Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens / Image: Zuma Press

On one play, it appeared that Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs just swiped at and maybe brushed Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s legs, but didn’t really even “touch” him (UPDATE: After re-watching this, Terrell Suggs did bump Tom, but it wasn’t anything more than that). I would have to agree with Ray—that kind of preferential treatment is taking the issue of safety too far. I can understand protecting the quarterback to a certain extent, but when the game becomes touch football—or in this case not even touch football—it’s pretty ridiculous.

Ray expressed his displeasure in no uncertain terms after the game:

“Without totally going off the wall here, it’s embarrassing to the game. You can’t do that. Brady’s good enough to make a play. Let him make his own play. You can’t end the play like that, and then throw the flag. No, man. The embarrassing part is when he understands that, and he walks up to one of us and says, ‘Oh, that was a cheap one.’ That’s not football. And that’s the embarrassing part about it. Two great teams going at it, let them go at it. But you can’t stop drives like that, you can’t throw flags and say, ‘Oh, you touched the quarterback.’ Put flags on them. Put a red buzzer on them, so if we touch them, they’re down. But you can’t do that, when a guy’s on the ground, it’s over. Both of the drives they got touchdowns on—personal fouls that kept the drives going. That’s embarrassing to our game. Fine me, do whatever you please. I’m not speaking against anybody. It’s embarrassing, for them to treat one person on the football field different than everybody else. That’s what’s embarrassing about this game. You can NOT do that. You gotta let the game take care of itself like it just did. But when you call penalties like that, it takes away from the love of the game, because you can get a Tom Brady to walk by you and say, ‘Oh, that’s a cheap one.’ Wow.”

Source: SportingNews.com

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Ray Lewis Upset With Treatment of QBs

Jared Gaither, Baltimore Ravens / Image: Zuma Press

Jared had movement in all his extremities but was taken to Mass General Hospital for tests. The X-rays on his neck and shoulder were negative but an MRI couldn’t be taken because Jared was too big for the machine. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he wasn’t sure how long Jared might be out.

Source: BaltimoreRavens.com, NFL.com

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Jared Gaither Ok After Frightening Incident

Derrick Mason, Baltimore Ravens / Photo: Newscom

Derrick’s agent, C. Lamont Smith, released the following statement today:

“On Friday July 10, I received a call from my client Derrick Mason and he advised me that after careful and deep thought he had made a decision to retire from professional football. He indicated that he did not want me to continue to seek a contract extension from the Baltimore Ravens and that his decision had little if anything to do with Baltimore’s refusal to grant him an extension. He stated that emotionally and physically he did not feel up to the enormous demands that professional football requires to compete at the level that he is accustomed to competing. He asked me to delay the announcement of this decision out of respect for his former teammate Steve McNair, so we obviously complied with his request. After speaking with Derrick, I telephoned Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens’ general manager and advised him of Derrick’s decision. Given that Derrick just reached this decision on Friday, he has not as of yet filed official papers with the league offices. We expect that he will do this when he gets around to it. Derrick has indicated that he does not wish to do interviews at this time and respectfully requests that the media refrain from making such requests of him for the next two weeks.”

Sources: JockLife.com, BaltimoreRavens.com

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Derrick Mason to Retire After 12 Seasons

Steve McNair / Image: Zuma Press

This is just an incredibly sad and gruesome account of a situation gone terribly wrong. Interviews with friends revealed that a distraught Ms. Kazemi was making payments on two cars, her rent was doubling and she suspected Steve was having a second affair with another young woman. Nashville police chief Ronal Serpas said Ms. Kazemi was “spinning out of control” leading up to the incident:

“We do know that she was clearly sending a message during the last five to seven days of her life that things were going bad quickly.”

Source: NFL.com

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Police Confirm Steve McNair Murder-Suicide

Steve McNair, 1973-2009 / Image: Zuma Press

Titans owner Bud Adams released the following statement upon hearing the news:

“We are saddened and shocked to hear the news of Steve McNair’s passing today. He was one of the finest players to play for our organization and one of the most beloved players by our fans. He played with unquestioned heart and leadership and led us to places that we had never reached, including our only Super Bowl. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as they deal with his untimely passing.”

Police said an autopsy would be performed today that would begin to make sense of exactly what happened yesterday. But as disturbing and sad as the news is in itself, the details—which are still unclear—are beginning to take shape in various media reports. CNN claimed Kazemi was Steve’s girlfriend. The Nashville City Paper reported that Steve’s murder was preceded by a warning that he would be killed. And now The Tennessean is calling the incident an apparent murder-suicide.

Sources: NFL.com, TitansOnline.com

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Steve McNair Found Dead, Details Unclear

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has to be happy about this. Today, the Ravens signed former Philadelphia Eagles tight end L.J. Smith to a one-year contract, giving Joe yet another weapon in his continually evolving offensive arsenal. Along with Todd Heap, this gives Baltimore two top-level, pass-catching tight ends. As improved as I think Joe will be this season (and I think he will be vastly improved over his impressive 2008 rookie season), adding L.J. is only going to make him that much better. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was in a pretty good mood about it as well:

“We are very pleased to add such a talented and experienced tight end. Obviously I had the opportunity to be around L.J. for a number of years in Philadelphia, and there is a comfort level that we have with each other. I know that he is a good fit as a Raven and will be a great addition to our team.”

No kidding. The Steelers are still the team to beat in the AFC North (and in the entire AFC for that matter), but the Ravens will certainly be hot on their heels. L.J. has been banged up a bit over the past couple seasons (sports hernia, shoulder injuries), but when he’s been on the field, he’s been very productive. That’s why he was considered by many to be one of the top free agent tight ends this offseason. As an example, during the 2005-2006 seasons, he had 111 catches for 1,293 yards and eight touchdowns. Now that’s production. The Ravens just hope they can keep him healthy.

Source: BaltimoreRavens.com, Photo: Newscom

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Ravens Sign L.J. Smith

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is staying right where he belongs — with the only team he’s ever played for. After nearly a week of uncertainty and frustration, the team re-signed Ray to a three-year, $22 million deal today, most likely keeping him in Baltimore for the remainder of his Hall of Fame career. In a statement released by the Ravens today, Ray said:

“From beginning to end as a Raven … Wow! To be with the same team with the same fans for an entire career, that doesn’t happen in the NFL. The bottom line for me is that God always finishes first, and I prayed over this. Over the last six days, I took a backseat and waited to see what would happen. This is part of God’s plan, and I couldn’t be happier. For me to be here in an area that has become so important to me and my family, that’s special, very special. I don’t think an athlete can have a greater legacy than to be able to stay in one place for an entire career. I feel so fortunate that the Ravens did what they had to do to make this happen. Thank you. My heart is with the Ravens. My heart is with Baltimore and the great fans. What can I say? Here we go!”

Although I’m sure Ray wishes the Ravens would’ve offered a bigger dollar contract six days ago, he had every right to test the open NFL market for his services. After all, he’s coming off his 10th Pro Bowl season where he led the Ravens’ defense with 117 tackles. He also had 3.5 sacks, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. But what matters is how this ended — on a good note for both sides. Ray has more than earned that much as the face of this organization and one of the best linebackers to ever play the game.

Source: BaltimoreRavens.com, Photo: Newscom

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Ravens Re-sign Ray Lewis

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

N.Y. Jets new head coach Rex Ryan is trying to bring as many of his former Baltimore Ravens defenders as he can with him to the Big Apple. First it was linebacker Bart Scott. Today, the Jets signed free agent safety/ kick returner/ punt returner (and former Ravens starting strong safety) Jim Leonhard to a three-year deal. Coach Ryan was excited:

“He’s a smart player that can get guys lined up in the secondary and was one of the best tacklers on that Ravens defense. He’s always around the ball, brings everything he has on every play and will be a great addition to our group of defensive backs.”

That’s well put. That’s exactly who Jim Leonhard is. When I first met Jim, he was a rookie with the Buffalo Bills. And at 5-8, I thought he was one of the players’ kids. He looked like he was about 12 years old. But as time has passed, he has turned into one of the better defensive backs in the National Football League. He added his two cents in a statement released by the team:

“I am extremely excited to become a New York Jet, to be reunited with Coach Ryan and Coach Pettine on the defensive side of the ball is a great opportunity. I am really excited to get in there this first year with Coach Ryan and, hopefully, help do some great things.”

Check out my interview with Jim Leonhard from the 2008 season.

Source: NewYorkJets.com, Photo: Newscom

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Jets Sign Jim Leonhard

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

The Baltimore Ravens released cornerback Chris McAlister today. Chris has spent all ten of his NFL years with the Ravens, but his exit physical this afternoon turned out to be his final exit from the team after a meeting with general manager and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome. Needless to say, Chris was shocked at the disheartening news:

“It’s one of those things that no player, especially after being with an organization as long as I’ve been, wants to hear that they’ve been released. It happens. It’s part of the game. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m still dealing with the shock of the whole thing. I can’t imagine that this happened.”

Chris is a three-time Pro Bowler and he’s been one of the NFL’s best corners for the past ten years. But he’s been bothered by knee injuries recently, missing a total of 18 games over the past two seasons. That, in addition to his reported clashes with head coach Jim Harbaugh and the Ravens’ coaching staff, led to this decision. Chris will most definitely find work, though. After suffering a season-ending knee injury that required surgery last season, he said he should be cleared for “100 percent football activity” by May or June.

Source: BaltimoreRavens.com, Photo: Newscom

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Ravens Release Chris McAlister

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was presented with the 2008 Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year award today. Joe was one of five finalists for the honor — running back Matt Forte (Bears), running back Chris Johnson (Titans), quarterback Matt Ryan (Falcons) and running back Steve Slaton (Texans).

You might recall that Matt Ryan won the AP’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. So here’s how this thing works. The five finalists were selected because of their outstanding performances throughout the 2008 NFL season. Each week, five nominees were chosen for the Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week and NFL fans voted for the winner on NFL.com and via Sprint wireless. Those results were used to help determine the finalists. This was an excellent class of rookies and any one of the five could’ve won. In the end, Joe was nominated for 10 Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week awards and won twice. A record 1,002,500 fan votes were submitted.

Joe deserves this. (I really feel he and Matt Ryan were the front runners for this award because of the difficulty of the position they play.) He finished the season with 2,971 yards passing and 16 touchdowns (14 throwing and two rushing). But his steady improvement and leadership are what I believed really sealed his successful rookie season. In his final 11 games, Joe guided the Ravens into the playoffs with a 9-2 record. And he had a very impressive 90.2 passer rating during that time. I’m more than optimistic about his chances for success next season and beyond.

Note: A bunch of the NFL’s “sponsored” awards were handed out today. I wrote about this one because I was personally invited to it. Of course, it was kind of hard to attend without actually being in Tampa and all. But I appreciated the offer. The other awards handed out today were the Motorola NFL Coach of the Year (Mike Tomlin), FedEx Air (Drew Brees) and Ground (Adrian Peterson) NFL Players of the Year, and the GMC Sierra Defensive Player of the Year (James Harrison). Congrats to all the winners.

Source: NFL.com/rookie, Photo: Newscom

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Joe Flacco: Diet Pepsi NFL ROY