Texans

It's semifinals week on “Dancing with the Stars,” and Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff had two dances this week: Argentine Tango and Lindy Hop (chosen by Twitter users). First up was the Argentine Tango. Karina and Jacoby are losing their patience with each other in rehearsal this week. During rehearsal on the ballroom stage for camera blocking, Karina had a flip over Jacoby that ended with her landing on her jaw, and it sounds like she might have had a slight concussion. She goes to the hospital, but we don't follow her there.

It's semifinals week on “Dancing with the Stars,” and Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff had two dances this week: Argentine Tango and Lindy Hop (chosen by Twitter users). First up was the Argentine Tango. Karina and Jacoby are losing their patience with each other in rehearsal this week. During rehearsal on the ballroom stage for camera blocking, Karina had a flip over Jacoby that ended with her landing on her jaw, and it sounds like she might have had a slight concussion. She goes to the hospital, but we don't follow her there.

Kevin Cowherd Ravens 24, Texans 13 League's hardest-hitting defense too much for Texans, who'll be gobbling pain-killers like they're Tic Tacs on flight home. Edward Lee Ravens 28, Texans 13 The Texans' hope for a season-turning upset evaporated with the injuries to wide receiver Andre Johnson and outside linebacker Mario Williams. Mike Preston Ravens 21, Texans 10 Minus their two best players, Texans can't dig out of this big hole.

The sight couldn't have been easy for Ravens fans: Ed Reed wearing a Houston Texans' hat and later holding up a blue No. 20 jersey. For Reed, a Raven for 11 seasons and one of the franchise's best ever players, it wasn't an easy decision either. At a news conference Friday in Houston in which he was introduced as the newest Texan, Reed called leaving the Ravens “probably the hardest thing ever in life.” “It's not so much as leaving, because like I said, I'm going to be part of the community, and I'm going to be part of this community.

Ravens 20, Texans 13 Fourth quarter: 2:52 Baltimore Field Goal - 44-yarder by Billy Cundiff. Ravens 17, Texans 13 Second quarter: 4:48 Houston Touchdown - Arian Foster rushed right for 1 yard. (Neil Rackers extra point is good). Ravens 17, Texans 6 Second quarter: 11:42 Houston Field Goal - 33-yarder by Neil Rackers. Ravens 17, Texans 3 First quarter: 1:08 Baltimore Touchdown - 10-yard pass from Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin.

Kevin Cowherd: Ravens 24, Texans 20: Ravens undergo mass hypnosis to forget bitter loss to the Steelers and drill reeling Texans, losers of 5 of their last 6. Jamison Hensley: Ravens 38, Texans 20. Derrick Mason is right -- the Ravens don't have a good offense at times. But offenses are good all the time against the Texans, who are giving up 26.7 points per game. Edward Lee: Ravens 34 Texans 17: The Texans' sliver of playoffs hope will fade after the Ravens' offense explodes.

Bystanders have posted cell phone videos of today's tornado outbreak in the Dallas area on YouTube, and they are awe-inspiring and surreal. In one video, people stand in awe of a twister in the distance before fearing it's headed their way and going indoors. Here are two accounts of a tornado near Forney, Texas:  

Teddy the Pigskin Picking Pup might have started the season slow, but now he's on a serious roll. Will he be able to maintain it? He's had a week to relax with the bye week. Let's hope he made good use of the time to rest up and get his head straight. His record is 2-2. So this one is big. Don't forget -- there's a lot riding on this. If he ends the season with a winning record, the folks at Frosty Paws have promised to throw an ice cream party for the dogs at BARCS.

TODAY, 1 P.M., RELIANT STADIUM, HOUSTON, CH. 13 SCOUTING REPORT Ravens run offense vs. Texans run defense EVEN -- Besides the fumbling problem, the Ravens' running game has been hit or miss recently. In the past eight games, running back Jamal Lewis has rushed for over 94 yards four times and been held under 49 yards four times. When Lewis averages over 4 yards per carry, the Ravens are 4-0. Houston's 22nd-ranked run defense is deceptive. Defensive linemen Gary Walker and Seth Payne are aggressive in the team's 3-4 scheme, and the Ravens know the skills of linebacker Jamie Sharper.

For so long, they had been the two faces of one of the league's most dominant defenses, Ray Lewis the punishing tackler and Ed Reed the unrelenting ball hawk. Now, they are both gone and the mass exodus from the Ravens defense continues. About six weeks after Lewis retired following his last game as a Raven, Reed moved closer to signing a two-year deal with the Houston Texans, who aggressively pursued the 34-year-old safety over the last week. Terms of the deal aren't known and there are still a few things that have to be worked out, but it's clear that Reed and the organization that he had played with for the last 11 years have parted ways.

The Ravens almost lost another key player in free agency. Oh, ho-hum, another day, another top player gone. Who cares, and at this point, did anyone expect anything different? Despite the exodus of players, the Ravens haven't made any major mistakes in cutting players or not re-signing them. So far, the offseason has gone as expected with the Ravens losing six starters from last season's Super Bowl championship team. On Friday, future Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed almost became the latest before he left Houston without a contract.

The Ravens made a couple of moves with their secondary today, officially announcing the release of safety Bernard Pollard while re-signing cornerback Chris Johnson and safety James Ihedigbo. With Pollard officially gone and Ed Reed currently in Houston where he is being recruited by Texans' officials, Ihedigbo is the only experienced safety currently on the Ravens' roster. Also a strong special teams player, Ihedigbo played 16 games, starting three, for the Ravens after they picked him up following his release from the New England Patriots.

Ed Reed sure seems to be serious about exploring his options on the open market. As I write this, the free-agent safety is in Houston, where the Texans have rolled out the red carpet for the likely future Hall-of-Famer. They scooped him up in a private jet and scurried him to Reliant Stadium, where he was greeted by video cameras, microphones and a group of Houston media. Surely, Reed feels wanted right now. And surely, that means something to the 34-year-old, who has always had a sizable chip on his shoulder.

Jacoby Jones ended up being the Ravens' top free-agent acquisition during last offseason. This past season, Jones tied an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return and became the first player in NFL history to record multiple KOR-TD of at least 105 yards (108 and 105). He set franchise records for kick return TD's in a season (2 KOR and 1 PR) and averaged 30.7 yards per kickoff return. With 31 seconds left in regulation, Jones also had the 70-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco which tied the game before the Ravens beat the Denver Broncos in double overtime on Jan. 12. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said he had some help in signing Jones.

Ravens 38, Broncos 35, 2OT Strategy: It took a ton of wise decisions to triumph in the instant classic. Jim Caldwell blended aggressive deep passes with an old-fashioned approach on the ground, piling up 479 yards of total offense. Joe Flacco trusted his receivers in jump-ball situations. The shotgun formation was utilized on 25 of 74 snaps with zero no-huddles. The reconfigured line's basic blocking techniques warded off Broncos pass rushers Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil.

If the Ravens are truly on a magical ride to the Super Bowl, the road to New Orleans was always going to go through Gillette Stadium. Houston? Spare me. Even Haloti Ngata admitted Monday that he was hoping that the Ravens would get another shot at Tom Brady after last year's heart-breaking loss up there. The Ravens had to carry that game around with them until training camp opened, and the tight early-season victory over the Patriots at M&T Bank Stadium this year was not enough to remove the sting of that missed opportunity to play for all the marbles.

Vikings will surprise Aaron Wilson Baltimore Sun The reeling Texans will get it together enough to defeat the Bengals, who will fail to win the rematch of last year's wild-card game. The Bengals have won seven of eight games, but their run ends here. The Vikings will pull off the upset of the Packers, toppling their NFC North rival behind the legs of superstar running back Adrian Peterson. The Ravens are tough to beat at home and will narrowly withstand the challenge from an upstart Colts squad inspired by leukemia survivor coach Chuck Pagano.