BALTIMORE, Maryland September 4, 2013- The NFL season starts for real tomorrow night in Denver when the Ravens and Broncos reprise one of the most memorable playoff games ever.
Because Oriole-Owner Peter G. Angelos would not reschedule a baseball game scheduled in Baltimore at the same time, the Super Bowl Champs will not be playing their first game at home as tradition would dictate. Instead, the NFL put the game at the site of one of the most memorable and thrilling playoff games of all time. And they got the Denver fans, front office and even coaching staff and players more fired up - if that is possible - by hanging a four-story photograph of Joe Flacco on the Stadium scoreboard (for the record, the Flacco photo hangs on the left side of the scoreboard while a similarly-sized photo of Peyton Manning is on the right side.)
Manning gave a television interview blasting the photo. The Bronco Management was outraged. The NFL said "get over it." Fans are displeased.
Both teams have changed, of course. The entire Ravens defense has been retooled in the wake of Ray Lewis' retirement and Ed Reed's free agent departure to Houston. With the defense, it is far easier to report on who remains. Haloti Ngata, the huge and yet agile anchor of the defensive line, is still there. Terrell Suggs, like Ngata a perennial Pro Bowl selection, is also still there. Ladarius Webb, who missed the last three-quarters of the season and all of the playoffs with a serious knee injury, is back and looking like the same player who made the Pro Bowl in 2012. As of yet, however, he has not returned punts. In Webb and Ed Reed, the Ravens had the solution to the terror of fumbled punts. During the preseason Tandon Doss returned a lot of punts. Then he got cut. Bobby Rainey also returned punts, but he, too, was cut and has been picked up by Cleveland. Asa Jackson is also a punt and kick returner who did not get cut. But he is suspended for the first half of the season. Joining Suggs at Linebacker will be a man who had a big place in that Raven-Bronco overtime classic, except he was on the Broncos: Elvis Dumervil. Coming off a season in which he had eleven sacks, Dumervil is expected to fill the void left by Lewis and the others who departed. There are also some familiar names in the secondary other than Webb: Chykkie Brown, Corey Grahm, James Ihedigbo and former first round draft pick Jimmy Smith join last spring's number one draft pick Matt Elam and newly acquired Michael Huff to give stability to a unit rocked by the defection of Reed. On paper the defense looks tough and they are coached by the man who devised a defense to hold the 49er offensive juggernaut in check enough to bring the Ravens their second Super Bowl Title since coming to Baltimore in 2000.
The offense wasn't hit as hard number-wise. But the three players who will not be on the field tonight will be sorely missed, especially if the Ravens have to move the ball late in the game. Wide Receiver Anquan Bouldin and Tight End Dennis Pita were to of Joe Flacco's most dependable targets in the Ravens stunning playoff run. Bouldin's unequaled ability to catch the football no matter how closely he was guarded, and Pita's ability to get open and catch the ball in traffic will not easily be made up for. Many (including this scribe) thought Bouldin was the Playoff MVP, and Pita wasn't far behind. Both are in their element in the red zone. But Bouldin was traded to the 49ers and Pita was hurt early in training camp and is lost for at least six more weeks. The Ravens do have a highly competent replacement for Pitta in Ed Dickson, who started a lot of games for the Ravens. And sensational No. 3 receiver, Jacoby Jones, will start in Bouldin's place. And the Ravens front office did not sit idle when the player losses presented themselves. Trustworthy and Skillful GM Ozzie Newsome signed former Raven (and Bronco) Brandon Stokely and former Colt Dallas Clark to help fill the void. Stokely will get tons of playing time and Clark could, too, although neither are young men anymore. Stokely made a handful of catches in the preseason.
The third missing Raven is center Matt Birk. After a long career, Birk decided to go out on top and announced his retirement shortly after the Super Bowl. Newsome saw this coming and the Ravens drafted center Gino Gradkowski out of Delaware to understudy Birk last season. He played well when needed last year and has been with the first unit all preseason. He will not be a problem. In fact, the offensive line is about as stable and healthy as they were in the playoffs last year. With Flacco and Wide Receivers Torey Smith and Jacoby Jones, look for the offense to take up where they left off last season. And did I mention Ray Rice? He's also back and has his blocking back, Vonta Leach, back also.
Everybody thinks the Broncos will take some revenge on the Ravens after their stunning loss in the playoffs last winter. In that game the Broncos appeared to have the win in hand when, you'll recall, Jones somehow got behind the Broncos defensive backs for a miracle catch and run for a game tying touchdown. Then, the Ravens intercepted Peyton Manning in overtime to set up Rookie Justin Tucker's winning field goal. Now, everybody has Manning and the Broncos marching right into the Superbowl. Wouldn't it be funny if the Ravens won again? I wouldn't bet against it.
Meanwhile, the Orioles are struggling...
The Orioles return home tonight licking their wounds after a disasterous road trip that saw them lose six out of nine games. At each critical stop the Orioles won one out of three. Not only has it knocked them out of realistic contention for the AL East Crown, it has dealt a severe blow to their Wild Card chances.
The Birds have 21 games left and are fourth among the five teams battling for the second Wild Card spot. Only the fact that Tampa Bay is 3-7 in their last ten games has kept the Orioles in that race. The Orioles are four games behind Tampa, which is bad enough, but Cleveland and the Yankees are in between them and the Rays. Because Texas and Oakland are tied for the AL West Lead with 80-59 records, the loser of that race will get the first Wild Card berth and be the home team in that one-game playoff. Tampa is two and one-half games behind them. The Yankees trail Tampa by 2.5, with the Indians one-half game behind the Yanks and three behind Tampa. Kansas City, at 72-67, is five and one-half games behind Tampa and just one and one-half behind the Orioles.
If there is a bright spot, it is the fact that the Orioles are home now and begin a four game set with the woeful White Sox. A sweep would be wonderful. Anything less than three out of four will be their swan song.
Terrapin Soccer: West Coast Blues
It looked nice on paper: Nation's Number One team goes west for two games to start the season. On Friday night Maryland needed a desperate rally to tie Stanford, 3-3. On Sunday evening, Maryland needed a desperate rally to send the game against California into overtime. Sadly, the Bears, who had watched Maryland overcome a 2-0 deficit, scored in the twenty minute overtime to get revenge for the rout the Terps put on them last season at College Park.
The Terps return to College Park and jump right into league play when they host arch-rival Duke on Friday night at Ludwig Field.
Burnley Rejuvenated
Across the pond in dear ole Lancashire there is a soccer club called Burnley. It is one of the original soccer teams that started English Football back in 1882. The Claret, as they are known, play at Turf Moor, and there is not a more historic pitch anywhere in England. In 2009 the Claret battled their way into the Premier League for the first time since it started being called the Premier League, some 33 years ago. Then the Claret started the season in dream fashion. After losing its first game on the road, Burnley returned to Turf Moor and proceeded to knock off, in a period of five days, both Manchester United and Everton. Even after that Burnley played winning soccer at home and then, near Christmas, the rug was pulled out from under them. The "manager" of the Claret, Owen Coyle, quit to become the head coach of another Premier team, the Bolton Wanderers. After that Burnley's season imploded and at the end they were relegated back to the Championship League, which, despite its name, is the league below the Premier. While Burnley has played some good soccer since then, they have not made a serious run at promotion, until this season. After five games Burnley is 3-1-1, good for ten points and a third place position among the Championship's 24 teams. They trail the two teams ahead of them - the Queen's Park Rangers and Blackpool, by three points. Of course it is early - the English regular season lasts from the first of August until early May - and many many matches remain to be played, but Burnley is looking for all the world like a team that wants to climb. In the concurrently contested League Cup, the Claret have already battled into the fourth round with three convincing victories. In 2009, at the same time they earned promotion in the Championship, they battled deep into the League Cup and were a whisker away from the final game. If this is deja vu, so be it.
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