Maryland Sports Fans

Boulware Won't Be Wearing Purple

Peter Boulware was released yesterday from the Ravens for salary cap reasons. He was set to make 6 million dollars in base salary this year. The Ravens and Boulware's agent, Roosevelt Barnes could not agree to a re-structured deal.

Head Coach, Brian Billick, was quoted by the Washington Post as saying the following:

"The conversations had gone far enough that we pretty much knew where we were at," Baltimore Coach Brian Billick told reporters at the team's training facility in Owings Mills.

Peter Boulware hasn't played a down in 16 months, but he the francised record for career sacks(67.5) and has had 487 tackles during his career in Baltimore. Boulware has spent his whole career in purple, and he one of the most popular players on the Ravens defense. He will be missed very much in Charm City.

Posted by helimech24 at 09:46 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Ravens Have a Successful Draft

The Ravens didn't have any holes to fill on their team other than another receiver. They needed a receiver to play opposite of Derrick Mason who was signed during the off-season. From there, the Ravens could pick the best available player.

With their first pick of the draft, #22 overall, the Ravens selected Mark Clayton out of Oklahoma. He is a 5'11 receiver that weights 187lbs. Clayton was a steal at #22. He was largely regarded as better then both Mark Williams and Braylon Edwards. Clayton is shorter then the other two, but he is faster then them too. He has great hands and break away speed. Clayton does have a small frame which a concern is going over the middle. Mark Clayton's biggest attribute is the ability to stretch the field. He will be a great #2 receiver for the Ravens and be an instant impact.

After addressing the wide receiver position, the Ravens added depth to a lot of positions. They selected defensive end Dan Cody from Oklahoma in the second round. Cody is a little on the small side, but has a great attitude of search and destroy. If he hits the weight room, he will be a great addition. With their 2nd round two pick, the Ravens added some depth to the tackle position by selecting Adam Terry from Syracuse. Terry is a finesse type of tackle, lacks some strength, and is a smaller then most. With the rest of the picks, the Ravens selected a center, fullback, quarterback, and a linebacker to add some much needed backups on their team.

The Ravens had a very successful draft this year, and they picked players that could have an immediate impact to the team. With only one player that has pressure on him (Mark Clayton); the drafted players can learn from older players and fix the small flaws they have as rookies. The Ravens have made themselves very deep in players that will help when injuries accur.

Hartwell's replacement

The Baltimore Ravens signed Tommy Polly to a one year deal. He was brought into Baltimore to replace Ed Hartwell, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons. Polly is originally from Maryland, and he went to Dunbar High School. Polly is a 4 year veteran, and he played with the St. Louis Rams last year.

The Ravens signed two long

The Ravens signed two long snappers / backups to a couple of 2 year deals. Joe Maese and Cooper Carlisle to back up the starting offensive line and to compete for the starting long snapper position. This position is very important considering how many problems other teams have in the kicking game. Getting two good long snappers makes this position solid going into next year.

The Ravens upgraded their offensive

The Ravens upgraded their offensive line by signing Keydrick Vincent to a three year deall worth 4.64 million dollars with a 1.25 million dollar bonus. He will replace a weak position last year occupied by Bennie Anderson. Casey Rabach rotated into the guard position last year, but he was more of a center then a guard. Vincent will solidify the offensive line for the season, and the Ravens only have a receiver to sign for the rest of the off-season. They could pick a receiver in the draft to play opposite of Derrick Mason, depending on what is left at the #20 position in the draft.

The Ravens filled a huge

The Ravens filled a huge hole today signing Samari Rolle to a 6 year/30.5 million dollar deal with a 11 million dollar signing bonus. What is so funny about this is that all these figures top Gary Baxter's deal. Baxter was signed by rival Cleveland Browns. Ravens still needs some receivers, Billick WAKE UP and give some more receivers for Boller to throw to.

Gary Baxter signed a 6

Gary Baxter signed a 6 year/ 30 million dollar deal with rival Cleveland Browns. The Ravens still have a lot of options left on the free agent market to sign a good cornerback. The top cornerbacks left are Ty Law, Samari Rolle, and Fred Smoot, all of which would be a good fit. The Ravens do have other holes to fill like another receiver and a center.

The Ravens agree to a

The Ravens agree to a 5 year deal with Derrick Mason. After being cut from the Titans last week for salary cap reasons, Derrick Mason joins a club desperately needing a big receiver. Mason is only 5'10, small for a receiver, caught 96 passes, had 1,126 yards, and caught 7 TDs. He isn't afraid of going though the middle of the field. He has caught for over 1,000 yards the last 4 years and no less then 5 TD catches over that period. That nearly doubles all other receivers in all categories. The exact details have not been released yet. The Ravens still need to sign at least one other receiver either through free agency or draft in order for this off-season to be a success. Of course this deal does upgrade the offense, just not enough yet.

The Ravens release Kevin Johnson

The Ravens release Kevin Johnson who would have counted for about 1.4 million dollars against the salary cap. He was a gamble last year that didn't pay off. Of course, the Ravens are making an upgrade at the receiver position their #1 priority.

The Baltimore Ravens hire Clearance

The Baltimore Ravens hire Clearance Brooks to be the new defensive line coach. He is the second former Miami Dolphins coach hired by the Ravens

The Ravens hire Rick Neuheisel

The Ravens hire Rick Neuheisel to become the QB coach. He was the university of Washington head coach until 2003. He was fired for participation in a college basketball pool. He is a great pick up, and he will improve Kyle Boller's progression of being an NFL quarterback. The Ravens say good by to a great coach, Mike Nolan, who was hired as the 49ers' head coach. He was the Ravens' offensive coordinator. This brings up an interesting situation for the Ravens, who are known for such a great defense, to see who will fill such big shoes that was vacated. Rumors are going around that Jim Fassel will become the new offensive coordinator for the Ravens. Jim Fassel was the head coach of the Giants up until 2003 and senior consultant for the Ravens offense last year.

As of right now, the

As of right now, the Baltimore Ravens have the 22nd draft pick this April. I don't know whether it is set in stone or depending on the playoffs. If you want a link to ESPN to see the complete order here is the link: 2005 Draft List

The Baltimore Ravens hired a

The Baltimore Ravens hired a new offensive line coach Wednesday. The new man on the block-Chris Foerster-who was the Miami Dolphins offensive line coach last season.

This link is to the

This link is to the Ravens Official Site for defensive free agents. The Ravens Official Site

The list of canidates for

The list of canidates for offensive coordinator so far is Rick Neuheisel, Ron Turner, Mike Sheppard, and Scott Linehan.

Matt Cavanaugh leaves the Ravens

Matt Cavanaugh leaves the Ravens as the offensive coordinator. He has been with the Ravens for 6 years including their Super Bowl year.

Ed Reed was named Defensive

Ed Reed was named Defensive Player of the Year by AP. He was the big play maker on the Ravens defense. He had 76 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and 9 INTs. He deserves it and I want to give Ed Reed my congratulations.

The Ravens ended the season

The Ravens ended the season on a high and low note Sunday against the Miami. The Ravens won the game but needed some help getting into the playoffs which didn't happen. The Ravens had a little chance becauce the Broncos were going against the Colts' second team players. The day was definitly bitter sweet. Maybe next year they can get over the hump. Here is what it looked like this year and some needs for next year by position. QB: Brian Billick stuck with Kyle Boller throughout the season. Kyle Boller had a 55.6 completion %, 2559 yards 13 TDs, and 11 INTs. These numbers are not that bad for a second year QB. If he would have gotten a little help from his recievers, his numbers would be alot better. Boller did have a rough start in the beginning of the year, but he seemed to turn the corner against the Jets in a surprise victory. Boller is on a learning curve, but he does look like he getting more comfortable as the leader of this team RB: The best part of the offense. Jamal Lewis is the best big back in the league and Chester Taylor is the best backup. Jamal Lewis ran for 1006 yards, 7 TDs, and had a 4.3 average. Chester Taylor ran for 719 yards, 2 TDs, and 4.5 average. The front office did a great thing by getting Taylor a long term deal as a backup. He could start for alot of teams. Reciever: The worse part of the offense. The star of the recievers, Travis Taylor, had the most yards for 421 yards and no TDs. Kevin Johnson was brought in last offseason and only got 373 yards and 1 TD. The Ravens did try for Terrel Owens, but T.O. rejected the Ravens for Philly. What was worse, Todd Heap got hurt early in the year and by the time he came back he was ineffective. They need a lot of help. Offensive Line: The line is a strong part of the Ravens. The line proved themselves when their leader, Jonathan Ogden, went down to injury and were still able to block most of the time. Ogden never really recovered from his injury which was shown against the Colts. The rest of the team was solid and didn't get beat often. Defense: I was going to split this up too, but they are just great all the way around. The defense finished 6th in total defense. Ray Lewis had 146 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries, Ed Reed had 76 tackles with 2 fumble recoveries and 9 INTs and 1 TD. On a great defense, these two had the best year of any defensive players in the league. I don't know how they do it every year.

The Ravens lost to the

The Ravens lost to the Steelers pretty badly but they are still alive for the playoffs with some help from a couple of teams. The Ravens couldn't stop the machine that is the Steelers. They are just to good of a team to beat especially one that is struggling on offense. Even with Heap back, Kyle Boller was not up for the challenge of the Steelers. The Ravens defense tried to hold the Steelers offense as much as possible but struggled badly with Randle El. Randle El just made too many good plays. Now the Ravens need help to get into the offense and need to beat the Dolphins. The Dolphins are stuggling very badly on offense and are just playing for Draft pick now. As long as the Ravens don't let their heads get to big for themselves like the Pats did. The Ravens also need Jaquars, Broncos, and Bills to all lose. This is all possible because they have messed up in the past. The Bills are the greatest threat because they are playing with the biggest heart. We will see if the Football Gods will help the Ravens this Sunday.

The Ravens travel to Indy

The Ravens travel to Indy for hard fought battle and come up short. The Raven's defense did what they had to confusing Manning often. The only mistake really made was by Chris McAlister getting burned by Harrison on a 27 yard pass. They held the high powered offense to one touchdown thru the air and one on the ground. Manning was unable to catch Marino against the Ravens, and Manning kneeled down at the end of the game instead of running up the score. This was the right thing to do and was very sportmanly, even if the fans didn't think so. All the Ravens defense did this game was hold the highest scoring offense to their lowest production of the season. The defense was not the reason for the lost. The offense is what cost the Ravens the game against the Colts. Kyle Boller did not let down being a bad quarterback against good teams. Heck, the Colts defense is not good at all. The only play maker on the Colts defense is DE Feely who burnt Jon Ogden often. What didn't make any sense to me is why Ogden wasn't getting very much help after the beginning the game when Feely kept on putting pressure on Boller. Kyle Boller was a liability by throwing 2 INTs, but he did throw a touchdown to his favorite reciever Todd Heap. Losing this game just about sealed the deal of not going into the playoffs unless Jacksonville loses in the next 2 weeks. I put all the blame on the offense and Brian Billick not putting in a better QB.

Well we watch a one

Well we watch a one team blow out another this week and one lose a nail biter(I didn't need them anyway). Either way it was good football all the way around. Losers First... The Redskins lost to Eagles for the second time this year. This game they lost in a heartbreaking fashion with Patrick Ramsey throwing a pass to Chris Cooley in triple coverage. This was a big mistake, for Joe Gibbs decided to go for the win in one big play instead of playing conservitive. I think it was the right call because what do the Redskins have to lose. People they are 4-9, were are they going? Nowhere. Take a chance and see what happens, what you can use next year, what players you want to keep. This was not a bad idea and I am tired of hearing how bad it was that they took a chance against a 11-1(at the time) team and almost won. The Ravens stomped the Giants, beating them all around. Eli was no match for the defense, and the offense looked like a well oiled machine. Todd Heap was a big reason for their success catching 2 touchdowns and was a vital part of getting first downs. The defense made up for week before's performance and just owned the Giants. It wasn't until Kurt Warner made an appearance that they got some points and were in a prevent defense. All around the ravens had a performance. I would also wanted to add that Kyle Boller is finally starting to become the quarterback we were promised by Brian Billick and threw 4 TDs in the game and only one interception. What a great job he did against a weak defense of the Giants. Final Thought: The Redskins need to keep taking chances and just have fun for the rest of the year and let the players prove their worth or unworthiness. The Ravens need to continue their trend of not making mistakes on offense and making big plays on defense.

The Ravens are trying to

The Ravens are trying to get into the playoffs and the Redskins are just trying to justify this season. Both teams have a lot to fight for in the final weeks of the regular season, so I will get on with it. The Ravens welcome in the struggling NY Giants into town. The Giants started off the season strong and went completely south after making Eli Manning their starting QB. The Ravens will again be with out Jamal Lewis in this contest, and Chester Taylor will fill in for him yet again. The only threat the Giants really have in this game is Tiki Barbar who was held in check last week by the Redskins. This game should be easily won by the Ravens who are looking to bounce back after a lackluster 4th quarter against the Bengals. The Ravens defense knows they were embarrassed last week and will make up for it. The leader of the team, Ray Lewis, has gotten pissed off at the press for asking what happened last week and will motivate him even more for this game. Anytime Ray Lewis gets pissed the other team should watch out, sorry Giants but you are going to get your butts handed to this game. I predict that the Ravens will win this game by at least 17 points. The Redskins have a huge challenge ahead of them going against the Eagles this week on prime time television. This will test the Redskins offense who seemed to start coming together last week against the Giants. Granted it was against the Giants, but the Redskins just seemed to finally have a spark. The receivers went after the ball and made some tough catches, and Patrick Ramsey didn't try to force the ball down the field to many times. Of course, the Redskins defense played a great game and didn't lose any intensity during the later parts of the game to allow the Giants back in it. If the Redskins can play with the same kinda heart, they at least have a chance. The last meeting between the two teams was close until the 4th quarter when it looked like the defense just gave up because the offense couldn't do anything against the Eagles. Donovan McNabb is coming off a career win over the Green Bay Packers in which he threw 5 touchdowns to three different receivers. The Eagles are clicking on all cylinders at the moment and look unstoppable. If the Redskins want to win this game, they are going to have to shove Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts down the Eagles defenses throats, for the Eagles run defense is the only weakness on the team. This also means if they get down in the game, they still need to run in order to have a chance. As another plus, running the ball will keep the Eagles big play offense off the field. I am hoping they win by a field goal, I know it is a pipe dream, but we all need some right.