Baltimore Ravens beat Dallas Cowboys on 10/14/12

The Baltimore Ravens’ narrow 31-29 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday was overshadowed by devastating injuries to their star defensive players.

Pro Bowl middle linebacker Ray Lewis was injured in the final two minutes of the game while making a tackle on Cowboys’ running back Phillip Tanner. On Monday an MRI confirmed that he suffered a complete tear to his right triceps and will be out for the rest of the season.

Lewis has led the Ravens in tackling every year with 2,643 career tackles.

While Lewis did not speak to the media after the game, he did speak with head coach John Harbaugh:

“He said some things about his faith,” Harbaugh said. “And he said some things that I’ll never forget. When you look at his situation and what he’s accomplished and what he was hoping to accomplish this year, he’s going to have to accomplish those things in different ways because that’s the way it’s gone.”

At 37 years old and in his 17^th season in the NFL, some question if this is a career-ending injury. No one knows for sure, but those who know Lewis best believe he will be back to end his career on his own terms.

While Lewis is out, the Ravens will use Jameel McClain, Dannell Ellerbe and Albert McCellan. They are the same combination of players used while Lewis was out last season with a toe injury.

Things went from bad to worse when the team later confirmed that cornerback Lardarius Webb tore his ACL and will also miss the rest of the season.

This is the second time Webb has torn his ACL, his tore it four years ago during his rookie season with the Ravens.

Webb is a bigger loss for the Ravens, this season he’s made 25 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery. During the offseason he signed a six-year contract extension worth approximately $50 million. He was on his way to having a Pro Bowl caliber season.

“Lardarius had become one of the premier corners in the league,” Harbaugh said. “I’m biased. I’d say he’s the best. Maybe some people would question that, but I don’t question that. I see him every day.”

They will turn to Jimmy Smith while Webb is out.

Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata was also injured on Sunday. He suffered a minor MCL sprain to his right knee. He is expected to be back at practice this week.

Sunday will be a tough test when the Ravens head to Houston to take on the Texans who also have a 5-1 record. The game could potentially determine who will host the AFC title game, assuming both teams stay in the fight.

I wish Webb and Lewis the best in their recoveries. While the team feels confident that Webb will return next season it is anyone’s guess about Lewis’ future. I am fortunate that I was at the game on Sunday and got to see the “Ray Ray” dance. I hope it wasn’t the last time Lewis performed his famous dance.

Ray Lewis is my all-time favorite Raven and this injury makes me realize that the end of his career may be closer than I think. I still can’t imagine what the Ravens will be like without him, but now I don’t have a choice, I will witness it the rest of this season.

Billy Cundiff in a kicking competition

The Baltimore Ravens arrived in Atlanta today and are ready to play in their first preseason game against the Falcons on Thursday.

Unfortunately the Ravens have been plagued by injuries during training camp. Head coach John Harbaugh announced that the 12 players who sat out of Tuesday’s practice will not play Thursday’s game. Some notable players who will miss the game include cornerback Jimmie Smith, center Matt Birk, rookie running back Bernard Pierce and linebacker Dannell Ellerbee.

Rookie linebacker Courtney Upshaw missed a week of training camp due to a shoulder injury; it has yet to be determined if he will play. Coach Harbaugh will decide on Thursday. It is probably best to let him sit it out and let him get a few more practices under his belt before putting him a preseason game.

Some veteran players including linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed may not see any playing time; other starters are likely to play the first quarter only.

“We’ll be looking at anywhere from a certain set number of plays to about a quarter, maybe a quarter-plus for some of the starters,” Harbaugh said. “That’s kind of what we’re targeting, but not everybody is on exactly the same schedule.”

Left tackle Bryant McKinnie and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata were at practice all week; both are expected to play. They missed camp last week due to injuries.

McKinnie is likely to see more playing time since he is completing with Michael Oher for the starting left tackle position. Ngata has already solidified his starting roster spot.

There are some big questions for the Ravens this preseason and the coaching staff hope to find answers during the game. Some of the questions/concerns are:

• Will a leader emerge in the kicking competition? Veteran kicker Billy Cundiff is in a battle with rookie Justin Tucker.
• So far there hasn’t been a stand out for backup running back. Anthony Allen, Bernard Pierce, Damien Berry and Bobby Rainey are all competing for this position. All are likely to get carries in Thursday’s game.  If no clear leader emerges, the Ravens may look for a veteran to fill the position.
• Linebacker Sergio Kindle hasn’t seen any real playing time due to his long recovery after fracturing his skull two years ago. He’s had a good training camp and it will be interesting to see how he fares during the game.

I have a love/hate with preseason games. I love that football is back and seeing the new players in the game. I hate the risk of injury (before the regular season) and that the game doesn’t mean a damn thing except for the guys trying to make the roster.

While I won’t watch the game in its entirety, I will watch some to get my football fix and I will continue to count the days till the season opener on September 10.

The Baltimore Ravens increased their training camp roster on Friday when offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata passed their conditioning tests and were allowed to practice again.

McKinnie broke the news on Twitter:

McKinnie had been out since the team’s OTAs in June. He missed the start of training camp due to a lower back injury he suffered while at home in Florida. Since the new collective bargaining agreement applied to his situation, he was fined $30,000 by the Ravens.

He finally showed up to camp on Monday, but still needed to pass the conditioning test. Also at issue was his weight, he was supposed to hit a target weight of 345 pounds this off season, it is still unknown if he reached it.

This week he was listed as left tackle on the team’s depth chart meaning that the team moved Michael Oher back to the right side.

Ngata tweaked his hamstring during conditioning and was held out of practice to make sure he was ok and they will slowly work him back into team drills.

“We’re probably working him a little slower than he’d like us to,” Harbaugh said. “He’s starting to run now and I think he’s going to be fine very soon.”

I have concerns about McKinnie and his ability to be effective on the offensive line this season. Passing the conditioning test was the first step, we’ll see how he performs in the first pre-season game on Thursday.

The Baltimore Ravens are still having issues with offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie. He has been a no-show at training camp and while the team has not heard from him, they did hear from his chiropractor. McKinnie does not have an agent.

Since the new collective bargaining agreement applies to his situation, he is being fined $30,000 by the Ravens for missing the start of training camp. It has yet to be determined if he will lose his roster spot, the Ravens aren’t wasting any time looking for possible replacements.

They moved Michael Oher back to the left side and activated Kelechi Osemele. Osemele was out for more than a month due to back spasms. He will compete against Jah Reid and Ramon Harewood for a possible starting job at right tackle.

Head coach John Harbaugh believes that Osemele is up to the task of competing for a starting position:

“We definitely feel like he’s a guy we could plug in and he could start,” Harbaugh said. “Absolutely.”

Defensive end/nose tackle Haloti Ngata was placed on the PUP list after tweaking his hamstring during conditioning.

Coach Harbaugh is optimistic about his return to training camp:

“That’s a hamstring,” Harbaugh said. “It’s not a major hamstring, but Haloti has been around a long time and I think we’ll bring him back when the time is right here. It won’t be real long, but it’s going to be a few days.”

The competition for the No. 2 spot for running back is well under way. Right now there isn’t a clear leader and the Ravens may give the competitors a chance to share the workload, all three bring different running styles to the table.

Anthony Allen was on the active roster last season and is a powerful runner.

Damien Berry describes his running style as “fast and physical”. He was on the practice squad last season.

Lastly, Bernard Pierce is a rookie from Temple. Last season he had 1,481 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. He has a slashing running style and isn’t ready to be counted out of the competition:

“I’m definitely looking to turn heads every day on the practice field,” Pierce said. “The other two – ‘Ant’ and D.B.– they are really good guys. We already have a friendship, so right now it’s just competition.

I’m still miffed at McKinnie and I’m glad the Ravens fined him, he deserves to pay the price for committing the crime. I have faith in their ability to find the best man to fill his shoes, it would be awesome if rookie Kelechi Osemele was that person.

I’m excited about the running back competition, better to have a few good men than nothing at all. It  sounds like they are a talented bunch; each could be used in specific situations. Time will tell if a leader emerges, for now I’m good with all three.

The Baltimore Ravens had their first full team practice today at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Maryland.

There were two notable absences; Haloti Ngata and Bryant McKinnie were not on the field during practice.

The reason for McKinnie’s absence is unknown, according to head coach John Harbaugh; he is “dealing with an issue” and contacted the team to say that he would not be at practice.

McKinnie put on weight over the off season and the Ravens said he needed to reach a target weight of 345 pounds before he could attend training camp. We know that he did not pass his conditioning test and some speculate that he did not reach his target weight.

Normally active on Twitter, McKinnie has not updated since July 22. His absence from Twitter is cause for alarm that something is going on.

On the contrary, the Ravens know why Ngata missed practice. He tweaked his hamstring during conditioning; it is unknown when he will be allowed to practice again, they are keeping him off the field as a precautionary measure.

With McKinnie out, coach Harbaugh moved Michael Oher from the right side back to left tackle. He will remain there until further notice. The Ravens need to find a right tackle.

The Ravens added wide receiver Logan Payne to their offense and cut fullback Jamison Berryhill. Payne, a former undrafted free agent from Minnesota did not see any playing time last season due a wrist injury, he was placed on the injured reserve.

Payne previously played on the practice squads of the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings.  He last played in 2008 with the Seattle Seahawks where he started in 2 games and had three catches for 39 yards till he suffered an injury in the second game and was placed on the injured reserve.

He will complete for a wide receiver position and will have a chance to play on special teams. He will battle it out with Tandon Doss, LaQuan Williams, Tommy Streeter and Deonte Thompson.

McKinnie’s absence bothers me, he has too many issues going on right now and I don’t expect them to clear up any time soon. His absence creates problems for the Ravens since they have to find someone to take his spot and they already have enough holes to fill.

While Payne would be a versatile player, his lack of playing time bothers me, he hasn’t played in four years and he is injury prone. Guess I will have to wait and see how he stacks up against the competition in training camp, only time will tell what kind of player he will be.