SB Nation - Adam Terry

Ravens Recent Injuries Create Opportunities

Bruce Raffel — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:25:01 -0000

The Baltimore Ravens are not unlike most any other NFL teams in that they've had their share of injuries in Training Camp as well as pre-season. Luckily, other than Adam Terry and Marcus Smith, both looked at being reserves anyway, the team has escaped the devastating loss that could drastically affect a team's season.

After the game Monday night against the New York Jets, a couple of other injuries came out to the public. Tight end L.J. Smith has a bum hamstring and DT Kelly Gregg injured his shoulder. There is every reason to believe that both guys will return by the time the regular season begins in a little over two weeks. We've already been informed that wide receiver Mark Clayton has returned to the practice field and will be ready for the home opener on September 13th against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Clayton's absence in practice and the exhibition games has opened the doors for Kelley Washington and Justin Harper, both who have had their share of success. Washington looks to be the guy willing to go over the middle and his enthusiastic approach to the game is contagious and refreshing. Harper, who looks to be the guy who will make the deep acrobatic catch one moment and then miss a pass that hits him in the numbers the next one, has made great strides this year compared to last year when he was ignored on the Practice Squad.

With Clayton's return, the depth chart just got a little deeper and it may be hard to find significant playing time for all of the receivers, which is a nice problem to have for this team, since it has been widely criticized for the lack of a star receiver. Derrick Mason is still the go-to guy for QB Joe Flacco and this team will remain a run-first offense no matter who is playing wideout here. However, if teams decide to stack the box to stop the run and force us to pass, then they will be quickly burned by the strong arm of our second year QB, who has the cunning Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron in his helmet radio not afraid to light it up if the opportunity arises.

L.J. Smith's injury leaves Todd Heap as the only other proven tight end on the roster. Rookie Davon Drew has had a great opportunity the entire camp and pre-season but just hasn't earned the right to get the chances he could have. The team also has converted linebacker Edgar Jones, but his pass catching abilities have been less than promising and Isaac Smolko, from Penn State on the roster. Smolko has actually looked good but was so far down the depth chart that he might have been forgotten up until now. Many radio callers are saying that the team should bring back former Raven Daniel Wilcox, who was a fan favorite but couldn't stay healthy last year. I say put both Drew and Smolko in there for a majority of the last two pre-season games after Heap gets his reps and let's see if they sink or swim.

Kelly Gregg's injury is no big deal to the defensive line, as he missed a huge portion of last season and we didn't miss a beat with Justin Bannan in his place. We now have a healthy Dwan Edwards as well as a plethora of others to man the d-line in so many combinations. Brandon McKinney and Kelly Talavou are just two names who contributed last year but are not exactly household names on this star-studded defense. However, both could probably start on many other NFL teams.

All in all, the injuries are just a part of the game. The team's mantra has always been "next man up," and will continue to be that way, as this team is deeper at most positions than it has ever seemed to be. While they are thin on the offensive line, their starters are as good as any other team and should be a major strength, providing they stay healthy. So for now, the team will reload and play out the final two exhibition games, giving some of the reserves the chance they need to earn a roster spot before the final cuts are announced over the next two weeks.

Ravens Show Patriotism at Training Camp

Bruce Raffel — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:47:24 -0000

Today at the Baltimore Ravens Training Camp, it was known as 'Military Appreciation Day.' All members of the Armed Forces that wore their uniforms were given priority seating around the field and there looked to be a few hundred men and women in uniform, along with lots of proud family members as well.

Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh, who took a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan earlier this summer, wore his army cap in honor of the men and women who so selflessly serve the country.

It was good to see Demetrius Willimas taking part in practice with what appeared to be no limitations. On the other hand, I see both Terrell Suggs and Mark Clayton working on the other field, Suggs walking and jogging from sideline to sideline while Clayton catches passes from an assistant, testing that sore hamstring.

As th defense moves from the far field to the one close to the where most of the fans sit, Ray Lewis' arrival brings loud applause and cheers. Ed Reed is wearing a red (no contact) jersey today, but it is probably more due to taking it easy than anything else. I see a receiver with a #9 jersey without a name on it, but it turns out that it's Derrick Mason just honoring his late friend, Steve McNair.

Derrick Williams is in on a lot of the passing plays and it seems the QB's are targeting him, perhaps to make up for lost time recently. Jusitn Harper beats Ed Reed for a long TD pass. Yes, Ed Reed bit on the fake! Kelley Washington does the exact same thing to Frank Walker. D-Mase fakes Fabian Washington long then puts on the brakes for a sweet sideline reception, prompting Washington to admit, "nice route, Mason!"

FG time again, as Graham Gano takes all the reps this afternoon. He hits from 51, 55, 54 but misses from 53, 49 (hits right upright) and is just short on a 60 yard attempt. He then hits from extra point range, 40, 44 and 50 yards before badly shanking a 57 yard attempt. Finally he hit a 51 yarder on his last kick of the day. Overall, he is seven for eleven and keeps the competition too close to call between him and Steven Hauschka.

I saw Ray Lewis drinking an orange liquid out of an unmarked bottle. Asking a trainer if it was a secret recipe, he just shrugged and said it was Pedialyte, which is similar to Gatorade but known more for a kids' remedy for dehydration when they're ill.

I see the QB's on the far field by themselves, taking turns trying to hit the crossbar from the 30, 40 and then 50 yard lines. Although I missed most of their tries, the only one I saw hit it was Cleo Lemon, who nailed it from 40 yards.

Guard Chris Chester is seen limping very slowly to the locker room. After injuries to Adam Terry (gone for season) and Oniel Cousins, we can hardly lose another key ingredient to an already thin offensive line.

Look at the size of DT Kelly Greggs' calves!

As the practice ends and the team gathers around Coach Harbaugh as they usually do, they bring out all the military personnel in attendance to join in and as one, they chant "family!" together, after which the players all mill about signing autographs and taking pictures with the appreciative servicemen and women.

Ravens Training Camp: Friday AM Edition

Bruce Raffel — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:57:07 -0000

It's good to see previously injured Jared Gaither and Demetrius Williams in uniform, although Gaither is only walking through drills without any contact. In his absence, Michael Oher is playing left tackle. Willis McGahee is in front of me, getting prepared for the morning by taking out his diamond earrings. The wide receivers are running through the "gauntlet," complaining how much the tips hurt their arms

As reported yesterday, Mark Clayton's injury to his hamstring is serious enough to keep him out at least the first two pre season games, but Coach Harbaugh expects him to be ready for the regular season. In his absence, Kelly Washington moves up to be the third receiver along with Derrick Mason and Demetrius Williams.

In 11-on-11 drills, Joe Flacco hits D-Will, who fumbles and the defense recovers. The 1st team offense is going against the 2nd team defense and vice versa. Jalen Parmele is stuffed by Ray Lewis and Antwan Barnes, both of whom get up and dance like it was a real game.

On 3rd and one, LeRon McClain bullies for a first down, then walks off the field saying, "no one's stopping me on third and one!"

The defenses are having their way with the offenses. Flacco scrambles for a gain but is run out of bounds. Next play the pocket collapses for a "sack." On the third play, Flacco's long pass to Mason falls incomplete, prompting Ray to yell, "we'll take it!" Another coverage sack of Flacco ends that stretch of plays as Troy Smith and the 2nd team offense comes in. The defenses, be it the 1st or 2nd teams are looking tough! Troy's first pass is batted down at the line but then he hits Justin Harper down the sideline for a 70 yard TD pass that Harper reels in one-handed beating Tom Zbikowski into the end zone as Troy and the other wideouts run down to congratulate him.

Joe throws incomplete to Kelly Washington, covered by Domonique Foxworth, as Ed Reed covers Mason. After the play, Reed yells, "we know you like a book!"

Field goal team comes on and both Graham Gano and Steven Hauschka hit their attempts from 41, 45 and then 53 yards.

A Flacco pass to Heap glances off his fingertips and into the opportunistic hands of Ed Reed, who then weaves his way down field into the end zone. Gee, sound familiar?

Meanwhile, I notice that Willis McGahee's left knee is getting wrapped on the sidelines, although towards the end of practice I don't see it wrapped anymore.

On the other field I see the offensive and defensive lines going at it one-on-one, with some nice matchups between our 2009 1st and 2nd round draft picks, Michael Oher vs. Paul Kruger.

Back to the main field, the QB's are finding the RB's out of the backfield but virtually nothing downfield to the wideouts against both defenses.

Graham Gano wanders by and says to me, "Hey, how's it going?"

Troy Smith throws three straight times to what is looking to be his favorite target, Justin Harper. He overthrows long, then a perfect pass over the middle hits Harper in the hands before he drops it and finally another incompletion along the sideline. Harper is beginning to get the reputation of a wide receiver who makes the tough grabs but not the routine ones.

Uh oh, OL Oniel Cousins just went down on a running play, holding his knee. He finally gets up but limps real badly over to the sideline where he gets on a cart. With the loss of Adam Terry for the year, Cousins was thought to be a valuable backup so this does not bode well for what is looking to be a thin offensive line.

Long snapper Matt Katula is practicing snaps to punter and kickholder Sam Koch right in front of me. Koch is built like a linebacker! Next to them, I see L.J. Smith standing along the sidelines, showing off his tatooed "guns!" Gano hits twice, from 39 then 35 yards.

Here's the highlight of my day: A meaningless long incomplete pass to WR Ernie Wheelwright falls incomplete, with Frank Walker holding him all the way down the field. Derrick Mason is standing on the sideline yelling at Frank, "they'll call that every time, practice good habits, Frank!" The jawing between the two continues until the next snap. Harper then catches a tough over the middle pass closely guarded by Walker and then another completion on the sideline near us. Mason turns to me and another guy standing next to me and says, "fellas, how ya' doing?" I reply, "perfect weather out here," to which he respoinds, "not to us." Mason and Walker continue to go at it, verbally. Mason: "I sat out two weeks and I still got it! You couldn't do it. I can play this game for another 20 years abnd you still don't have a spot!" Frank retorts something hard to hear and Derrick comes back with "Don't get me started. I got more money than you can count!" Walker says, "That don't matter," with Mason repeating over and over, "scrape your pennies, Frank, scrape your pennies." Willis McGahee gets in on it, saying, "Frank, Frank." Walker brushes him off, "stay out of it, McGahee!" Walker to Mason: "I've been on three teams!" Mason finally laughs and relents, "Frank, I'm walking away, I'm done." As Derrick walks away, Walker yells after him, "I stuck that 85 today!" That was one of the best exchanges I heard all of camp! I caught up with Mason as he was walking to the locker room and asked him, "What was upwith Frank Walker back there? He said, "Ah nothing, Frank likes talking every once in a while so you got to oblige him now and then."

When Mason had his first press conference the day he returned to the Ravens, he said he was a little disappointed the team didn't have a marching band and some Girl Scouts out to greet him. So today a Girl Scout Troop came on the field after practice and they all played little flutes for him, and were mobbed by the press. Afterwards, Derrick signed autographs for every one of them and was real friendly.

I had planned to interview Oniel Cousins after practice but his injury settled that. Check back later for my interview with WR Kelly Washington, whose role will definitely expand due to the injury to Mark Clayton.

Ravens Training Camp: Wednesday AM Edition

Bruce Raffel — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:56:26 -0000

Today at the Baltimore Ravens Training Camp, it's obviously another "plus-30" day, which means all players over the age of 30 have the day off. Only center Matt Birk is around the fields, dressed in shorts.

In passing drills, the QB's are throwing long soft tosses to the WR's, while the OL is drilling one-on-one with the linebackers. LT Jared Gaither is going up against rookie LB Paul Kruger and is throwing him around. Oniel Cousins, whose role should expand significantly with the loss of Adam Terry for the season, is holding his own. Here is a nice matchup, 1st round draft pick, RT Michael Oher, versus 2nd round draft pick, Kruger. Oher is winning this battle, but is not dominating Kruger the way that Gaither was.

Click on the "Jump" for reports of 11-on-11 drills:

In 11-on11 drills, QB Joe Flacco swings a pass to Ray Rice, who hustles downfield for a nice gain. Next he hits Demetrius Williams over the middle on a quick hit in front of Frank Walker. A handoff up the middle to FB LeRon McClain nets a couple of yards at most. Flacco throws a screen pass to McClain in the flat that fooled the defense as Joe looked them to his right before throwing left.

Note: In Ed Reed's absence, Haruki Nakamura is teamed up at safety with Dawan Landry for the 1st team defense.

Troy Smith runs a bootleg but is met in the backfield by LB Paul Kruger. 3rd string QB John Beck completes a long pass down the sidelines to WR Justin Harper but it is caught five yards out of bounds.

Interestingly, the offense is now running three complete groups simultaneously moving downfield play-by-play at the 30, 50 and 30 yards lines. They keep moving until they run out of field, turn around and do the same thing the opposite direction, and it all looks very efficient.

Back to 11-on-11 drills: Long pass incomplete to D-Will, broken up by Frank Walker, and Williams stays on the ground for a few moments and gets up slowly. As the practice continues, he looks fine so no worries. Troy Smith's pass over the middle to WR Ernie Wheelwright glances off his fingertips and is picked by Derrick Martin. One of the better all around plays of the day has Nakamura blitzing up the middle but he is picked up nicely by Ray Rice, giving Flacco the time to find D-Will over the middle for a completion, even though he was guarded closely by Domonique Foxworth.

The kicking competition is still neck-and-neck, with Graham Gano hitting from 51 yards and Steven Hauschka from 45 yards. Hauschka then lined up with the kicking team and consecutively nailed his attempts from 28, 32, 40, 45, 50 and finally 55 yards. This competition will obviously go down to the wire.

Ravens Rookies & Select Veterans Take The Field

Bruce Raffel — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:37:08 -0000

The Baltimore Ravens got off to a great start as their rookies and more than a few veterans took the field this morning at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. Veteran QB's Joe Flacco (sounds sort of strange to be calling him a veteran now), Troy Smith and John Beck wore the red jerseys as other veterans such as Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams, Justin Harper, L.J. Smith took part on the offensive side of the ball. They joined rookie draft picks Cedric Peerman (RB), Jason Cook (FB) and Eron Riley (WR). Defensively, veterans Kelly Gregg (DT), Tavares Gooden (LB), Fabian Washington (CB), Frank Walker (CB), Dawan Landry (SS), Chris Carr (CB), Prescott Burgess (LB) were dressed to show rookie defensive players such as 2nd round pick Paul Kruger (LB), Dannell Ellerbe (LB), Lardarius Webb (CB), K.J. Gerard (CB), Robbie Felix (C), and the NFL Bench Press Champion from Michigan,Will Johnson (DE). who put up 47 reps of 225 pounds.

First Looks:

DT Kelly Gregg looks like a fire hydrant and if healthy, will be a welcome addition to last year's ferocious defense.

Rookie CB K.J. Gerard looks taller than the 6'1" that he is listed at. So do WR's Justin Harper and Eron Riley, both listed at 6'3".

QB Joe Flacco (6'6") stands head and shoulders above both Troy Smith (6') and John Beck (6'2") and walks with a swagger not normally seen in a second year player. L.J. Smith seen working hard on the blocking sled and looks bigger than I expected, plus he is catching every high pass on his fingertips every time.

Demetrius Williams is running and catching without any apparent hitch in his step. In a post practice interview, Williams said he's 100% and when I asked him if he was ready for some hitting, he replied, "I feel I am ready for all of that and I think I'm in the best physical shape in a long time. I'm not worried about anything as far as physical right now."

Willis McGahee, as noted earlier is in camp but is not participating in drills. In post-practice interviews, McGahee said, "...nobody wants to sit on the sideline. I just want to make sure I'm completely healthy." When asked about his offseason training regimen, he jokingly refused to give up his secrets, only stating, "I feel more leaner."According to head coach John Harbaugh, a number of players were place on the 'Physically Unable to Perform" (PUP) List, which included McGahee, along with Davon Drew, Ben Grubbs, Yamon Figurs, Marshall Yanda, Adam Terry and Samari Rolle. Although none of these injuries other than Yanda's continuing recovery, Coach Harbaugh says they just want to be careful at the start of camp.

Click on the "Jump" to read more notes from the morning practice session.

Rookie placekicker Graham Gano was at practice, kicking for the first time today since we saw him last at the end of the off season OTA's in June. He actually missed a short 30 yarder in drills, but had a rotating group of holders that included Joe Flacco, Troy Smith, Mark Clayton and even a couple of coaches. His regular holder, punter Sam Koch, was not in camp. His response when I took him aside after practice was that there were a couple of "interesting" snaps, but as a kicker "it's my job to put the ball through whether the ball's flat on the ground or perfect holds."

Once practice was over for the morning session, both Joe Flacco and Coach Harbaugh took the podium. In the bombardment of questions to Flacco, I was able to ask him how the game has "slowed" down for him now compared to last year. Flacco replied, "... by the end of the year, the game was at a good speed for me. I've always said that as I grow with the offense, the defense will get slower." He also said that he tihnks the team will go a long way. "We came close last year and plan on going further this year," stated Flacco. When questioned about his recent Reebok commercial for the NFL.com's Fantasy Files, including how long it took to make and were there any special effects, he replied, "It took about an hour to make it, and do you think I need special effects to do that?"

Coach Harbaugh took the podium next and started off saying that he thought practice was "crisp" but it would be sharper on Friday. He said he thought Demetrius Williams looked good and "his goal is to become a more durable football player." Asked about the constant debate of the team needing a #1 wide receiver, Harbaugh shot back that "whoever is out there catching the ball will be real happy Joe's throwing to them." He went on to acknowledge that they have discussed Michael Vick and Matt Jones among others including Amani Toomer and Justin McCareins to decide "what they can or cannot do for us." However, he said that someone in camp will step up, be it a "Marcus Smith, Justin Harper or someone else."

I was able to ask a question to WR Mark Clayton about knowing he has the confideence t step up, but what about the younger guys at wide receiver? Clayton replied, "We got some guys really hungry, ready to make plays to do what they can to help this team."

More notes and photos will be posted later today after the second pracdtice session this afternoon.

Baltimore Ravens Mini-Camp (OTA/Passing Camp) Notes

Bruce Raffel — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:49:19 -0000

In addition to the great Ravens Front Office people I had the pleasure of being introduced to yesterday at their final OTA/Passing Camp, I also introduced myself to Aaron Wilson, Sportswriter for the Carroll County Times. Aaron covers the Ravens and his writing and radio time has always been fair, balanced, honest and accurate in my opinion. He is easily approachable and is always willing to discuss all things Ravens. We discussed my interviewing him, as he has so much depth of knowledge of the Ravens and his opinions would be very interesting to the readers here on the Beatdown.

In future posts, I will be detailing the locker room interviews I had with placekicker Graham Gano, wide receiver Marcus Smith, safety Haruki Nakamura and a short one with cornerback Fabian Washington. I took a ton of photos, many that you will see in the related posts, but if you are looking for a specific photo of a player, let me know and I’ll try to post it as well if you don’t see it in one of the stories to follow. I also wrote down a lot of notes, detailing what I saw and my impressions of the player’s efforts, progress and health.

To give you an example of the whirlwind of action I witnessed, here is an timeline of my first forty minutes on the sidelines:

10:20am: Dawan Landry looks HUGE!

10:30am: Le’Ron McClain looks big and stocky.

10:40am: After Sam Koch, Graham Gano took his turn punting on punt return drills.

10:44am: Saw Baltimore Colts great and Pro Football Hall of Famer Lenny Moore observing practice.

10:45am: Introduced myself to head coach John Harbaugh, who made eye contact and repeated my name!

10:50am: Tavares Gooden looks fit and athletic.

10:55am: CB’s Domonique Foxworth and Fabian Washington look to be going at full speed.

11:00am: LB Jarret Johnson seen explaining defensive formations to other LB’s T. Gooden and Brendon Ayanbadejo.

You can only imagine the scope of different things going on at different locations on two adjoining fields in such a short time, when the entire practice lasted just over two hours. My head was spinning, my writing hand cramping and I took over 100 photos. I was as worn out as the players….uh…not really.

Some other random notes from observations:

Dawan Landry and Haruki Nakamura were running tandem as first team safeties, followed by Tom Zbikowski and Lardarius Webb. Webb’s dreadlocks were down to his jersey numbers and while he is just a bit shorter than the other safeties, he is lighter and thinner. Interestingly, while Landry is listed a 6’ and 220 pounds in the roster handout, according to Patrick Gleason, Landry is in such great shape that he is down to around 212 pounds, built solid as a rock with incredible definition in his shoulders and neck. I also noted that Landry is lefthanded, not that it matters.

Trevor Pryce, at almost 34 years old, already seems quick off the snap even in drills. Kelly Gregg watched the drills in uniform and looks so stocky and deserving of his "Buddy Lee" nickname. No Ray Lewis to be seen, although he has been at some of the other mini-camps. Willis McGahee was seen earlier in the practice but did not participate in most of the drills. Unheralded RB Matt Lawrence (FA 2008, UMass) seemed to be in a lot of the drills, as much as either reserve RB Cedric Peerman or Jalen Parmele.

11 on 11 Drills: Flacco just barely overthrew Marcus Smith on a long pass. Troy Smith then hit Smith on a similar pass. Le’Ron McClain took a handoff up the middle and I thought "pity the poor fool that gets in his way!" Troy then hit on another solid sideline pass. Both QB’s were looking sharp and confident. Wide receiver Marcus Smith seems to be an integral part of the offense and one of the first options for both QB’s. While Derrick Mason took part in later drills, he wasn’t part of the earlier ones. Mark Clayton was not there, and Demetrius Williams had a green jersey on, which we were talking about on the sidelines. We knew the red ones meant avoid contact, but guessed the green ones meant something between that and full speed (limited?). Even with that green jersey, D-Will still looked to be running at full speed, which is encouraging. Kelley Washington made a tough grab in traffic and looked solid and comfortable. With John Beck at QB, he was rushed hard by LB Jarret Johnson and threw incomplete under pressure. I noticed they ran their drills with the 40 second playclock running at all times.

Both kickers, Steven Hauschka and Graham Gano, took turns in field goal drills, looking solid on their long kicks, although Gano’s leg seemed to have a bit more distance today. I’ve heard that this competition is the closest one in all of training Camp and surely will go down to the wire through preseason.

First round draft pick OT Michael Oher is tall and fit, especially for an offensive lineman, with no belly! Jared Gaither is just a massive human being, listed at 6’9" and 334 pounds! Having those two as bookends on our offensive line, with veteran Matt Birk between guards Ben Grubbs and Marshall Yanda, should give every Ravens fan confidence that QB Joe Flacco will be well protected and the RB’s will have gaping holes to burst through all season in 2009 and beyond. We now also have the needed depth on the offensive line with Adam Terry, Chris Chester, David Hale and Oneil Cousins.

The defense seemed to outperform the offense in drills, with Lardarious Webb breaking up a pass and catching a tipped ball for an interception and Tom Zbikowski getting two interceptions, including one by outleaping a group jumping for the ball. Fabian Washington celebrated his birthday by breaking up a pass, and while he is one of the smaller guys in the secondary, he doesn’t shy away from the contact for a second. Reserve QB John Beck hit TE Isaac Smolko over the middle. You might not hear too much about Smolko, but he is a huge target at 6’5" and 260 pounds.

In Red Zone drills, the offense began to click, with Flacco hitting Mason (twice), Washington and even the tall and lanky Ernie Wheelwright with sharp scoring passes. However, Nakamura made his classic edge blitz to sack Beck once and the defense shut down the over the middle goal line passes time and time again.

Unfortunately for me, the final horn sounded, signaling the end of practice. The players slowly made their way to the locker room while Coach Harbaugh prepared to come to the podium to answer questions. After a short session, I made my way to the locker room to conduct one-on-one interviews and observe the major media ones. These interviews will follow in future stories. I could have easily stayed at "The Castle" all day and would love the opportunity to come back and follow the team to Westminster for Training Camp beginning in late July. Hopefully, the Ravens will continue to grant me credentials and access. Keep tuned in for more.

Ravens Willie Anderson Retires

Rexx — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:51:24 -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)

Browse more photos »

According to the Baltimore Ravens, veteran right tackle Willie Anderson has been placed on the reserve/retired list this afternoon, it was announced by Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome.

This means one or two things. The Ravens needed the cap space to sign their rookies and perhaps another free agent or two (Kelley Washington?). Also, it now looks like Adam Terry and rookie Michael Oher will fight it out for the starting right tackle position. Oher may actually have the advantage over Adam, as Terry may be more valuable as a reserve based on his ability to play both right or left tackle. Even though Oher was a left tackle in college, learning one specific position willl be hard enough in the pros rather than having to count on covering both sides of the offensive line. However, don't be surprised if Terry starts the season at right tackle, although Oher is sure to take over before the season is too old.

Either way, it looks like Anderson was a one year stop gap measure for the Ravens. He played a valuable role for the one year, and was a welcome addition after being released by the Cincinnati Bengals earlier last summer. He could have been an excellent mentor for the rookie Oher. On behalf of all Ravens fans we thank him for his service and wish him the best of luck in his future.

Post Note: Anyone know what his retirement will cost against the '09 cap? I know he signed a three year, $11 million contract last August, but don't know what the signing bonus was, although is was probably around $3-4 million.

Ravens Draft History - Picking Late in the First Round

Rexx — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:23:30 -0000

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Many articles about the Baltimore Ravens draft history has focused on their first round success, as well as GM Ozzie Newsome's ability to find that star player later on the second day of the draft. However, this coming Saturday afternoon, the Ravens will be picking at the 26th position in the first round (actually, it will probably be Saturday evening before the Ravens' turn comes up). Therefore, in comparison, I decided to look at the past drafts that Baltimore has had when they picked 20th or higher in the first two rounds. Here's what I found they have been able to accomplish picking in the latter parts of each round. Remember, I'm only looking at those drafts where the Ravens picked in positions 20-32 of that round. They may have taken a player earlier in the round when they had multiple picks in a round. However, for purposes of comparison, I am only looking at the later picks in that round. So here is what and who I found:

1996: Round 1: Ray Lewis (LB - #26); Round 2: DeRon Jenkins (DB - #25) NOTE: Lewis of course, is the all time best Raven ever, and Jenkins was a bust.

1997: Round 2: Kim Herring (S - #28) NOTE: Herring was a major contributor when the Ravens won the Super Bowl, but then signed with the St. Louis Rams as a free agent and dissolved into mediocrity like so many former Ravens.

1998-2000: No picks in the 20's in either round.

2001: Round 1: Todd Heap (TE - #31); Round 2: Gary Baxter (DB - #31) NOTE: Heap went on to Pro Bowl status but has been underachieving recently while Baxter was looking to be a fixture here but then signed with the Cleveland Browns, got injured shortly thereafter in his first season there and never played again. Meanwhile the Ravens signed veteran cornerback Samari Rolle to replace Baxter.

2002: Round 1: Ed Reed (S - #24); Round 2: Anthony Weaver (DT - #20) NOTE: Reed, just like Ray Lewis, is a cornerstone of this current Ravens defense and arguably should have been the NFL's Defensive POY in 2008. Weaver was a solid performer as a reserve on the d-line but is no longer with the team.

2003-2004: No picks in the 20's in either round.

2005: Round 1: Mark Clayton (WR - #22); Round 2: Dan Cody (LB - #21), Adam Terry (OL - #32) NOTE: Clayton improved greatly in 2008 with a solid QB to throw to him, and Terry is an important piece on the greatly improved offensive line. Unfortunately, Cody hurt his knee in his first Training Camp and then re-injured himself and never really got on the field in his short career.

2006: Round 2: Chris Chester (G - #24) NOTE: Chester has been a valuable reserve and played very respectable for most of last season at RG for the injured Marshall Yanda.

2007: Round 1: Ben Grubbs (G - #29) NOTE: Grubbs started at RG as a rookie and is now firmly entrenched at LG as one of the league's best at that position.

2008: Round 2: Ray Rice (RB - #24) NOTE: Rice might have been one of the steals of the draft last season until injury and a logjam at RB limited his contributions. However, he is figured to get a significant piece of the action this season, as he brings a change of pace and excitement to the field every time he touches the ball.

So there's our picks late in the first two rounds in Ravens' team history. Hopefully, GM Ozzie Newsome will pull off another stunner that, while we might not know how significant the pick is for a couple of years, they will surely contribute right away to what is looking like a serious run at the playoffs and the Super Bowl.

Orlando Pace Visiting Baltimore

Rexx — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:32:07 -0000

Rumor has it that veteran left tackle and former All Pro from the St. Louis Rams, Orlando Pace will be visiting Baltimore today, as the free agent is pondering his options after spending his entire career in a Rams uniform. Long considered one of the best LT's to play the game during his tenure in the NFL, Pace was injured over the past couple of years and was not re-signed by the Rams.

The Ravens are obviously still in a signing mode in free agency and Pace might be a great pickup if the money is right. While I wouldn't want to stunt the growth of current Ravens LT, Jared Gaither, Pace is still a better LT than Gaither and would be an upgrade for a year or two. Not too sure what that would mean for Willie Anderson, although the thought of Pace on QB Joe Flacco's blind side and Anderson on his right sounds pretty good to me. This way, we would have significant depth with both Gaither and Adam Terry as reserves, as they continue to learn from two of the best at their positions.

Of course, this is still a rumor and just a visit, but we all know what happens with free agents once they walk into the "Castle" as free agents. They usualy walk out as Baltimore Ravens!

NOTE: Remember to get your NCAA Hoops Tournament picks in by signing up as part of the Beatdown's "public group" as we go mano-a-mano with the hated Redskins fans over at HogsHaven!

How to beat the Dallas Cowboys

Rexx — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:00:18 -0000

This Saturday's game in Dallas is a pivotol game for both teams. There is a pretty decent chance that the winner of this game goes to the post season while the loser will most likely fall out of the playoff race, or at least to the bottom of the barrel of those teams still in the hunt. Therefore, while this is a must-win for both teams, only one can do so. How then, can the Baltimore Ravens go into Texas Stadium for the final game in its histroy, and beat a Dallas Cowboy team that is as desperate for a win as they are? There is a lot of "if's" to overcome if they want to emerge as the front runner for the final Wild Card slot in the AFC and send the Cowboys to an embarassing defeat in front of their home fans.

Usually, the key to the game lies in the trenches on both sides of the ball. That is where I usually look for an advantage or disadvantage for the offense and defense. Last week, I spoke about the bouncing ball, as both the Ravens and Steelers defenses seem to capitalize on the tipped pass which leads to field position and easy points. This week we'll go to another area of contention that I believe holds the key to victory for the Ravens over the Cowboys.

It's the clock! The time clock and more notably the all important statistic, time of possession. The Ravens have owned that statistic in their victories and while they've won that battle in some of their losses, the overwhelming wins have had the same overwhelming difference in time of possession. Winning the battle for the clock means that your offense keeps the ball the longest and not only tires out the opponents' defense, but keep the opponents' offense off the field. This will be the key in the Ravens ability to beat the Cowboys. We will need to keep the Dallas offense off the field as much as possible. In all the Cowboys losses with Tony Romo at the helm, either before or after his injury (with the exception of Pittsburgh), Dallas has gotten their offensive stats, yardage and even points. The Steelers game was the only game where they were totally shut down offensively for much of the game and that was due not only because of the Pittsburgh defense, but the cold and rotten weather that the Cowboys did not react well to. The Ravens have the defensive ability to disrupt the Cowboys offense just like the Steelers, but playing in Dallas will not make the weather a factor, at least for the Cowboys.

Therefore, the Ravens offense will have to move the ball, control the clock and most importantly, as a result of the aforementioned, they must score points of those long, ball controlling drives. Scoring 13 points will not be enough to beat the Cowboys, as the Dallas offense puts points on the board at home and will do so against even a tough Ravens defense. Dallas has averaged over 27 points per game at Texas Stadium and only once, in a 13-9 victory over Tampa Bay, have they been held to less than 20. They are 6-1 at home, with their only loss to the Washington Redskins in week four, when Romo still had 300 yards passing in a 26-24 defeat. So if the Ravens plan to win the time of possession battle, they better expect to put up a bunch of points if they want to win the battle on the scoreboard.

The Ravens certainly can score this season and have proved it by averaging over 24 points per game on the road. However, they've averaged only 11 points per game in their three road losses (Pittsbrugh, Indy, Giants), which will just not get the job done this Saturday in Dallas. The Cowboys defense ranks 7th overall (7th-rush; 8th-pass; 12th-points allowed) but they can be scored upon, giving up just over 20 points per game. This is where the Ravens offense needs to take advantage of, and make the plays downfield to put points on the board. No more settling for FG's in the Red Zone by remaining conservative once we get into scoring position. This team needs to pull out all the stops on offense and make sure QB Joe Flacco has the time and gameplan to make the plays. Dallas' DeMarcus Ware has 19 sacks and is looking to break the all-time season sack record of 22.5. He needs to be kept from getting that record against Jared Gaither, Adam Terry and even Todd Heap if necessary. Overloading his side of the offensive line can help us as much as it did by neutralizing Pittsburgh's James Harrison last week. However, this means less pass receiving options if Heap stays in to help, which puts added pressure on the wide outs and increased the need for significant contributions from others, such as Yamon Figurs and Marcus Smith, both of whom are capable of making the big play if called upon. Flacco can't rely on the 8-10 yard curls to Derrick Mason all game and must go over the top, if only to keep the Cowboys secondary honest. Le'Ron McClain needs to continue what is now a Pro Bowl season by ripping off huge chunks of yardage and Willis McGahee needs to atone for the past two worthless games by playing a big role and redeeming himself, while proving to the team and fans that he has a place in this offense now and in the future, as this team desperately needs his contributions. Hopefully, Ray Rice will have recovered and can add a different perspective to the offense as well.

Defensively, the Ravens cannot play the bend-but-don't-break pass defense that doomed us last week vs. Pittsburgh. Dallas' receivers are too big, too fast and too good to expect that style to limit their damage. They are as good as anyone in the league at getting their YAC. Allowing them to slant across the middle will feed right into their gameplan as it has for the teams that have been able to move the ball against us. The health of CB Fabian Washington is a major key in the ability to limit their success. Don't expect the Ravens to shut down the prolific Dallas passing game, only to slow it down. Tony Romo is prone to making mistakes and while he throws on the run as wll as anyone, he has proven to be rattled by tough defenses and hard pass rushes. The Ravens have the ability to throw both at him at if they are able to do so, expect the turnovers that will be critical to the Ravens offensive success.

Winning the turnover battle will feed right into winning the time of possession. The combination of events that lead to the battle for control of the clock will determine the victor in this game. The Ravens absolutely have the ability to accomplish this and the Cowboys know it. Whether or not the Ravens can make it a reality remains to be seen. This is now by far the Ravens toughest and most critical test of the season. while no one expected them to be playing a meaningful game at this point of the season, they've earned the right to be doing so. Now is the time to earn the right to play in January as well. It all begins, or ends, this Saturday night in Dallas.

PS-(Added 12/18, 6pm EST): Colts all over the Jags tonight!