Ball So Hard University: A Ravens Career

[Gronk4M13]

The time: January 20th
The place: Gillette Stadium, home of the Patriots and the 2012 AFC Championship Game:
Jim Nantz: Here comes Billy Cundiff...to tie this game in all likely hood to send it to overtime. The last two years, sixteen of sixteen in the fourth quarter on field goals.... 32 yards to tie it...and the kick.... LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT! IT'S NO GOOD! It's no good!"
The camera pans to a shocked Ray Rice on the sideline. Ed Reed gets up off the bench angrily. Joe Flacco shakes his head in disbelief. Ray Lewis is walking away from the bench. Back to Torrey Smith and Ray Rice, looks of sadness and frustration painted on their faces. Billy Cundiff, a usually sure kicker, was failed on a "gimme" 32 yard field goal kick, sending the Patriots to yet another Superbowl, and sending the Baltimore Ravens back home with more postseason disappointment.

Ray Lewis was in his 16th NFL season when Cundiff missed that field goal. Many fans and members of the NFL expected one of, if not the, greatest middle linebackers of all time to call it quits. He had nothing left to prove. He already had a Superbowl ring. Other than the love of the game, Ray had no reason to play another season.

"“ We've got to come back and go to work, to make sure we finish it next time,” Lewis said. “This right here makes us stronger. Let’s understand who we are as a team. Let’s understand who we are as men. And let’s make somebody smile when we walk out of here. We've got the opportunity to keep going, men. Let’s be stronger as a team, man. Let’s be who we are.”- Ray Lewis, from NBCSports.com.
After the AFC championship loss, Ray Lewis did what no one expected: play another season.

In 2012, the Ravens are a new team. No Billy Cundiff to miss the game tying field goal: he was fired. No Lee Evans to have the go-ahead score stripped away: he was shown the door in the offseason. Flacco outperformed Tom Brady in the AFC championship and looks better than ever at the start of this season. Ray Rice, Torrey Smith, Anquan Boldin, and Dennis Pitta all have shown improvement. Ray Lewis is still here, but the Defensive Player of the Year is not. Terrell Suggs suffered a Torn ACL and will miss the entire season. How will the Ray Lewis and Ed Reed-led vaunted Baltimore defense respond?
Rules:

2. No quitting
I won't quit this one, guys. I won't ragequit games or this career no matter what.
3. Listen to the fans/readers
I want you guys to reply to this thread. Give me ideas for the team!

I'll start as John Harbaugh, the actual coach, but might create a coach at some point.
Also, I will try to post video highlights for the season 2 games and beyond.

[Gronk4M13]

Sliders: KBLover's second set.

Preseason 2012:

News Wire:

Eagles trade defensive tackle Mike Patterson to the Buccaneers for undisclosed draft picks.

This trade is widely criticized. The Eagles do not have depth at defensive line, and trading away Patterson reduces the talent at the position.

Packers trade receiver James Jones to the Cardinals for undisclosed draft picks.

This trade is being praised. The Packers have one of the most in-depth receiving corps in the NFL: Old Spice ad-boy Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson and veteran Donald Driver. Jones was a great option for Aaron Rodgers when Nelson, Driver or Jennings was covered, but also not getting younger. The Cardinals are looking for a man to start across from Larry Fitzgerald, and may have found that man in James Jones.

The Steelers trade backup runningback Isaac Redman to the Jets for undisclosed draft picks.

Not sure why the Jets took this trade. Gang Green has Joe McKnight as the speed-back, and Shonn Greene as a powerback, a good one-two punch. No one knows who will be starting at halfback come season kickoff.

The Ravens trade left guard Ramon Harewood to the Rams for a fourth round pick and a sixth round pick in the upcoming draft.

The Ravens made a good move here, seeing as Harewood was not starting but talented enough to draw offers from several teams.

The Vikings sign Vince Young.

This signing is drawing all kinds of attention. Christian Ponder doesn't have a lot of fan support after a the Vikings went 3-13 in 2011. Vince Young is arguably past his prime, but was the best option at quarterback among free agents at the position.

The Cardinals sign Jeremy Shockey
Injury prone as he is, Jeremy Shockey has had a successful career. The Cardinals added a piece to their already explosive offense.

The Chiefs sign Donovan McNabb
This move has been talked about week-long. McNabb enjoyed some success with the Eagles, most notably in 2004, when he took them to the Superbowl and lost to the Patriots. Then, McNabb had stints with the Vikings and Redskins. McNabb is infamous for locker room drama, fighting with Terell Owens most notably. McNabb looks to win a Lombardi before he retires (he is 36.) Unfortunately, the Chiefs don't look to be going to the Superbowl any time soon, at least in this writer's eyes.

The Browns sign David Garrard
The Panthers sign James Farrior

Cuts-
QB Dennis Dixon
HB Lonyae Miller
HB Damien Berry
WR Laquan Williams
FS Sean Considine
TE Morgan Cox
RE Bryan Hall
FS Anthony Levine
FS Emmanuel Cook
MLB Josh Bynes, Jameel McClain

The Ravens went 3-1 in the preseason. In week 2, Ray Rice ran for 3 touchdowns in the win, while in week 3, in response to Rice's 3 TD's, Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes in a win. The Bears are the only team that enjoyed an undefeated preseason.

The Ravens came out relatively unscathed, in terms of injuries, "only" missing Terrell Suggs. The Ravens kick off the 2012 season in primetime, hosting division rivals, The Cincinnati Bengals, on the 2012 Monday Night Football opener.

Progresson:
Joe Flacco:Throw on the run- 77 to 78
Ray Rice: Toughness- 89-90
Vonta Leach- trucking- 74-75
Jacoby Jones- Catch in Traffic- 73 to 74
Dennis Pitta: awareness- 82 to 83
RT Kelechi Osmele: Pass block 76-77
CB Ladarius Webb: awareness 81-82
FS Ed Reed: pursuit 75-76


Draft department:
WR Antonio Bolden from Ohio just may be the best WR in the country.
LSU CB Chance Green has the best coverage skills of his class.

Injury report:
Chris Johnson was hoping for a resurgence, but CJ-2K 2.0 will have to wait because Johnson was placed on injury reserve.