SB Nation - Jonathan Ogden

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Best Sign Yet The Coaches Trust Vince Young Edition

August West — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:09:00 -0000

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Battle Red Blog wonders how Cortland Finnegan can be so dirty? If it wasn't dirty he wouldn't get fined for it, so it's got to be dirty!

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Vince Young's MRI looked good, and the QB and coach have said he'll most likely be ready for Sunday's game. The most interesting part to me though, is that Fisher trusts Vince enough that he could play with no practice time this week should he no be ready until gameday. That's a luxury only veterans the staff trusts to put in the work and learn just through film and conversations are afforded.

Chris Johnson has a big fan in Marshall Faulk, who is accepting of the fact that CJ will rip his single-season record for yards from scrimmage from him very soon.

Winning today's award for awesomeness is Jeff Fisher's rationale for going for it on fourth down late against the hapless Rams:

I can kick a field goal and that’s an automatic points. You go for it on fourth down, at least I’m giving them a chance to make a stop. If they were offended then I guess they’ll have to work through their own issues."

After making an impact coming up from the practice squad, defensive end Eric Bakhtiari talks with Jim Wyatt about the amazing rush it is to come out of the tunnel and onto the field for the first time after not being active for a single game during his time with San Diego, San Francisco or Tampa Bay:

"It was my first game and I was extremely nervous,’’ said Bakhtiari, who played in college at San Diego. "When I walked through the tunnel I got so excited I had to keep breathing, keep focusing and when I went through the helmet it was awesome. The dam broke down and I was flooded with emotion. I winded myself after the first couple of plays because I was so excited.’’

December is a crucial month for any team on the precipice of making the playoffs, and few teams have been as good at it over the last few years as these Miami Dolphins.

For those of you who follow the Titans from afar and perhaps haven't gotten to experience the city of Nashville or a game at LP Field, here's a pretty solid review by Stadium Journey.

It's not too early for the draft to come up for just a second, and Todd McShay's latest mock draft ($- Insider subscription required) has us grabbing Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida.

Unfortunately, it's looking like former-Titan Jacob Bell's season may have ended on LP Field last Sunday when he tore a hamstring muscle.

Who knew you could get fined a few grand for tossing a football into the stands after a touchdown? To my mind, you should only get fined if you give to anyone other than a kid or old person.

Sure-fire first ballot Hall of Fame left tackle Jonathan Ogden lists Michael Roos as one of the three tackles in the NFL he actually likes to watch play.

Have love, need links: mcmaugustwest@gmail.com.

Week Fourteen Preview: Broncos at Colts

BigBlueShoe — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:09:13 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Caldwell. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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The Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts have significant history between one another. Whether it is nail-biting, smash-mouth-style games played in snowstorms, or playoff blowouts featuring Peyton Manning throwing about a gazillion touchdown passes to then-Colts wide receiver Brandon Stokley, some of the most memorable games for these modern Colts have been against the Broncos.

This Sunday, they renew their rivalry with some new faces.

Gone are head coaches Tony Dungy for the Colts and Mike Shanahan for the Broncos. Replacing Shanahan is the brash and cocky Bill Belichick protege in Josh McDaniels. The new head coach in Indy is the soft-spoken, even-keeled Dungy disciple that is Jim Caldwell. Both have different approaches to the game. Both have gotten a lot out of their football teams of late. And while some players are new to this party, like Brian Dawkins and rookie Knowshon Moreno, other players are very familiar with this rivalry, but are now "playing for the enemy"; namely the before mentioned Brandon Stokely and defensive tackle Darrell Reid. Both play for Denver now.

For the Colts, the lone "defector" in the rivalry is former-Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer. He is now coordinating the Colts defense, and doing a great job.

With the Broncos regaining their form after dropping four straight, this game figures to be like any other match-up the Colts had had to deal with this year: Hard and physical.

The Broncos are a bit of an enigma in that you aren't quite sure what you are going to get when you play them, and that is necessarily by design. During their 6-0 start, they seemed to have a lot of breaks go their way, with the incredibly lucky Brandon Stokley tip-catch-TD at the beginning of the year to beat the Bengals as the best example of said breaks. When they lost four in a row, they seemed to get exposed a bit. Their only meaningful road win was a 43-23 victory over the Chargers, but that win was later avenged by the Chargers utterly dominating the Broncos 32-3. They righted their ship, somewhat, by beating a banged-up Giants team and then later feasting on the small children that litter their division (namely, the Kansas City Chiefs).

In terms of standard stats, the Broncos defense is tied with the Colts, giving up exactly 16.8 points per game. The Broncos have 34 sacks, are about even with the Colts in terms of run defense, and sport a dangerous return threat in Eddie Royal.

The big reason the Broncos are 8-4 is their defense. Though Josh McDaniels has done a good job with a Denver team many felt would only win 3 games this year, the fact is McDaniels has nothing to do with the Broncos defense. He doesn't coach it, scheme it, or call plays for it on gameday. Mike Nolan, the current Broncos defensive coordinator and former head coach of the 49ers, runs Denver's D.

The standard stats for the defense are impressive, but when you factor in shake n bake's ever lovable, huggable DVOA stats, the Denver defense is top notch. They are ranked #4 in DVOA.

Meanwhile, the Broncos offense is ranked 21st in the league using standard scoring stats (20 points per game) and 19th in DVOA. The also rank in the bottom half of the league on third down completion percentage.

OK, those were the stats. now, we move to the keys:

A key match-up in the game is between Denver's outstanding left tackle, Ryan Clady, going up against all-world defensive end Dwight Freeney. Clady is as good as they come. But, then again, so were potential future Hall of Famers like Jonathan Ogden and Walter Jones. Freeney routinely ate those guys for lunch, and unless Denver plans to give Clady help he could be another "skull on the pile" for Freeney. Gil Brandt of NFL.com has a write-up on this match-up.
Pressure on Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton is very key. Last year, Orton (who played his college ball at Purdue following Drew Brees leaving for the NFL and just prior to Curtis Painter's tenure) walked into the grand opening of Lucas Oil Stadium and lit the place up. He was able to do this because his pocket was clean and he was rarely, if ever, pressured. That, and he had Matt Forte galloping all over the field for him. The Colts cannot allow Orton to gain any kind of comfort zone. They must get into his face, and pressure him into mistakes.
The other key match-up for the game is Peyton Manning v. Brian Dawkins and the Broncos secondary. The DBs in Denver are rather geriatric by NFL standards. Dawkins has been in the league 14 years. Starting corner Champ Bailey has played for 11 years while nickel corner (and longtime Colts nemesis) Ty Law, who signed with the Broncos a few weeks ago after a long absence from the NFL, has played 15 years. Denver will likely look to mix coverages, allowing their corners to play one-on-one with safety help against Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. This is the tactic the Patriots used a few weeks ago. This means players like Pierre Garçon and Austin Collie must continue to step it up. Denver coach Josh McDaniels acknowledged the development and growth of Garçon and Collie is a recent press conference they have as part of Colts.com's weekly Colts Up-Close, Online Edition.

As always, the Colts must take the field this Sunday against a hungry, playoff situated team that is looking to solidify their post-season chances. Just like most other "experts," I too am very surprised by Denver's current 8-4 record. But, you have to give them credit. I personally think much of the credit should go to Mike Nolan, but McDaniels deserves some props for hiring Nolan and for making some strong personnel moves this off-season along with new Broncos GM Brian Xanders.

Obviously, there are elements of McDaniels personality and coaching style that leave one feeling that he is a little bit of a punk. Though we've been bashing him for a few weeks now, Yahoo! Sports "expert" Michael Silver did write an interesting article this week detailing how "ugly" McDaniels has acted and carried himself this season. However, despite the slime trail McDaniels seems to leave behind him, you cannot discount that he has done a better job with the 2009 Denver Broncos than Mike Shanahan did with the 2008 Denver Broncos.

I recently said in this Mile High Report FanPost that Nolan was able to take a defense with, roughly, the same players that Mike Shanahan had and transform them into a top flight D.

Turns out, I was wrong.

According to Broncos fans (and it's reasonable to trust them on this), only Elvis Dumervil, Champ Bailey, and D.J. Williams are holdovers starting from last year's defense. Everyone else appears new, and they are buying in to the Broncos "Pats West-style" 3-4 defense.

Many thanks to Broncos fans at MHR for an excellent series of FanPosts, allowing communities from both blogs to interact. In the three FanPosts created (two on MHR, one here) we had close to 700 comments from Broncos and Colts fans alike with much of the discussion focused solely on football and the game itself.

In fact, our FanPost had less trash talk than the Tweets between Raheem Brock and Darrell Reid.

These Q&As between writers and readers might one of the best weeks we've had with another blog all season. Special thanks to ANGELSFAITH and John Bena.

This should be a hard fought game between two teams who might meet again in the post-season. We shall see.

'The Blind Side' Opens Today

Bruce Raffel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:46:04 -0000

The Blind Side

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Long before he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens, first round draft pick Michael Oher already had lived a well known life. Raised in the projects, Oher was shuffled around by his family with his brothers and sisters until he was enrolled in a school with a majority white racial population. The wife of a well known wealthy man, who just happened to be the voice of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies and a huge University of Mississippi donor took interst in this big, poor black teenager and basically adopted him early on in his high school years.

The rest is pretty much history, as Oher was introduced to the game of football and become one of the most sought after college recruits in the nation, finally landing at his new family's alma mater, the University of Mississippi.

Once at Ole Miss, Oher caught the attention of the NFL scouts, who likened his style of play to not only Orlando Pace, but current Baltimore Ravens (at that time) great Jonathan Ogden. Oher became an All American left tackle and the Baltimore Ravens thought enough of the young man to trade up to grab him with the 23rd pick in the first round of this past April's NFL Draft.

Friday, November 20th is the nationwide opening of the movie on the book written by Michael Lewis (author of 'Moneyball'), after the World Premier was held last night in New York City, which Oher did not attend, partially due to his preparation for the team's upcoming key game against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts. "partially" was the word I used to describe his non-attendance, as when I was at the Ravens Training Camp this summer, I read the book from cover to cover in jut a couple of days, as I found it a fascinating story, regardless that Oher was a Raven. However, when I approached the team about interviewing Michael about the book, I was told that he was not a fan of the book and would not want to talk about it.

Apparently, Oher thinks that he is portrayed as a real dumb kid in the book and is embarrassed and humiliated to the extent that he is uncomfortable discussing it at length. I totally disagree with his self-assessment, as to me the story shows the world that here is a kid that was raised with nothing, materialistically or emotionally. Yet, he learned to open his mind and heart to what was offered to him in his new environment and was intelligent enough to pick up a game that requires a lot of knowledge and learning. While high school and that much more, college football has a lot of memorization of formations and plays, that is nothing compared to the big, thck playbook binder that he was given as a NFL rookie by the Ravens. To me, I saw a young man that should bge proud that he was smart enough to survive in the tough times, adapt to his new surrounding and then thrive when given the opportunity that few are fortunate enough to receive. Therefore, he should embrace the book and the movie and freely open up to all that as a role model for so many talented kids that right now are in the same predicament that he found himself only a few short years ago.

While I have not seen the movie yet, I plan to do so in the near future. Read the book and go to the movie as well. The story will give you insight into this young man's world and also make you understand why the Ravens traded up to grab the kid that had the internal makeup that Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome looks for when earning his reputation as a great judge of character when picking his players. You will also come out of the reading that it is obvious that the Ravens did not draft this guy to be a right tackle, as he has all the makings of a great left tackle for years to come, as we have seen a whiff of that in his stint at left tackle, filling in for the injured Jared Gaither earlier this season. More importantly, it will only make you that much prouder to have Michael Oher a member of the Baltimore Ravens.

Pour Some Sugar On Me - Roger Goodell Establishes What the Fine Will Be If Dan Snyder Does Not Fire Vinny Cerrato

Sugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:45:10 -0000

In case you missed it, the Tennessee Titans owner was filmed giving Buffalo Bills fans the ol' bird from his perch on Sunday. If you aren't a Bills player, fan or employee--or Roger Goodell--you probably laughed your ass off. Goodell dropped a $250,000 fine on Bud Adams today...which leads me to my headline...because if Snyder does not fire Cerrato, he will be essentially flipping the entire Redskins fanbase the middle finger, and should be fined at least the same $250,000 amount.

Ten Yard Fight - 10 Chances To Make One Good Point

It's Dallas Week, so this week, instead of covering the league, I got 10 great memories of involving the hated Cowgirls. This is not an exhaustive list, nor is it any particular order. Feel free to add to this collection in the comments section below.

1) Darryl Grant's catch of a Dexter Manley tipped ball and subsequent touchdown in the NFC Championship game in 1982. It is one of my earliest memories of watching the Redskins period. I was barely 5 years old. The win over the despicable Cowgirls put us in the Super Bowl and the television images of RFK rocking are burned into my brain. Box score here.

2) Lavar Arrington tracking down Troy Aikman and sending him to the broadcasting booth. I admit this is kind of a macabre memory to love, but this one is great for multiple reasons. First, after so many Sundays of getting burned by Aikman over the years, it was satisfying (and fitting) that it be the Redskins that ended his career. Guys like him would and could play forever but they usually get knocked out of the league. Troy made the right decision to retire and as it turns out, he is one hell of a television broadcaster. He is generally fair and even-handed when he calls Redskins games, though since he is on the "A" team for Fox, we have rarely gotten him over the years.

3) Darrell Green's last game as a Redskin. The miserable Cowgirls were in complete disarray that week. Dave Campo's job was in question and the players on his sideline had completely phoned it in. We probably had no business beating that team but they were so obviously out of sorts it was hardly a contest. Both teams finished with losing records that year, but the going away present everyone wanted to give Darrell was a home victory over the pitiful Cowgirls. Box score here.

4) Brunell to Moss twice in the 4th quarter on Monday Night Football. I sat in stunned silence as the seconds ticked away in a loss that most likely was going to cost us the season. I was at a bar in Bethesda and as some of my buddies were ready to roll, I told them I kind of had to watch the end of this one. I had to witness the final whistle on my hopes for the season. The first touchdown to Moss was fun, but that feeling in my stomach that it was too little, too late was impossible to ignore. Then...no way...a seconddeep ball to Moss? With the lead in hand now, I was left to ponder the sick joke being played on us all that night: we come all the way back in the last minute only to lose to a field goal at the last second. The ensuing defensive stop was awesome, and everyone went crazy. Every car on the street was honking and every passerby was high-fiving. Box score here.

5) I would like to take this moment to remember a few moments from the pathetic Cowgirls' history that did not involve the Skins. Both were playoff games, and both put BIG smiles on my face. The first was back in 1998, in a playoff game against the Cardinals. Jake "The Snake" Plummer led the Cards to a huge win over Dallas. I might be mistaken, but it could have been their first playoff victory. Have the Cowgirls won a playoff game since then? Maybe they have, but I am not so sure. The second moment was more recent. When the Cowgirls had the game in hand against the Seahawks in the 2006-2007 playoffs, Romo was set to hold for a game-winning field goal. The rest is not only history, it created a whole new vocabulary. In prison, they now say, "Don't 'Romo' the soap!" I tell my two year old not to "Romo" his bottle. Cell phone users hate it when their calls are "Romo'ed".

6) The blocked field goal/Sean Taylor return a few years ago. It was a pretty classic slugfest but with the score tied 19-19, we found ourselves on defense with the low-life Cowgirls driving to put it away on the leg of Mike Vanderjagt. I remember it all too well...Jason Witten absolutely abusing Adam Archuleta for a huge gainer to set up the last-second kick. Once again, I found myself sitting in my seat awaiting the inevitable. I did not have the best angle to see the block, and once that ball was loose, it was tough to tell who had the ball. But then there was #21, making his way for the game-winner. Everyone was going nuts...but even within the moment, I knew it was overtime, since the clock was ticking down to zero during the play. Sean Taylor's head-whip was visible from my seat. It was an obvious call. When the referee announced we were going to have one more play from the end of the penalty, it was as if he actually announced, "Everyone is going to get laid." Nick Novak...47 yards...ball game. Box score here.

7) Darrell Green chasing down Tony Dorsett on Monday Night Football. This one I did not see live. I have seen it a million times though and it always makes me gawk. Forget the game itself...in one moment, one of the greatest running backs in the league was shown to be very mortal, and an unknown, undersized cornerback put himself on the map forever.

8) Jason Buck pushing the center into Troy Aikman, forcing the fumble and the ensuing Emmitt Smith gaffe that led to the Danny Copeland touchdown. I believe it was the season opener, on Monday Night Football with Mark Rypien under center for the Skins. I was a hot pretzel vendor at RFKstadium in high school and I had a knack for making sure I was selling pretzels in a section with the best view of the action on the field. On this play, I was actually behind the end zone that the Cowgirls were playing out of, and I saw the whole thing unfold. Jason Buck lined up over the Dallas center and on the snap, he bullrushed the dude right into Troy Aikman who never had a chance. Emmitt Smith made a huge bonehead error by not covering the ball (did he try and throw it or just muff it?) and we recovered for the touchdown. Only thing is, the refs never saw any of it. Danny Copeland, who had recovered the ball for the touchdown, had run almost to midfield celebrating. The refs were still looking in the pile of linemen for the ball. Everyone was yelling and pointing at Copeland, who then ran back and showed the refs the ball. I remember thinking, "Are they just going to take his word in this?" We beat the sad-sack Cowgirls handily, but that was pretty much the end of the "good old days" era. I think that was Richie Petitbon's debut? Box score here.

9) Cooley's 3 TD performance in 2005 to propel us to the playoffs. Mark Brunell threw four total touchdown passes in a game where we absolutely dominated the detestable Cowgirls. It was one of the best games I have ever been to at FedEx. Drew Bledsoe threw three interceptions and Clinton Portis ran for 112 yards to go along with the studly performance from Cooley. Box score here.

10) I'll make this one last since I know that the wretched Cowgirls were barely trying, but in November of 2007, we grabbed the final NFC playoff spot by holding Marion Barber to -1 rushing yards and the entire team to only 1 yard rushing. They actually brought Tony Romo back out for a series in the second half but quickly removed him to prevent a certain injury. Our defense was incredibly nasty that day. Box score here.

On these, I certainly stand to be corrected on any facts I may have misstated. I am very aware of some of the older games played between the two teams that featured such greats as Ken Houston, Sonny Jurgensen, Charley Taylor...I am hopeful that those of you out there who saw these games firsthand will share your memories.

Give Me The Numbers, STAT!

PSSOM Notes...Well last week I pulled for Jim Zorn to be given another year and we had quite the lengthy discussion about it. Nothing quite as controversial about this week's edition I'm afraid. It seems though that some of my article titles are not getting through to folks. Seriously, the fact that even one person "corrected" the Animal House reference yesterday is embarrassing. Last week, one poor soul didn't get the Def Leppard reference in the title of this weekly piece (this marks the 14th edition of the PSSOM series.) We need to do better. Finally, we have to stay positive after the big win and prior to the showdown in Dallas, but we can't just forget altogether the joke of a front office we have. If we reserve all commentary on that subject for losing weeks we not only come off as whiners, we become no better than mindless kittens, distracted by the ball of yarn that is each win. I'll keep it simple and I'll keep the message on point. The following list represents a possible example of a good front office--do your own compare and contrast with Vinny Cerrato's reign of terror:

Notable First Round Draft Picks

1996 - T Jonathan Ogden
LB Ray Lewis
1997 - LB Peter Boulware
1999 - CB Chris McAllister
2000 - RB Jamal Lewis
2001 - TE Todd Heap
2002 - S Ed Reed
2003 - LB Terrell Suggs
QB Kyle Boller
2005 - WR Mark Clayton
2006 - DT Haloti Ngata
2007 - G Ben Grubbs
2008 - QB Joe Flacco
2009 - T Michael Oher

By the way, I counted and these men have combined for 39 Pro Bowls. That does not include any from Haloti Ngata, who will get his fair share I am sure. I don't particularly care for the Ravens, but Ozzie Newsome is simply a class act. Every pick may not be a Hall of Famer, but only one of these guys didn't pan out (Boller). You want to hear the worst part? They have a stated rule that every year they draft at least one offensive lineman. Now, I don't know how that has worked out each year, but holy crap is that a refreshing philosophy.

Image via www.shwiggie.com

All-Decade Team features four Colts players

BigBlueShoe — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:20:50 -0000

The Sporting News is really starting to re-establish themselves as a very strong, insightful alternative to the mindless droning we get from other major media outlets. Their only blemish is they continue to employ this schmuck. But, despite having Mr. Florio stinking up their content, the site and magazine are very informative sources for NFL content.

SN released their All-Decade team yesterday, and on the team they listed four Indianapolis Colts players: Peyton Manning, Jeff Saturday, Marvin Harrison, and Adam Vinatieri.

If you look at their list, it is very impressive. The one name I'd personally scratch off is Randy Moss. I'd dump him in favor of Hines Ward or Torry Holt. Moss has been too inconsistent and (to put it mildly) lazy to dominate at his position for ten years. Meanwhile, guys like Ward and Holt are consistent year in and out, regardless of the QB or the system their teams run.

But, that's really nit-picking. The list is pretty spot on. SN also listed Peyton as the NFL Athlete of the Decade. Bravo to the editors at SN. It's nice to see a media company actually report and list content that seems to be backed up by real knowledge and insight, and not some silly corporate agenda (See ESPNBoston.com).

SN NFL All-Decade Team

OFFENSE
WR Marvin Harrison
WR Randy Moss
T Walter Jones
G Alan Faneca
C Jeff Saturday
G Steve Hutchinson
T Jonathan Ogden
TE Tony Gonzalez
QB Peyton Manning
FB Lorenzo Neal
RB LaDainian Tomlinson

DEFENSE
DE Michael Strahan
DT Richard Seymour
DT Casey Hampton
DE Jason Taylor
OLB Derrick Brooks
MLB Ray Lewis
OLB Joey Porter
CB Champ Bailey
CB Ronde Barber
S Brian Dawkins
S Ed Reed

SPECIALISTS
K Adam Vinatieri
P Shane Lechler
KR Dante Hall
PR Devin Hester

Ravens Training Camp: Thursday Edition

Bruce Raffel — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:08:52 -0000

Back out to the sweltering heat after an emotionally fueled Wednesday afternoon practice hightlighted by the team's salute to our troops as part of Media Appreciation Day. After today's practice session, I interviewed reserve linebacker, Tony Fein, who was in the military prior to joining the Ravens. My interview with him will post later today as a FanPost.

Today is another "plus-30 day, giving some of the backups a better chance of getting additional reps on the depth chart. The offensive and defensive lines start out working on the blocking sleds. Watch out that you don't get run over as they move it backwards like it weighs next to nothing!

On double-team drills, rookie LB Paul Kruger fights off a pair of blockers, drawing loud praise from Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison. Next it looks like the offensive line is having their way with blocking. However, newcomer defensive tackle Nader Abdullah fights off a double-team from Jared Gaither and Oniel Cousins to make the tackle, earning praise and a hug from Defensive Line Coach, Clarence Brooks. On goal line drills, Fabian Washington goes to the sideline, saying, " that ain't me!" D-Line Coach Brooks says, "you never know, we might have to put you in there," to which Washington responds, "don't know what I'd do." Brooks deadpans right back at him, "lie down, maybe they'll trip over you!" to laughs from the players gathered around.

11-on-11 Drills: Flacco's quick dump pass goes right into the outstretched hands of a leaping Jarret Johnson for the interception. Flacco comes right back and hits Kelley Washington on a quick slant with Ray Rice, who lined up as a wideout, blocking for him.

Former Raven and soon-to-be Pro Football Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden shows up to sit in the crowd with his family holding his son on his lap to watch practice.

Goal line offense: Flacco fakes a dive to Rice then lofts a TD pass to a wide open L.J. Smith., Next, Rice bursts up the middle for a touchdown. Jalen Parmele beats Derrick Martin to the pylon for a TD but then Cedric Peerman is stuffed by the defensive line and thrown back by Haloti Ngata.

FG Time: Steven Hauschka takes all the kicks today just like Graham Gano took them all yesterday. Hauschka is good from extra point range, 39, 48, and 53 yards, but misses wide left from 42 and 53 yards. Later he hits consecutively from 46, 43, 39 and 30 yards to finish seven of nine, not including the XP.

Back to 11-on-11 drills: Flacco fakes and rolls out to his right but rookie LB Paul Kruger is not fooled as he gets right into Flacco's face. Paul is getting valuable reps with the first team defense in Terrell Suggs' absence.

Ngata puts up a huge paw to bat down another Flacco pass. The heat is really getting to the players, no to mention us media. I'm sweating like crazy and wondering what it must be like for the players. Just then, I look down the line and see OT Joe Reitz on one knee yakking out his guts. He wipes off, gets up and heads right back into the mix.

Practice ends and I grab reserve LB Tony Fein for a quick interview and then wait to speak with DT Haloti Ngata about his Defensive Line Coach, Clarence Brooks, whom I've scheduled for a sit-down interview Friday after the morning practice.

Ravens Training Camp: More Interviews

Bruce Raffel — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:05:57 -0000

I got a few more one-on-one interviews with Baltimore Ravens players as they came off the field after the Wednesday morning practice session. Here are excerpts from the ones with safety Tom Zbikowski and left tackle Jared Gaither:

Tom Zbikowski:

Baltimore Beatdown: I've spoken a bunch of times with Haruki (Nakamura), and whenever I talk about his confidence level and what's it like to be from a first year to a second year player, he always mentions your name. Now I know you guys aren't dating or anything, but I can tell that the relationship really flows, not just off the field but on it as well. Talk about it.

Zbikowski: (laughs) Yeah we built a chemistry all through last year, every time you look over at the other safety for confirmation of a call, it's always each other so it kind of that we came in same time, same situation pretty much. We room together, bounce questions off each other about coverages and we always seem to mess up on the same things. It's been good to have a partner in crime.

BB: Somebody said that we brought two rookie safeties in here and they would be competing with each other and wouldn't really be friends, but you've developed a real friendship as well, haven't you?

TZ: Yeah, it's a competitive sport and most of my friendships came from competitive relationships, from football, from baseball, from boxing. It's almost always a competitive arena and that's where you get your friendships from. Whatever happens, happens. We've got no control over that. We just come out here and do our best and help each other out.

BB: For the millionth time, what's the difference between coming in here as a wide eyed rookie versus about to start your second year?

TZ: So much more calmed down, you're relaxed, you know you're freaking out about everything when you're coming in as a rookie. I mean you don't know what to expect, you don't know what's going on. Now you've been here once, you've got the routine down and you don't have to worry about that. Now it's just about worrying about X's and O's and coming out and practicing.

BB: Lots of time you hear questions to the quarterback about the game "slowing down" with more experience. Do you feel the same way from the defensive side?

TZ: Yeah, that's with any position. When you come out, it's like you're getting receivers coming from every direction. Your head's on a spin. Now, things are slowing down. You can worry about your footwork a little bit more. Now you're breaking down passes where before you're still backpeddling and trying to read the play. Now you're reading it as it's going on and before it happens.

BB: What's a tougher off-the-field hobby, boxing or judo?

TZ: I never did judo, so I couldn't tell you.

BB: I'm just trying to see if I can get you to say that your boxing is tougher than 'Ruki's judo.

TZ: In boxing you're just getting punched in the face. I've wrestled before so I know what it feels like to get tossed straight to your back. It doesn't feel good at all. But taking a body shot, I don't know, they both hurt.

BB: That's it. Thanks and good luck.

TZ: Allright

Click on the Jump to see Jared Gaither's interview.

Jared Gaither:

Baltimore Beatdown: Jared, you've been in the league for a few years now. It's been awhile since Jonathan Ogden's retired. You look across to the other side of the line and see a rookie in a similar position that you were. What do you say to him?

Gaither: Stay focused. He already knows he put in the work to get here and all of us have seen the great player inside of him, so just bring it out and show everybody, every day what a great right tackle he is.

BB: What your confidence level with a full year behind you? You've got a full year with Joe taking snaps. Game slowing down for you?

JG: You know that's what we work towards and every day we work to get better. This is only my third year and that's what you look forward to, you work towards more knowledge, more studying, more film watching. Eventually, it'll slow down.

BB: It looks like your even thinner than you were in the past. Have you just redistributed your weight or is anything different?

JG: Yes, I redistributed it, you can call it that. I've lost a few pounds.

BB: How is it to have someone like Matt Birk come in? Even though he's new to this team, he's been in the league and been on the Pro Bowl team for many years.

JG: Well it's been great. Birk is the coach away from the coach. He helps us out, he fits in real well. I like having Birk around, he's a good guy on and off the field. He's been a tremendous help to us on the offensive line bringing us age and experience at center.

BB: Thanks a lot.

BFTB Book Review: The Blind Side

John (obviousman) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:01:43 -0000

More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

7 months ago: Baltimore Ravens first-round draft pick Michael Oher runs during NFL football minicamp, Friday, May 8, 2009 in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

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Although I've only ever read this book and Moneyball, I consider myself a Michael Lewis fan. He's a tremendous story-teller, laying everything out in words and in an order that makes the picture crystal clear (even for people that need to have everything explained as if they were a child). Because of that ability, Michael Lewis books are never about one thing. They just use one thing as an example and to give the whole story heart. In Moneyball, the "heart" of the story was Billy Beane. The heart of this story is Michael Oher.

Some people who have read The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game will tell you that the book is about Michael Oher, now the rookie Offensive Tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. It is and it isn't. It's the story of the Left Tackle position and it's evolution in the NFL during the last 30 years. It's the story of Lawrence Taylor and how he changed the game of football forever, not just by creating a new position (OLB/DE) and not just by how defenses still try to emulate him and that Giants defense but how offenses and offensive linemen changed to try and defeat players like LT and the defenses that the Bears and the Giants created.

The completion of the book report is after the jump.

It's the story of Bill Walsh and the West Coast Offense, and how it was changed by Lawrence Taylor. Walsh was the first to realize that the Left Tackle position needed to be played by someone that stood out from the other offensive linemen. Since that position is typically taking on the defense's best pass rusher, the Left Tackle needs to be a player that can match the best pass rushers in the league in size, strength, speed and agility. He also needs to do it while moving backwards. In summary, it takes a player that is so freakishly gifted physically that he stands out on an NFL team as being freakishly gifted physically. It takes a player like Warren Sapp or Jonathan Ogden or Orlando Pace, who can all be 350 lbs and as nimble as ballerinas.

Don't get me wrong, the Michael Oher story is a great one. A kid who was basically homeless, who was brought to the attention of a wealthy businessman and high school coach, who became the adopted son of an upper class white family. From working through unusual obstacles (like when they thought he was mentally handicapped) and unusual circumstances (like when they couldn't find any record of Michael Oher existing at the DMV), the young boy's story is heartwarming and entertaining all the way through. But again, don't be fooled into thinking this book is just his story. It's wonderful to read of the genius of Bill Walsh, who always seemed to be years ahead of everyone else, and it's mind-blowing to see the effect a player like Lawrence Taylor still has on the game more than a decade after retiring. They stories of Steve Wallace and Jonathan Ogden are short, but just as much fun to experience.

In this book, Michael Lewis is taking the reader on a journey through time. You get to experience major events that went seemingly unnoticed when they occurred, learn how the kindness of strangers can change a life and get to watch as the NFL's offensive lines change drastically with almost nobody noticing. It's a great book that's just as entertaining if you don't know anything about football at all.

So when they're releasing The Blind Side movie (starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw), and it's just the story of Michael Oher, don't be deterred. Pick up the book! Once you know where the game was and how it got to where it is today, you'll know more about everything that happens on the field. From players like Shawne Merriman and Marcus McNeil, you'll have real-world examples of the types of player that didn't exist years ago. It's interesting to know why they're hear and why everybody wants players similar to them on their team. I actually think this book is better represented by the subtitled "Evolution of a Game" than by the title itself. In plain English, this is an entertaining football book that will help to tide you over while you wait out these last few weeks before training camp starts.

ESPN's All-Decade Offense

Dane Noble — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:17:16 -0000

Yesterday, we saw that Brian Urlacher was the only Bears player to get featured on ESPN's All-Decade Defense. Today, they have released their All-Decade Offense. Before I clicked their article, I tried to see how many Chicago players could make the list, and I came up with the only name that ESPN did.

Center, Olin Kreutz: This was a three-way toss-up between Kreutz, Kevin Mawae and Matt Birk. All three players have been to six Pro Bowls.

The tiebreakers: Kreutz appeared in a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears and more league personnel named him than Mawae or Birk.

"You look at a guy like Kreutz and you really appreciate his consistency," San Diego Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said. "He is an all-decade-type player."

The full roster is as follows:

QB: Tom Brady, New England
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego
FB: Lorenzo Neal, Cincinnati/S.D./Balt.
WR: Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis
WR: Torry Holt, St. Louis
TE: Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City
T: Walter Jones, Seattle
T: Jonathan Ogden, Baltimore
G: Alan Faneca, Pittsburgh/N.Y. Jets
G: Steve Hutchinson, Seattle/Minnesota
C: Olin Kreutz, Chicago

What do you think of their list? Any other Bears player that you can think of? Did they get the positions right?

Lets just get this cleared up: Tony Ugoh is not lazy

BigBlueShoe — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:15:53 -0000

Colts LT Tony Ugoh, Photo: cache.daylife.com

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Jim Irsay called out LT Tony Ugoh two weeks ago. Yes, he did. Jim Irsay could deny it. Tony Ugoh could deny it. The Colts as a team could deny it.

Doesn't matter.

Jim Irsay called out Tony Ugoh. In other ventures into the obvious: Water is wet; sky is blue; Tom Brady likes goats.

Now, while Irsay was calling out Ugoh for his inconsistent play, he was not making a point to say that Ugoh did not have the talent to succeed. Far from it. Irsay's comments suggested that he expected big things from Ugoh in 2009. Translated: Tony Ugoh must start every game and play at a high level. That is what premiere left tackles (who are paid premiere left tackle money) do. Ugoh's predecessor, Tarik Glenn, missed all of three game in his ten year NFL career.

Three.

That is the standard Irsay is holding Ugoh to, fair or not.

Today, on Colts.com, many of Ugoh's teammates seemed to come to Tony's defense; in particular Ryan Lilja:

Ryan Lilja, who started alongside Ugoh in 2007, said "there’s no question (Ugoh) has the toughness and the mentality."

"Nobody works harder than he does," Lilja said. "Nobody is more focused out there than he is. He has the mindset of a (center) Jeff Saturday or (guard) Ryan Diem, a guy who is working on his craft day-in and day-out. This is only Year Three for Tony, but he’s the first guy in, last guy out. He does all the little things right. He’s physically gifted enough, and I think it’s all going to come together for him this year.

That's pretty high praise for a third year lineman, saying he has the mindset of Jeff Saturday, the best center in the NFL. And the revelation that he puts in so much time to better himself should dispel any and all suggests that Tony Ugoh is "lazy." He isn't. Those that say he is are ignorant fools.

I know some around here have started associating the word "bust" with Ugoh. Please, kindly stop this nonsense. Tarik Glenn was one of the best left tackles of his generation. He was better than Jonathan Ogden; better than Walter Jones. Yet, for some reasons, these guys always got more publicity (and more Pro Bowls) than Glenn. After 10 years of dominant LT play, Tarik retired abruptly. This forced Indy to throw a then-rookie Tony Ugoh into the flaming cauldron that is the NFL regular season. Peyton Manning recently spoke about this and said:

"Tony got thrown into the fire early as a rookie," Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said. "He got drafted to learn for a year and the next thing you know he’s playing right away. And besides quarterback, I think left tackle might be the second-toughest job to play as a rookie, just getting used to the speed, and it never does a lot for your confidence having to block (four-time Pro Bowl defensive end) Dwight Freeney every day in practice. That can be tough on a man’s psyche.

When Ugoh has played, he has played brilliantly. We take for granted excellent o-line play, but for a rookie to come in and play LT near the same level as a vet like Tarik Glenn did was something VERY rare and special. The main issue with Tony is not desire, talent, or work ethic.

The issue has been injuries.

A knee problem lingered for Ugoh all last season. He got surgery on the knee this off-season and is now recovered. I know people get annoyed with injuries, but sometimes young players get the bug early on. Remember Reggie Wayne's first three years in football? He was always hurt. People started calling him brittle in 2002. Some were saying "bust." Now, no one questions Reggie Wayne's toughness. Oh, and he's a top 5 WR to boot.

With Ugoh healthy, the Arkansas product looks poised to take a big leap in 2009. If he does, and Ryan Lilja is as healthy as he seems, you will see a dramatic improvement in the Colts running game. Lilja and Ugoh are the team's best run blockers, and their absence in 2008 was a big reason why Indy ranked so low in rushing offense.