Atlanta Falcons

MIAMI -- After the Atlanta Falcons routed the New England Patriots, 41-10, on Nov. 8, coach Dan Reeves had a special message for his team. "Dan told us he would do the `Dirty Bird' in downtown Atlanta if we go to the Super Bowl," wide receiver Terance Mathis said. "And that was the first time he ever mentioned Super Bowl to us, and it was the first time he ever talked to us about the Super Bowl. You could feel the electricity in the room, and you know you had a chance to do something special."

In 97 days, the Ravens will begin defense of their Super Bowl championship on the road against the Denver Broncos. Below are the key dates before the Ravens' 2013 regular-season begins on Sept. 5. Today : Ravens participate in the final day of their second week of organized team activities. Offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell and defensive coordinator Dean Pees are scheduled to talk to the media following the workout. June 4-6 : Head coach John Harbaugh and his staff will conduct the third and final session of organized team activities at the Under Armour Performance Center.  June 7 : In a private ceremony at the team facility, the 2012-13 Ravens will be presented with their Super Bowl rings, which were designed by Jostens after consultation with team officials and several players, including Joe Flacco and Ray Lewis.

ATLANTA -- This is not Tom Wolfe's Atlanta. The author of the Atlanta-based "A Man in Full" has, to our knowledge, never shaken his coat-tail feathers while performing the Atlanta Falcons' "Dirty Bird" dance.This is not Ted Turner's team. For once, Turner's Braves aren't the talk of Peachtree Street/Circle/Road/Way/Avenue. Greg Maddux who? It's the Falcons' "Bomb Squad" all the way, baby. Chop that.This is Dan Reeves' Atlanta. While mending from quadruple-bypass surgery, the former deposed coach of the Denver Broncos performed the Dirty Bird after his underdog Falcons shocked the Minnesota Vikings, 30-27, to win a trip to Super Bowl XXXIII on Sunday in Miami.

At 1,992 pounds, the projected front seven of the Baltimore defense will weigh just under a ton, which is about the same as a tiny smart car, a large walrus or the Johnny Unitas statue outside M&T Bank Stadium. It could also be the heaviest front seven in the NFL next season. The folks over at Blogging the Beast recently took the projected depth charts from Ourlads, a reliable source, and totaled the weights of all the front sevens . I'm not sure why they did this, but it is interesting nonetheless.

In 97 days, the Ravens will begin defense of their Super Bowl championship on the road against the Denver Broncos. Below are the key dates before the Ravens' 2013 regular-season begins on Sept. 5. Today : Ravens participate in the final day of their second week of organized team activities. Offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell and defensive coordinator Dean Pees are scheduled to talk to the media following the workout. June 4-6 : Head coach John Harbaugh and his staff will conduct the third and final session of organized team activities at the Under Armour Performance Center.  June 7 : In a private ceremony at the team facility, the 2012-13 Ravens will be presented with their Super Bowl rings, which were designed by Jostens after consultation with team officials and several players, including Joe Flacco and Ray Lewis.

BASKETBALL (NBA) * Phoenix Suns -- Waived Trent Tucker (guard).FOOTBALL (NFL) * Atlanta Falcons -- Placed Bill Fralic (guard) on injured reserve. Activated Joe Fishback (safety) from the practice squad.* Denver Broncos -- Waived Mark Murray (linebacker). Activated Jeff Mills (linebacker) from injured reserve.

Baseball New York Yankees -- Acquired P Xavier Hernandez from the Houston Astros for P Domingo Jean and IF Andy Stankiewicz.Basketball4( Utah Jazz -- Waived G Dave Jamerson.FootballAtlanta Falcons -- Waived RB Anthony Wallace. Signed DB Charles Washington.HockeyPhiladelphia Flyers -- Acquired D Rob Ramage from the Montreal Canadiens for future considerations.

FootballAtlanta Falcons -- Placed G Bill Fralic (elbow) on IR. Activated S Joe Fishback from the practice squad.Denver Broncos -- Activated LB Jeff Mills from IR. Waived LB Mark Murray.New York Giants -- Activated DB Joey Smith from the practice squad.Washington Redskins -- Activated OT Ed Simmons from IR. Waived OL Ralph Tamm.HockeyNew York Rangers -- Recalled LW Ric Bennett and C Mark Janssens from Binghamton (AHL).SoccerBaltimore Blast -- Waived M Waad Hirmez. Signed F Jean Harbor.

CHAPMAN TRIAL For developments and archived stories about the federal trial of Nathan A. Chapman, the Baltimore investment banker charged with committing fraud while managing money for the state's retirement system, go to www.baltimoresun.com/chapman RAVENS RETURN The Ravens kick off pre-season action tonight against the Atlanta Falcons. Get the story, plus the team's roster, schedule, a photo gallery and archived coverage. www.baltimoresun.com/ravens

BasketballI=Atlanta Hawks -- Cut G Stephen Bardo and G Scott Haffner.FootballAtlanta Falcons -- Released S Eric Bergeson. Activated S Tim Gordon.Los Angeles Raiders -- Added RB Bo Jackson, DT Howie Long and LB Alex Gordon. Placed RB Greg Bell (ankle) and LB Art Jimerson (neck) on injured reserve.Philadelphia Eagles -- Placed WR Mike Quick (knee, 9 receptions, 135 yards, 1 TD) on injured reserve.

2013 preseason Game 1: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Aug. 8, 7:30 p.m. Game 2: vs. Atlanta Falcons -- Aug. 15, 7:30 p.m. Game 3: vs. Carolina Panthers -- Aug. 22, 8 p.m. -- ESPN Game 4: at St. Louis Rams -- Aug. 29, 8 p.m. 2013 regular season Week 1: at Denver Broncos -- Sept. 5, 8:30 p.m. -- NBC Week 2: vs. Cleveland Browns -- Sept. 15, 1 p.m. -- CBS Week 3: vs. Houston Texans -- Sept. 22, 1 p.m. -- CBS Week 4: at Buffalo Bills -- Sept.

The Ravens 2013 preseason schedule is highlighted by a prime-time home game against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, Aug. 22 at M&T Bank Stadium, the NFL announced today. That game, which will be the third of four preseason games for the Super Bowl XLVII champions, will start at 8 p.m. and be televised by ESPN. The Ravens will open up the preseason against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. The exact date and time of the game has yet to be announced. In Week Two of the preseason, the Ravens will host the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday, Aug. 15 at M&T Bank Stadium.

They wanted the New England Patriots, told the world that they would beat them and then went into their stadium and dominated the second half as no visiting team had ever done. It didn't seem possible when they limped into the postseason losers of four of five, or when they trailed the Denver Broncos last week by a touchdown with under a minute to go, or during Sunday night's first half, when they were having trouble getting quarterback Tom Brady off the field. But it's reality now: The Ravens are going to the Super Bowl.

About Baltimore Sun staff picks: Each week, Sun columnists and NFL reporters will pick games (not against the spread) Sunday's games 49ers at Falcons Ravens at Patriots Kevin Cowherd Last week: 2-2 Overall: 177-86-1 49ers 27, Falcons 21: Colin Kaepernick's made a believer out of me. He's fast, smart and a winner. Better yet he's on a roll. That was a Mona Lisa of a game the 49ers QB turned in against the Green Bay Packers last week: 181 yards rushing and 263 yards passing for two touchdowns.

Every Monday morning, the day after my favorite day of the week but still hours before that week's slate of games officially wraps up with “Monday Night Football,” I will bring you my weekly premature NFL power rankings. Why Monday? Because who wants to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday for power rankings? Why 11 teams? I don't really have a good answer for that one. I've always liked odd numbers. What am I basing them on? Who my gut tells me are the toughest teams to beat that week.

The Ravens' secondary struggled in the preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons, allowing quarterback Matt Ryan to throw for 155 yards and Julio Jones to catch six balls for 109 yards and a touchdown in one quarter. However, defensive coordinator Dean Pees said the defense's problems against the Falcons were not confined to the secondary. “I think it's just the whole defense,” he said. “We need to get off to a fast start. That's the thing that disappointed us Thursday. We got off to a slow start.

Much of what the Washington Redskins do between now and the end of the season will be geared toward next year, in particular the development of quarterback Jason Campbell. It's usually what happens when a team that was supposed to be a playoff contender is 4-8 with four games left. That's where the Redskins find themselves after Sunday's 24-14 loss at FedEx Field to the Atlanta Falcons. Eagles@Redskins Sunday, 1 p.m., Ch. 5, 1430 AM Line: Off the board

Baseball Montreal Expos -- Traded P Oil Can Boyd (6-8, 3.52) to the Texas Rangers for minor-league P Jonathan Hurst, minor-league P Joey Eischen and a player to be named.Oakland Athletics -- Put P Mike Moore (groin injury) on the 15-day DL retroactive to Saturday. Recalled IF Scott Hemond from Class AAA Tacoma.FootballAtlanta Falcons -- Traded NT Tony Casillas to the Dallas Cowboys for second- and sixth-round picks in the 1992 draft.Houston Oilers -- Agreed to terms with WR Haywood Jeffires (74 catches in 1990)

Ravens tight end Ed Dickson only suffered a sprained right shoulder against the Atlanta Falcons and didn't incur any structural damage Thursday night as a magnetic resonance imaging exam confirmed the initial diagnosis, according to a source. With rest and rehabilitation, Dickson is projected to return in time for the Sept. 10 season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium. Dickson is heading into his second season as the starter after catching 54 passes for 528 yards and five touchdowns last season.

John Harbaugh is well-renowned for keeping his cards close to the vest. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Ravens coach was coy about revealing his plan for the team's preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.   “The game plan for Atlanta, we don't have one,” he said after Friday's practice at the team's training complex in Owings Mills. “We will not have one. The game plan will be to run our offense, defense and special teams - pretty basic - and evaluate guys and try to execute.