Bernard Pollard

In a surprising move, the Ravens released veteran safety Bernard Pollard , leaving them without another key performer in last season's run to a Super Bowl XLVII victory. Pollard, the Ravens' starting strong safety the past two seasons and one of the vocal leaders of the defense, broke the news on his Twitter account, writing, "Well Raven Nation it's been fun. My time in Baltimore is done... Thank you!" A league source confirmed Pollard has been let go. The 28-year-old safety, one of the NFL's biggest hitters and one of the Ravens' locker room's biggest personalities, carried a $3.25 million cap figure for next season.

The Baltimore sports scene is blessed with a bunch of talented bloggers who bring their unique perspective to the conversation. Each week, I hope to chat with one of them in a regular feature called Blogger on Blogger. This week, I exchanged emails with blogger Gordon McGuiness, who writes about the Ravens for Pro Football Focus and also contributes to Russell Street Report and the Purple Reign Show . MV: What are your thoughts on the team's 2013 draft class, specifically Matt Elam and Arthur Brown?

Ravens safety Bernard Pollard might have been the best defensive player on the field Monday night. Pollard finished with only six tackles, but he helped strengthen a run defense that was having trouble against the Bengals. The Ravens did a good job of putting him near and around the line of scrimmage and Pollard was also one of the team's top pass rushers. A year ago, his first with the team, Pollard surprised a lot of people with his physical style. This year, he could become arguably their best defensive player.

Here is what five national NFL analysts are saying about how the Ravens did in the 2013 NFL draft. --- Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN gave the Ravens an A-minus grade and said they did a good job addressing needs. “The Ravens needed to come out of this draft with an inside linebacker and a safety, and with their first two picks, they got two really good players at those positions. Matt Elam has played high-level football at Florida, can move around (particularly up to the line of scrimmage)

A frequent critic of the NFL rulebook, Ravens strong safety Bernard Pollard remained incensed following the game after being flagged for a personal foul for a helmet-to-helmet hit on a defenseless receiver. The penalty stemmed from Pollard's sideline hit on an incomplete pass to wide receiver Danario Alexander . It led to a 30-yard field goal by former University of Maryland kicker Nick Novak in the fourth quarter. However, video replays showed that Pollard led with his shoulder.

Soon after Sunday's loss to Philadelphia, both Ravens coach John Harbaugh and safety Bernard Pollard said Pollard would play in this week's game against New England despite bruised ribs. A day later, Harbaugh wouldn't make the same commitment. The Ravens need Pollard to play. After two games, he has been the team's best defensive player. He has been a thumper, stopper and a player that the opposition has to find on every play. Pollard had a great season a year ago, but his value has doubled because the Ravens can line him up anywhere on the field.

On Thursday afternoon, Ravens safety Ed Reed told Sirius/XM NFL Radio that he wasn't 100 percent committed to the 2012 season and that he has considered retirement this offseason and the two previous. He quickly backtracked, releasing a statement later in the day that said he wasn't referring to retirement. Throughout this offseason, Reed has made conflicting statements about his playing status -- heck, he has made conflicting statements in some individual interviews -- but team officials expect him to play in 2012.

Ed Reed isn't the only Baltimore safety making eyebrow-raising comments on talk radio this week . Strong safety Bernard Pollard, a man of strong opinions who is certainly not shy about sharing them, appeared on KILT in Houston to talk about the New Orleans Saints and their recent bounty scandal. Asked if he felt the league was marketing violence and condemning it at the same time, Pollard, the heaviest hitter in the Ravens secondary, said he understands that the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell have a job to do, but he feels there are too many restrictions when it comes to physical play . “It's getting out of hand,” Pollard said.

Every week, blogger Matt Vensel breaks down a critical play, sometimes with the help of Ravens players, from that week's game. This week he looks at Bernard Pollard's momentum-turning tackle on Stevan Ridley. The AFC championship game was already slipping away from the New England Patriots on Sunday after Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco found veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin in the end zone early in the fourth quarter. The Patriots still had plenty of time, though, when they began to inch back toward Ravens territory.

A day after the Ravens lost to the New England Patriots, 23-20, in the AFC championship game, Ravens strong safety Barnard Pollard revealed to the world -- well, a Houston radio station -- which team he will be pulling for in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5. I'll give you a hint: It won't be the team that beat the Ravens on Sunday. "I really hope the Giants, I just hope they just put a thrashing on the Patriots. I really do,” he told Houston radio station KILT on Monday. “To lose to a team like that the way we played.

I usually roll my eyes when I hear someone say that a player "plays like a Raven. " But in the case of Florida safety Matt Elam, the team's first-round pick, I can't help but nod my head. It sounds as if the Ravens agree. “I started to watch Matt, and I've never been so excited. It was fun watching him play,” general manager Ozzie Newsome said late, late Thursday night. “It's been a long time. Watch play after play on tape, and you just go, 'Wow. Oh, wow.' … The way he played on tape is the way that you have to play in the AFC North.” At 5-foot-10, Elam is a little shorter than what you would like at the safety position, but he runs fast, hits hard and loves football, according to Newsome.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome is known for his coolness and he seldom gushes about a draft pick. He got a little excited when the team made UCLA offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden the franchise's first draft pick in 1996, but there wasn't much jubilation when the team selected Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs or Chris McAlister. And then came Thursday night. As members of the Ravens' front-office staff walked to the podium at The Castle to talk about first-round pick Matt Elam, the safety out of Florida, Newsome appeared ecstatic, at least for Newsome.

Thoughts from our Ravens reporters and editors on the Ravens using the No. 32 pick on safety Matt Elam from the University of Florida: Mike Preston, Ravens columnist: Elam seems to be a good fit for the Ravens because their safety positions have been interchangeable in the past, and he can play either free or strong safety. Elam can crowd near the line of scrimmage to stop the run and be physical at the line of scrimmage like Bernard Pollard. Despite his size, he is a strong tackler and very few ballcarriers get out of his grasp.

General manager Ozzie Newsome said last week that there were so many good safeties in the draft that there would be one who the Ravens could take in all seven rounds. However, the Ravens showed on the first night of the 2013 NFL draft just how much adding to the position was a priority as they used the 32nd and final pick of the first round on Matt Elam, a hard-hitting and playmaking safety out of the University of Florida. “Even though he was a position of need, believe it or not, he was the highest-rated player on our board,” said Newsome, who acknowledged that the Ravens considered moving back in the draft but they never got any calls while they were on the clock.

I mentioned this on my Twitter account, but I wanted to go into a little more detail here. Eight of the nine oldest Ravens - and the six oldest overall - from the team that won the Super Bowl two months ago are no longer under contract with the team. That group includes Ray Lewis (37, retired), Bobbie Williams (36, released), Matt Birk (36, retired), Brendon Ayanbadejo (36, will be released), Ed Reed (34, signed with Houston), Ma'ake Kemoeatu (34, free agent), Bryant McKinnie (33, free agent)

Bernard Pollard has a new team in the Tennessee Titans, but he is still talking about his exit from the Ravens. In a recent interview with Houston radio station KILT-AM , Pollard, who was cut by the Ravens a few weeks after he helped them win the Super Bowl, was asked about his surprising release a couple of days into free agency. The conversation shifted to that heated team meeting in October when he, fellow safety Ed Reed and other players voiced displeasure about practicing in pads two days after a blowout loss to the Houston Texans.

He was a blur on the football field, hitting everything in sight. He was barking at everyone within earshot, too. And when he is playing his game by pounding his opponents, no Raven might exemplify physical football more. No, I'm not talking about Ray Lewis, who is the emotional tone-setter of a Ravens defense that has defeated future Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and one of their leading heirs apparent, Andrew Luck. With all due respect to Lewis, again a tackling machine Sunday but obviously and understandably not the same punishing hitter he was in his prime, the physical tone-setter of this rejuvenated unit has become strong safety Bernard Pollard, one of the NFL's most feared hitters -- especially up north in New England.

Safety Bernard Pollard , who has missed the past two games after aggravating a rib/chest injury, returned to practice Wednesday. It's his first appearance at practice since the days leading up to the Ravens' Dec. 9 game against the Washington Redskins. The only two Ravens missing from practice Wednesday were right guard Marshal Yanda (ankle) and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (knee/shoulder). Yanda and Ngata both played in Sunday's victory against the New York Giants.

The Ravens continue to fill holes on their defense and at a significantly lower price than the players who departed. About a week after their long-time free safety Ed Reed signed a three-year, $15 million deal with the Houston Texans, the Ravens settled on a potential replacement, agreeing in principle to a three-year, $6 million pact with former Oakland Raider Michael Huff on Wednesday. Huff, who was released March 12 as part of the Raiders' roster purge, will be at the Ravens' facility Thursday to take his physical and sign his contract.