National Football League
Baltimore Ravens
AFC/North
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Ravens History
On 1 September 1996 the NFL finally returned to Baltimore. 12 years after the Colts packed up and left for Indy, the city had been trying to land and was refused an expansion team. When the city of Baltimore finally decided to take a page out of the city of Indianapolis playbook and began negotiations with the Cleveland Browns to move that storied franchise to Baltimore. The city of Cleveland stepped in and took the team to court in an effort to keep the franchise. Then NFL and Browns Owner Art Modell reached an agreement with the city of Baltimore that the team in Cleveland would move to Baltimore but the franchise history and nickname would remain in the city of Cleveland for a future franchise. The 1st team that took the field was coached by former CFL Coach Ted Marchibroda and were led by journeyman QB Vinny Testaverde (who would earn a trip to the Pro Bowl). The Ravens finished with a poor 4-12 record despite the fact that team held a lead in 11 of the 16 games played. The '97 season would also prove lackluster as the team posted a 6-9-1 record, although the one bright spot would be Pete Boulware winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
The team would continue to get better and rebuild and by the 2000 season the Ravens were poised to make some noise. The team got off to a fast start winning 5 of their first 6 games and finished the season at 12-4 qualifying for a Wild Card Playoff Birth. One week later, the Ravens faced the Tennessee Titans for the Division. The game was tight throughout and as the 4th quarter began, the teams were tied at 10. As the Titans were poised to kick a FG and take the lead, the Ravens defense stepped up as Anthony Mitchell blocked the kick and returned it 90-yards for the game winning touchdown. The Ravens then intercepted a pass on the next Titans possession and Ray Lewis returned it for another TD for a 24-10 victory and the right to meet up with the Oakland Raiders for the AFC Title.
In the AFC Title game, the Ravens defense again stepped up and smothered the Raiders for the entirety of the contest. The Ravens QB Trent Dilfer then hit TE Shannon Sharpe on a 96-yard TD pass. This would be the only TD scored in the game as the Ravens win 16-3 and go on to face the New York Giant in Championship Game.
Super Bowl XXXV, played in Tampa, Florida, pitted the NFC New York Giants against the AFC Baltimore Ravens. In the first half, the Raven defense was in total control and held the lead at 10-0. As the 3rd quarter continued on, DB Duane Starks intercepted a Kerry Collins pass ran it back 49 yards for a touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Kick Returner Ron Dixon took the ball at the 2-yard line and returned it 97-yards and putting the Giants on the scoreboard at 17-7. On the ensuing kickoff to the Ravens, KR Jermaine Lewis returned the favor and took the kick 84-yards for a touchdown bringing the score to 24-7
The Giants were never in the game as the Ravens held them to one first down in their final 4 possessions. Jamal Lewis then scored on a 3 yard run and as the Ravens kicked off and Ron Dixon again fumbled and the Ravens moved the ball setting up a Matt Stover 34-yard FG, bringing the score to 34-7 with 5:27 left in the game. The Ravens controlled the rest of the quarter and went from expansion team to Super Bowl Champions in 4 seasons.
The 2001 season saw the team release QB Trent Dilfer (who became the 1st Super Bowl winning QB to be released the following season. The Ravens pick up Pro Bowl QB Elvis Grback (who would finish the season 5.5 points lower than Dilfer in 2000). The Raven defense would hold the team together as they won 6 of their first 9 games. Controversy swirled around the club as the team resented Grback and spoke out against him publically and in the press. The team would split the next 6 games and beat the Minnesota Vikings to qualify for a Wild Card birth. They drew the Pittsburgh Steelers who demolished the Ravens 27-10 in Pittsburgh ending any chances for a super bowl repeat.
The '02 season began with the team clearing cap space and releasing many of the players who won the Super Bowl two years earlier. The team finished an paltry 7-9 in the new AFC North Division. The '03 season saw the drafting of QB Kyle Boller who was immediately put under center and was made to learn under fire. The team defense was as strong as ever and RB Jamal Lewis eased some of the pressure off Boller. Lewis would rush for 2,066 yards (2nd most in NFL History) and would win the Offensive Player of the Year while Jamal Lewis won the Defensive Player of the year and Rookie Terrell Suggs took home the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. The team would need to win the final game of the season against the Tennessee Titans to make it into the Wild Card Game but fell short as the Titan defense held Jamal Lewis to just 35 yards rushing won the game 20-17 ending the Ravens season.
2004 saw the return of 'Neon' Deion Sanders as he comes out of retirement to help bolster the Raven Secondary. The same year, Jamal Lewis was under indictment on Drug Trafficking charges. Lewis would later plead guilty and serve a sentence after the season. The NFL would suspend him for 2 games as well and the Ravens were out of playoff contention.
The 2005 season saw the Ravens struggle on offense as the team gets off to a 2-6 beginning. Unable to score, the team fails to reach 20 points in any game. The Ravens falter and finish the season at 6-10. The team, seemingly giving up on injured Kyle Boller, pick up QB Steve 'Air' McNair in the offseason and demote Boller to a back up.
The 'Air' McNair period begins with a 27-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and signaled a return of the Ravens. Two weeks later, the Ravens lose to the Carolina Panthers 23-21 as Steve McNair would be knocked out of the game with a concussion. The next week, McNair would return and lead the team to a string of wins earning them a 13-3 record and a bye in the first round of the playoffs. They faced the Payton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts who would hold the Ravens to only 2 field goals for a 15-6 victory.
2007 began with Steve McNair going down in the opener. Kyle Boller would fill in for a week and McNair would return against in week 3 but would continue to struggle and was again replaced by Boller the following week. The next week, McNair would again start but was soon benched by coach Billick and would not play competitive football ever again. Boller would try and lead the team but it was too late as the Ravens finished with a 5-11 record. Coach Billick would be fired and replaced by John Harbaugh and the Ravens draft QB Joe Flacco to lead their team.
The Ravens have made the playoffs 5 times in 13 seasons and have won their division 2 times (2000 and 2008). They have won the AFL Championship 1 time (2000) and have appeared and won in their only Super Bowl appearance (2000).
Team Awards include 2 Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards (1997 Peter Boulware and 2003 Terrell Suggs), 3 Defensive Player of the Year Awards (2000 Ray Lewis, 2003 Ray Lewis and 2004 Ed Reed) and 1 Offensive Player of the Year Award (2003 Jamal Lewis)
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