Ellerbe

The Ravens announced Tuesday afternoon that restricted free agent Dannell Ellerbe had re-signed with the team. The inside linebacker was given a second-round restricted tender by the Ravens last month. Under the second-round tender, Ellerbe will make $1.93 million this season, his fourth in the league. Ellerbe, 26, was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent before the 2009 season. He has started in seven games over the past three seasons, making 90 tackles and recording one sack in 33 career games.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome was having a great offseason as far as acquisitions and building the team, but the Ravens are embarrassed by linebacker Rolando McClain's announced retirement. The old mantra about "In Ozzie We Trust" should be changed to "In Ozzie We Trust, Most Of The Time. " The Ravens blew it on this one. They went out and signed a knucklehead who remained a knucklehead. At this point, we don't know why McClain retired at age 23, and to be honest, I'm afraid to ask. I really don't want to know, and I'm just glad he is out of here.

With their 2013 draft class in town for their rookie minicamp, the Ravens announced the jersey numbers that their 10 draft picks will wear. The Ravens rookies wore their new shiny jerseys Friday afternoon at The Castle. First-round pick Matt Elam will wear No. 31, the number that fellow safety Bernard Pollard wore for two years. Linebacker Arthur Brown, their second-round draft pick, will wear the No. 59 formerly worn by Dannell Ellerbe. The full list of draft pick jersey numbers: Matt Elam, S, No. 31 Arthur Brown, ILB, No. 59 Brandon Williams, NT, No. 98 John Simon, OLB, No. 47 Kyle Juszczyk, FB, No. 40 Ricky Wagner, G/T, No. 71 Kapron Lewis-Moore, DE, No. 67 Ryan Jensen, C, No. 77 Aaron Mellette, WR, No. 80 Marc Anthony, CB, No. 36

Three weeks remain until Loyola's men's basketball team opens its season against William and Mary, but first-year coach Brian Ellerbe's era begins unofficially tomorrow night at 8, when the Greyhounds play host to the Converse All-Stars in their first exhibition game.The Greyhounds feature several key returning players, such as senior forward B. J. Pendleton and sophomore guard Milton Williams, although one Greyhound will be firing shots from the other side. Kevin Green, who racked up 2,154 points between 1988 and 1992 to become the second-leading scorer in Loyola history, plays for Converse.

There was a somewhat unusual sight Monday night on the Ravens' sideline. Starting inside linebacker Jameel McClain was standing on the edge of the field, watching backup Dannell Ellerbe take the majority of the workload opposite middle linebacker Ray Lewis during a 44-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Signed to a three-year, $10.5 million contract in March, McClain hadn't been benched and he wasn't hurt. McClain was designated to play against obvious run formations with Ellerbe's extended playing time stemming from the Bengals' tendency to pass often.

- Dannell Ellerbe had the kind of day rookies dream about. The inside linebacker intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble on back-to-back possessions to help the Ravens beat the Oakland Raiders, 21-13, at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium on Sunday. Coach John Harbaugh called Ellerbe's performance the turning point of the game. "For a rookie linebacker to come up with two turnovers - which was the difference in the football game - is amazing," Harbaugh said.

The NFL Network has started to slowly reveal its list of the top 100 players of the 2012 season. But knowing how little thought some players give while filling out their ballots, I have a hard time taking that list seriously. The list that interested me more was the top 101 players of 2012 from the guys over at Pro Football Focus . Six PFF analysts put together the list, and they say they based it not on the reputation of players but solely on how they played in the 2012. They also tried to treat each position equally so the top 20 guys aren't quarterbacks.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady won't soon forget Ravens backup inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe . Ellerbe decked Brady in the first quarter, sacking him for a loss of 9 yards during the Ravens' 31-30 victory Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium. And Ellerbe combined with defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to split a sack for a loss of 7 yards in the fourth quarter. "I always love to blitz when you get to come free," said Ellerbe, who finished with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks . "When the hole closes up on you, I don't like that.

Ravens inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe laughed when he heard the question. Then he smiled. And then he smiled some more. "It feels good to roam around the yard," said Ellerbe, laughing. Ellerbe has been unleashed. After spending substantial time in head coach John Harbaugh's doghouse, suffering recurring injuries and changing defensive coordinators several times, Ellerbe seems to have found his niche in the defense. Remember, though, he has been in this situation before.

In addition to right guard Marshal Yanda and inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe being absent, strong safety Bernard Pollard was missing during the portion of Thursday's practice open to the media. Pollard was not listed on Wednesday's injury report, which could be interpreted as a good sign. But the reason for his absence won't be known until later. Yanda is dealing with a bruised rib and thigh, while Ellerbe wore sunglasses Wednesday as a result of post-concussion symptoms.