Linebacker

A throng of reporters and cameramen waited in front of his locker this afternoon, anxiously anticipating a quote or quip that would liven up the Super Bowl rhetoric. The old Terrell Suggs would have loved this opportunity. This year's version, however, turned the corner in the Ravens' locker room, surveyed the scene and emitted an audible groan. For Suggs, it was a chance to reflect on a decade in the NFL where he had never before reached this point. It was a chance to revel in his own perseverance, to remind everyone why he worked so hard to return from a preseason Achilles tendon injury and an in-season biceps tear.

As the Ravens prepare to meet the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, Dannell Ellerbe was the only player to miss Thursday's practice. The starting inside linebacker is dealing with ankle and back injuries. Four players participated on a limited basis: defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (knee), tight end Dennis Pitta (thigh), wide receiver David Reed (hamstring) and cornerback Asa Jackson (hamstring). Fourteen players on the injury report fully practiced: outside linebackers Terrell Suggs (right Achilles tendon/torn right biceps)

Cavon Walker transferred from Dunbar in D.C. to Friendship Collegiate Academy before his 11 th -grade year, promptly fractured his foot and missed his entire junior season. The move to FCA was due in part to Walker's desire to compete for a championship. Needless to say, the injury was devastating to the Maryland-bound linebacker. “It was the worst thing ever to watch a team play when you can't do anything about it if they're losing, and if they're winning, you want to be a part of it,” Walker said.

Ray Lewis knelt on the field and put his head on the ground, practically attaching himself to the turf in complete jubilation. Surrounded by his adoring teammates, the retiring middle linebacker was overcome with emotion following the Ravens' 28-13 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday night in the AFC championship game at Gillette Stadim. For Lewis, it was a triumph of will after telling his teammates that he would be back on the field alongside them after tearing his right triceps in October against the Dallas Cowboys.

Imagine, if you will, Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon. When you're weary Feeling small When tears are in your eyes I will dry them all Now replace the images of those two men with Ray Lewis and Michael Phelps, and you'll understand the apparent dynamic between the fellows who are arguably Baltimore's greatest athletes. In a post- AFC-Championship-game interview with Yahoo Sports , Phelps credits Lewis with motivating him to return to that Olympic swimming pool in 2012, where he would become the most decorated Olympian of all time.

It's been a long wait for Terrell Suggs to exact his revenge on the New England Patriots, and when the Ravens' 28-13 win was complete Sunday, he let loose. "Tell them to have fun at the Pro Bowl," Suggs said after the game to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports! about the Patriots. "Shut them out in the second half. Arrogant [expletive]. These are the most arrogant [expletive] in the world starting with [coach Bill] Belichick on down. " The Patriots beat the Ravens last year in the AFC championship game, 23-20, but lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.

Ray Lewis' trademark instincts kicked in again Saturday, a display of football savvy punctuated by the Ravens inside linebacker slamming Denver Broncos rookie running back Ronnie Hillman to the ground. During the third quarter of the Ravens' dramatic 38-35 double-overtime victory in the AFC divisional round, Lewis eluded the blocking attempt of towering offensive tackle Ryan Clady to chase down Hillman for a loss of three yards. As the retiring two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year tries to end his legendary career by earning a second Super Bowl ring, Lewis isn't just along for the ride.

After criticizing the New England Patriots on social media one day earlier, Ravens reserve linebacker and special-teams ace  Brendon Ayanbadejo quickly backpedaled Monday morning by issuing an apology. As the Patriots were putting the finishing touches on their victory Sunday night over the Houston Texans in the AFC divisional round, Ayanbadejo took aim at the defending AFC champions. "New England does some suspect stuff on offense," Ayanbadejo wrote on his Twitter account.

"Some mistakes we never stop paying for. " - Roy Hobbs, played by Robert Redford, in "The Natural," the 1984 Barry Levinson film based on the Bernard Malamud novel. The announcement of Ray Lewis' retirement and his team's breathtaking run to another conference championship game has caused the sports media and various Ray-haters to try the Baltimore Ravens linebacker for murder a second time. And this, of course, when he should not have stood trial the first time. USA Today had a Peyton Manning-is-god article on its front page Friday while its sports section centerpiece was about Lewis' trial in Atlanta 13 years ago. Other news organizations, including The Baltimore Sun, have had articles about this, too. After the Ravens' huge win over Manning and the Denver Broncos Saturday night, I posted a photo of a jubilant Lewis at Mile High on my Facebook page.