SPORTS
By Jeff Zrebiec | February 24, 2012
Any concern that the Ravens' Ed Reed might follow Ricky Williams' lead and retire ended recently when the perennial Pro Bowl safety spoke with coach John Harbaugh and confirmed that he plans to return for an 11 th NFL season. That was the anticipation among Ravens' officials all along, but the mercurial 33-year-old has flirted with retirement in the past and spoke of it on several occasions during the past couple of seasons when he hampered by hip, neck and shoulder issues.
SPORTS
Baltimore Sun staff | January 29, 2012
Despite multiple attempts to get Vonta Leach a touchdown during the 2011 season, the Ravens fullback always came up short of the end zone. On Sunday night during the Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Leach got another chance to score. This time he made the most of his opportunity. With 11:45 left in the fourth quarter, Leach got the handoff from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton at the 1 and busted through the line for a touchdown. Leach's score, followed by Sebastian Janikowski's extra point, gave the AFC a 45-35 lead.
SPORTS
By Matt Vensel | January 26, 2012
Four Ravens players have dropped out of the Pro Bowl, making the annual all-star affair less attractive to those Ravens fans who wish they had better plans Sunday afternoon. (Quarterback Joe Flacco withdrew from the annual MSP Polar Bear Plunge, too, but give the guy a break: He's a newlywed and his wife is pregnant). But besides passing up an opportunity to go to Hawaii, I can't say I blame Ray Rice, Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed and Haloti Ngata for exercising their right to miss the game, whether their reasons are injury-related or personal.
SPORTS
By Jeff Zrebiec | January 25, 2012
The Ravens' contingent at Sunday's Pro Bowl game in Honolulu, Hawaii keeps shrinking by the day. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and safety Ed Reed have become the latest Ravens to pull out of the game, leaving them with four representatives instead of the original number of eight. Ngata has been hampered by a thigh injury that didn't force him to miss any games, but team officials believed that it significantly affected his performance down the stretch. Reed dealt with shoulder/neck issues much of the season and then hurt his ankle in the Ravens' divisional playoff victory over the Houston Texans.
SPORTS
By Edward Lee | January 13, 2012
When the Ravens defeated the Houston Texans, 29-14, on Oct. 16, Houston was forced to play without wide receiver Andre Johnson, who missed the game because of a strained hamstring. Ed Reed is aware that the defense dodged a bullet with Johnson's absence. “Different ballgame with Andre playing,” the eight-time Pro Bowl free safety said of Sunday's rematch in the AFC divisional round at M&T Bank Stadium. “Me and Andre played in school [at the University of Miami] together, and we won a national championship together.
SPORTS
By Edward Lee | January 5, 2012
The Ravens have leaned on Ray Rice this season as the running back led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage (2,068) and set a franchise record with 15 combined touchdowns. It's a trend that has been ongoing over the past two years. According to ESPN's AFC North blog , the team is 20-1 (.952) when Rice gets at least 20 touches. But the Ravens are just 5-8 (.385) when the two-time Pro Bowl selection doesn't. Conventional wisdom seems to suggest that the offense will continue to rely on Rice, who said he doesn't feel the weight of the unit on his shoulders.