Historical Moments:
1984-1993: After the Mayflower vans packed up and moved the Colts to Indianapolis, the city of Baltimore began efforts of landing an NFL team. Even
when the Orioles moved to Camden Yards the city maintained historic Memorial
Stadium so that it could be used as a temporary home when they landed a new team.
In 1993 the NFL began to select teams for an expansion that was to follow 2
years later. Going into the process Baltimore was considered a heavy favorite to
land a team as even a nickname (Bombers) and logo was developed. However, owners
decided to award Charlotte and Jacksonville with teams leaving Baltimore in
the cold again.
1994-1995: After being reject for expansion Baltimore landed a CFL team they called the Colts.
However, Robert Irsay filed a lawsuit and the team changed its name to the Stallions.
In its 2 years of existence it made the Grey Cup Final winning in 1995.
However, despite the success of the Stallions Baltimore wanted the NFL, and
that meant doing to another city what had been down to it when the Colts moved
to Indianapolis. In October of 1995 they finally struck a deal with Cleveland Browns
owner Art Modell to bring the Browns to Baltimore. The city of Cleveland
went into a legal scramble to save their team. However, in court they knew they
would likely lose, which led to a settlement between the city of Cleveland, the
NFL, Art Modell and Baltimore. The deal allowed Modell to bring his team to Baltimore.
However, they left behind their history and nickname to be used by an
expansion team in 1999. This meant that the team playing in Baltimore would be
an established roster with the clean history of expansion team complete with a
new nickname. Eventually the name Raves would be chosen in honor of Edgar Allen
Poe's famous book he wrote in Baltimore.
1996: On September 1st the NFL finally returned to Baltimore as the Ravens coached by former
Colts coach Ted Marchibroda took the field at Memorial Stadium against the
Oakland Raiders. Led by QB Vinny Testeverde the Ravens would beat the Raiders
19-14 before 64,124 rowdy fans. However, the joy would not last as the Ravens
finished with a 4-12 record, despite holding the lead in 11 out of 16 games. Testeverde
would have a solid season earning a trip to the Pro Bowl with 4,177 yards
passing.
1997: The Ravens get off to a solid start in their 2nd season winning 3 of their first
4 games. However offensive struggles would catch up with them as they won just
1 of their next 9 games. Along the way the Ravens fought the Philadelphia Eagles
to a 10-10, which was the first game to end deadlocked in 8 years. Coming down
the stretch the Ravens would win 2 straight including the final game at Memorial
Stadium in which they beat the Tennessee Oilers 21-19 in a day in which Baltimore
heroes past and present were honored. The Ravens would go on to finish with
a 6-9-1 record, as LB Pete Boulware won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors
with 11.5 sacks.
1998: On September 6th the Ravens opened their new stadium against the Pittsburgh Steelers
by losing 20-13. The Ravens would continue to struggle as newly acquired QB
Jim Harbaugh and back up Eric Zeier played mediocre football al year as the Ravens
got off to a 2-6 start. On November 29th the Indianapolis Colts returned to
Baltimore, as the Ravens overcame two 14-point deficits and scored 25 second-half
points to win a 38-31 thriller. On December 13th the Ravens and Minnesota
Vikings set an NFL record with three kickoff returns for TDs, all in the 1st quarter.
Ravens Corey Harris and Patrick Johnson along with Vikings David Palmer
all scored TDs on returns in a Vikings 38-28 win. The Ravens would go on to finish
the season with a 6-10 record, as Ted Marchibroda was fired at the end of the
season. The Ravens would go on to hire Vikings Offensive Coordinator Brian Billick
to replace him. Also needing replacement was the Ravens shield logo, which
was the focus of a court case that said the team used it without permission
of a bank security guard who claimed he came up with design.
1999: The Ravens would get off to another slow start losing 5 of their first 7 games. However,
as the season progressed the team got stronger winning 6 of 8 including
4 in a row to enter the final week of the season with a chance to make the playoffs.
However the Ravens would fall to 8-8 by losing their final game to the Patriots
20-3 in New England.
2000: The Ravens get off to a solid start winning 3 of 4 games in September including 2
shutout victories over division opponents. In October they continued to win winning
their first 2 games despite not scoring a TD, while posting another shutout.
However, the Ravens offensive struggles caught up with them as they lost 3
straight closing the month of October without a TD. Sitting at 5-4 the Ravens had
a stellar defense, but QB Tony Banks struggles were hurting the team. This led
to backup Trent Dilfer getting the starting nod for the rest of the season.
Statistically Dilfer was not much better, but the Ravens won all 7 games he started
to finish with a 12-4 record and qualify for a Wild Card berth. In their final
7 games the Ravens outscored their opponents 193-63 as their defense led by
Ray Lewis who overcame an off season in which he faced murder charges to win
Defensive Rookie of the year set a16-game record with only 165 points allowed.
Along the way the Ravens defense shut their opponents out 4 times and allowed less
then 10 points 9 times. In the first playoff game at PSInet Stadium the Ravens
defense continued to overwhelm the opposition shutting down the Denver Broncos
21-3. A week later in Tennessee the Ravens were heavy underdogs facing the
Titans in the Divisional Playoffs. The Titans controlled the game most of the way
but the Ravens defense held the game tied at 10 going into the 4th Quarter.
However, the Titans appeared on the verge of taking the lead as PK Al Del Greco
set up for a short Field Goal. The Ravens defense would step up and snatch the
game away as Anthony Mitchell blocked and returned the kick 90-yards for a go
ahead TD. The Ravens would seal the game 24-10 on a 50-yard Interception return
by Ray Lewis moments later. In the AFC Championship at Oakland the Ravens were
heavy underdogs again facing the Raiders. The Ravens grabbed control early as
Trent Dilfer hit TE Shannon Sharpe on a96-yard TD pass. It was all the points the
Ravens would need as the defense smothered the Raiders in a 16-3 win to earn
a trip to the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XXXV: Facing the New York Giants in Tampa, the Baltimore Ravens found themselves in an
unlikely Super Bowl match up. In the first half the Ravens defense was dominant
holding a 10-0 lead. Late in the 3rd Quarter the Ravens defense scored again,
as Duane Starks returned an interception 47-yards for a TD. However, on the ensuing
kickoff the Giants would get on the board as Ron Dixon returned the kickoff
97 yards for a TD to get the Giants back into the game at 17-7. However, the
Ravens would respond in the blink of an eye as Jermaine Lewis returned a kickoff
of his own 84 yards to give the Ravens a 24-7 lead. In total a record 3 consecutive
returns for touchdowns were made as fans got whiplash in the most exciting
36 seconds in Super Bowl history. The Ravens would go on to score 10 points
in the 4th Quarter for an impressive 34-7 victory as Ray Lewis was named Super
Bowl MVP.
2001: Despite going undefeated in 7 starts QB Trent Dilfer is released as the Ravens sign
Elvis Grback. The offense would take a huge hit in training camp as Jamal Lewis
suffers a season ending knee injury as cameras rolled for a HBO reality show.
The Ravens defense continued to be strong s they won 6 of their first 9 games.
However, the team resented Grback, and publicly criticized him in the press.
After splitting their next 6 games the Ravens needed to beat the Minnesota Vikings
in a Monday Night season finale to qualify for the playoffs as a Wild Card
with a 10-6 record. In the Wild Card game in Miami the Ravens returned to their
previous playoff forum in a dominating 20-3 win over the Dolphins. However turnovers
and mistakes would cripple them in a 27-10 loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
2002: The Ravens would enter the season without several of their top players from the Super
Bowl team as they are forced to let them go due to salary cap concerns. The
decimated Ravens would get off to a bad start losing their first 2 games by a
combined score of 35-7. However the Ravens spurred by key play by Chris McAlister
on special teams would stun the Denver Broncos at home on Monday Night. A week
later the Ravens would improve to 2-2 with a 26-21 win over the Cleveland Browns
on the road. The Ravens would stay competitive most of the season despite
being unable to find a proven Quarterback as they were in the race for a playoff
spot most of the season before losing 3 of their last 4 games to finish with
a record of 7-9 that landed them in 3rd place in the newly formed NFC North.
2003: The Ravens entered the season with rookie QB Kyle Boller under center, meaning the
Ravens defense was going to have be stronger then ever, to help keep the young
team competitive. With Boller learning under fire it meant a greater role in
the offense for RB Jamal Lewis who going into the 2nd Week against the Cleveland
Browns, after losing their first game to the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-15. boasted
he could break the single game rushing record. Lewis's boast backed up
as galloped for a record 295 yards in a 33-13 Ravens win in the home opener. For
much of the season the Ravens would alternate wins and losses, but in the weakest
division in the NFL they were at or near first place all season. Boller's
season would end early due to injury as Anthony Wright stepped in a keyed a dramatic
4th Quarter rally as the Ravens who trailed the Seattle Seahawks 34-17 late
in the 3rd Quarter won 44-41 in overtime. With Wright under Center the Ravens
offense began to click on a high level as they won 3 straight including 31-13
win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14 to surge to the top of the division.
The Ravens would go on to win the AFC North with a record of 10-6, as Jamal
Lewis won the Offensive Player of the Year award by rushing for 2,066 yards the
second highest total in NFL history. While Jamal ran led the team on offensive
Ray Lewis again led on defense winning his second career Defensive Player of the
Year award while newcomer Terrell Suggs won the Defensive Rookie of the Year
award. However in the playoffs the Ravens offensive weaknesses would catch
up against the Tennessee Titans who held Jamal Lewis to just 35 yards rushing
in a 20-17 win, which ended the Ravens season in disappointment.
2004: It was a bad off-season for reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jamal Lewis as
he faced Federal Drug Trafficking Charges. Eventually Lewis would plead guilty
and would serve a sentence following the season while being suspend 2 games by
the NFL. With the distraction along with nagging injuries he would rush for only
1,006 yards less then half the total from the previous season. Without Lewis
putting up the same output the Ravens had one of the worst offense in the NFL.
However, thanks to one of the best defenses the Ravens were in the playoff picture
all season before missing out by just 1 game with a 9-7 record that landed
them second in the AFC North. On defense the spotlight shifted from LB Ray Lewis
to the secondary as Deion Sanders came out of retirement to play for the Ravens
while Ed Reed benefited from his presence with 9 interceptions enroot to earning
Defensive Player of the Year honors.
2005: The Ravens started the season behind the eight-ball as Jamal Lewis was not in good
shape at the start of the season, after off-season knee surgery, in which his
rehab was limited by 4-month prison sentence. In the season opening Sunday Night
loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens had another set back as Kyle Boller
was lost to a toe injury. Without a healthy Jamal Lewis and Anthony Wright as
their quarterback the Ravens already questionable offense was downright anemic
as they got off to a terrible 2-6 start, while failing to reach 20 points in
any one game. Boller would return in Week 9, but would not do any better as the
Ravens lost to the Jaguars 30-3, as injuries began to take their toll on the overworked
defense as Ray Lewis was limited to just 6 games while Ed Reed missed
6. Despite missing two defensive stalwarts the Ravens did play a solid game in
Week 10 stunning the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime on a 44-yard game winning
Field Goal by Matt Stover. However at 3-7, there would be no saving the Ravens
season as the ended up finishing in 3rd place and were not a factor in the playoff
race with a record of 6-10. Despite finishing the season strong the Ravens
appeared to be giving up on Kyle Boller as they acquired QB Steve McNair in the
off-season demoting Boller to the role of back up.
2006: The Steve McNair era in Baltimore began with the Ravens using their defense to earn
a road win as they blanked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-0. A week later the defense
was just as strong in the home opener allowing just two field goals in a
28-6 win over the Oakland Raiders. It would not be as easy the following week
as they needed a 52-yard Field Goal by Matt Stover with 20 seconds left to beat
the Cleveland Browns 15-14. A week later they needed 4th Quarter magic again,
as McNair found Todd Heap in the endzone from 10-yards out for a dramatic 16-13
win over the San Diego Chargers with 34 seconds left. A week later there would
be no magic as their offense sputtered in a 13-3 road loss to Denver Broncos.
A week later there would be more frustration as the Ravens lost Steve McNair to
an early concussion then lost the game to the Carolina Panthers 23-21. Steve McNair
would return a week later, and would pass for two touchdowns and run for
another in an impressive 35-22 win over the New Orleans Saints, over the next four
weeks the Ravens would take a stranglehold for the NFC North winning five in
a row. After a frustrating 13-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens second
ranked defense continued to lead the way as they would close the season with
four straight wins, winning the division championship and earning a first round
bye with a record of 13-3, their best regular season ever. In the playoffs
the Ravens faced the ghosts of Baltimore as they faced the Indianapolis Colts with
a trip to the AFC Championship Game on the line. Once again the Ravens defense
rose to the occasion, not allowing a Touchdown and intercepting Peyton Manning
twice. However, the Ravens would have their own offensive struggles as the
surging Colts held the Ravens to just two field goals, while the Colts with Adam
Vinatieri hit five field goals and won the game 15-6, on the way to winning Super
Bowl XLI. Following the season the Ravens would say good bye to Jamal Lewis,
as they acquired RB Willis McGahee from the Buffalo Bills.
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