Category: Ravens Reports

Ravens:
Oh well, our streak of consecutive days without an arrest is over, with Jimmy Smith being picked up on disorderly conduct, or more commonly known as operating without a brain. In summary, he was helping a female friend who obviously had too much to drink, and was unconscious. When emergency personnel arrived on the scene, he revised to give way to medical personnel… Ravens to hold auditions for singing the national anthem on Tuesday… Training camp starts on Thursday, with Quarterbacks, rookies and injured veterans reporting to training camp.

Ravens:
WR Steve Smith and CB Lardarius Webb have a flare up at mini-camp, but should be worked out within the team… Of larger note is that the Redskins trademark has been revoked. They are still protected during the appeals process, but it is expected that a name change may be forthcoming to avoid a length court battle. Although they will probably play this season as is, one theory suggests that they will drop the appeal after the season, and unveil plans for a new name, Washington Warriors, using the same logo and colors. Dan Snyder had the name already trademarked for an arena football league team, for a now defunct league. Stay tuned, as we will have to work hard at coming up with new, derogatory names for the team.

Ravens:
Ravens to hold a pair of off-site training camps at M&T Bank, and Navy-Marine Stadiums. The practice at M&T Bank will be July 28 at 7 p.m. and will include a fireworks and laser show. Both off-site sessions will be free.

Maryland women’s lacrosse team wins the NCAA Divisions I Lacrosse Tournament! Go Terps!

Ravens:
Ray Rice issues formal appologies to everyone is a statement… $5.5M is salary cap space still left… Ravens and M&T Bank have reached an agreement to extend their partnership through 2027.

Ravens:
Ray Rice avoids trial by agreeing to complete a diversionary program, but will still probably face suspension by the league… Ravens sign another Houston TE Phillip Supernaw, FB/RB Shaun Chapas, and OG Will Rackley. To make room, they cut TE Matt Furstenburg (Maryland), LB D.J. Bryant (Randallstown) and OL/DL Cody Larsen.

Ravens:
Draft is over, and the Ravens did NOT trade down in the first round to acquire more picks, as I expected. They held their position and turned in another solid performance on the draft room floor, once again focusing on defense in a defense heavy division with 3 straight D-players to start their draft, and 4 out of 9 players total. The first round draft pick, CJ Mosely has great instinct and athleticism, as long as he can stay healthy, which could be a concern. Otherwise, they drafted someone to pencil in for all their needs going in. General consensus is that the Ravens and Steelers did equally well, while
Ohio was sub-par.

Ravens:
Ray Rice seems to have worked out a deal to avoid jail, but we should still expect about a 2 game suspension from the league… Draft starts this week. Expect the Ravens to trade down to get more picks.

Ravens:
NFL Schedule expected to be released Wednesday night. My money is on a prime time game IN Pittsburgh… Some analysts suggest the Ravens may trade down in the draft to get more picks… Rolando McClain tried coming back but retired again… Rice has reported in better condition, apparently beating his weight problem from last year (Bad Iggy). I still expect him to be suspended between 2 and 4 games. Ravens would do well to “steal” a page from Pittsburgh book, and proactively suspend Rice, hoping that the league sees our punishment as just and not impose a potentially stiffer sanction.

News and Personal Thoughts:
Congratulations to the Maryland Women’s basketball team who made it to the Final Four.

Ravens:
Ravens sign TE Owen Daniels, which was kind of expected given his connections with the new Ravens coaching staff… Ravens sign backup running back Justin Forsett, who is looking to rebound after an injury plagued season in Jacksonville… Ravens resign Terrance Cody… John Harbaugh sold his house for $2.1M in less than a week, after reportedly moving to another home in the Baltimore area. Apparently he needed a bigger mortgage.

Ravens:
The Ravens are great, but they still can’t fill the void left by a decade plus of no football. It was 30 years ago this past weekend that they were stolen in the middle of the night. Something that I will never forget. Read about a comparable fan’s experience here… Ray Rice married his fiance in an effort to show the courts that things are fine between them, although the charges were upgraded to aggravated assault… LeGarrette Blount and Maurice Jones-Drew were linked with the Ravens as potential free-agent signings, but both chose other venues… NFL approved increasing goal post heights by 5 feet, and to implement a 2-week preseason experiment where extra points are at the 20 yard line, unless the team declares their intent to go for 2 point, where it will be placed at the traditional line of scrimmage. Expansion to 14 team playoff structure is pushing forward, and could happen as early as this season, but they need to iron out a few obstacles first, which includes WHEN the games will be played, and WHO has broadcasting rights. Original NFL plans called for a Friday and Monday night game, but traditionalists are balking at the proposal, wanting to overload Saturday and Sunday with 3 games each.