BALTIMORE HEADLINE: Someone is watching over the Ravens
The Dallas Cowboys may be America’s Team, but the Ravens have the football gods on their side.
Fate plays a part in every season as well as luck, but the Ravens seem to be getting divine intervention. And after the team’s 31-29 win against the Cowboys in Baltimore Sunday, even the Ravens were starting to have some fun with it.
They believe.
"Before the game I said should I go into prayer in a closet for this one?" asked Ravens left guard Bobbie Williams. "I thought, ‘Why not? Well, why not?’ I think it plays a huge part."
It appears to be working because the Ravens have won four straight games, all going down to the last minute. It would be unfair to say the Ravens haven’t made big plays or had strong individual performances, but some of this stuff is unexplainable.
A week ago, the Kansas City Chiefs fumbled at the Ravens 1-yard line on a quarterback exchange in the third quarter, and that play changed the momentum of the game in the Ravens’ favor.
On Sunday, Dallas receiver Dez Bryant dropped a very catchable two-point conversion pass that would have tied the score in the final seconds. On the previous play, Bryant ran the same pattern and made the same catch for a touchdown.
Even though the Ravens may have lost middle linebacker Ray Lewis and cornerback Lardarius Webb to serious injuries, they’ve been reasonably healthy since the season started.
Here is some more:
In Kansas City last Sunday, the Chiefs’ Dwayne Bowe, one of the best receivers in the NFL, had one pass bounce off his chest and another off his helmet, both resulting in interceptions, one that killed a Kansas City drive.
Somebody over at The Castle is living right.
"We got a whole lot of guys who believe," said Williams.
The football gods are watching over the Ravens. They lost an onside kick Sunday with 30 seconds left in the game, but Dallas wasn’t able to get off another play after a 1-yard catch to the Ravens’ 33-yard-line with 26 seconds left and one timeout.
Dallas coach Jason Garrett said couldn’t get another play off because they couldn’t get players to the line of scrimmage fast enough. That should not have happened.
Divine intervention?
Bailey’s 51-yard field goal went wide left.
"Thank you, Jesus," Ravens running back Ray Rice said. "He may have pushed that thing a little to the left."
The Ravens are the anointed team. They have to be. They gave up 227 rushing yards Sunday and at one time didn’t have Ray Lewis,Haloti Ngata, Lardarius Webb and Terrell Suggs playing defense. Dallas had the ball for 40 minutes and the Ravens had it for just 20.
And they still won.
They are receiving favor from a higher being.
Courtesy: Mike Preston | Baltimore Sun
PHONE DRAMA: Tony Romo did NOT hang up on the Baltimore media
IRVING, Texas — Tony Romo had to deal with yet another controversial drop Wednesday.
Romo’s conference call with reporters who cover the Ravens ended abruptly after 37 seconds. Several members of the Baltimore media tweeted that Romo hung up on them after two questions, but that wasn’t the case.
The Cowboys public relations staff provided a tape of the call, which was interrupted by loud static after 37 seconds while Romo was answering a question about his inconsistency. ("Well, I think our team just has to continue to execute a little bit better than we’ve been …")
At that point, Romo said, "Hello? Hello?" He stayed on the line for another two minutes, at one point saying, "I can’t hear anything."
Hear for yourself, Tony Romo’s call to the Baltimore media:
EXTERNAL LINK: http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/files/romo_101012-1.mp3
RIVAL HEADLINES: Dez Bryant met with the Ravens before being drafted
Shortly before the NFL draft three years ago, the Ravens flew in mercurial wide receiver Dez Bryant for a visit.
The Oklahoma State standout met with Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and Harbaugh and went out to dinner with offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.
However, Bryant was drafted by Dallas with the 24th overall pick of the first round. And the Ravens subsequently traded their 25th overall pick to the Broncos, dropping out of the first round in exchange for second-round, third-round and fourth-round selections used to pick linebacker Sergio Kindle and tight ends Pitta and Ed Dickson.
It’s unclear if the Ravens would have drafted Bryant, a talented player whose character drew red flags on several NFL teams’ draft boards.
Although Bryant has been involved in multiple controversies off the field, he’s caught 129 career passes for 1,758 yards and 15 touchdowns.
“We liked him,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Whether we would have taken him with that pick if we hadn’t traded out, I really don’t know. He’s a good player. He’s a really talented guy.”
UPDATED: Ravens sign center Andre Gurode
The Ravens bolstered their offensive line Sunday by agreeing to a one-year deal with center Andre Gurode.
Gurode, a five-time Pro Bowler with the Dallas Cowboys, is entering his 10th NFL season. He has started 122 career games, including every game in each of the past three seasons.
“We just got better as a team,” Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said in a news release. “To have a successful season, you have to have quality depth across the board. We just added great depth to the interior of our offensive line with Andre.”
Gurode was a second-round draft pick (No. 37 overall) out of Colorado in the 2002 NFL draft.
The Ravens have been without center Matt Birk — who underwent left knee surgery in the offseason — all preseason. Bryan Mattison served as the Ravens’ starting center in Birk’s absence.
Source:The Baltimore Sun
MORE INFO:
Former Cowboys center Andre Gurode is the newest member of the Baltimore Ravens, according to his agent Kennard McGuire.
He got a one-year deal worth $3 million. He was due to make $5.5 million with the Cowboys before being cut in a cost-saving move last week.
He visited the Seahawks, Lions and Patriots before coming to an agreement to play center for the Ravens on Sunday.
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