Ravens Looking to Sign Rest of 2008 Draft Class

With the big fish finally into the fryer, the Baltimore Ravens still have a few more rookies to attend to prior to training camp on Monday. From the Baltimore Sun article: The Ravens’ eight unsigned draft picks are running back Ray Rice (second round), linebacker Tavares Gooden (third), safety Tom Zbikowski (third), wide receiver Marcus Smith (fourth), offensive tackle David Hale (fourth), safety Haruki Nakamura (sixth), wide receiver Justin Harper (seventh) and running back Allen Patrick (seventh). Obviously, Ray Rice, Marcus Smith and Tavares Gooden are the rookies that could have an impact on this season. Getting everyone into camp on time is essential for camaraderie and scheme familiarity, but those three will be the ones to replace veterans in the near future.

Flacco Officially a Baltimore Raven

Five years and $30 million. That’s how long and how much it will take for Joe Flacco to become the face of the Baltimore Ravens franchise. There’s been no secret that Flacco will play understudy for as long as possible. With Brett Favre rumors to the side, that means he has, at the most, this season to prepare while Kyle Boller or Troy Smith gets the nod for opening day. Which may or may not be a good thing for Flacco and the Ravens. Fans expect him to make an appearance this season, for better or for worse. He’s the quarterback they’ve been waiting for since the arrival of the franchise. As crazy as it may sound, fans would rather the team sink or swim with Flacco, then do either with Boller or Smith.

Ravens Miss Deadline on Signing Terrell Suggs

Okay, no need to panic about the Baltimore Ravens missing the Tuesday deadline to ink franchise tagged Terrell Suggs to a deal. No need to worry, right?

Or is there?

Ravens’ GM Ozzie Newsome says they’ll have a deal in place, and Suggs has said he wants to be in Baltimore, but what about when other big time players come up for renegotiation? It’s a question Newsome himself subconsciously entertained:

“We view him like Ed Reed, Todd Heap, Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden,” Newsome said. “He is one of those guys that we want to keep a Raven.”

Exactly. And that’s the exact reason why more than a ’serious’ offer should have been floated his way.

And then Suggs himself is questioning how serious he is about a deal.

“At this point, I don’t know,” Suggs said five months ago. “I love my teammates, and I want to be there for them. Before I make a decision, I’ll talk to a lot of people. I’ll confide in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, see what they think I should do and what is best for everybody.”

He didn’t sign the offer, so apparently there’s a lot of thinking going on.

It’s clear that money is on players’ minds more than ever, with revelations about pending strikes and money woes from the mouths of owners, they have to look out for their long term interests. Perhaps if Newsome wasn’t so good at spying defensive talent, there wouldn’t be a question of balancing the books between several sure-fire Hall-of-Fame players on the current payroll.

Where’s He Going to Go?

Presumably, the Packers don’t really want Favre back after all that’s happened. Essentially, their message is they aren’t going to free him to sign with any of the league’s other 31 teams — especially not NFC North division rivals Minnesota, Chicago or Detroit — and he won’t be given his starting job back if he returns to Green Bay.

The most likely scenario would have Favre petitioning the league for reinstatement and the Packers trading him to an AFC team, or at least an NFC team outside the division. Among the teams that fit that profile are the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins.

The Packers’ best-case scenario, in which Favre would’ve simply stayed retired, almost certainly won’t happen. The Packers went so far as to send an intermediary down to Mississippi last week to try to talk Favre into staying retired, but their attempt failed.

The Wisconsin State Journal’s article puts serious contenders for Favre out there for the first time in a while. But would these really help Brett Favre? He obviously wants to go to a contender and the Minnesota Vikings are rumored to be his top choice (which means he’s looking to follow Darren Sharper and Ryan Longwell), but Minnesota most likely isn’t going to happen. Do these really give Favre a chance to be a winner though?

The Miami Dolphins were 1-15 last year and are starting from the ground up. They have a new coach in Tony Sparano and a new head man in Bill Parcells. If Favre wants to win, Miami would probably not be the best option. Parcells and Sparano are getting reputations as strictly business, given their run-in with superstar-turned-wanna-be-actor Jason Taylor. A Taylor-for-Favre swap is pretty intriguing, but I don’t think that’s what Taylor wants and Favre wants a winner, but I don’t see the Dolphins turning into playoff contenders right away. Right now, John Beck, Chad Henne, and Josh McCown are the quarterbacks on the roster for the Dolphins. Beck started last year and had a lot of trouble adjusting to the pro-game. He could have been Cam Cameron’s quarterback of the future, but with Parcells coming in, his future is up in the air. Parcells used a high draft pick on Henne, who could be Parcells’ “guy” while McCown is the veteran in the mix. McCown also happens to be a friend of the Packers family, along with Nathan Poole, for knocking the Vikings out and Packers into the playoffs in (I think) 2003. God, I love opening old wounds. So the Dolphins do not look that likely if Favre wants to win. If he wants to play and end up on MediCare, he can go for it.

The Baltimore Ravens would be the worst situation for me besides an NFC North team. I may be in the Baltimore area, but I do not like the Ravens. Besides the personal anguish this would cost me, the Ravens cannot quite afford Favre. Right now the Packers have 2008 first round pick Joe Flacco, 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, and bust Kyle Boller. The Ravens are also reeling from the Steve McNair-era where they were at the mercy of an aging quarterback on the downside of his career. I have read many columnists in the Baltimore-area newspapers, and it’s clear they do not want Favre. They know that on the heels of a 5-11 season that they need to rebuild and devote time and confidence to either Flacco or Smith, something they did not do with Boller. The only way to get their quarterbacks better and to put themselves in a position to win in the future would be to let Flacco and Smith play and become experienced.

I pretty much covered the Chiefs, one of the most inept franchises in history. But they can still have fantasies. Like this one. And this one. And finally this one.

The Jets are intriguing. Favre is older than head coach Eric Mangini. Kellen Clemens looks like he could be a good quarterback if he is given time to play, which wouldn’t happen if Favre joined the team. Chad Pennington is still on the team and he has had some pretty good moments in his time in the Big Apple. I’m no Jets expert, but this scenario is pretty mysterious. Who knows here. I just don’t know whether Favre would want to play for a team coming off a losing season.

It seems like every year Sports Illustrated picks the Panthers to win the Super Bowl. But it doesn’t happen. They are mired in the .500-ball heave that is the NFC South. The team does not have many offensive weapons outside of Steve Smith and at times last year, it seemed like they could not do anything right. Sure, they played in Super Bowl XXXVIII. But that feels like ancient history.  Also, the Panthers seems set with Jake Delhomme as their signal caller.

Tampa Bay is quarterback heaven. Jon Gruden is apparently tight with Favre because of the days of the Holmgren regime.  But seriously, how many quarterbacks on the roster?  Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, Luke McCown, Chris Simms, and rookie Josh Johnson.  They’ve got about every type in there.  Let’s add aging-gunslinger to that category.  The Bucs won the division in 2007, but the fact that they won it at 9-7 leaves no guarantee for them to be a winner in 2008.  Not seeing Favre here.

The Redskins are another interesting possibility.  They’ve got plenty of money (aka Dan Snyder) and a young quarterback in Jason Campbell.  The Redskins know what they are doing with Campbell by letting him play last year.  The only reason a player can get better is by playing.  And he got better as the season went on before he got hurt and Todd Collins led the team to the playoffs.  The Skins have been down this road before with Mark Brunell.  I don’t think that worked too well.

So there we have it.  I’d say Favre doesn’t have any really good options out there.  Anywhere he went (Minnesota included) he would get in the way of the development of a team.

Flacco Contract on Verge of Completion

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that officials for the Baltimore Ravens and the representative for Joe Flacco will be meeting in the coming days to bring contract negotiations to completion. They are aiming for a two-day window, and preferably before the July 22 start of training camp.

Nice work by the Ravens to not only show commitment to their first round draft pick and presumed future of the franchise, but to also stifle those pesky Brett Favre rumors.

AFC North in a World of Trouble?

Interesting article from the Sporting News analyzing the world of grief the entire AFC North may be feeling this season. Mike Florio, who is most famous for his ProFootballTalk.com franchise, says that match-ups with NFC East opponents and select AFC contenders will render the division its first sub-.500 champion. From his column:

Each of the AFC North teams — Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers — will play each of the teams of the AFC South, which sent three teams (Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans) to the 2007 playoffs. And each of the AFC North teams will play all the teams of the NFC East, which sent three teams (Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and New York Giants) to the playoffs last season as well.

It looks like particularly bad news for the Ravens, who outside of these games, only have veritable gimme games against the Houston Texans, the Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders. And as we saw last year against the Dolphins, anything is possible.

Uh-oh.

An Ode to Trent Dilfer

Trent Dilfer retired yesterday, and while it might barely be a blip on the NFL radar, it’s pretty important around these parts. He played a significant role in the Baltimore Ravens first Super Bowl championship, and despite the interceptions, despite the inconsistency, Dilfer himself best summarized his time here in Baltimore.

“We all know I’m not Joe Montana,” Dilfer said after the Ravens’ 34-7 title win over the Giants. “But we’ll recognize that for an eight-month period, we did something pretty special.”

Dilfer holds the dubious distinction of being the only quarterback to start for a Super Bowl winning team, only to lose his spot the next season. If you look at who preceded him, and who has followed him, you realize that Dilfer was a good fit for the team under the Billick system. Every QB under Brian Billick’s tutelage struggled. Dilfer was the only one to navigate playoff success.

So dare I say it, Trent Dilfer is the greatest quarterback in Ravens history.

He had a hard luck career throughout his entire tenure in the NFL, but Baltimore was certainly lucky to have Trent Dilfer.

Poe Reigns Supreme Over All NFL Mascots

The results are disputable. The match-up was unlikely. But the dust has cleared on the NFL’s Fiercest Mascot competition, and the Baltimore Ravens’ Poe strikes fear into the hearts of men and animals.

Don’t let anybody fool you about automated voting. Poe, the unheralded 16th seed in the competition, faced Washington Redskins mascot and man of a thousand stereotypes Chief Zee in the championship round. In a world where the Ravens are one of the most unheralded teams in the NFL, Poe winning this contest infuses hope in a sports city unsure of its place within the national landscape.

The baseball team hasn’t be relevant for a generation. The Ravens may be the most looked-down upon Super Bowl champion in the last 30 years due to their lack of offense and lack of historical importance. There is no basketball team, and lacrosse hasn’t made the leap to mainstream adoration.

Plus, the fact that Poe crushed its Beltway rival makes it all the more sweeter.

The Washington Nationals and Orioles interleague match-up provides comedy where the Ravens-Redskins annual scrimmage is a spectacle to behold. There is bad blood between the two cities, but the franchises just aren’t good enough for any real competition to genuinely matter.

The mascots? They matter. And the fact of the matter is that our Poe is the Big Chief of NFL mascots.

Baltimore and Brett Favre? No Way

Look, the Baltimore Ravens have already had their share of veterans coming to town full of promise and past performances, only to make themselves look foolish. Brett Favre is better than that, and Baltimore is better than that. The rumors should just stop.

While it may sell a lot more tickets, and garner some much needed national attention, there’s no team less fitted for Brett Favre as its quarterback. Too many egos, too many veterans and not enough time would make for a lethal combination in Charm City. If Brett Favre does come back, and all indications are that he won’t, it should be with a team that has a legitimate shot at contention for a Super Bowl.

And if they are legitimate contenders, it probably means they were doing just fine without Brett Favre.

Baltimore wasn’t doing just fine without Brett Favre, but putting Joe Flacco on the back burner for Favre just doesn’t make sense. Just three years ago, Favre was a a walking interception. Save for his Super Bowl victory, a ton of passing records, MVP awards and an overly forgiving media, Favre was headed for a quick and early exit out of the league.

He turned it around for a decent last hurrah in Green Bay and he deserves more than to be booed by a crowd that knows him only through highlights and SI articles. We all owe it to ourselves to not get too excited about Brett Favre possibly coming to Baltimore.

The Ravens’ Declaration of Dependence

When you think about the short history of the Baltimore Ravens, and weigh that against the long-standing relationship the City of Baltimore has with professional football, it’s reasonable to say that this season means everything to the direction and future of this franchise.

That’s not to say that the Ravens should or could go to the Super Bowl, but they shouldn’t be far from it. This is a team in flux at its most important position. It is a team that has seen its first Hall of Famer in Jonathan Ogden retire, with Ray Lewis’ big goodbye soon to come.

The Ravens are a team with a new direction in coaching, which owner Steve Bisciotti has promised is a direction to be taken on a long, steady path. This is a team with defensive identity, mirroring the blue collar essence of its fans, but not quite out of the shadow of its AFC North rival in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

And its a fan base that thirsts for more.

It’s do or die time for the Ravens. Either the franchise determines its quarterback of the present and future, or it will face wavering support from the city. Either they get an offense good enough to keep close, or face blowout defeats courtesy of injured and aging superstars.

Its easy to remember 2000, that magical year of the Ravens Super Bowl run. But since then, the squad has won one playoff game in three appearances. It’s easy to remember Steve McNair’s first season and the 13-3 record, but it’s often forgotten that the 2006 season was only the Ravens second winning season in the last four years, and only the fifth winning season in the team’s 12-years history.

The Ravens are unique, in that they are straddling a fence between league obscurity and national prominence. A generation of fans have grown up knowing names like Ogden, Lewis and Todd Heap. The Pro Bowls speak for the individual accolades, but they haven’t translated into annual contention for the Super Bowl. Perhaps you can thank Peyton Manning and Tom Brady for that, or you can blame the Ravens’ lackluster effort to take their place among the elite.

Everything depends on this season for the Ravens. And for a team to have everything depending on one season, you have to wonder about the body of work created by the other 11.

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