Offensive Linemen

The Ravens were several hours into trying to recruit Ben Grubbs' potential replacement when they learned Thursday morning that their Pro Bowl left guard had reached a long-term agreementon with the New Orleans Saints. Team officials knew his departure was the likely outcome when he hit free agency Tuesday at 4 p.m, and their preparations for life after Grubbs began earlier in the morning when they welcomed free agent guard Evan Mathis to their training facility for a visit. Mathis, who blocked for the Philadelphia Eagles last season, spent the day with Ravens officials, and was expected to have dinner and stay the night in the area.

Over the last couple of weeks, the Ravens have added and retained seven offensive linemen, further complicating what figures to be one of the more competitive -- if not interesting -- position battles in training camp. They drafted Wisconsin tackle Rick Wagner in the fifth round and Ryan Jensen , a tackle from Colorado State University-Pueblo, in the sixth. Immediately after the draft, they agreed to undrafted free agent deals with tackles Jordan Devey (Memphis), Rogers Gaines (Tennessee State)

The Ravens have talked about adding some offensive linemen during the draft, but they need to improve their evaluations. Since head coach John Harbaugh joined the Ravens, the team hasn't fared well as far as selecting offensive linemen. In 2008, they selected UTEP offensive tackle Oniel Cousins in the third round. He is no longer with the team. In 2009, they selected Mississippi offensive tackle Michael Oher in the first round. Oher has been solid, but not the dominant type or even the starting left offensive tackle the Ravens expected.

As the third and final day of the draft gets underway with the Philadelphia Eagles selecting USC quarterback Matt Barkley to kick off the fourth round, the Ravens have seven total picks remaining and a host of positions that they'd still like to fill. The Ravens have two picks in the fourth round (numbers 129 and 130), one in the fifth round (168), two in the sixth round (200 and 203) and two in the seventh (238 and 247). The picks at 130, 168, 203 and 247 are compensatory meaning that they can't be traded.

The Ravens would like to improve their offensive line during the offseason, but the best move they could make in free agency would be re-signing Ben Grubbs, who could soon be one of the top guards available. The Ravens recently said that they have already offered big money to Grubbs -- and there's no reason not to believe that claim -- but if Grubbs, who turns 28 this month, hits the open market, he could be gone for good. Grubbs is widely viewed as one of the top two or three offensive guards in the 2012 free agent class, which includes Carl Nicks of the New Orleans Saints and Evan Mathis of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Ravens announced Monday that they have added two offensive linemen to their practice squad. They are center Cecil Newton and offensive tackle Kenny Wiggins. Newton may be a familiar name to football fans. He is the older brother of Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton. Newton and Wiggins fill vacancies created when the team promoted linebacker Josh Bynes to the active roster on Wednesday and the New York Jets signed offensive tackle Austin Howard on Friday.

Although center, guard and tackle are the three positions along the offensive line, the players who make up that front usually say that something as simple as moving from one spot to another or switching from one side to the other is not as easy as it sounds. Mastering that ability to adjust, however, is critical for offensive linemen vying for a spot on a team's active 53-man roster. That's especially true for the Ravens, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron says. “To be a backup, you have to be versatile,” Cameron said after Tuesday's practice at the team's training complex in Owings Mills.

Unofficially, the Ravens might as well call it their version of The Marshall Plan. Heading into the 2011 NFL draft, it's no secret Baltimore would like to beef up its offensive line, a unit that struggled at times last year to protect quarterback Joe Flacco and run the ball effectively in short yardage. And ideally, they'd do it by finding another gem like Marshal Yanda, whom the Ravens drafted out of Iowa in the third round of the 2007 draft. Yanda wasn't exactly a highly coveted prospect that year — 11 offensive linemen were selected before the Ravens grabbed him with the 86th pick.

While trying to assemble the best team possible to renew the Big 33 Football Classic rivalry with Pennsylvania this summer, the Maryland Big 33 coaches have run into a few more challenges than anticipated. Enough skill position players turned out, but not enough linemen, when Big 33 officials invited 139 players to a tryout combine at the Ravens' Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills on Feb. 9. Gilman coach Biff Poggi, who will coach Maryland in the Big 33, and his assistants hope to remedy that by having more linemen attend the final tryout on March 9 in Crofton.

John Hannah, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend, is as direct and bruising in speech as he was when he played for the New England Patriots. He loves the game of football, but he hates the way it's being played."It's the greatest game that's ever been and ever will be, as long as people who are trying to sell it as a business don't destroy it," Hannah said. "It's getting close."I enjoyed offense because my definition of offense is attack," he said. "Unfortunately, that's been taken out of offensive line play in the NFL as of late.

The Ed Reed era is officially over in Baltimore, though the safety will always be considered one of the greatest Ravens players of all-time -- and arguably the most entertaining, as my colleague Childs Walker wrote today. In this excellent piece on Reed , Childs explained why he can't help but feel a little sadness now that Reed has joined the Houston Texans, because, in his words, Reed didn't want to just be “ordinary great.” Reed did it his way, especially when he had the ball in his hands -- a common occurrence -- making him fun for us to cover.

While trying to assemble the best team possible to renew the Big 33 Football Classic rivalry with Pennsylvania this summer, the Maryland Big 33 coaches have run into a few more challenges than anticipated. Enough skill position players turned out, but not enough linemen, when Big 33 officials invited 139 players to a tryout combine at the Ravens' Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills on Feb. 9. Gilman coach Biff Poggi, who will coach Maryland in the Big 33, and his assistants hope to remedy that by having more linemen attend the final tryout on March 9 in Crofton.

The NFL has released some intimate audio and video from the sidelines of Super Bowl XLVII, and one of the most interesting exchanges was filmed on the Ravens sideline before the final play of Baltimore's 34-31 win. As Sam Koch prepared to boot a free kick to San Francisco 49ers return Ted Ginn Jr., quarterback Joe Flacco told his teammates to run onto the field and tackle Ginn if it looked like he was going to score. This, of course, is illegal and could have resulted in an automatic touchdown, but Flacco wasn't sure about the rule.

Twelve years later, the play sticks in Jeff Mitchell's mind. The one-time Ravens center can still hear the collision, see the Denver player fold and sense the game turning on one bone-jarring hit. "I'd never seen anything like it," Mitchell said of the play that occurred early in the Ravens' victory over Denver in the 2000 playoffs. "Our fullback, Sam Gash, was lead blocker on an outside run when he met up with Bill Romanowski, the Broncos' linebacker who'd been trash-talking all week in the media.

If the Ravens wish to leave Cincinnati with their 11th win of the season and a hope of leapfrogging the New England Patriots for the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs, they need to find a way to neutralize Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins. In just his third year in the NFL, the 6-foot, 300-pound defensive tackle leads all interior linemen in sacks with 13, which ranks fifth in the league behind the likes of Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (20½ sacks), San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Aldon Smith (19½)

Record-breaking wide receiver Deon Long and offensive lineman Silvano Altamirano have signed letters of intent to play football at Maryland, coach Randy Edsall announced today. Long, a D.C. native and Dunbar High graduate, was the National Junior College Athletic Association's top-ranked receiver in catches (100), yards (1,625) and touchdowns (25). A first-team All-American, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore led Iowa Western Community College to the NJCAA national championship. “I am very excited about Deon joining the Terrapin family,” Edsall said in a news release.

As the NFL free-agent market opens today, the Ravens have a new area to concentrate on other than defense after developments this week with offensive linemen Tony Jones, Steve Everitt and Herman Arvie.The Ravens expect to complete a trade of Jones, the team's starting left tackle, to the Denver Broncos possibly by today, and they have cut Arvie, who was the team's top reserve tackle, because of health reasons. Everitt is still in the Ravens' plans, but they removed the fourth-year center's transition-player status Wednesday, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.

Maryland introduced a football recruiting class Wednesday that is heavy on offensive linemen and includes a trio of promising receivers. The 20-member class was assembled even as one head coach was ousted and another hired. Randy Edsall's first class retained the bulk of players recruited by former coach Ralph Friedgen, who departed in December. "The biggest thing we wanted to do is keep that core intact," said Edsall, the former Connecticut coach. The class features five offensive linemen and a handful of recruits from the talent-rich immediate area.

Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata had mapped out an ambitious plan, albeit one not readily apparent when he lumbered onto the practice field for a June minicamp. Considerably heftier than usual after spending his offseason intentionally bulking up, Ngata didn't display his trademark explosiveness. The extra bulk around Ngata's midsection and torso raised eyebrows about whether the three-time Pro Bowl selection had gone too far in his quest to become stronger and more durable and maintain his speed after wearing down toward the end of last season due to a deep thigh bruise.

One way or another, 2012 is a coming-out season for Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. Soon after the 2011 season, coach John Harbaugh told offensive coordinator Cam Cameron he wanted to test the limits of the offense and nothing should slow it down. The no-huddle has come to Baltimore: down, set and ready to go. "Oh, they're going to be running it in Baltimore?" asked former Colts and Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda, who installed the offense when he was offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills from 1989 to 1991.