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Anyone happen to see the work put in by the Maryland boys yesterday? No, I'm not talking about the Terps hoops team. Gary Williams' crew lost last night to yet another top-50 RPI team, this time down in Chapel Hill, N.C. Barring a shocking run in the ACC Tournament, we'll unfortunately have another March without Maryland in the Big Dance. The Terps I'm talking about
Well, whaddaya know? Rex Ryan is predicting the Jets are going to win the Super Bowl. Again. Never lacking for confidence, Ryan stepped to the podium at the combine in Indianapolis yesterday, and guaranteed his team would be the last team standing next season. Just like he did two years ago, and all of last season as well. At least he's consistent. The combine officially
The Ravens have placed the franchise tag on defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, and while they intend to continue negotiating a long-term deal with the two-time Pro Bowler, they've ensured that Ngata will be back for the 2011 season at the very least. Now, the Ravens will turn their attention to offensive guard/tackle Marshal Yanda. During head coach John Harbaugh's press conference in Indianapolis today at
The Ravens have three cornerbacks from their 2010 roster who are set to become free agents this offseason. Chris Carr, Josh Wilson and Fabian Washington will all hit the free agent market once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached (it'll happen eventually), and they've all expressed a different level of interest in returning to the Ravens next season. Last month, as the players were
Some Ravens fans had suggested in recent weeks that free agent cornerback Champ Bailey might be a good fit in Baltimore, as the Ravens will look to upgrade their defensive backfield this offseason. Bailey, a 10-time Pro Bowler, appeared to be one of the top corners available. Well, Bailey's not available anymore. According to Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway, the team
As the owners and players meet with a mediator in Washington, D.C., this week to try and chip away at a new collective bargaining agreement, one of the issues that they'll tackle is the possibility of moving to an 18-game regular season. The players are against it, polls have shown that fans are against it, and if it influences the negotiations at all, I'm against
As the NFL Scouting Combine approaches - are we really just four days away from the first workouts? - I find a little easier to stomach talking about mock drafts and making projections for how teams will select in April's draft. Having these discussions the week of the Super Bowl bugs me. Having them the week of the Combine is OK, I guess. One guy
How quickly things can change in the NFL. Three years ago, Bob Sanders was looking like he'd be an elite safety for quite a while. He had just been named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and had earned a new five-year, $37.5 million contract from the Colts with $20 million guaranteed. Today, Sanders was released. The two-time Pro Bowl strong safety was let
NFL owners and players have been unable to make much - if any - progress of late in their talks regarding a new collective bargaining agreement. With the March 4 deadline for a lockout creeping up on them, the two sides have decided to get a little help from a third party. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director George H. Cohen will sit down with
I am by no means a morning person. Not even close. If you know me at all, you're well-aware of that fact. So why am I up at 6:52 this morning? Well, I'm heading out to the Fox 1370 studios to co-host the morning show from 8-12. I'll be doing so tomorrow as well, so if you're getting a little bored on your drive to
In Mel Kiper's latest mock draft on ESPN.com, he has the Ravens taking Texas cornerback Aaron Williams. Williams, who checks in at 6-feet, 192 lbs., posted 45 tackles, one sack and two forced fumbles with the Longhorns this season. I still think it's too early to be doing mock drafts. Let's wait until after the Combine and Pro Days, shall we? I'm fighting a losing
If the NFL was responsible for causing you to lose your seats at a Super Bowl, would $5,000 be enough to make you forgive and forget? That's what the league is offering the 400 displaced fans who lost their Super Bowl seats in Dallas. The NFL is trying pretty hard to get this whole fiasco to disappear. Their first offer to the "victims" was for
One way or another, barring a surprise in a new collective bargaining agreement, Haloti Ngata will be a Raven in 2011. The question now is whether the two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle will be starting a new long-term deal, or playing under a one-year contract which would pay him an estimated $12.5 million. The Ravens announced today that they've designated Ngata as their franchise player,
Less than three weeks after being fired by the Ravens, Jim Zorn has agreed to become the Chiefs' quarterbacks coach. I guess Joe Flacco can send a gift basket to Kansas City. This will be Zorn's third stop in as many years; he spent the 2010 season as the Ravens' quarterbacks coach, but did not click with offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and the coaching staff,
Despite the lack of a Super Bowl ring, it'd be hard to argue that John Harbaugh's first three years in Baltimore have been anything but successful. Under Harbaugh, the Ravens have posted a 36-19 record (including postseason), made the playoffs in all three seasons, and won four postseason games on the road. Because of his success in Baltimore, Harbaugh will be sticking around Charm City
Last year right around this time, I wrote up an entry asking everyone if they wanted the Ravens to sign wide receiver Donte' Stallworth. At the time, Stallworth had just been reinstated by commissioner Roger Goodell after a year-long suspension for killing a pedestrian while driving drunk. A week after my informal poll, the Ravens signed Stallworth to a one-year contract - although you might
Just because free agency is on hold because of a lack of a collective bargaining agreement, that doesn't mean that GM Ozzie Newsome is chilling on a beach waiting for the labor situation to get worked out. Newsome and the Ravens have reportedly pulled the trigger on another low-risk deal, signing veteran wide receiver Brandon Jones, according to FoxSports.com. The Ravens have not yet confirmed
Browsing the Internet on a slow Friday afternoon, I spotted an article on ESPN.com in which Mel Kiper lists a couple veterans at each position, and discusses how each team could find a possible long-term solution behind that player through the draft. Perhaps not surprisingly, Kiper has three Ravens on his list - wide receiver Derrick Mason, linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed -
The Ravens released veteran fullback Jason McKie the week leading up to their playoff game against the Steelers. Now, with Le'Ron McClain set to be a free agent, they've brought McKie back. The team announced that they've McKie, a nine-year veteran who was on the Ravens' roster for seven weeks during the 2010 season (six of which were during the regular season). McKie did not
When his NFL career is finally over - and it won't be ending just yet - Ray Lewis could head into any number of professions. Can't say I expected acting to be the one he'd choose. "Yes I'm going into (acting)," Lewis said yesterday during his interview on the Dan Patrick Show. "I think I'm very versatile. I mean I could definitely go into action,
Recently, The Baltimore Sun reported that there had been "a lot of rumors swirling" about the Ravens buying out Ray Lewis' contract. I personally didn't hear any of those rumors. Apparently, Lewis didn't, either. Making an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show today, the Ravens linebacker sounded shocked when Patrick asked him about the report that he might accept a financial package from the team.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Roch Kubatko and Steve Melewski to the Twitter world. I spent part of this morning talking with MASNsports.com's two Orioles writers and helping them through the ins and outs of their Twitter pages and how to update from their phones. As spring training approaches, be sure to follow both of those guys for all of the latest O's news -
Over the last couple of years, the Ravens have been able to bring Willis McGahee off the bench in red zone or short-yardage situations, or when starting running back Ray Rice needed a breather. That's a luxury not many teams can afford - having a Pro Bowl running back waiting in the wings - ready to give the offense a boost when he's called upon.
According to the NFL, last night's Super Bowl was the most-watched TV show ever, totaling 162.9 million viewers. I wonder what that number dropped to during the horrendous Black Eyed Peas halftime show. If it was over 162,000, FOX execs should consider themselves lucky. What are the chances that the Ravens are the team celebrating under the falling confetti next year, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy
There might have been some Ravens fans pulling for the rival Steelers last night, but my guess is that most of those who support the purple and black are rejoicing today. The Lombardi Trophy won't be paraded around Baltimore, but at least it won't end up in Pittsburgh, either. The Packers made sure of that. Before we get into the details of last night's game,
Congratulations go out to Deion Sanders and Shannon Sharpe - two former Ravens who both were voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last night. Both are certainly deserving of the honor, and should have entertaining speeches ready for us in August when the induction ceremonies are held in Canton, Ohio. I didn't get a chance to cover either guy during their respective tenures
We're about 30 hours away from the Big Game in Big D, and while I'm excited to see the Packers and Steelers square off in what should be an entertaining game with plenty of points, I think I'm more excited just to have the game over with. The two weeks of continuous talk gets very old for me. I love football, and will normally watch
The Ravens have made another coaching move, hiring Todd Washington as their assistant offensive line coach. Washington, who spent last season as the offensive line coach for the UFL's Hartford Colonials, will serve under newly-promoted O-line coach Andy Moeller. This will be Washington's first coaching position at the NFL level, but he has plenty of experience in the league. He played eight seasons in the
Another offseason, another offseason looking for receivers. Anyone else feel like we've been down this road before? With T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Donte' Stallworth set to become free agents, the Ravens will again need to scour the free agent market and this year's draft class to try and find some wide receiving talent that they can add around Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason. It was clear
Been a long week? Getting bored at work? This might help. Below is a video of your favorite running back signing some Boyz II Men as he tries to convince his cousin to quit smoking. I guess Ray Rice is a triple threat - he can run, he can catch the ball out of the backfield and he can sing defenders to sleep with some
Last week, the Ravens signed place kicker Billy Cundiff to a five-year contract. Today, they took care of punter Sam Koch as well. The Ravens locked up Koch to a five-year contract today, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. UPDATE: The Ravens confirmed that they've agreed with Koch on a five-year deal. Terms of the contract are not immediately known. Koch had another
As if it isn't bad enough from Ravens fans' perspective that the hated Steelers will take the field Sunday night with a shot at the Lombardi Trophy, it was announced last night that Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu was named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year. When it rains, it pours. Polamalu barely beat out Packers linebacker Clay Matthews for the award. Matthews (who would
