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The Ravens officially welcomed undrafted rookies Bobby Rainey and Deonte Thompson to the fold, held on to Sergio Kindle and opted not to hold on on to quarterback Curtis Painter when setting their 53-man roster Saturday night. There were no real shocking moves made, with the decision to go with just two quarterbacks for the second straight year perhaps the closest thing to a surprise.
The Ravens and Rams are taking completely different philosophies into their final preseason game tonight in St. Louis. For the Ravens, there's no Joe Flacco, Ray Rice or Anquan Boldin on offense, and no Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata or Ed Reed on defense. They get the night off in favor of the likes of safety Omar Brown, running backs Bobby Rainey and Bernard Pierce, and
For the Ray Lewises, Joe Flaccos, Ray Rices, Ed Reeds and Haloti Ngatas, the most important part of the preseason is over. The next date they have circled is Sept. 10, the Ravens' Monday night opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. The team's preseason finale, Thursday in St. Louis, is more about the other guys, the players fighting to earn the last spots on the 53-man
The Ravens managed to get their roster trimmed down to 75 Monday without releasing another player. The team placed four players on injured reserve, meaning they will not play with the Ravens for the rest of the season, and placed two on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. The team placed wideout David Reed (ACL) and linebacker Terrell Suggs (Achilles tendon) on the PUP list,
There's no longer any question about who will be the Ravens' kicker. Former Pro Bowler Billy Cundiff was released Sunday among the team's first round of cuts, leaving impressive rookie Justin Tucker as his replacement. Tucker has made all five of his attempts this preseason, including two from 50 yards and beyond. "Billy had a great camp, the best he has had with us," coach
Injured tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta were back on the Ravens' practice field Saturday, at least in some capacity, as they set their sights on returning for the Sept. 10 opener. Dickson hurt his right shoulder in the first preseason game and Pitta broke his hand in practice July 30, putting the team in mild danger of being without its top two tight
Justin Tucker seems just a little fidgety. He buzzes around when preparing for a kickoff, appearing to overflow with nervous energy that might not belie a professional athlete. Then the ball leaves his foot and travels what seems like a mile. On kickoffs and field goal tries alike, it sure seems like the undrafted rookie out of Texas has done just about everything he could
Hobbled by a minor ankle injury that kept him out of last week's preseason game, wideout Torrey Smith's return was a welcome one to the Ravens. Smith played a massive role in Baltimore's record-setting 48-17 dismantling of the Jaguars on Thursday in what will amount to a dress rehearsal for the regular season. Although Joe Flacco connected with nine different receivers, the fact that he
At the end of the first half, the Ravens hold a 13-3 lead over the Jaguars. Save for one Jacksonville drive that ended with a Josh Scobee 25-yard field goal, Baltimore controlled play in the opening two quarters. The Ravens outgained their visitors 222-131, with much of that again coming through the air. Quarterback Joe Flacco has taken another step forward this preseason, in part
The Ravens' offensive line is giving Joe Flacco oodles and oodles of time to pass, and the results were quite good in a solid first quarter. The quarterback completed nine of 14 passes for 104 yards, but the unit's biggest problem persists - no touchdowns. Converting in the red zone and finishing drives had to be the No. 1 offense's primary aim in this one,
Of the Ravens' nine scratches for tonight's preseason game against Jacksonville, offensive lineman Marshal Yanda is the only surprise after suffering a leg injury in practice this week. With Yanda out, left guard Bobbie Williams slides over to starting right guard with rookie Kelechi Osemele moving into the starting lineup. The rest of the scratches: wideout David Reed; linebackers Josh Bynes, Darryl Blackstock and Terrell
By the time mid-September, October and November roll around, no one's going to remember or even think about preseason performance. The games don't count and are intended as a tune-up to build chemistry and get a taste of game action before every single play will bear meaning. But if any preseason contest matters a little more, it's this one. On Thursday, the Ravens host the
Driving in to Baltimore today, I heard the word "declining" used on sports talk radio in reference to the Ravens, uttered by a national pundit saying he believes it's possible they're a non-factor in the AFC North. His argument was simple - a defense getting up in years with few standout replacements in place. Is two preseason games too soon to come to such a
One week ago, the Ravens couldn't move the ball until the starters' final possession, early in the second quarter. They were stuck, lacking cohesion, and the result was no first downs in the opening stanza. So although the unit produced just six points Friday, there was reason to be encouraged by the preseason home opener. Baltimore racked up 139 yards and nine first downs while
The Ravens' secondary had reason to walk away from tonight's home preseason opener feeling like it could've done better. Sure, the Ravens were facing the mighty "Megatron," Calvin Johnson - he of great size, speed and skill. And sure they had gunslinger Matthew Stafford on the other side of the ball. But foes of such caliber, or at least near that level, have fallen flat
Matthew Stafford went 12-for-17 for 184 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. No matter how good he is, or what kind of weapons he has at his disposal, that seems decidedly un-Ravens-like. The secondary has had trouble containing Calvin Johnson, and to be fair, so does every other defensive backfield in the NFL. However, the secondary is supposed to be one of the Ravens' strengths,
So the Ravens might be up just 3-0, but the way they've started has to be encouraging to all involved. After a first quarter full of three-and-outs at Atlanta, Baltimore has six first downs in the first 10 minutes and change against the Lions, and put together an 11-play, 60-yard scoring drive capped by a Billy Cundiff 33-yard field goal. Last week, the Ravens couldn't
Offensive tackle Jah Reid might've returned to practice this week, but he isn't quite ready for game action. Reid is among the Ravens' nine players who won't suit up for tonight's preseason home opener against the Lions. Reid suffered a calf injury over the summer and hasn't yet been able to get it right. So much for that fully healthy line against Detroit's potent defensive
The Ravens came out of their first preseason game with some positives, considering they won the game and had their class of rookies - drafted and undrafted alike - thoroughly outclass those belonging to the Falcons. The knocks on the Ravens following the opener were subpar performances from their first-team units - an offense that didn't convert a first down or score a point until
So now that nearly a day has passed since the Ravens' first preseason game, how has it settled in? The overall result was nice - a 31-17 win over the Falcons where the second- and third-teamers had their way with their opponents' players of the same level. That's a positive. The part of the game that mattered, however, had to feel a little troubling. It's
So that couldn't have been the start to the preseason the Ravens wanted. Their offense could manage nothing against the Falcons and the Ravens' "first-team" defense had some difficulty defending the pass with cornerback Cary Williams repeatedly picked on by the Matt Ryan-to-Julio Jones connection. The Ravens were outgained 191-9 in the opening quarter. Ryan found Jones six times for 109 yards. Joe Flacco, on
Four preseason games over one month and one day is all that stands between the Ravens and the beginning of the 2012 season. That all starts tonight at the Georgia Dome, where the Ravens face the Atlanta Hawks in their first game action of the year. "It will be a standard first preseason game concept, so we'll be looking at anywhere from a certain set
Sabermetrics seem to be permeating the world of football, as well. The Ravens announced Monday that they have hired Sandy Weil as their director of football analytics. According to a release from the team, Weil will work with the Ravens' player personnel department and coaching staff to produce and study in-depth data pertaining to game trends, statistical analysis, NFL scouting and player production. Charged with
One of the Ravens' greatest uncertainties heading into training camp was whether Ed Reed would show up. Will he or won't he? Is he committed to football or is he done? Coach John Harbaugh and Reed's teammates maintained that they believed the five-time All-Pro safety would be back in the defensive backfield. And Reed didn't disappoint. On Wednesday, he spoke with the media for the
