St. Louis Rams and Bart Scott with the Jets. Brown was arguably the team's MVP the last two seasons, holding the offensive line together with his physical and emotional leadership.

Safety and kick returner Jim Leonhard could be joining Scott in New York as well. Leonhard returned kicks when it became clear that speedster Yamon Figurs possessed no ability to adjust on the field. He made things happen and was a glue guy.

Throw in the fact that Ray Lewis, the face of the franchise, is considering leaving the team and you leave a crater-sized hole that is hard to quantify. Nevermind that you cut your best cornerback, Chris McAlister, and are likely parting ways with Samari Rolle as well.

People can write off the potential loss of Matt Stover because his leg strength is limited, but go ahead and name a more consistent kicker in the NFL and then see if he's available. Stover has won too many games for the team.

There isn't enough depth on the Ravens to compensate for those losses or, more importantly, to play up to an 11-5 schedule that will include the Colts and Patriots in addition to the Super Bowl champion Steelers twice.

Here's where I could be wrong: the Ravens have a still-new coach in Harbaugh. The up-and-down nature of the Ravens happened under Brian Billick's watch. Last season saw the Ravens compensate for the lack of offensive playmakers with coordinator Cam Cameron's genius. He obscured weaknesses and immaturity with his playcalling.

Can they really do that again? History says no.

THE REDSKINS

The headlines yesterday were hilarious: Redskins win offseason. Again.

So much has been made, and rightfully so, of the team's habit of throwing cash at the biggest names available. They make it rain so much, Pacman Jones gets jealous.

So, the team went out and re-signed DeAngelo Hall (six years, $55 million) and nabbed defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth (7 years, $100 million) and guard Derrick Dockery (five years, $26.5 million). This seems like an annual rite of February for the Skins to attract the biggest free agents on the market and then put together a team that lacks any cohesion in September.

Fans want to get excited when they see the biggest stars in the NFL sign with their team. But, I think Redskins followers are souring on the whole enterprise. They've seen this movie too much and it ends with the team going off the cliff Thelma and Louise style.

The focus on the defensive side of the ball with the signings of Haynesworth and Hall is a bit puzzling. Granted, there are no show-stopping offensive players available right now, but the Redskins desperately need a playmaker to lighten Clinton Portis' load. Santana Moss and tight end Chris Cooley are the lone receiving threats on the team and the opposition knows this.

While Dockery answers one offensive line question, it's only a small piece. Tackle Jon Jansen puts in more time in front of the cameras than the field these days. Quarterback Jason Campbell is not a terrific decision-maker and saw too much pressure as the 2008 unfolded.

He shined early in the season, but as his line began to thin, his numbers dropped. His leadership ability is questionable as well.

When he drops back to pass, he knows there are two legitimate options in Moss and Cooley. Does anyone seriously think James Thrash is getting the ball or that Antwaan Randle-El is going to catch it?

There's just too many questions to think the Redskins will be anything other than 8-8 or 9-7 again. You can't continue to cover up your problems with flashy press conferences.

It's clear to me the Redskins aren't concerned with winning as an organization. They're more focused on selling jerseys and merchandise while giving off the perception they are doing everything in their power to win. If they do make the playoffs, it takes an end-of-the-season run that almost seems like a mistake.

That's not good for a sustainable product.

What Ray Lewis is thinking right now

2009-02-27T23:44:00.012-05:00

The rumble begins. The crowd of more than 70,000 moves about anxiously in anticipation. The first notes of Nelly's "Hot in Herre" start to play.

Then, in a moment where man achieves close to god-like status, Ray Lewis emerges from the tunnel of M&T Bank Stadium. He leans down to pick up some grass and throws it in the air and begins to gyrate in a herky-jerky way that would be an assault on the word dancing in any other venue. In Baltimore, however, Lewis owns the fans and they are now worked up in a frenzy.

The sheer intensity on his face and the physicality of his body elevate him to something more than man.

For most of his 13 years in professional football, Ray Lewis has been hoisted above all others. It has been that way for most of his life because his talent has dictated special treatment. He's a once in a generation figure.

Or was one.

Friday, the first day of National Football League free agency, began with Lewis sitting on the sideline. The Ravens, after unsuccessfully negotiating with Lewis for the better part of the last year, were unable to keep from becoming a free agent for the first time.

Younger, less proven, players collected paychecks that neared $100 million. Lewis, a Pro Bowler this past season for the 10th time, spent the day determined to show the Baltimore Ravens they undervalue him.

Therein lies the rub. No team in any sport has valued or marketed one player better than the Ravens have Ray Lewis. It's not even close actually. Despite his enormous talents, most teams would have bailed on Lewis when he was charged with murder in 2000. While the charges were later dropped for an obstruction of justice plea, he has carried the stink of that January Atlanta night to this day.

Rather than shying away from Lewis since he returned to the club, the Ravens brightened the spotlight on him. They played up the pre-game dance that bonded Lewis and Baltimore and marketed him as a transformational leader both on and off the field. It's stunning when you think about it.

Ray emerged from the Atlanta with a distrusting chip on his shoulder that fit right in with Charm City, a town that perpetually sports a me-against-the-world attitude.

The Ravens rewarded him, after he willed the team to a Super Bowl win in 2001, with a contract that made him the highest paid defensive player in the game. It could be argued that he was a bigger star than Cal Ripken. Where Ripken might have looked a little reluctant with the adulation thrust upon him, Lewis sought out the nearest camera to intimidate.

Although no one will admit it, the 2000 incident only added to his over-the-top persona. In the back of people's minds, there always the question, just what is this guy capable of doing to another person? His bone-crushing hits make it seem like he was a mistreated lion unleashed from his cage and hungry for blood. He will demolish anything in sight.

That's what he has been doing for most his career: seeking and destroying.

One of the dangers in being a god in human form, however, is that your humanity will be exposed when the fall happens. The Ravens have tried to play the balancing act in recent years, knowing that at some point Lewis' body won't match his mind. it happens to all players, as Ravens coach John Harbaugh once told me. You just don't know when. You wake up one morning and the motor is slower.

The team has been trying to, and failing, diminish Lewis' leadership role for the last three or four years. He's just too marketable and too good on the field to commit to it. And, Lewis' ego would never permit it. If you've ever seen the movie Boogie Nights, there's a scene where Dirk Diggler is being interviewed for a documentary and he talks about himself in almost superhuman terms. He's disconnected form reality.

Lewis has been on top so long that no one is going to tell him the end is in sight. He believes he's the best and should be paid like it. He's never been able to test the market before. The fact that the Ravens have "low-balled" him with their offers disturbs him.

He looks at him and says, "Oh yeah? Well the girl down the street totally digs me."

Then, the Cowboys don't call. Neither do the Jets. Suddenly, he's sitting alone at home saying "I'm a star, I'm a star, I'm a star. I'm a big bright shining star."

Inside, though, this is a crushing blow. He feels like he has given the Ravens more than they have to him. He, as reports are saying, doesn't want to walk back to the Ravens a humbled man. If the offer isn't out there, don't be surprised if he simply retires from football, saying the old tired refrain of "there's nothing left to prove."

That would be a sad, but somehow fitting, end to the Ravens-Ray Lewis relationship.

An examination of Ray Lewis from a former beat guy...

2009-02-18T21:32:00.011-05:00

As I've said before, I worked the Baltimore Ravens beat for two years at The Baltimore Examiner. A couple of weeks ago some people over at terpcenter.com asked me my thoughts on him on the sports message board. Now, as Ray Lewis nears possible free agency, I thought I'd cut and paste my thoughts and impressions of "Ray the person" here...

Ray Lewis is not a jerk overall. He can be funny and charming. Good luck finding a more magnetic athlete in professional sports. He'll draw you in even if you had plans to hate him.

He can be difficult. He'll talk only when cameras are around. He's smart in that way. He knows he doesn't come off well in print. It's often a jumbled mess of cliches and backhanded comments. If there aren't that many cameras around, he'll argue with the media relations guy about not wanting to do Wednesday media days.

i always found humor in it. I wouldn't want to talk to us either, but he would sit there, five feet from us, and go "No, I ain't doin' it. I did it last week. I ain't got nothin' to say."

After some sweet talking from the superb media relations crew, he'd walk over and say something like "Alright, Jamison (the Sun beat reporter and pretty much the only one of us he really knew by name), let's knock this out! I got things to do."

He knows television suits him and his personality and can compensate for whatever is said. He can charm the cameras. He won't go on television after a game without wearing a classic suit, so we waited around while his Farnsworth Bentley type guy put on his cufflinks and other articles of clothing. It was bizarre to watch this guy dress and primp Ray, because the guy was only there for games, never during the week.

Ray's much quieter in the locker room. He talks to just a few players and in a real general, quick way. When he had Steve McNair around, he'd talk to him since his locker was next to his. I got the sense he was desensitized to the business, loved the stars who were genuine stars but didn't have time for middle of the road or ordinary players. It wasn't like he would brush them off, but he gave the impression that he would outlast them so there was no reason to get to know them.

A lot of guys pay their deference to him and what he's done, but a good number look at him skeptically. The image that he owns the locker room is false. He's definitely got the ear of the right people in the organization, but the players on the team don't cower either. They say enough nice things about him just so they don't have to deal with drama.

I don't think I ever saw him shooting the breeze with Jonathan Ogden. They were just two totally different guys, running in different circles who just happened to be tied together by the draft of 1996. I always found that interesting.

He once got real upset that much of the media didn't cover his Thanksgiving turkey giveaway and didn't talk to us for weeks. He'll be like that. Then, one day, he basically sets up camp in front of us and starts telling a random story about an emergency helicopter landing in Cecil County.

You don't know where it came from, but it's Ray Lewis talking so you get the recorder rolling.

There's no doubt his faith is strong, but it can be condescending on a personal level, because he often assumes that when you ask him a tough question, it comes from a place of not understanding God. He often uses him as a defense mechanism, even if he might not intend it. He's still sensitive about 2000 and that plays into how he interacts with everyone, not just the media.

One of the more fascinating things for me was his aforementioned love of talking to opposing players. He name drops a ton. You could be asking him about what makes Kelly Gregg such an underrated player and he'd just randomly say he was talking to Chad Johnson on the phone last night for an hour and a half and how he likes being a father figure.

I think he has a pre-built narrative he wants to talk about, even if it's not the narrative the team is preaching that week. You can tell players have been told a certain thing in a meeting because they'll start repeating words another guy said. Ray, though, takes strange U-turns that leave people looking at each other and asking, 'Where did that come from?' He's dogged in getting that point across. It might take him a while and several different questions, but he'll get there... and sometimes he'll just walk away. You don't know why he did, he just did.

On Media Wednesdays he'll sort of push guys aside that are ahead of him so he can do his thing, say his 'let's get this over, Jamison' bit and get it done.

He really likes kids (insert jokes about his own six here). Some of it might be the hero worship he enjoys. With the job I have now, I wouldn't normally have many Ray connections, but a little kid I talked to the other day met Ray at his holiday party.

The kid did Ray's dance for me and said Ray talked to him for a while and hugged him, told him to make the right decisions. It meant the world to him. Ray does that, often under the radar.

Ray did a real good job two years ago saying he wasn't annoyed with the dance missing from pre-game, but it irked him. He'd make side comments like 'It'll be back' and refer to the team as 'my team.'

The atmosphere was frosty as hell last year in the locker room. He wouldn't hang out at all.

Two years ago, when he wasn't a Pro Bowl selection, he got mad. He told us he'd be right back to talk... and never came back. When it was time to boot us from the allotted locker room time, the media relations guy came over and asked why we were hanging out by Ray's locker. We said, he said he'd be back. The players had to be in meetings by this point.

The media relations guy leaves and gets Ray, who was in the cafeteria I believe. He brings him in playfully by the neck and Ray looks all sheepish. Ray knew our time was up and was hoping we'd get kicked back to the media room.

So, we knocked it out. He said what we needed. The build-up was more painful than the actual interview. But, that's Ray sometimes.

On his relationship with fellow linebacker Terrell Suggs and other thoughts on Bart Scott

I don't think there's a rift between the two. I don't think they hang out, but they definitely joke around with one another. Ray knows Terrell loves (read that as LOVES) doing Media Wednesday. When I was there, they were two or three lockers apart in the complex.

During Terrell's sessions, Ray would lean over and say "don't tell them too much Sizzle! Alright, now?"

Terrell's a big kid. He and Bart are cut from the same cloth. They're like the kids raised in the 80s and early 90s who just happened to be athletic freaks. Television and the original Nintendo might as well have raised them. Either one of them would alternate between Voltron references and talking about how they fit into the linebacker puzzle.

Suggs is a movie nut. One of the oddest things I ever saw was how he had Passion of the Christ playing on his television in the locker and he wasn't around for like 20 minutes. It was like background noise to him. We'd be interviewing McAlister three or four lockers away and you'd hear Jesus getting whipped.

The funny part with Terrell is, he's like a 15-year-old kid. He's got a frantic personality and a sophomoric sense of humor. He'll hit you with something really smart when you're not expecting it. He's a good judge of people.

He was genuinely miffed Bart won Media MVP two years ago. He really gets it in terms of stirring up discussion for the team and the NFL. Great locker room guy.

On Ray's relationship with former coach Brian Billick

After the 2005 season, the Ravens held their annual year-end press conference. I arrived on the beat about three months later. Basically, the Ravens had just finished 6-10 and speculation surrounding Brian's job security had been intense.

The Ravens' year-end press conference includes the head coach, Ozzie Newsome and Steve Bisciotti. It's basically the one time of the year Steve talked to the media en masse. During the presser (media word for press conference), Steve said Brian would come back but there would be changes. Many people came out of it feeling that it was a public dressing down of Brian.

Going into the 2006 training camp, I sat down with Brian for my first one-on-one. We chatted for about 45 minutes to an hour and he tolerated a lot of questions and was pretty game. We bounced off one another and when the topic of Steve came up, he basically said, "People misunderstood that. We always need to re-evaluate ourselves. What Steve meant was that we needed to open the communication up more. So, we'll do that throughout the building."

Basically, it came down to him making the team out to be sort of passive aggressive. No one in 2005 really ever talked, he was saying. It was just a lot of people being mad with one another without saying it. They brought in a bunch of veterans like Trevor Pryce, Mike Anderson and Steve McNair to change the atmosphere.

So, Brian did his best to make it sound like it was less about him being a media pontificator and more about talking with one another. So, Brian was pretty short in most press conferences after practices.

After about three questions, he'd look at us and "OK?" and try to skip out. He really didn't want to get trapped.

He wasn't like that in our preseason chats. He was just as long as I hoped he would be. We talked about the dynamics of the team and how he was trying to cut back on the dance stuff while making Ray still sound like a dynamic leader.

But, he definitely made the call to end Ray's dance that summer. A couple of organization people confirmed it to me during training camp and said Brian wanted to introduce the team as one before games. He felt there was too much reliance on one individual on the leadership front, which he said to me.

Ray, he claimed, was begging for someone else to grab the mantle. That summer had seen Ray say a couple of things that made it sound like he wasn't a Billick fan. He also was pretty loud in his desire to get a strong presence in front of him. Those concerns were addressed earlier that spring with the drafting of Haloti Ngata.

Through it all, Brian paid Ray his public respect. Privately, he was trying to figure a way to diminish the power he was wielding. The dance was the first way. It was difficult, because the fans dug the dance, but were souring a bit that summer on him because of public comments he made.

Ray was saying a ton of stuff to repair his public image, using the city and God as defense. When he said "my city on my back" there was a little doubt about that during the summer of 2006. Some thought his schtick was wearing thin and he had forgotten how much Brian had taken on in the media to take the glare off Ray in 2000.

The team jumped out to a 4-0 start, then dropped two in a row in 2006. The offense was once again waffling. Brian had to make a move because despite the team's record, there was rising discontent. Brian knew if he was going to salvage the season, he was going to need to take control. Through all of the team's success, there was always the perception the team had wasted Ray Lewis' best years because of a poor offense. Brian was the constant through the various coordinators and quarterbacks.

Brian took control. He fired one of his best friends, offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, and basically said if the ship was going down, it's going to be me determining how many rocks it hits along the journey.

They went into the bye week and emerged two weeks later by routing the New Orleans Saints, one of the NFL's hot teams. They went on a serious roll, winning a string of games before a flat performance in Cincinnati. Still, they easily won the division and despite a first-round playoff exit against the Colts, he received a very comfortable contract extension that said he was going to be around a long time.

The press conference following the 2006 was far less frosty. Brian, Ozzie and Steve were on the same page and smiling... a bunch. They had finished 13-4, and despite the depressing Colts loss, had a sense they were going to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender in 2007. They truly believed that.

A year later, on the day of the scheduled year-end press conference, Steve Bisciotti gathered the team together to tell them he had fired Brian Billick just minutes before.

Brian had exited the building quietly. About two weeks later, the coaching search was on full-throttle. I was in stalk mode inside the media lounge waiting for coaching candidates with one other writer and a producer from Comcast.

One of them walked in from outside and said, "Billick's down there packing up."

Putting on my jerk reporter hat, I walked down with the producer and the other writer to the other side of the building. Brian was putting the last of his stuff into the car after nine years with the team. He looked at us and was a little embarrassed. I hated being there because if he was there, we needed to ask him something.

He shook our hands and asked us how we were. Then he just said, "It wouldn't be smart to talk right now." We understood and what he said was enough. We wished him well and felt dirty for what happened.

Sure, he was walking away with a couple million, but the guy had been fired. That sucks. We spent much of the last few years with him. Now he was officially leaving. We watched him speed away for the last time at the Ravens' Owings Mills complex.

When did football become so Un-American?

2009-01-18T01:25:00.005-05:00

I know I went on a similar rant about a week or so ago, but...

Don't even bother watching the NFC Championship between the Cardinals and Eagles Sunday afternoon. Whoever wins that is straight up irrelevant. There's nothing those teams bring to the table that improves the game of football or raises it to a level other than mediocre. They are living proof of the mess that is parity-driven football.

Baseball remains the very essence of the United States and our capitalist society. The best rise to the top. Manage your team well and let the chips fall where they may. Who cares if the Yankees or the Red Sox spend all the money? Good product in America always wins out. The fact that there has been so many different World Series champs of late really spells that out.

The constant desire for a salary cap in baseball is a call to water down the product like the NFL has in the last two decades.

The parity-driven league's success financially basically tells me I am in a very small camp. The desire to share money amongst owners and to make everyone feel like they have a chance is pure socialism. I'd kill to see the NFL revert back to its 1970s, 80s and early 90s glory, when teams dominated because they were good, not because they're playing a schedule of a 1-15 team from the year prior.

NFL games, and I say this as someone who watches habitually and covered them for two years, are unwatchable all the way through. They are, dare I say it?, boring for long, long stretches. Here's hoping the NFL cancels the Super Bowl and declares the AFC title winner the league champ.

Is there any hope for Redskins fans?

2009-01-13T22:20:00.006-05:00

One of the benefits of covering the NFL is that if you grew up watching a team that is currently terrible, you're busy doing other things on a Sunday.

During my two years on the Ravens, I was spared watching Washington Redskins games for the most part. A Sunday covering a team leaves you little time to watch other games. You're at the stadium at least two hours in advance and leave often two or three hours after the game is over.

When I returned to normal life this year, however, I found the Redskins to be in a familiar location: Mediocreville. When people say the NFL is a parity-driven league, the Redskins take it a little too literally.

The worst part was, every Redskins game this season could be viewed in Harford County. I couldn't avoid them. I even went to three or four games, only to be reminded how much better watching a football game is on your couch.

I'm like Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain. I'm unsure how to quit the team, but without the weird sexual tension. They keep pulling me back in with their random wins over quality teams- like the two NFC Championship participants (the Cards and Eagles).

Still, every time they start the season, I never get that 1983, 84, 87 or 91 feeling. That is to say, they've got a real shot at the Super Bowl. Instead, they're just... there, which might be the worst thing of all.

Could a loss against the Steelers be worse than two years ago?

2009-01-13T21:59:00.007-05:00

Do I need to say Jan. 13, 2007 to send shivers up your spine, Ravens fans?

Two years ago, just like many around Charm City are saying now, the Ravens were a team of destiny. Facing the Colts on Baltimore's home turf in the AFC Divisional Round was perfect drama. The old cheating girlfriend met the spectacular new wife and Baltimore was still out for revenge. The hype was out of control.

One problem ruined the perfect narrative: The Ravens lost. The days after were devastating.

Now, once again, Ravens fans are drunk with excitement (rightfully so) now that their team is in the AFC title game this Sunday against AFC North Division rival Pittsburgh. The Steelers are the big brother who has pushed the Ravens around for most of their existence. It's one of the few modern NFL rivalries that is a genuine rivalry. The two teams love hating one another, even if Pittsburgh still resents Cleveland more.

Baltimore has more hate built up and two losses to the Steelers during the regular season worsens such ill feelings. The real crown is the AFC Championship and a berth in the Super Bowl, but beating the Steelers on their home turf would be too sweet for some.

All that said, how bad would it sting to lose this game? Would it be worse than the Colts game two years ago? Is that possible? Are you even allowing yourselves to think about the possibility of a loss?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Memories from the Ravens beat- John Harbaugh Makes His Pitch

2009-01-12T21:40:00.010-05:00

For two years, I was the Ravens beat reporter for the Baltimore Examiner. Over the next few days and possibly weeks, I'll empty my notebook, hopefully adding some insight into how a team that went 5-11 a year ago is just one step away from going to the Super Bowl.

You can read Part One, John Harbaugh meets the Ravens" by clicking here.

You can read Part Two, "How the John Harbaugh era almost didn't happen." by clicking here.

Yesterday brought part three in the saga:: "Steve Bisciotti takes the biggest gamble of his life."

Now, "John Harbaugh makes his pitch to Baltimore and Ravens players"

-----------------------

it was not a very well kept secret inside the Baltimore Ravens' Owings Mills headquarters that players wanted defensive coordinator Rex Ryan to be Brian Billick's successor. When Billick was fired on New Year's Eve following a disastrous 5-11 season, players turned to the man who had steered the team's identifying unit- Ryan.

"Before Rex Ryan took over full-time working with me, I was pretty much a certified bust,” Pro Bowl linerback Terrell Suggs told when I asked if his coordinator should get a shot. “I would definitely be out of the NFL right now or on another team.”

Suggs was definitely dealing in hyperbole since he was one of the most promising, and best, pass rushers in the game. Still, his loyalty was reflected in the veteran-laden locker room. Both on and off the record, the players sent one message: Rex was their choice.

None of them had ever heard of John Harbaugh at that point. Nor was there any reason to suspect the unknown Eagles' assistant would eventually become the team's third head coach since moving from Cleveland.

Even before Billick's dismissal, there were rumors of owner Steve Bisciotti meeting at a local restaurant with former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher. It was a rumor that would not die during the season and obviously reached the highest office in the building.

Bisciotti swatted away "rumors" during the press conference following Billick's firing, particularly that players had whispered passionately enough in his ears about the need for change.

"I have never gone into the locker room," the owner said. "The last time I've been in the locker room, I think I was walking a couple kids in while the players were outside. I rely on the support personnel around here to be my eyes and ears, and that's what I did. The other rumor was that I had interviewed coach [Bill] Cowher. It was all over the place. I have never met Bill Cowher. If I shook his hand one time five years ago at an NFL meeting, I don't remember it. But I did not talk with him, and I did not look for candidates."

It didn't matter, Cowher took his name out of the ring very early on in the process, just as he did this offseason with the New York Jets.

Still, Bisciotti was answering questions about his decisions for the first time in his tenure. He wasn't a villain on the level of Orioles owner Peter Angelos, but people were starting to ask: "What has he done?"

Less than a month later, John Harbaugh went from obscure assistant to the man who was taking over a franchise in flux. Many viewed the Ravens as over in their current incarnation- myself included. They failed in their opportunity to seal the deal on a 13-3 regular season in 2006, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Colts in the AFC Divisional Round.

If ever there was a year to go to the Super Bowl, that was it. The stars aligned for the team.

The loss reverberated into 2007. There was no reason, despite some major injury setbacks, for them to win only five games. They had tuned Billick's message out, despite what they said publicly. Billick handled his last few weeks in the organization with class, defending several players to the very end.

Billick's firing meant everyone was released from his staff- including Ryan and his defensive assistants. Players weren't happy about the prospect of never playing for Ryan again.

Now, Harbaugh was taking over a team full of what looked to be over-the-hill stars and prima donnas. If it was time to clean house with the coaching staff, fans thought, a lot of the players should go as well. Future Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden was flirting with retirement, something he would continue do the entire summer of 2008.

The team was a perceived mess that had serious issues at quarterback. Starter Steve McNair had missed most of the season with injuries. Backups Kyle Boller and Troy Smith were unproven to say the least. People inside the organization still believed in McNair, perhaps for one last Super Bowl run.

McNair had played 13 seasons and looked like a broken man in the 2007 season games. He talked like one too.

Of those three quarterbacks, McNair presented the team with the best chance to win games in 2008, but just how could he produce?

The team knew it needed to market Harbaugh quickly- both inside the building and out. One of Harbaugh's first calls was to star linebacker Ray Lewis. The two talked briefly. Lewis later confessed during an NFL Network Pro Bowl interview he was impressed by Harbaugh's enthusiasm. Lewis was known as one of the most intense figures in sports in-game. His personality could be that way in the locker room as well.

If Ray wasn't happy, people knew it. There were legitimate reasons to believe he was sharing his frustration with Bisciotti, whom he attended Maryland men's basketball games with at times.

Off the field, Lewis' dissatisfaction with the direction of the franchise was clear. The 2006 season only briefly satiated his feelings that perhaps his best years had been wasted on a team with no offense. On the flip side, he dominated the town like few other defensive players do in their respective cities. He benefited from the Ravens' offensive futility.

Lewis never publicly addressed Billick's firing in Baltimore. Instead, on the same NFL Network interview in Hawaii, he just said: “One coach out. One coach in.”

Harbaugh still needed to meet Lewis on the mainland. Until then, the team went about introducing him to skeptical Baltimore.

The town, while it can be crazy-in-love with football, loves a winner. They also hate a loser and stay away in droves when the product isn't entertaining. They needed to won back.

While many had soured on Billick's tenure, he had won a Super Bowl. Harbaugh had not ever been a head coach.

The best way for people to get to know Harbaugh was to take him on a media tour. The team and the media had a solid and very comfortable relationship. At the time, the team's radio and television sponsor was Hearst, which owned WBAL-TV and WBAL Radio. WBAL television's sports anchor was the radio play-by-play announcer, while other local anchors held down the stadium public address announce table and some worked for MASN, the cable partner of the Ravens.

Such a cozy relationship dated back to the team's move from Cleveland. Former majority owner Art Modell felt it was important to have the television anchors on board.

Soon after his hire, Harbaugh visited local radio stations to win over the crowd. The sports talkers in town are big fans of the team and often give the illusion of being journalists. There were some, like WNST's Casey Willett, who took the job of being a reporter seriously. He wasn't there to tell stories to his friends and neighbors. Casey was damn good at his job.

Harbaugh charmed the radio crowd and, soon, the rest of us. A few weeks after his hire, the team invited the local sports media out to an Owings Mills restaurant for an off-the-record lunch. Harbaugh owned the crowd quickly with his wit and humor. He laid out some guidelines about what types of questions he wouldn't answer at practice. He surprised many when he said he didn't listen to talk radio.

Ravens players had made waves during the 2007 season by having their own weekly shows. Some observers said they were a distraction and Harbaugh seemed to agree.

Since he had been hired, the tide of doubt had been turned. The media was embracing him and, slowly, so was Baltimore as a result. Although he was still being coached on what to say and how to deal with each media member, Harbaugh was passing all his tests with flying colors. He reminded you of the coolest guy at the cool
lunch table during high school

The team continued the Harbaugh tour over the next month, taking him to each outlet. Kevin Byrne, the team's vice president of public and community relations, called me late in the winter to ask if he could bring Harbaugh over to the Baltimore Examiner to meet people there.

I arranged everything with the newspaper and was told everyone was excited about meeting the new coach. The paper was just shy of turning two years old and was still struggling to find its place in the market. The paper talked a good game, but its identity in the market was shaky. I tried to do my part on the Ravens beat and had gone on local television and radio to play up the product, and to add some legitimacy to my career.

I greeted john and Kevin the day of that meetin outside our Pratt Street entrance with a picture, It was me with DeMatha Catholic High School's basketball team in 1996. I said there was someone in there he knew. John scoured the page for a second and saw a much skinnier version of me. and near me was someone he was very familiar with in Philadelphia.

"Is that Westbrook??"

Brian Westbrook had shined early in his pro career as a kick and punt returner for the Eagles on Harbaugh's special teams units. Brian was a year behind me in high school and his career as a Pro Bowl running back was a long ways away then.

We shared a laugh about how young Brian looked and I took him upstairs for a tour of the one-floor offices of the Examiner. i showed him the view of the city and M&T Bank Stadium from the 11th floor balcony and then with some Examiner managers.

There were a couple of deep breath moments on my end because it was clear many of the people at the paper had about as much understanding of the city as Harbaugh did- and he just moved there a month before. Although some of the most important people in the paper's chose not to introduce themselves to Harbaugh, attend the meeting or mistakenly went on vacation, the meeting mostly went off without a hitch.

Harbaugh was curious about the distribution strategy of the Examiner, which was a six-day-a-week paper that went to specific neighborhoods in Baltimore and surrounding counties for free.

Harbaugh left with his cool guy persona still in place and even dropped an opinion or two on some of his soon-to-be players that were more than blunt. He even made me look great in front of the bosses by playing up my questioning ability- which was probably more than overstating.

When he left that day, I never realized it was the last time I would talk to him face to face.

Tomorrow, I'll explore John Harbaugh's coaching hires and how they helped solidify external confidence in him.

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The National Football League- Where mediocrity rules

2009-01-11T17:08:00.005-05:00

Remember when you could watch the Super Bowl winning quarterback hoist the Lombardi Trophy above his head and know, without a doubt, he was from the NFL's best team?

He didn't have to be the best player or the best quarterback, but you could go to sleep knowing he played on a team worthy of holding professional sports' most treasured prize.

The Chargers (8-8 during the regular season, AFC West champion) and the Steelers (12-4, AFC North ) are doing battle this evening to decide who will be the final entrant into the NFL's conference championships. The Ravens (11-5 during the regular season) locked up the first AFC seed and await the winner of Chargers-Steelers.

The NFC Championship features two teams that both finished with nine wins. That is, to put it succinctly, just above average in the 16-game NFL season. Now, certainly the Eagles definitive win over the Giants made their case for belonging in the NFC Title game, but does anyone really think the Eagles and Cardinals are two of the top four teams in the NFL?

The possibility of the talented, but mediocre, Chargers meeting one of these teams in the Super Bowl should make anyone recoil in terror. How can the NFL, in this current NFL climate, ask people to plunk down thousands of dollars for a purported Super Bowl that is anything but?

The Steelers could make a claim, as the second seed in the AFC, as one of the NFL's better teams. The Ravens, even as the sixth seed, were 11-5. It looks a lot better than 9-6-1, which the Eagles were after tying the Cincinnati Bengals.

For the good of the league, Pittsburgh or Baltimore has to advance.

The NFL must expand to eight teams in each conference playoffs next season so worthy 11-5 teams like the Patriots are not sitting at home because one team was mediocre enough to be better than terrible teams in a division, like the Chargers in the AFC West.

Memories from the Ravens beat- John Harbaugh Part Three

2009-01-11T14:45:00.008-05:00

Memories from the Ravens beat- John Harbaugh Part Two

2009-01-11T11:42:00.024-05:00

Memories from the Ravens beat- John Harbaugh Part One

2009-01-11T09:51:00.018-05:00

NFL Playoffs- Divisional Round

2009-01-09T22:33:00.005-05:00

You can find pretty much any breakdown you want on the Internet for this week's NFL playoff action. Plus, Babe Laufenberg is probably arguing with James Thrash about which special teams unit will make the biggest difference right now on ESPN Ocho. Nothing like two C-list, retired has-beens talking playoffs action!

What's that? James Thrash is still playing in the NFL and is employed by the Washington Redskins?

Ouch.

Anyway, Ravens fans around the Baltimore area are already booking their tickets to Tampa Bay. A win over Tennessee, they believe, is assured tomorrow and a win over Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship is a formality. No one has been this confident since President Bush ducked those shoes thrown at him in Iraq. Dude looked down the reporter with a knowing smirk that said, 'Is that all you got?'

The last time I've seen the town this confident was, well, two years ago. Back then, it was "time to hunt," now the team is borrowing a page from Ali and asking, 'What's my name?'

It's amazing how many people forgot about the "it's destiny" talk preceding the Colts-Ravens matchup in the AFC Divisional game. The hangover in the city following the loss to the Colts was particularly nasty. My advice is to just let the game take care of itself. Enjoy the highs and lows, but don't get too cocky.

The Titans are not an imposing No. 1 seed. You'd have a hard time thinking of a softer one in recent memory. Still, they didn't stumble into all those victories. They pushed around the Steelers just a few weeks ago and beat the Ravens earlier this season.

My guess is, the Ravens manage to score just enough to break the hearts of people in Nashville, with a 20-16 score.

On the other side of the AFC, I'm going with the Steelers to push around the Chargers because San Diego is coached by Norv Turner. He's bound to remember he's a bad coach at some point.

The Giants might be one of the worst Super Bowl champions of all-time, but they have largely looked impressive this season. They're going to miss Plaxico on offense- more than anyone in New York will admit. Still, the Eagles have this stench of poser about them. I'll go with a definite victory by the Giants, 31-17.

And, really, if anyone is seriously thinking the Cardinals organization, which hasn't won a championship since Truman was in office, is sniffing the Super Bowl, you should stop watching football. Take up watching NASCAR or some other fake sport. Carolina 24, Cardinals 14.

Maryland Basketball- From Triumph to Tragedy

2009-01-09T20:29:00.014-05:00

You won't find a bigger Gary Williams apologist than me. When I was a kid, the program was hurting in a major way, but I attended his summer camp and rocked a Walt Williams jersey on the regular.

I argued for a long time (well into last year) that he was a better college coach than Duke's Coach K.

There's no reason, given the talent gap between the two ACC programs over the last two decades, for Maryland to beat Duke as much as they do. Conversely, there's no reason for Maryland to have the dearth of talent they've had over the last two decades. We'll get to that later.

Williams took his team from probation to national title glory in 13 years. What Williams did to dig his team out of its late-1980s hole to guide it to its championship run in 2002 is nothing short of incredible. Maryland basketball was nowhere when he took over the program in 1989.

Bob Wade inherited a mess left in the wake of Len Bias' death and found new ways to make it worse. The one-time wannabe UCLA of the East was on the verge of being forgotten. Williams left a relevant Ohio State program behind to take over his alma mater. He gambled on the school and it paid off.

When he cut down that net in April, 2002, how could you not have had a creeper in your eye? He worked for it, with every courtside scream and bead of sweat that dropped from his forehead.

Cut to this week. Maryland lost to Morgan State, a year after they fell to American University.

Wait, what? During the Terps' climb to the top of the mountain, they had become the biggest dog on the D.C./Baltimore-area block. Since 2002, however, they've lost to Georgetown, George Washington several times, American and Morgan State. Luckily, Maryland Eastern Shore isn't on this year's schedule.

They've missed the NCAA Tournament three out of the last four years.

How does this happen? How does a program with a state-of-the-art arena, a national title, a recent ACC title and several former players in the NBA fall so hard? There's no conceivable reason for a program located in the heart of one of the country's biggest talent hotbeds to be this... average. Average doesn't even seem to do the current predicament justice. Average teams don't lose to American or Morgan and certainly not ACC teams aspiring for postseason respect.

Is it Williams' overall apathy toward recruiting? The departure of so many of the assistants who helped build the program with him? Is it his long-rumored rift with Athletic Director Debbie Yow that has cost him players?

I'll let you take all of the above and say none of the answers are truly acceptable as excuses. Maryland basketball shouldn't be this bad. A program that won a title this decade should be turning away America's third-tier talent. They should be that selective and in-demand.

This is a dream program for any coach in this country. The possibilities really are endless.

Unfortunately, this isn't going to end well for the man who once was so good, the school became known as "Garyland."

Given everything he's done for the program, he deserves better than the pink slip that awaits him soon. Unfortunately for him, so do Maryland fans and they're starting to realize it.

Playing Devil's Adocate: Art Modell

2009-01-06T20:42:00.007-05:00

Word came down today Art Modell, the former majority owner of the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens, did not make the cut of 15 for the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

This is becoming a yearly event. Baltimore fans (and some of my former media brethren) villainize Cleveland writer Tony Grossi for his impassioned pleas to fellow voters to keep Modell out of the Hall. Basically, Modell's reviled in Cleveland for the same thing he's celebrated for in Baltimore- he moved his team to Charm City so they could become the Ravens.

The city of Cleveland was without a team for three years... but retained their beloved colors and nickname. That's always stuck in the craw of Baltimore, which is still upset the horseshoe and colors of the Colts were Mayflowered to Indianapolis in 1984. Baltimore people often talk about it as a magnanimous move on Modell's part. What it really was was a legal settlement.

For a decent breakdown of Modell's decision, click here.

At the time of the move, there wasn't a more beloved team in the NFL. Cleveland was as connected to the Browns, as Baltimore was to the Colts and the Redskins to Washington. The Indians may have been a winner in a new stadium at the time, but they weren't the fabric of the town- that honor belonged to the Browns and the Browns alone.

So, you can understand why Cleveland people would ignore whatever contributions Modell has made to the NFL.

Conversely, let's ask Baltimore people to real be honest here: They wouldn't champion Modell's cause so much if he hadn't moved the team there. All of his involvement with NFL Films and Monday Night Football wouldn't matter to them if he was still in Cleveland watching over the continuous operation of the Browns.

You don't see Baltimore fans storming the gates for Jack Kent Cooke, a more successful owner by a mile, to be in the Hall. It's all about who benefited them more.

The reality is, the formerly near-bankrupt Modell made himself and a lot of Baltimore people (media members included) much richer than they were prior to 1996. He employed many local television anchors (men who I have the utmost respect for) immediately to be involved in various ways with the operations of the team. It's something that continues to this day. One's a play-by play radio announcer, another's the stadium public address announcer and another works part-time for the team's cable partner.

I benefited from the move, of course, as I covered the team for two years at the Baltimore Examiner. They were the two best years of my professional life. The organization, which he sold a few years ago to Steve Bisciotti, is first class now. Baltimore swells with purple pride.

Cleveland, meanwhile, has been saddled with an unstable franchise since it returned in 1999. What once seemed like a dream scenario, complete with gift high draft picks and more, turned out to be a nightmare. The ownership selected by the NFL and the ensuing management has been unstable and terrible.

Art Modell won't get in the Hall of Fame while he's alive. People should stop getting worked up over it. He could have spared himself this and probably been in the Hall of Fame had he sold his team in 1995, when he was facing difficulties due to his business decisions. Yes, other venues were built in Cleveland rather than a new football stadium, but that's a distraction from the overall discussion.

He made his own financial bed and rather than finding someone else in Cleveland to take over those troubles, he chose himself over the fans who supported him. People don't want to hear that in Baltimore, especially when they're watching their team potentially making another Super Bowl run. But, it's the truth.

The Bottom Feeder- 01/04

2009-01-04T10:15:00.009-05:00

Here's all the national and local sports headlines for a lazy Sunday morning. This format is unapologetically stolen from my boy Glenn Clark, producer and superstar over at WNST.NET

Joe Flacco says it's just football on the eve of his first playoff game.

John Harbaugh says running the football makes the world go 'round.

David Steele says Dolphins-Ravens feature QBs who weren't always everyone's All-American.

The Breakdown of today's Ravens-Dolphins Wild Card game.

The Chargers take down the NFL's MVP and the Colts in the Wild Card round.

The Cards win their first home playoff game since Truman was in office. That was before they moved to St. Louis, Tempe AND Glendale!

NEWFLASH! Alex Ovechkin is a rock star and the Caps are ground-breakingly good.

Semin's back to do some damage too.

Maryland takes care of Charlotte thanks to 27 points from General Greivis.

Georgetown gets shown up on its home court by Pitt.

The Wiz are a little delusional.

Utah- do they have an argument?

2009-01-03T10:32:00.006-05:00

Utah rolled Alabama, 31-17, last night in the Sugar Bowl, setting off arguments both manufactured and real about how the team should be considered for the final No. 1 ranking.

Let's start with this premise- that isn't going to happen.

The winner of the BCS title game is going to be "the No. 1 team in the country" the next morning. Entertaining any other thought is really wasting your time.

Should they be considered? Yep. Just because Florida and Oklahoma were picked to be in "the championship game" doesn't mean they are the best two teams in the country. They could be, but saying that with 100 percent certainty is a bit arrogant. I'd put money down that USC would lay waste to both of them.

With Boise State taking care of Oklahoma a few years ago and now this win by Utah, the "mid-majors" are showing they can throw down with the BCS conference teams and beat them. What people are seeing, in reality, is the reduction of scholarships across football evening out the playing field. The disparity between BCS teams and mid-majors isn't as large as people think.

What needs to happen in the various pre-season polls is the assumption that there are mid-majors that CAN beat the old standbys. Essentially, overrate them in August so we're not surprised in January.