Matt Stover

Check back on mobile.baltimoresun.com throughout the day or scan through our headlines for more content from our special Ravens Super Bowl commemorative edition. Super setup for Stover Nearly 20 years apart, Matt Stover was a member of three separate Super Bowl teams. A decade after being a rookie who was on injured reserve for the New York Giants and nearly a decade before he was a 41-year old mid-season replacement for the Indianapolis Colts, Stover was a key member of the 2000 Ravens.

Week 1: Ravens 16, Steelers 0 Pittsburgh – Three Rivers Stadium The Ravens opened the 2000 season with a dominant defensive performance in a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens stifled a Steelers offense that failed to record a first down until the second quarter and couldn't cross the 50-yard line until the third. Led by defensive tackle Sam Adams and defensive end Rob Burnett, the Ravens held running back Jerome Bettis to 8 yards on nine carries.

Thousands of Ravens fans will descend upon McDaniel College this week for the start of training camp. But they won't be alone. The rest of the NFL will be keeping a close eye on ultra-popular Ravens. Along with the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers, the Ravens are generating the most Super Bowl buzz this summer. Two publications — Lindy's and Athlon — have picked them to win it all. Half of six USA Today reporters had the Ravens in the Super Bowl.

The Ravens are close to striking a one-year deal with kicker Shayne Graham, according to a league source, but the sides surprisingly failed to finalize the agreement as of Tuesday night. This long-awaited move is still expected to occur and would give the Ravens their most established kicker since Matt Stover. Graham, 32, the fourth-most accurate kicker in NFL history who struggled in last season's playoffs, would then compete against Billy Cundiff to be the Ravens' kicker this season, although Graham's experience likely gives him the edge.

After upgrading the wide receiver position in the early part of free agency, the Ravens are looking to solidify the other most glaring weakness of last season's team - the kicking game. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he wouldn't rule out signing a free-agent kicker before the draft who would compete with Billy Cundiff, a restricted free agent. The three kickers generating the most interest around the NFL are: Shayne Graham, Neil Rackers and Jay Feely. It appears as if the Ravens are leaning toward Graham, who sat down with Harbaugh, owner Steve Bisciotti and general manager Ozzie Newsome for more than an hour at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla. The team also contacted Rackers, but the sides have yet to meet.

After upgrading the wide receiver position in the early part of free agency, the Ravens are looking to solidify the other glaring weakness of last year's team -- the kicking game. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he wouldn't rule out signing a free-agent kicker before the draft who would compete with Billy Cundiff, a restricted free agent. The three kickers generating the most interest around the NFL are: Shayne Graham, Neil Rackers and Jay Feely. It appears as if the Ravens are leaning toward Graham, who sat down with Harbaugh, owner Steve Bisciotti and general manager Ozzie Newsome for more than an hour at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla. The team also contacted Rackers, but the sides have yet to meet.

Twenty years into a kicking career that launched before the NFL's salary cap era, Matt Stover becomes a free agent Friday. Absent a contract offer to play in a family-friendly environment, he says he will retire from the game. "I'm willing to let this thing go at the drop of a hat if that's what is best for my family," the former Ravens kicker said. "My heart isn't in it to play just to play. It's to make a difference for a team and create security in a position that maybe somebody else couldn't give them."

Twenty years into a kicking career that launched before the NFL's salary cap era, Matt Stover becomes a free agent on Friday. Absent a contract offer to play in a family-friendly environment, he says he will retire from the game. "I'm willing to let this thing go at the drop of a hat if that's what is best for my family," the former Ravens kicker said. "My heart isn't in it to play just to play. It's to make a difference for a team and create security in a position that maybe somebody else couldn't give them."

- Colts coach Jim Caldwell knows choosing between % Adam Vinatieri and Matt Stover to kick a potential winning field goal in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday is like picking between a classic Lexus or Mercedes-Benz. Both may have plenty of tread on the tires, but they're clutch when it counts. "We've been blessed to have both," Caldwell said. "I saw a couple of weeks ago both were (nominated) on the all-decade team. … You can't get much better than that." Caldwell will give the keys to Stover, simply because he doesn't believe that Vinatieri is 100 percent recovered from knee surgery in mid-October, his third operation since last summer, including a hip procedure.

Matt Stover was willing to walk away last spring without regret. He was willing to pack up his memories and trophy footballs and move on with life. After 19 years of kicking in the NFL - 13 with the Ravens - he could have closed the book on a distinguished career. That he didn't walk - and now finds himself kicking for the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday's Super Bowl in South Florida - is one of this week's most compelling stories. It might also be a story of divine intervention, Stover says.