pumpkinhead

I take Byner as a flyer, pay back from Art Modell for Byners' loyalty to the Browns. He does not belong in the Ravens' ring of honor IMO. I kind of bleep over his name, sometimes I live in my own little world. Kind of like everytime TV talking heads mention P.Manning breaking some Baltimore record...BLEEEEEP. I agree about the super bowl and the 2000 yard season. IMO, between the lines he was a great running back for Baltimore.

Interesting. Based on those criteria, Jamal Lewis is wanting. Those are tough standards to live up to, but the Ravens have definitely had other players who hit on more of them than Jamal Lewis does. I think Jamal Lewis met some of those criteria but definitely did not meet them across the board. Some specific comments: "Gratitude: Ravens of Honor carry forth a special attitude of gratitude, to those around them, they are always a fountain rather then a drain.". I was never in the locker room, but he probably whiffed on this one. "Vision: Fueled by self-knowledge, great character and an appreciation for everything available to them. Ravens of Honor visualize short and long term successes in Technicolor.". Probably not the case for Jamal Lewis. He seemed to to take his career more one season at a time, never really applying a long term view. "Passion: Passionate Ravens have an unusual ability to face failure, physical setbacks and exhaustion. They have an internal tenacity that helps them get back up when knocked down.". I'd say he connected on this one, overcoming the knee injuries and being the workhorse. He never pulled a Corey Dillon and yanked himself that I recall. "Faith & Courage: Ravens of Honor stand tall in the good times as well as the rough times.". Probably not so much, he did seem to complain to Preston during the bad times. "Competitive Spirit: True competitors want to be put on the line and measured.". I think he nailed this one, as far as the first line goes. "Humility: Humility in oneself inspires the best of others and feeds our character.". Hard to say for me. I tend to think not, but I do not know the man. Overall, he does seem wanting based on these criteria. Good point.

Jamal Lewis is unsigned as of this date. It seems unlikely (IMO) that he will be signed before the 2010 season begins. Assuming he is not signed during the 2010 season (a probable occurrence [iMO] given Jamal's age and salary requirements [under the CBA]), do you think Jamal Lewis will be ready to retire after the 2010 season and if so - do you think he deserves enshrinement in the Ravens' Ring of Honor? IMO he does deserve enshrinement in the Ravens' Ring of Honor, being [again IMO] the greatest running back in Baltimore history. I acknowledge the achievements of great ball carriers like Lydell Mitchell and Lenny (spats) Moore, but Jamal Lewis (IMO) surpassed both of those tremendous Baltimore running backs in terms of pure athletic ability (power and speed). In addition, his statistics (not that I am enamored of statistical comparisons across generational lines) argue [iMO] for his inclusion in the Ring of Honor - he is the current second place holder for NFL rushing yards in a season (at 2,066). Also, from what I can tell (I might be wrong) with respect to Baltimore rushing records: 1. Jamal Lewis has 7,801 yards rushing for Baltimore versus the next closest of 5,487 for Lydell Mitchell. and 2. Jamal Lewis has 1,822 rushing attempts for Baltimore versus the next closest of 1,391 for Lydell Mitchell. 3. However, Jamal Lewis does trail the great Lenny Moore for Baltimore rushing touchdowns by a margin of 63 (for Moore) to 45 (for Lewis). Even so, given what Jamal Lewis has done to ensconce himself in the pantheon of Baltimore running backs, it seems to me [iMO] that Jamal Lewis has earned a place in the Ring of Honor. What does the board think?

I think Kindle took 49 because all the LB numbers in the 50's were taken except for 57, and the Ravens aren't giving that one out (it's OJ's number). He'll probably grab a 50 after cuts at the end of TC - maybe Barnes' 50, Burgess' 54 or Phillips' 58. I'm guessing Cody is camping with 63 and awaiting a 90 type number to open up at the end of TC - McKinney's 91, Talavou's 98 or Vandesteeg's 94. Who knows. We will see in September, it should be fun for TC.

I have some thoughts. 1. Kemo may be too hurt to be an effective DT in the NFL anymore, that may be why Carolina released him. 2. If he can still play and just wasn't the right price in Carolina, they could extend a no bonus offer to him and at least bring him in for some OTA's to evaluate him. If he looks good there then maybe use one of the 80 spots in TC on him and let him compete. 3. If he is the Kemo of 2005 than he would well replace Bannan in the run game. 4. They still have options with McKinney and Talavou, although it seems McKinney may be a little to pricey for them at his current contract. They might want to give one of those two the snaps Bannan had to prove themselves.

Update from the Sun: "Cardinals: Arizona announced the hiring of former Ravens assistant Donnie Henderson as their new defensive backs coach. Henderson has 26 years of coaching experience, including nine as an NFL assistant with the Jaguars (2008), Lions (2006), Jets (2004-05) and Ravens (1999-2003)." Good for him.

Good player, great blocker. He just could not return from that torn ACL. I hope this isn't Webb 3 years from now. Still, I think we should realize how tough it is to return from these knee injuries and not count on Webb at all next year, god willing (insh allah) he will return in 2011 at full strength.

Insightful. I think you are on point here DC...basically, Meh nails it. p.s Go USA, what a win over Canada tonite. Super Sunday indeed, great Russia-Czech game, USA vs. Canada and Sweden-Finland to top it off...wow.

Insightful. I think you are on point here DC...basically, Meh nails it.

In the wake of Mark Carrier moving on to the Jets, it got me thinking of another secondary coach formerly held in high esteem by the media. With Carrier going up to be the d-line coach (to position himself for a d-coordinator job, seems like a smart move under Ryan who can show him the ropes and probably does most of the d-line coaching anyway) it looks like the Ravens will just let Pagnano handle the secondary on his own. But what about bringing back a former secondary coach who seemingly did very well here? This is from wikipedia: "Donnie Henderson (born May 17, 1957 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American football coach. He is currently a defense volunteer for the California Redwoods of the United Football League. Henderson first joined the Jets during the 2004 NFL season. In 2005, the Jets had a second-ranked defense against the pass, but a 32nd-ranked defense against the run, which undoubtedly was one of the factors leading to the team's disappointing 4-12 record (in addition to Chad Pennington and Curtis Martin being absent for most of the season due to injury). Henderson was not kept on after head coach Herman Edwards was replaced by Eric Mangini following the season. Henderson soon accepted the defensive coordinator position for the Detroit Lions and new head coach, Rod Marinelli. The Lions went 3-13 in 2006 and finished the season ranked 27th out of 32 in total defense. Henderson was fired from his position on January 2, 2007.". It seems like his star has crashed and burned, does anyone on the board have any insights as to why? There seems to be more here than the media is willing to report.

Biscotti could have hired Ryan and chose Harbaugh. As time goes on we will be able to see how wise that choice was. I would say that it will become clear how wise he was over the next 5 years and by 2015 we can reasonably pass judgement on his decision. For now, it looks like Ryan and Harbaugh are tied. Both have now made it to the AFC championship game their first year. Harbaugh followed it up with another playoff appearance which is very good, Ryan has the possiblity to surpass Harbaugh's first year achievements. I would say if Ryan's team beats the Irsay team then Ryan would be in the lead for the time being. Harbaugh does appear to be building something here, he appears to be on a good track but time will tell. I think it will be interesting to watch these two guys coach their teams over the next few years, realizing they are linked and that their relative performances will tell us something about Biscotti. If I had to pick a favorite right now, I guess the homer in me would pick Harbaugh but Ryan has been impressive. BTW, if the Irsay team beats the Jets will that constitute a measure of revenge for Super Bowl III?

I haven't listened to the national announcers for years. Besides their perceived bias, they always seem to me to be poorly informed...why should I listen to them when it seems like I know the team better than they do? I usually listen to our radio announcers, the bad part is that the radio is ahead of the action on the tv (so the folks listening at the game can hear the action called real time) sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. Also, I have noticed the broadcast is ahead of the cable feeds. The good part is Rob Burnett and Stan White know the Ravens well and their insight is great. I also like the sound bite White gets from Harbaugh before Harbaugh goes to the lockeroom at the end of the 1st half. Plus, they are clearly rooting for the Ravens and make no attempt to hide it.

I agree. I was rewatching the Vikings game, I think that is where Gooden lost his job to Ellerbe. Gooden just didn't attack the line like Ellerbe does and it makes a big difference. You can't take on the blocker 1 to 2 yards off the line, you have to hit him at the line (otherwise gap control kind of goes out the window). Even worse, you shouldn't always try to run around the blocker (that just creates holes) you have to stuff him. Gooden seems faster though, and therefore may have more potential in pass coverage. Maybe he could move to the outside or back to safety. Ellerbe is playing great though, a lot of fun to watch.

I have to agree with DC to disagree with papasmurf w/r/t Heap. He is still quite effective (IMO) at TE, being that the TE has the dual blocking / receiving role. He is slower than he was earlier, but has good hands and is a big soft target, plus he is still very strong (will break weak tackles), fights to stay in bounds and turns quickly upfield. He is a player with a lot of guts (maybe too much, he always scares me the way he leads with his head...I call him the Rammer) and leaves it out on the field. As a blocker he is above average, the effort is there but the physical ability is not as strong. Still, he does a better job at blocking (IMO) than nearly all other pass catching TE's in the NFL. I think Heap has a few more years yet on his old legs, at least I hope he does. Which leads to an interesting question: where does Heap rank all time as a Baltimore TE? Is he better or worse than Shannon Sharpe? How about John Mackey? How about Glenn Doughty? Personally, (and help me out on the great TE's I am forgetting) I put them as: 1. Mackey, 2. Heap, 3. Doughty, 4. Sharpe (mainly b/c he only had 2 seasons with us, as big an impact as he had he is still a Bronco to me). Sorry again to post not very thread specific, but DC's post got me thinking about Heap. Another topic for a later day, who are the greatest players at each position in Baltimore NFL history? Maybe we could gin this up for the 60th anniversary (coming up in 2013 if your ignore our unfortunate 12 year hiatus) of Baltimore football. p.s. I am a big Suggs fan, mainly b/c he is so dominant in the run game and a very good pass rusher. He is a top 5 talent that we got with the 10th overall pick, at times a man amongst boys out there. He blows TE's and OT's up so consistently and prevents stretch runs to his side so well that I often laugh watching the replays. In the pass rush, his speed and angle seem quite good but he seems held back (in terms of stats, i.e. sacks) by our inability to collapse the pocket (which causes the QB to step back in to the arms of the outside speed rusher). Put him in a vacuum as a DE and there is no better today in the NFL (IMO), at least in terms of recognizing a DE has responsibilities in both pass and run defense. I don't think we should regret his deal, a truly great and dominant player for his era. p.s.s. and lastly, (thank God, I didn't think that guy would ever shut up) nice points by Crav about not worrying so much about the Ravens squeaking one out versus the Steelers. As he so adroitly pointed out, they squeaked by us in similar cirmumstances last year in Pittsburgh then went on to become world champions...there is no reason we can not do the same. Through fire comes steel. It all starts in Green Bay.

Times in the NFL, they are a changin'. I have read a lot of laments in the Pittsburgh media about their #1 defense being unable to stop the Ravens on 3rd and long. The reality is, the NFL today (through their rule changes / enforcements since 2005) is a league where it is almost illegal to play defense. In light of this new reality, one should realize that almost all games are won on offense. Having said this, kudos to John Harbaugh for going for the first down (instead of punting) on 4th and 5 in the 4th quarter. I have yet to see a defense in the NFL in the last 2 years that is capable of winning a game. DO NOT put the game on the shoulders of your defense anymore. They are highly likely to fail, as has been mandated by the competition committee. A good defense can still be a very valuable commodity, maybe the main wedge to separate a good team from a champion, but the load these days must be carried by every offense. It is so easy to pass anymore that it is irresponsible to expect a defense, any defense, to stop the opposing offense on a consistent basis. A few years back punting late in the 4th to pin your opponent back and expecting a 3 and out stop would have been the odds favorable strategy, but no longer. Today, if you give the ball up, it is foolish to expect it back anytime soon. I think it is impossible to protect any defense these days too much (i.e. protect them with a ball control offense). With the current rules, no defense can be expected to win a game - the offense must be the engine of victory...however, it is more likely now than ever (IMO) that a great defense will be the margin that separates a good team from a great one. What does this have to do with "a win is a win is a win"? I don't know, I am rambling. But this seemed like a good thread to reply to. In general don't complement our QB and receivers too much, they are doing the easy lifting. In addition, don't harsh on the defense too much, their job is near impossible. This week was a good win, but to go to OT against a team that is missing their best defensive player (Aaron Smith, IMO), their starting LG (Chris Kemoeatu) as well as Polamalu and Rothlisberger, at home, is troubling. But, hip, hip, hooray for the Ravens (and Paul Kreuger), their season is not over. A win at Lambeau on Sunday will be epic. I think this team can do great things down the stretch with a powerful run game and a good defense (especially when Suggs returns) as well as our improved coverage units on special teams (they have been dynamic this year, what a job against Cribbs a few weeks back). I am looking forward to one of the best Decembers in Ravens history.

Hauschka is 1 for 3 from 40-49...he must be getting old, his range isn't what it used to be.

I heard an interesting take on this question from Damon Yaffe (sp?) on the Viviano show on 105.7 yesterday. he put forth the idea that the Patriots would get the signals from a player like Burgess, i.e. what words do they use to shift from run to pass, what words are bogus and what words are real (e.g. colors are bogus, animals are real) and what certain hand signals from the sideline mean. He also suggested that maybe the reason the Ravens traded Burgess to NE knowing that he would be used for this purpose is b/c the Ravens felt Burgess failed to pick up the knowledge he was supposed to while he was here, so the Pats wouldn't get much out of him.

I have to disagree with you here. I think he is the same kicker he has always been, it is just Harbaugh never wanted that type of kicker. I see Stover as a deadly accurate kicker with a weak leg, I don't remember him ever being any other way since 1996. I think Harbaugh set Stover up this year to lay the groundwork for cutting him loose. Billick also initially wanted to cut Stover but changed his mind when he got used to how deadly a weapon he was inside the 30. Harbaugh told Stover to attempt kicks that Harbaugh knew were outside of Stover's range (and always have been) from the first game. A lot of fans saw this and assumed Stover had lost leg strength, that is not true, the only difference is that Billick didn't ask Stover to try those longer field goals so fans never had it made plain to them just what the limit of Stover's range was. All of a sudden, Stover's limited range is now an issue and he is in "decline". I did not see that this year, to me he looked the same as always....a deadly accurate kicker with a weak leg. Personally, I think that is a good kicker to have on a team built around defense and ball control. This move probably foreshadows that the Ravens no longer intend to be a team built around defense and ball control.

I don't think there is much new about Lewis' FA. It seems to me the Ravens said quite a while ago that their approach would be to let him enter the market, get offers and from that they would know what it would take to keep him. I am fairly confident that the organization has an idea how high they are willing to go to keep him, so if Lewis gets an offer above that then they don't match it. I think the organization feels Lewis won't get an offer above what they are willing to pay him, hence the statement by Bisciotti to the effect of "We don't think another team values Ray as much as we do". In essence, I think the Ravens feel Lewis has overvalued himself and needs a cold splash of water in the face by allowing him to go on the market and see no one is willing to pay him what he thinks he is worth. If they are wrong, then he is gone. All the spilled ink in the meantime is pointless. This has to play out and we should know by the end of march if the Ravens judgement is correct or flawed.

"Setting the tone in the hard-hitting series, Ravens special teams player Daren Stone suffered a concussion on the opening kickoff.". Give the guy a break, he may not even have known where he was or that he was even out of bounds. Maybe this poor fellow should not have even been in there at that time, maybe Curl and Tessendorf screwed the pooch on that one...then again, maybe not.

Also, the Steelers are not as dependent on the blitz as we are to get some form of pressure on the pocket. The Steelers nickel front four of Harrison, Woodley, Smith and Kiesel is superior to our nickel front four of Suggs, Johnson, Pryce and Ngata/Barnes. In order to force the QB off the spot with our front four we almost always have to blitz whereas the Steelers can often do it with just their front 4. The lack of the blitz allows their nickle LB's (Timmons and Farrior) to take deep drops forcing the Baltimore QB to throw over them making the passes to the receivers come in high and affording the defender playing man on them a better opportunity to pull the ball from the receivers hands while the receiver is attempting the catch. Unfortunately our lack of dominant play by our front four often forces at least one of our nickel LB's (Lewis and Scott) in to a blitz, clearing out the underneath zones and allowing the Pittsburgh QB to throw directly in to the recievers body (say as on a slant or short curl) leaving the defender playing man the only options of coming through the body (an easy PI call) or simply making the tackle after the reception. In addition, Ryan's exotic blitz scemes often send the nickel defender (Ivy) or a safety leaving holes in the zone coverage which the QB can easily defeat by throwing at the blitz. Understand, Ryan is doing a great job, the blitz is a requirement given the physical abilities of our front four but it does leave a defense lamentably vulnerable to an experienced QB. To take the next step and become a great defense that is capable of taking a team to the championship game, we need to upgrade the ability of our front four to make them a unit capable of more consistently shrinking the pocket and moving the QB off the spot, therefore reducing our over reliance on the blitz.

So true, the people who do know what they are talking about are not doing any talking...they are doing.

Very sorry to read about your loss. God bless you.

Actually, we just had him on the offseason roster in 2004, he never made it to the practice squad. The team signed him on 2/11/04 and sent him off to NFL Europe along with a WR named Moore and a TE named Hill. He was assigned to the Rhein team (he wore #53) and played 5 games before getting hurt and shutting down his NFL Europe season. He was back here for OTA's in June of that year and was cut before training camp started. They never gave him a chance but apparently the team just didn't like him personally. The team sent quite a few players to NFL Europe that year, in addition to Hill above (Moore never made it out of the combined NFL Europe training camp in Orlando) they sent Tony Pashos, Todd Devoe and Aubrayo Franklin. Harrison was a whiff by the front office and coaching staff, fortunately for us their whiffs are few and far between.