Ryan Clady getting some ink

These guys think the Ravens may pick up Ryan Clady with their first round pick. He's a big and talented o-lineman that could be the potential replacement for Jonathan Ogden. Here is a quick look at the kid for those of you that don't get to watch Boise St. local television on a daily basis.

This just gets my blood going

I think I have a man crush on Ed Reed.

I can catch the ball better than you

We all know ESPN knows everything when it comes to sports. They can predict games with ease, without hesitation tell the viewers who will win the MVP, or rank players as if they're cattle (I kid, I kid). Well now they have an article ranking the top 64 wide receivers in the NFL.

Before I get to the Ravens on the list, let me say this, you cannot have a ranking of the top receivers in the NFL with Marvin Harrison out of the top 10. Yeah that's right, Harrison is ranked 13th by the worldwide leader in sports. I understand that he was injured last year and is getting up there in age, but as long as he can hobble from hashmark to hashmark he will be in the top 3 of NFL receivers.

Okay on to the Ravens. Derrick Mason heads up the list at #41. With 103 catches in 2007, but a lack of other impressive stats I respect his ranking. Mark Clayton is next at #49. He had a rough year because of injury, but proved his potential in 2006. I do have a problem with Clayton being ranked directly behind the Viking's Sidney Rice. Rice is unproven and has minimal experience. Obviously I am biased, but I think you have to give the edge to Clayton. Finally, Demetrius Williams rounds out the Raven's receiving core at #57. I'm just happy that ESPN and the rest of the country have taken notice of Williams athletic ability. He was the Raven's only deep threat in 2007 and earned his spot on this list.

Jonathan Ogden Retires!

Well not yet at least, but it is widely believed that the all-world lineman will hang up the cleats before the 2009 season begins. Obviously the loss of Ogden or a player of his caliber at any position is a blow to a team, but it's not a devastating blow to the Ravens.

The Ravens have planned and plotted for this date. Though the team doesn't have the most dominating o-line in the NFL, they certainly have a better than average one. With the likes of Adam Terry, Jared Gaither, Marshal Yanda, Ben Grubbs and Chris Chester, the Ravens have the personal to produce a quality run attack this season.

Even though I hate that the line has serious trouble pass blocking, it is pretty enjoyable to watch Kyle Boller get knocked down. Its just a little tough love for a eternally frustrating QB.

Todd McShay knows his stuff

I just sat down and chatted with ESPN's draft wonder boy, Todd McShay. Well I didn't sit down and chat with him, I took part in a live chat with about 1,000 other people, but I did get my question in. I asked, "Do you think the Raven's will use their first round pick on a CB or QB?"

Todd's Response:
"If they stay at No. 8 I don't see them drafting a QB. Ryan will be gone and it's too early for Brohm (or any other QB for that matter). In all reality, I think the Ravens are in a tough spot at No. 8. They have to hope one of those six elite prospects (I listed earlier) falls to them, but that's an unlikely scenario at this point. CB is the biggest need otherwise. Problem is no CB in this class jumps out as top-10 worthy in my opinion. There are a lot of good ones (like Troy's McKelvin, Kansas' Talib and S. Fla's Jenkins), but I would try like hell to trade out before I used the eighth overall pick on one of those guys."

Very true, but I actually disagree. I think Troy McKelvin is worth a first round pick considering the personnel the Ravens currently have. I would then draft Chad Henne or another large athletic and experience QB second round. Build for the future my friend.

Billy Volek, whos that?

Picked this one up off the rumor mill:

The Ravens, in particular Cam Cameron, are interested in bring Billy Volek to Baltimore. Now you may be asking yourself, “Self who is Billy Volek?” Well my friends, the answer is “the best backup QB in the NFL.” Volek is currently backing up the always sour-faced Phillip Rivers in San Diego. The Chargers just picked up the option on Rivers so Volek has no chance of starting any time soon. Cameron and Volek are familiar with eachother, and we all know the Raven’s QB situation is not ideal. Picking up Volek would be a good move for insurance purposes. If McNair, Boller, or Smith don’t work out this season plug Volek. It would be virtually impossible for all 4 QB’s to fail. If one of the 4 QB’s or some combination of the whole group can carry the team through one entire season, the drafted QB this year (still hoping its Chad Henne) will have ample time to learn what the NFL is all about. In case you forgot, Billy Volek is the quarterback that marched down the field and scored the winning touchdown to knock the defending champion Indianapolis Colts out of the playoffs this season.

Terrell Suggs, tag em and bag em

Well its official, Terrell Suggs will be the recipient of the franchise tag for the Ravens. This is a brilliant move by Ozzie Newsome and the rest of the front office. It was the logical move, but still brilliant. It's entirely possible that every other team in the league would camp out over night in line to get a chance to sign Suggs because of his versatility had the team not franchised him. Mike Preston from the Baltimore Sun sums it up quite well:

If the Ravens don't put the franchise tag on Suggs, he will become one of the NFL's most sought-after free agents. With the tag, Suggs would earn $8.065 million in 2008, the average salary of the top five players at his position. More importantly, he would stay a Raven. As far as Suggs is concerned, he is still a winner. "I talked to Ozzie [Newsome, Ravens general manager] earlier today, and he said they would put the tag on me [today]," Suggs said. "I'm disappointed because I really wanted a long-term deal, and I think I earned it. But this also keeps me in a Ravens uniform, and this is just another way of eventually getting it done. "I'm a Raven at heart. That's my identity," Suggs said. "I started my career here in Baltimore and want to end it here in Baltimore."

This was an important move if the Ravens want to keep their reputation as one of the premier defenses every year.

Steve McNair coming back is bad for Ravens

Don't get me wrong, Steve McNair is a great quarterback and seems to be a stand-up individual off the field, but his return will ultimately hurt the Ravens. McNair will most likely get the opening day starting spot out of respect if nothing else. I think the Ravens would be better served to have either Kyle Boller or Troy Smith start the first half of the season while the Raven's bring whatever QB they hopefully draft up to NFL speed. With John Harbaugh, a coach with QB experience, there to help out I think a draft pick could be ready to play midway through the season. If either Boller or Smith end up playing well than that is even better, but McNair would slow the entire process down. In my opinion, he just doesn't have the arm strength or foot speed to warrant being a QB in the NFL anymore. If you disagree let me know why.

What do the Ravens need? Chad Johnson?

Over 1800 fans voted on the Raven’s website to decide the team’s greatest needs by position during this off-season. 46.85% side with QB, 25.58% think CB, and 12.27% claim OL.

Obviously there are needs and wants at almost every position, but it is clear that a small sample of active Raven’s fans think quarterback is at the top of this list. I personally side with the group that thinks cornerback is most important. I look at Samari Rolle and just think he is going to cost the team touchdown after touchdown because he can’t keep up anymore. I would like to see us go after a cornerback with the first pick in the draft and a quarterback second.

Either way, I am excited to see what happens on that fated day in April under the new coaching regime. Johnny Hard Balls will be looking to make an offensive impact immediately to prove his doubters wrong. One such way of doing that is to pick up the highly controversial, but talented, Chad Johnson. The Ravens have recently been rumored to be in the Ocho Cinco sweepstakes, and I’m okay with that. Defenses with stuggled a little bit more with Willis McGahee and Chad Johnson on the same team.

"Knowingly knowing"

Well the Roger Clemens congressional hearing has come an gone. He came out looking incredibly guilty, his lawyers looked incredibly incompetent, and he threw his wife under the bus. I would love to see Clemens in prison for an extended period of time for purging himself today. I never thought I would trust somebody who dealt drugs, while distrusting what used to be an American hero, but that day has come. Clemens is a cheater, liar, and flagrantly unable to speak in public. Here is one quote of his jumbled nervous chatter,

"Andy and I's relationship was close enough to know that if I would have known that he had done HGH, which I now know, if he was knowingly knowing that I had taken HGH, we would have talked about the subject. He'd have come to me to ask me about the effects of it."

Liar, liar, pants on fire.