I've heard of these stories, how it would be just exactly like a chess match but in the gridiron. One would shift the formation, the other would bring the linebackers into position. It felt as if it was only years ago this was the stage in which they fought on. It was a more youthful McNair vs Lewis. Who would have thought that these two would even be on the same team. I surely didn't, I knew McNair didn't, Ray didn't, but someone did. Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome. How did it come to this? Well the events eventually led him to become a Raven. With the uprising of Vince Young and is miraculous Rose Bowl performance and the decision for the Titans to take him instead of Matt Leinart, who at the time was the best rated QB in that draft. He was supposed to sit behind McNair, learn from him and see what he does, but that didn't work out as planned. Before draft day, the Ravens had some issues of their own. By the end of a disappointing 6-10 season, Billick was on the hot seat, but he was reassured what he has one season to redeem himself with help. The offense was still ugly with Kyle Boller under center and a lack of a smash mouth running game. Sure Boller had his flashes of brilliance, but the veteran team he was on couldn't wait. The defense knew also. Ray Lewis had his opinions too. He complained that the lack of beef up front resulted in him not playing at his best and they should get behemoths like Sam Adam and Tony Siragusa in front of him to make him a playmaker. That didn't get ignored. The Ravens traded up a slot with the Cleveland Browns in exchange for giving a 6th rounder to get Haloti Ngata. He weighed in around 341 lbs. Are you happy now Ray? If so, press 1. And he did. But that wasn't the only thing that happened during the draft. They weren't satisfied there. McNair was the target throughout the offseason. Most of the events leading up to the trade was plain ugly. McNair was going to be paid at least $23 mil during the season and had to restructure his contract. That didn't work, so what did they do? Upon mini camp time, McNair was barred from the training facility because they were afraid he might get injured and end up paying him money anyways. That's when the Ravens stepped in. I was a bit shocked that they passed on players like Drew Brees, Daunte Culpepper, and Kerry Collins during free agency. But McNair was the perfect fit to the Ravens. Negotiations weren't fun either. McNair had to go through the NFLPA in order to have contract talks with the Ravens and to justify the banning from the facility. The artibrary ruled in McNair's favor and won. He later signed a contract with the Ravens to keep his cap number lower. Jeff Fisher and the Titans was offered a 5th rounder, but they wanted a 4th. The whole situation played out so long that the Ravens had to give them the 4th because it was June and McNair was assumed the starting position and had to get as much out of the playbook into his mind. Now who would have thought that McNair and Lewis would be on the same team. Upon his arrival, in the locker room, he passed the area where the linemen had their lockers, the running backs lockers, and settled next to Ray Lewis' locker. Now how is that possible? A sign of respect. To the fans, he was the savior to the Ravens. During game day, it would be so awkward to most players on the team. While Ray Lewis would be the most talkative one in the room and would try to pump up the players on the team, McNair would be resting around the corner of the room. Some would question if he even has a pulse, but we all knew what he brought. The 2003 co-MVP who nearly won a Super Bowl but came up short against the Rams. He also brought a presence in the offense that the team can rely on and the leadership as well. Now onto the season... The Ravens had their share of ups and downs during the season. They made their presence felt during the first four games, going undefeated and McNair leading the team to two game winning drives. The most impressive one was probably the sloppy game that the Ravens played with the Chargers to win it 16-13 with the pass to Todd Heap with less than 10 seconds left on the clock int the 4th. But all wasn't well for Baltimore. He Ravens lose on Monday Night against the Broncos. Later lost to the Panthers with McNair out with a concussion and Boller back on the field. During the bye week, head coach had to make a major decision to fire offensive coordinator Jim Fassel and take over play calling himself. Such a move he had to do because his job as on the line and some of the questionable calls were made leading up to it. After the bye, they had to go to New Orleans. It was a true test to see what Billick would do since he was "an offensive guru" in Minnesota back in the late 90's. It was also to see what effects of McNair's concussion showed as they went into possibly one of the loudest stadiums, the Louisiana Superdome. They silenced them, but they also became the bad guys for a day. A great defensive performance against the Bengals showed why they can make some serious noise in the division. Ray Lewis went down with a back injury and the defense had their number called to keep the defense alive/ And now it was McNair's time to shine in Tennessee. The Ravens finally allowed their first 100 yard rusher of the season and in a while to Travis Henry but what really made headlines was McNair's game winning performance despite the defensive struggles. That was what "bittersweet" revenge tasted like for McNair as he walked off the field and meeting with Vince Young who was supposed to be his protege. Later, Ray was out against Atlanta but the defense did their job without him against Michael Vick (picture seen in my signature). A showdown later with the Steelers showed why the Ravens are a force to be reckoned with as they shut out the Steelers 27-0 and log 9 sacks against Roethlisberger. With playoffs approaching, the Ravens knew that the bye week was vital to the veteran team as they lost to the Bengals, because they showed how sluggish they were after a short week. They also lost kick/punt returner B.J Sams for the season with a broken right fibula in his leg. They went back to work and finished the season with a 4 game winning streak to lock up the first round bye and seeded behind the 14-2 San Diego Chargers with a franchise record 13-3. They were the #1 ranked defense who led the NFL in takeaways and #2 in sacks with 60 and 1 behind San Diego. The defense had 28 interceptions, a Ravens franchise high, and the offense was pretty good also as they ranked 17th in offense. After spending the bye week, there was alot of intensity in the air with the fans to beat the Colts. Such a team who left Baltimore in the middle of the night had some of the older fans angry. This was their perfect time to show them up. During the game, so many things went wrong for the Ravens offense. The defense did their best in limiting the Colts to 15 points and out of the red zone. They blanketed both Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. But the offense didn't show up. McNair looked just as if Boller was on the field, he made some bad decisions that resulted in interceptions and the only bright spot on the offense was probably Jamal Lewis running the ball. By the end of the game, the defense let some plays go which is obvious since they are old and Manning made the key third down conversion to seal the game. The Ravens lost 15-6. The season felt so surreal. They had a group of players who thought this season would be special. The defense rivaled the predecessors of the 2000 season and the offense actually had a face, and it was McNair. And if I were to grade the team throughout the whole season, it might look like... Quarterbacks: B- Runningbacks: C- Wide Recievers/Tight Ends: A Offensive Linemen: C+ Defensive Linemen: A Linebackers: A+ Secondary: B- Special Teams: B- The team looked so well on paper but they just didn't bring their A game to the table. McNair was the reason the Ravens got so far. He did lead the offense downfield and win those games. Jamal isn't a huge disappointment but the fact that they paid Mike Anderson so much money to only have less than 50 carries in the season. The recievers benefited because McNair spread the ball so much, Mark Clayton broke out this season and was shy of his first 1000 yard season. Derrick Mason is frustrated for not being used as much and I can see why. He only had 3 passes towards him during that game and I feel for this guy. The Ravens also found a vertical passing game with #3 reciever rookie Demetrius Williams. Though the offensive linemen allowed a franchise low 16 sacks in the season, most of that was done with McNair's feet and mobility. The run blocking isn't there so I can't mostly blame Jamal. The defense was phenominal. Trevor Pryce racked up 13 sacks and didn't make the pro bowl. Along with Terrell Suggs who seems to be keeping the QB off their feet. Rookie Haloti Ngata is getting better as the season goes on. Kelly Gregg is still underrated in terms of run stopping. It is safe to say that Ray Lewis is not the best linebacker on the Ravens roster. He was overshadowed by the versatile Adaulis Thomas who can play multiple positions and Bart Scott who is a great tackler. The secondary did some of their job. Chris McAlister is having one of his best seasons by shutting down some of the best recievers and having 6 interceptions to show it. Ed Reed is truly a ball hawk, enough said. Rookie Dawan Landry has came into his own but he still needs to work on his pass coverage. Samari Rolle let a few plays downfield but he limited somewhat later. But corners like Corey Ivy and Ronnie Prude are doing a good job at nickel and dime. The special teams is great also. If B.J Sams wasn't on IR, he would have gave the Ravens better field position. Sam Koch booms kicks but he needs to do a better job in placement inside the 20. Matt Stover is still reliable as he has the best kicking percentage in the NFL this year. The kickoff coverage is decent led by linebacker Gary Stills. The offseason... It doesn't take a crystal ball to tell you that the Ravens are going to had a bad season next year. Father time will do his thing on the team, the scheduling won't be in the Ravens favor, and the salary cap is waiting to destroy the Ravens roster next two seasons. While Jonathan Ogden is possibly having his best season, he is still pondering retirement. He is still playing at a high level. He stopped players like Simeon Rice, Shawne Merriman, and also Dwight Freeney during the playoffs. He has been with the Ravens since the franchise was built in 1996. If he calls it quits, I will have no regrets. Onto the Hall of Fame he goes, he also gets my vote. They really need to bring back Tony Pashos because he did a good job at the right tackle position and Ovie Mughelli. He developed into a full back who opened some holes for Jamal and can run and catch. It will be hard to see Adalius Thomas a Raven next year since somone will be giving him a boat load of cash to play for another team but backup Jarret Johnson might so a decent job replacing him. When Ray was out, he shared time with Dennis Haley at the position since he is more suited as a run stopper than pass defender. He is also someone Rex Ryan wanna work on with during the offseason if he is still with the team. Rex didn't get any phone calls during the bye week so... Let's hope that keeps up. But if he is out, I would't mind seeing Donnie Henderson back with the Ravens since he was fired by the Lions. We also need to take the void at offensive coordinator, maybe someone who is more of a QB coach. During the draft, here are some of the needs that need to be addressed or during free agency. QB - McNair is turning 34 and we need younger blood in the team, I almost go in fear when Boller steps on the field. Maybe he can sit behind McNair and learn from him. RB - Jamal isn't going to be back, we need someone like Kenny Irons or an inside runner on the team. Is T.J Duckett out there yet? OT - If Pashos is not signed and Ogden retires, we need someone to take the right tackle position if Terry is at left. OG - Jason Brown has done a good job replacing Edwin Mulitalo but we need some depth if possible. LB - Ray has a good 2 years left in him and if we can take a good pick possibly in the 3rd round, let him learn from the best in the business. I would also like to see Edwin Mulitalo and Mike Flynn, who were on the 2000 super bowl team, to take the backup role and/or get paycuts for Jason Brown and Chris Chester. Samari Rolle should be a nickel since he just isn't as good as he used to be. For running back, I want to see more Mike Anderson and Musa Smith if they don't bring in another running back. Now for next season... Through it may be a long shot, at best, the Ravens could lock up a wild card with a 9-7 record I hope. If the Bengals keep getting players straight from juvy and the Steelers try to adapt to a new coach, the Ravens might have a shot. But anytime after that season, the Ravens will go into the darkest times as the salary cap claims us as their victim... I WILL STILL STAY LOYAL!!! I'm done...
Truthfully, I thought the Ravens would finish 3rd in the AFCN. They key to their D IMO is <u>if</u> they willingly let Adalius Thomas leave for greener pastures. Billick was on the hot seat but did well enough to keep his job. McNair can hold down the fort for another year or two. Kolb from U of Houston & Rowe from NV-Reno are 2 QB's that will be available late day 1/early day 2 (depening on combine, etc..).They may take some time to develop but could be worth it.
