With the release of Billy Cundiff on Sunday morning, both scapegoats from the Ravens’ AFC Championship game loss in January have now been jettisoned from the roster. Lee Evans was sent packing from Baltimore way back in March, and is currently looking for work in the NFL after being similarly released by the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this month. Whether or not you put much stock into the team psyche-cleansing effect that going into the season without two of the guys who effectively cost the team a Super Bowl berth will … Continue reading →

The most popular football video game franchise ever, Madden, turns 25 years old in 2013. The original “John Madden Football” was released for PC in 1988, and the 2013 version is available on August 28. The game ranks players on a scale of 0-100 in a variety of skill categories, and every year NFL players and fans scramble to find out how they – or their favorite player – stack up against the competition. This year’s player rankings having been released, let’s take a look at how our Baltimore Ravens … Continue reading →

It’s getting to be serious “crunch time” for Ray Rice and the Ravens. Rice, who was assigned the Franchise tag by the team earlier this offseason, has until next Monday, July 16, to agree to a long-term deal with the Ravens. If the two sides are unable to put pen to paper by then, Rice will be forced to play the 2012 season under the tag. It’s a bit of a mystery as to why the Ravens and Rice have been unable to agree on a new contract, at least … Continue reading →

I’ve spilled countless volumes of virtual ink over the years in defending my quarterback, Joe Flacco. It’s reached the point where I’ve pretty much exhausted myself – Joe’s numbers speak for themselves. Whether you’re the type that points to stats or the type that points to wins when judging quarterbacks, he’s produced both (at times) during his four NFL seasons. While listening to National-types and out-of-towners bash Joe has become old hat, what really digs at me is to hear my fellow Ravens fans hopping aboard the anti-Flacco bandwagon. More … Continue reading →

On Friday afternoon, the Ravens announced that they have joined forces with Baltimore-based sports apparel company Under Armour in a ten-year agreement that will feature “multiple community-based initiatives.” Now I’m sure many of you are having dreams/nightmares imagining the Ravens running around M&T Bank Stadium in some crazy purple uniforms like the ones Under Armour put the Maryland Terrapins football team in last fall. Well, whether or not you’ll be disappointed or relieved to hear it, that assuredly will not be the case. NFL uniforms are made by Nike, and … Continue reading →

With the NFL schedule being released this evening, we now know exactly when and where our heroes in purple will be suiting up for the 2012 NFL season. They open up with their first home “Monday Night Football” match up since way back in 2007 (the Bart Scott flag-throwing loss to New England), against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens have beaten the Bengals in Baltimore three of the four times they’ve met here in the John Harbaugh/Joe Flacco era. If the emotion on Opening Night this year is anything like … Continue reading →

The Ravens announced today that they have agreed on a 5-year contract extension with cornerback Lardarius Webb. Many fans feared that Webb, who was a restricted free agent in 2012, would be snatched up by a team like Cincinnati or New England who could afford to give up the first round draft pick it would have cost to pry #21 from Baltimore. (We tried to ease the concerns of fans back on March 24 in a column by Tony Lombardi.) Instead, Ravens faithful can rest easy knowing that Webb will … Continue reading →

Today, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to release veteran wide receiver Hines Ward. While this move was widely anticipated as Pittsburgh scrambles to conform to the 2012 NFL salary cap – they have a stable of young wide receivers that relegated Ward to the bench at times in 2011 – it still comes as a shock to Steelers fans and Ravens fans alike to see the news finally made official. Ward, or “Whines Hard” as many Ravens fans took to calling him (we took to … Continue reading →

In the Ravens’ season-opening 35-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, they registered four sacks and caused a whopping seven turnovers. In Week 4 against the New York Jets, the defense went off again, this time causing three turnovers and scoring touchdowns on every single one of them. After seven games, Chuck Pagano’s defense had registered 25 sacks (3.5 per game), picked off seven passes, and recovered nine opponents’ fumbles. They were averaging over two takeaways per game, and were on pace to challenge the franchise record for sacks. Over the … Continue reading →

For Ravens rookie wide receiver Torrey Smith, Sunday Night was one hell of an emotional roller coaster ride in Pittsburgh. He had a huge hand in his team’s very first, and very last, offensive plays; both of which initially appeared to be touchdowns. The first, a Ray Rice 76-yard run, was of course called back due to a very ticky-tack holding penalty on Smith. Later on in the same drive, Torrey caught a 12-yard fade pass from Joe Flacco that probably should have been a touchdown. Though he drew a … Continue reading →

It’s time once again for some Lookalikes! The Ravens roll into Jacksonville on Monday Night Football this week to play a team they haven’t seen since the 2008 season finale (a 27-7 Ravens victory in B’More). So who on the Jags’ roster conjures up visions of somebody else? Let’s have a look, shall we? First off, some blasts from Lookalikes! past. Punter Nick Harris has been featured on Lookalikes! before, when he was playing with the Detroit Lions back in 2009. Harris moonlights as Dr. Andre Nosik on the FX … Continue reading →