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

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

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

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Derrick Mason to Retire After 12 Seasons

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

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Joe Flacco: Diet Pepsi NFL ROY

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

The Pittsburgh Steelers met expectations in winning the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens tonight. Bringing the NFL’s best defense into the biggest game of the year, the Steelers held the Ravens to only 198 yards of total offense. They also produced three sacks (linebacker LaMarr Woodley had two) and three interceptions against Ravens rookie QB Joe Flacco, who entered the game with no INTs or sacks in 45 postseason pass attempts. Vet corner Deshear Townsend summed it up afterward:

“We’re the number one defense, there’s a reason. If we can make you one dimensional and make you rely on passing the ball, we can be successful. Coach LeBeau has a lot up his sleeve. He can draw up things to make veteran quarterbacks confused.”

I’m not ready to call them the best defense ever. But they are the best this season. And that just might be good enough to win a world championship.

Sources: NFL.com, NFL Media, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Steelers Defense Meets Expectations

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Talk about your Christmas bonuses. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has earned a cool $3 million in extra cash because he participated in 80% of his team’s snaps this season. A total of $750,000 will be added to his base salary for the remaining four years of his contract as a result. Nice.

Joe doesn’t just have this bonus coming to him because he took some snaps. He really earned it. I know the Ravens planned to start Kyle Boller or Troy Smith at quarterback this season and kind of work Joe into the system slowly but surely. But because of injuries, Joe was thrust into the starting role and has steadily improved as the season has progressed. The most recent proof — in the national spotlight against the Dallas Cowboys in the final game at Texas Stadium — was one of Joe’s finer moments to date. He easily outplayed overrated Tony Romo. We quite possibly could be witnessing the development of one of the NFL’s future elite quarterbacks. Joe Flacco is that good.

Source: ESPN.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Merry Christmas, Joe Flacco

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

The Baltimore Ravens have won four straight games. And “nobody” knows about it because teams like the undefeated Tennessee Titans, defending Super Bowl champion N.Y. Giants and apparently overrated Dallas Cowboys have been grabbing all the headlines this season. Ravens two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Terrell Suggs is ok with that. In fact, he and the rest of his Ravens teammates enjoy flying under the radar — just as long as they touch down in Tampa at Super Bowl XLIII. I spoke with Terrell after his workday yesterday to discuss tomorrow’s should-be heavyweight slugfest with the G-men.

• 0:12 – The potential to be one of the best Ravens defenses ever
• 0:45 – Team has responded to well to McAlister, Landry injuries
• 1:17 – Outstanding play of rookie quarterback Joe Flacco
• 1:46 – Four game winning streak, offense scoring 33 points/game
• 2:20 – Ravens need to “take care of business” each and every Sunday
• 2:35 – No extra motivation playing defending Super Bowl champions
• 3:02 – Giants are not the team to beat, they’re one of the teams to beat
• 3:19 – Giants game matches #1 rushing offense vs. #1 rushing defense
• 3:39 – Not being noticed is motivation for the Ravens
• 4:05 – Terrell wants to be the best all-around linebacker in the NFL
• 4:46 – The face of the Ravens: Will Terrell Suggs follow Ray Lewis?

Links: BaltimoreRavens.com, NFL Players, NFL.com

[display_podcast]

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

EMQB Interview: Terrell Suggs

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

I knew the Baltimore Ravens would find a way to get both of their quarterbacks into the game. I credit offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and his creativity. Really, I think it’s too close to call either Joe Flacco or Troy Smith the starting quarterback for the Ravens, so why not just play them both at the same time? On this particular play, Joe handed to Troy and Troy hit Joe with this 43-yard pass. It was pure playground and might have been the play of the day if Joe had kept his feet and scored. Nevertheless, the Ravens had their way with the Oakland Raiders this afternoon, 29-10.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Troy Smith to Joe Flacco?

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller was placed on injured reserve today with a shoulder tear that will force him to miss the entire 2008 season. Head coach John Harbaugh didn’t paint a pretty picture:

“He has got either one of two injuries, either the torn labrum or he’s got, I don’t know the medical term, but there’s a connection in the biceps to the shoulder that might be a problem. The torn labrum has not responded to the medication, and the other injury is a season ender. He’s done.”

Done as in most likely he’s thrown his last pass for the Ravens. Kyle was in the mix to challenge Troy Smith and rookie Joe Flacco for the starting QB spot, but this injury ends that debate. The Ravens officially added veteran QB Todd Bouman to the mix today, but I’m still having a hard time seeing how that’s going to do much more than give the team some experienced depth.

I don’t know if the Ravens have their answer at quarterback. At least not for this season. Troy isn’t healthy enough to play yet and Joe has zero experience. I think Troy can eventually take over this team and win some ball games, but there are too many veterans (especially on defense) who don’t have time to be part of a rebuilding program. Not adding a quality veteran quarterback before OTAs and minicamps may prove to be a big mistake.

Source: BaltimoreRavens.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Season Over for Kyle Boller

The Baltimore Ravens have an identity crisis at the quarterback position. At the start of training camp, there was a three-way race between veteran Kyle Boller, second-year QB Troy Smith and rookie Joe Flacco. When the dust settled, Joe won the starting job by default — he’s the only one left that’s healthy enough to play. Troy is still feeling the ill effects of infected tonsils. And Kyle has a sore shoulder that might require surgery. That being said, some might argue that Joe earned the starting job on the field. He was 35-of-67 for 284 yards and no interceptions during the preseason. His quarterback rating was better than that of Kyle or Troy. And he threw Baltimore’s only touchdown pass. Still, he’s an unproven rookie.

Enter free agents Joey Harrington and Todd Bouman. It has been reported (in separate reports) that both quarterbacks signed with the Ravens, but both of those reports turned out to be false. Way to go ESPN. It is believed, however, that one of these QBs (or former Tampa Bay Buc Chris Simms) will, in fact, sign with Baltimore very soon. But with no familiarity with the Ravens offensive system, they would only be called upon to play as a last resort until they had some grasp of the playbook. Seems like the same old quarterback quandary for the Ravens. Ray Lewis and his defensive mates can’t be enthused.

Source: BaltimoreRavens.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Rookie Joe Flacco Will Start for Ravens

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

Baltimore Ravens first round Draft choice, quarterback Joe Flacco, signed a five-year contract worth up to $30 million with the team today. The deal includes $8.75 million in guaranteed money and ensures a heated QB battle when Ravens training camp begins July 21. Along with Troy Smith and Kyle Boller, Joe should have an equal opportunity to make his case for the starting quarterback position this season (remember, he missed some OTA time this offseason because of an NFL-NCAA rule). I’m leaning toward Troy Smith winning the job initially, but it probably won’t take much in the way of adversity for the Ravens to make the switch. They typically finish near the bottom of the league in passing yards/game, so it’s safe to say the position needs a jump-start.

With Joe’s deal being finalized today, there are still only five first round Draft choices who have agreed to a contract with the team that signed them — Joe, Jake Long (Dolphins), Matt Ryan (Falcons), Darren McFadden (Raiders), and Dustin Keller (Jets). Expect a lot more contract action in the coming weeks as training camps open across the NFL.

Source: ESPN.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Joe Flacco Agrees to Contract With Ravens