Baltimore Sports Then and Now

The Ravens acquired the receiver they needed in three-time Pro Bowler Anquan Boldin.

The Baltimore Ravens made a big move during the first day of the free agent period by trading two draft picks (a third and fourth rounder) for three-time Pro Bowl receiver Anquan Boldin. The seven-year veteran immediately fills a major need for the Ravens and provides third-year quarterback Joe Flacco with a much-needed target.

During his seven years with the Arizona Cardinals, Boldin eclipsed the 80 reception mark five times and also had five seasons with 1,000 or more yards receiving. His best season was in 2005 when he caught 102 passes for 1,402 yards and seven touchdowns.

In recent years, he has posted big receiving numbers despite being regularly hampered by injuries. He has played a full 16 games only twice in his career with the last time coming in 2006.

Boldin was entering the final year of his contract with the Arizona Cardinals and immediately agreed to a three-year, $25 million extension with $10 million guaranteed. Read the rest of this entry →

Baltimore could get some revenge for the late night move of the Colts in 1984 with a victory in Indianapolis in the AFC Playoffs.

It has been more than 25 years since the Baltimore Colts snuck out of town in the middle of the night on their way to Indianapolis.

Since Baltimore regained an NFL franchise in 1996 the Baltimore Ravens have faced the Indianapolis Colts on ten occasions with the Colts holding a dominating 8-2 advantage. That includes a 15-6 win during their only playoff meeting in 2006.

The Ravens could wipe away all that disappointment with one broad stroke on Saturday if they are able to knock off the heavily favored Colts.

Indianapolis gave up on a chance to make NFL history by finishing undefeated in favor of focusing on winning their second Super Bowl title since moving from Baltimore.

If the Ravens are able to pull off the upset and keep the Colts from continuing their run toward the Lombardi Trophy, it would likely rank as one of the sweetest victories in Ravens history.

Even though Indianapolis would seem to have the upper hand and has defeated Baltimore each of the four times they have met in Indianapolis, you can’t count the Ravens completely out. Read the rest of this entry →

Ray Rice and the Ravens flexed their muscles versus the Patriots in the AFC Wild Card Playoff round.

This game was over before it really ever began. Ray Rice gashed the Patriots for an 83 yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.

And before you finished your first beer, New England was down 24-0.

The Patriots knew the Ravens were going to run and couldn’t do a thing to stop them. Ray Rice put on a pro bowl performance with 159 yards and two touchdowns. Willis McGahee chipped in with 62 yards and a td of his own.

Baltimore rushed for 234 yards, but they only passed for 34 yards!

Why pass if you can run at will? Harbaugh had a great game plan and his team executed it to perfection.

The New England defense couldn’t stop anyone and their offense couldn’t do anything.

Brady had his worst game of the season. He only had 154 yards on 42 attempts. Brady connected with Julian Edelman for two scores but also had three interceptions. He was also strip sacked by Terrell Suggs and sacked two other times. The Patriots’ quarterback had no time to get comfortable in the pocket and it showed.

The running game was non existent and the Patriots could only muster 196 total yards.

If you can’t stop the opposition and you turnover the ball, you don’t win. Simple as that. All these factors contributed to the Patriots first home playoff loss since 1978.

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With the loss of Wes Welker, Kevin Faulk will have to be a big contributor in the passing game.

Overview: The Patriots (#3 seed) and Ravens (#6 seed) will meet for the second time this season, but this time it’s for all the marbles in the Wild Card playoffs.

The Patriots are going to try to overcome the devastating injury to their offensive MVP, Wes Welker. Welker tore his ACL and MCL on a routine cut last week in Houston. He will be sidelined for at least six months.

The Ravens are trying to exceed their road success in the playoffs. Last year as the sixth seed, Baltimore beat Miami and Tennessee before succumbing to Pittsburgh, 23-14 in the AFC Championship.

The Ravens will try to pull the upset yet again on the road. They have their work cut out for them, however. New England is 8-0 at home this year and 10-0 in the playoffs since 1978.

Last Week: The Patriots (10-6) fell to the Texans 34-27 in Houston. In a meaningless game, Wes Welker was injured and lost for the year. To add insult to injury, the Patriots blew a 14 point fourth quarter lead to fall to 2-6 on the road.

The Ravens in essence played a playoff game last week versus Oakland. If they win, they are in and they did just that. Baltimore held off a pesky Raiders team, 21-13. The Ravens were led by the rushing attack of Willis McGahee (167 yards and 3 td’s) and Ray Rice (70 yards).

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Baltimore Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff and holder Sam Koch watch Cundiff's game-winning field goal in overtime to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Coming in to this game the Baltimore Ravens are in a must win situation after they lost a nail biter versus the Indianapolis Colts, which was part one of the must wins. The Ravens showed that they still can put pressure on the quarterback, as the Ravens made Peyton Manning throw two interceptions. But that does not matter, as the Ravens lost that game. The Ravens put that aside as they take on their most hated rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers.

You already know this is going to be a hard hitting game, as each and every time the Ravens and Steelers meet it is a smash mouth football game. This game is the prime example of a rival. If you are a football fan than you know what I am talking about.

Now let’s take a look at the most recent installment of the Ravens and Steelers intense rivalry. Coming into this game the Ravens were looking for a win to help get them back into playoff contention. The Ravens started the game on a fast pace, they let the Steelers have the ball first so that they could she how the first time starter Dennis Dixon would act in this type of environment , the Steelers went three and out. The Ravens got the ball on offense and took it down the field in calm manner; as they ran the ball hard and threw the ball with pure force as they went on to score a touchdown on Willis McGahee’s hard run up through the middle of the Steelers defense. For the rest of the first quarter it was just defense as each team had to punt the ball.

The second quarter started with a disappointing touchdown by the Steelers. The Ravens would answer back with a touchdown of their own, as Joe Flacco and company had a flawless drive ending with a floating pass hauled in by Derrick Mason. The third quarter did not have that much action, as the Steelers inched closer with a field goal. Now the excitement starts as the fourth quarter is about to begin.

The fourth quarter starts with another Steelers touchdown; this one was fatal as it gave the Steelers the lead. The Ravens would tie the game, as the Ravens got deep in their own territory and then on fourth down the Ravens Coach John Harbaugh made a gutsy call and went for it on fourth and five. The Ravens would convert it, as Rice would run for forty-four yards deep into Steelers territory.  The game got crazy as in the closing seconds of the game the Ravens kicker Billy Cundniff tried to win the game on a fifty-six yard field goal, but came short as Cundniff’s range was only fifty-three yards. The game was tied after regulation forcing overtime.

The OT started with the Steelers receiving the ball, but the Ravens would hold them and force them to punt. The Ravens would get the ball, but would have to punt the ball as well. The game would get very tense, as the Steelers received the punt deep in their own territory. After two plays the Ravens linebacker Paul Kruger would intercept the ball and take it deep into Steelers territory. After a couple of solid runs from Rice, the Ravens would set up the kicking team to try and win the game. As he was kicking the ball the whole city of Baltimore was on the edge of their seats with their hearts beating faster than ever. When the field goal was called good, the Ravens could finally take a breath, as the Ravens took down the arch enemy Pittsburgh Steelers in dramatic fashion.

The Ravens Part Ways With Steve Hauschka

The Baltimore Ravens finally got rid of kicker Steve Hauschka after he missed a couple of key field goals during the season.

So the Ravens hope to get someone that can make some big field goals in the near future.

This was a good move for the Ravens as they get ready to face the Colts and the Steelers in the next two games.

Both of the games are going to make or break the Ravens season. these games are going to be close and probably will come down to a field goal in the closing seconds.

So we will see what kicker the Ravens will sign in the next couple of days. The Ravens won’t get another Matt Stover, they can only hope to get a kicker that can even come close to Stover.