Are you ready for some football, Baltimore? The NFL Combine, the Draft, free agency, and minicamps filled our football fix through the spring, and reports out of training camp, fantasy drafts, and those awful preseason games kept us going during the dog days of summer, but all of that was just an extended appetizer.
The main course is finally on its way, as the Ravens get set to open up with the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at 1:00 PM at “The Big Crab Cake,” – or “The Bank,” if you prefer – M&T Bank Stadium. Cincinnati will be looking to defend their AFC North Crown, which they won in 2013 for the first time since 2009, and after two consecutive division titles for the Ravens.
Let’s take a look at some numbers, news, notes & quotes, in this week’s Crab Bag, brought to you by Conrad’s Crab House.
KNOW THY ENEMY
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Head coach John Harbaugh on the 2014 Ravens:
“I like our team a lot. I would go so far to say I love our team. I love the way they work. I love the way they treat one another. I love the way they bleed with one another. I believe in this football team. There’s no question in my mind that this team is destined for some very special things. But now you have to do it. Reputations aren’t built on what you say you are going to do – they’re built on what you do. And that’s our job to go do it.”
TE Owen Daniels on the difference between Gary Kubiak, the head coach, and Gary Kubiak, the offensive coordinator:
“I never realized how good of a teacher he was. Being a head coach, you oversee a lot of things; you’re not as hands on. Now I can see him as a teacher in the meeting rooms, installing the offense, on the practice field really coaching the guys up. He’s a fantastic teacher. He’s going to be a head coach again someday – I guarantee it. I’m just happy to see him as an OC. We’re all lucky to have him as our OC right now.”
MMQB.com’s Andy Benoit on the Ravens’ offseason signing of WR Steve Smith, Sr.:
“NFL free agency has become its own entity, popular enough to warrant three-hour television specials and keep the Twitter trolls busier than usual. Every roster move draws an almost embarrassing amount of scrutiny. So how was there not a bigger deal made about Steve Smith, Sr. signing with the Ravens? It wasn’t just the most underrated signing of this offseason; in terms of 2014 impact; it was the best signing, period.”
Ravens inside linebackers coach Don “Wink” Martindale on LB Daryl Smith’s 2013 season:
“I thought he had a Pro Bowl season. He had the stats to prove it. Last year was the best year of his career. But the season he had was just like him – it was under the radar. People in Baltimore probably know about it, because this is their team. The inside linebackers coach definitely knows it, because he’s my guy. But everyone else outside of here? I’m not sure they realize.”
New offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak on joining the Ravens:
“Guys want to be here. The way they run things, the professional way that the Ravens do things, the way John [Harbaugh] has his practices set up and treats these guys like men – they respond to it. I’ve always known from the outside looking in how tough this football team was and how hard they work and how hard they play. I’m proud to be a part of it now. I love the way we go about our business each and every day, and for me as a coach, that’s what you want to be a part of.”
SiriusXM’s Pat Kirwan on what to expect from the Ravens’ defense and rookie LB C.J. Mosley:
“The Ravens’ defense, which ranked 12th last season, lost four players who combined for 280 tackles, five sacks, four interceptions and 33 passes defended – and they look like a better defense right now. The reasons they look better is centered on rookie linebacker C.J. Mosley. Terrell Suggs likened him to Patrick Willis in his rookie season. Mosley can go sideline to sideline, get off blocks, has pass rush skills and drops in coverage like a veteran. … First-round pick C.J. Mosley is a star in the making.”
FoxSports.com’s Zac Jackson on the Ravens’ 2014 campaign:
“They’re still the Ravens; still a team with big-stage experience, big-name players and a winning culture. History says they’ve rarely been down two years in a row and will almost always have more hits than misses when it comes to the draft and free agency, and the focus certainly has been sharpened after going from the top of the mountain to missing the playoffs. … If the playmakers are better, the Ravens can return to the league’s top tier.”
GETTING YOU KNOW YOU ~ Q&A with Torrey Smith
Describe Gary Kubiak’s style and the impact he’s had.
“He allows you to make plays. He tries to get you in space. He definitely utilizes our speed, and he’s a great leader as a coach in general. He’s definitely a coach you want to play for and wants to put you in the best position to succeed.”
What is the most difficult position to play in all of sports?
“Either quarterback or pitcher. Both can blow a game, and even if you don’t, they always blame it on you.”
What position would you like to play if you weren’t a receiver?
“Quarterback, which is fun. You get to have the ball every play. It’s a lot of pressure that comes with it, but it’s fun. To have that pressure is fun, but to know the type of pressure it is on this level is crazy.”
What’s your long-term goal for the Baltimore community?
“I will continue to be be involved in the Baltimore community when I’m done playing. I’m
making this my home, so I plan on doing constant work. Maybe someday I’ll have a center of some kind, but I’m definitely going to be doing constant work, and that includes other people’s charities, not just mine.”
During the 2013 offseason, you interned for Maryland congressman Elijah Cummings. Explain that experience.
“I learned how much congressmen can do for the communities. I know not every office is like that, but I was taking calls and listening to real problems. There are some problems that no one at that office could help [with], but we at least pointed people in the right direction. It was pretty cool to see that, and it was humbling in a way. Even though my family had our own problems growing up, I never knew that kind of help was there.”
Do you have a politician that you admire?
“[President Barack] Obama. I like [President] Bill Clinton. I had the opportunity to meet him. That was pretty cool having a conversation with him.”
If you could have dinner with any president ever, who would it be?
“It might be Abraham Lincoln, because during those times the country was divided. To see the way he processed things and what he thought would be very interesting.”
SEPTEMBER HAS BEEN KIND TO HARBAUGH, RAVENS
HEY, YOU LOOK FAMILIAR ~ Key Connections
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis was Baltimore’s defensive coordinator from 1996-2001. Winning the franchise’s first Super Bowl title in 2000, the Ravens’ defense set an NFL record for fewest points allowed (165) in a season.
Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson was Baltimore’s QBs coach from 2008-09. In 2007, Jackson coordinated Atlanta’s offense the same year that Ravens special teams coordinator/associate head coach Jerry Rosburg served as the Falcons’ special teams coordinator.
Bengals special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons started his NFL coaching career as Baltimore’s assistant special teams coach and assistant strength and conditioning coach in 1998. One year later in 1999, Bengals strength and conditioning coach Chip Morton was named the Ravens’ assistant strength and conditioning coach.
Bengals DBs coach Mark Carrier coached Baltimore’s secondary from 2006-09, heading a unit that recorded the NFL’s second-most interceptions (93) during his tenure.
Bengals RB Cedric Peerman was originally selected by the Ravens in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft.
Ravens S Jeromy Miles was signed by Cincinnati as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2010, spending the first three-plus seasons of his NFL career with the Bengals before joining Baltimore prior to Week 4 of the 2013 campaign.
Several Ravens hail from Ohio: head coach John Harbaugh (Perrysburg), senior VP of football administration Pat Moriarty (Cleveland), defensive coordinator Dean Pees (Dunkirk), ILBs coach Don “Wink” Martindale (Dayton) and FB Kyle Juszczyk (Medina). Harbaugh played DB at the University of Miami (OH) from 1980-1983 and was inducted into the school’s Cradle of Coaches Association in 2014. Pees attended Hardin Northern (Dola, OH) HS and was inducted into the Hardin County Ohio Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
LAUGH OF THE WEEK AT EXPENSE OF RAVENS’ OPPONENT