I probably should’ve saved a few hundred of the words I spent on last week’s missive about the Baltimore Ravens’ kicking competition.

Hey, at least I’m going to save you from a story about my 16th birthday party. (Although if you really want to know the details you can always feel free to email me. I always have stories.)

I’m glad our own Drew Forrester has taken the time to commend former K Billy Cundiff over and over again for how he handled himself after missing a crucial kick that cost the team a chance to send the AFC Championship Game to overtime. Drew has been right to point out that Cundiff could have made excuses, could have dodged reporters, could have gone into hiding and waited to hear his fate after an underwhelming season.

He didn’t do that. He manned up. It truly is commendable.

There’s a caveat to our praise however. The fact is that we all know that if Cundiff had made the kick and then given the Heisman to media members postgame we wouldn’t have batted an eye.

The fact is that the only thing any of us (rightly) care about was that in a situation where a team (and a city) counted on one player to do their job, the job wasn’t done.

We’ve been through this exercise repeatedly in the months since the Ravens fell just short of a Super Bowl return. I actually have no interest whatsoever in reliving that moment and determining what happened or who deserves blame. I’m just reminding everyone that while Drew is right to commend Billy Cundiff, there’s an obvious reason why such praise isn’t prevailing throughout Charm City to start the week.

I could not begin to tell you whether or not the Ravens made the right decision by releasing Cundiff Sunday and sticking with rookie K Justin Tucker for the 2012 season. I understand the reasoning behind the decision (I’m pretty sure I made a compelling argument for both specialists last Monday) and support the organization in making the move.

I also fought off the urge to headline this column “Good Tuck, kid” so I feel like I deserve a bit of credit here.

Tucker has a great opportunity to establish himself as an above average kicker for a franchise finally moving past the significant shadow of Matt Stover. Tucker has the opportunity to not just make crucial kicks for the Ravens in 2012, but perhaps also for future Ravens teams both competing for Super Bowl titles and (unfortunately) just trying to stay afloat in the AFC North.

Based on my early conversations with Tucker (the most recent of which-from last Wednesday’s episode of “The Reality Check” on AM1570 WNST.net-can be heard in the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault), I have every reason to believe Tucker is aware of the opportunity in front of him. He seems like an intelligent young man with what we can already tell is an exceptionally capable leg.

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It’s time to look back at the three most compelling events of this past weekend. The Orioles are going to be a big part of this. When was the last time that we mentioned the Orioles and the word compelling in the same sentence late in the month of August? Enjoy the ride Baltimore sports fans. The Ravens are getting ready to gear things up and the Orioles aren’t just Wild Card contenders, at 4 ½ games back they are challenging for the AL East crown. Let’s get to our top three:

#3

Sunday afternoon the Baltimore Ravens made their first round of cuts. Included in those cuts was Kicker Billy Cundiff.

The training camp kicking battle between Cundiff and rookie Justin Tucker was intense from start to finish. I feel bad for Billy because he will not get a chance to redeem himself here in Baltimore after his AFC Championship miss that ended the Ravens hopes of going to Superbowl  XLVI. This competition has been the talk of the town since Justin Tucker signed with the Ravens as an Undrafted Free Agent. In the beginning I didn’t believe that Tucker would beat out Cundiff for the job, but as training camp and Preseason went along it became pretty evident that Tucker was starting to edge out Cundiff. It all culminated with Tucker getting all the kicks in the Ravens’ Preseason game vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tucker was nearly flawless in every aspect of his game. Tucker even pulled off a successful onside kick vs. the Detroit Lions.  I truly believe that Cundiff didn’t lose the job but Tucker was just that incredible in the competition. I’m fairly certain that Billy Cundiff will be kicking somewhere in the NFL before this season is over. Ultimately I think the Ravens had to consider the potential weapon that Tucker could be. His 53 yard field goal in Thursday’s game had plenty of distance and hit the net above the crossbar. Not out of the question to say that it would have been good from at least 65 yards.

Some will question the Ravens for starting this season with a rookie Kicker. The last time the Ravens attempted this it ended poorly with Steve Hauschka unable to handle the pressure of the job. Hauschka was just 9-13 for the Ravens back in 2009 before being cut after nine games. That year the Ravens picked up journeyman Billy Cundiff. If Tucker somehow folds under the pressure the Ravens would make a similar move. I just think that Coach John Harbaugh, General Manager Ozzie Newsome and the rest of the Ravens personnel staff just couldn’t let the potential talent of Tucker get away. Here was John Harbaugh’s statement after the decision was made to cut Cundiff, “Billy had a great camp, the best he has had with us. He showed, like he always has, a toughness and an ability to come back and be a top-flight NFL kicker. These decisions are never easy, and this one was difficult for all of us – Ozzie [Newsome], Jerry [Rosburg] and me. Of course, that says something about Justin [Tucker], the way he has kicked and our belief in him. But, that does not say something less about Billy. Billy was ready in every way to be our kicker. He’ll kick in the NFL. He’s a very good kicker and an even better person.” I don’t think there is any doubt that Harbaugh and the Ravens have the utmost respect for Cundiff and I truly believe that this was not an easy decision for the Ravens.

#2

Mike Mussina was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame before Saturday night’s Oriole game. I don’t understand the venom that some Oriole fans show towards Mussina. He was truly one of the Orioles all time greats and gave everything he had for the organization. I defy anyone to put themselves in Mussina’s shoes and say they wouldn’t have done the same exact thing that Mussina did when he left Baltimore to play for the Yankees. For those that don’t remember, Mussina took less money to stay in Baltimore twice before he finally left to take the deal with New York.

Mussina won 147 games here in Baltimore and was the last true player the Orioles had that I would actually pay to just go watch him play. He was more than just a good pitcher. It was fun to watch the way he would think his way through a game. He prepared and was as mentally tough as any pitcher. He had that bulldog mentality that I love in pitchers. Mussina pitched 200+ innings in 12 of the 18 years he pitched in the Major Leagues. The sad part for the Orioles is that he was the last true #1 starter that the franchise had. He left after the 2000 season. That’s 12 years of starting rotation mediocrity. Congratulations Mike Mussina on being an Oriole Hall of Famer and thank you for all that you gave to the Oriole organization.

I remember that scene like it was yesterday.

Ed Reed put on a pair of wildy oversized headphones, threw his bag over his shoulder and started singing a song about Jesus as he exited the Ravens locker room out of small back door that concealed the fact he was leaving without addressing the media.

Lee Evans sat at his locker, uniform still on, staring straight ahead, saying nothing.  It struck me for a moment that perhaps a player or two might literally have to undress him and force him into the shower so the plane could eventually leave the airport in Boston.

Joe Flacco dressed quietly, but his face didn’t show any obvious signs of distress.  He’s always Captain Cool, even in the midst of the second excruciating AFC championship of his young career.

And Sam Koch held court with a few members of the media, repeating time after time, “everything was fine…right up until the ball was kicked…then I don’t know what happened.”  His voice trailed off as he realized how close the Ravens had come to forcing overtime with the now-famous 32 yard “chip shot” that Billy Cundiff pulled wide left in the waning seconds of last January’s 23-20 loss to New England.

I remember Matt Birk saying to me, “I feel sorry for these guys.  They busted their ass all year.  And today.  We took it down to the last second.  It just wasn’t meant to be.”  I loved that Birk said “I feel sorry for these guys” as if he was watching over them.

But the thing I remember most about the aftermath of that loss?

Billy Cundiff.

Unlike Reed, who snuck out, Cundiff busted through the doors of the interview room and said – in so many words – “here I am”.

Cundiff then addressed the media for upwards of 20 minutes, answering every question with dignity and grace in the heat of what certainly was his toughest moment as a professional athlete.

(Please see next page) 

What appeared all but imminent became official Sunday morning as the Ravens released kicker Billy Cundiff, meaning rookie Justin Tucker has won the job for the 2012 season.

The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter as the 2010 Pro Bowl kicker will not receive the opportunity to atone for his 32-yard miss in the AFC Championship game last January that would have sent the Ravens to overtime in Foxborough.

The writing appeared on the wall for the 32-year-old Cundiff after coach John Harbaugh elected to have Tucker handle all kicking duties in the Ravens’ 48-17 preseason win over the Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday. Tucker connected on field goals from 33 and 53 yards while Cundiff watched from the sidelines, and Harbaugh’s comments since had been anything but a ringing endorsement for the incumbent kicker.

“Billy had a great camp, the best he has had with us,” Harbaugh said in a team statement. “He showed, like he always has, a toughness and an ability to come back and be a top-flight NFL kicker. These decisions are never easy, and this one was difficult for all of us – Ozzie [Newsome], Jerry [Rosburg] and me.

“Of course, that says something about Justin [Tucker], the way he has kicked and our belief in him. But, that does not say something less about Billy. Billy was ready in every way to be our kicker. He’ll kick in the NFL. He’s a very good kicker and an even better person.”

Tucker is 5-for-5 in the preseason and made 40 of 48 field goal attempts in his career at Texas.

Cundiff performed well during training camp and the preseason, but it was clear the rookie from Texas had kicked even better in his opportunities. While Cundiff will forever be defined in Baltimore by his miss against the Patriots, he struggled in 2011 while making 28 of 37 kicks during the regular season — all misses coming on the road — and was only 1-for-6 on tries from 50-plus yards.

The veteran was frustrated following Thursday’s preseason game as it appeared he knew his time was running out with the Ravens.

“Regardless of my track record, if you look at it in the last two years as a full-time kicker, inside of 50 yards, I’m about 90 percent,” Cundiff said. “If you look at the playoffs, I’m [11 of 12 in three seasons in Baltimore]. In the last two years, if you take all of my touchbacks combined, I have more touchbacks than anybody else in the league. I feel as if that’s not good enough, then I’ll take my services elsewhere.”

In January 2011, the Ravens signed Cundiff to a five-year, $15 million contract that included a $3 million signing bonus. Releasing Cundiff clears his $2.2 million base salary from the cap this season — with a $600,000 cap hit remaining — but now leaves $1.8 million in dead money for the 2013 salary cap.

With Tucker reportedly making $390,000 this season, the Ravens will roughly save $1.8 million on the 2012 salary cap with this decision.

The Ravens must trim their preseason roster from 90 players to 75 by 4 p.m. Monday. The final cut-down to 53 players must take place by 9 p.m. Friday evening.

With the “dress rehearsal” of the preseason now in the books for the Ravens, it’s time to take another look at projecting the 53-man roster for the first time since the aftermath of the first preseason game.

My current look at the roster suggests 42 players are locks — not including either of the two place kickers on the preseason roster — if the deadline to trim the roster to 53 took place today. My rough assessment of the 90 players currently on the roster lists 21 players on the bubble. Not all bubble players are on equal footing, with certain positions lacking quality depth and others enjoying an abundance of talent.

The latest projection includes six new players making the final 53-man roster with one spot opening up due to Emanuel Cook’s season-ending injury and five others previously projected to make the roster now finding themselves on the outside looking in.

Though general manager Ozzie Newsome, coach John Harbaugh, and the remainder of the coaching staff and front office are cognizant of the number of players at each position, trying to pinpoint a specific number of wide receivers or linebackers isn’t the most accurate way of projecting the roster. Especially with the increased emphasis on boosting the lackluster special teams from a season ago, the Ravens will look carefully at players’ other abilities in addition to what they bring to their specific positional group.

The Ravens must trim the roster from 90 players to 75 by 4 p.m. on Monday and will go down to the regular-season number of 53 by the 9 p.m. deadline on Friday.

The numbers in parentheses indicate the total number of players currently on the roster at that given position. Bubble players’ names that are underlined are currently on my projected 53-man roster as of Aug. 25.

QUARTERBACKS (4)
LOCK: Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor
BUBBLE: Curtis Painter
LONG SHOT: Chester Stewart
Skinny: Taylor’s strong performance against Jacksonville quieted any silly notions that Painter was pushing him for the backup job. That was never the case, but the second-year quarterback looked more comfortable in the pocket after two uneven performances.

RUNNING BACKS & FULLBACKS (6)
LOCK: Ray Rice, Bernard Pierce, Vonta Leach
BUBBLE: Bobby Rainey, Anthony Allen
LONG SHOT: Damien Berry
Skinny: Pierce has shown enough to quell concerns about the backup running back job, but the Ravens could still be looking for a short-yardage back since Allen has been such a disappointment this preseason. Rainey has surpassed Allen for a roster spot after receiving work with the starting unit while the 2011 seventh-round pick didn’t even receive a carry against Jacksonville.

WIDE RECEIVERS (12)
LOCK: Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Jacoby Jones, LaQuan Williams, Tandon Doss
BUBBLE: Deonte Thompson, Tommy Streeter
LONG SHOT: Logan Payne, Dorian Graham, Patrick Williams, Devin Goda
INJURED: David Reed (will begin season on physically unable to perform list and not count against the 53-man roster)
Skinny: Considering Streeter didn’t receive any action until late in the second half, it’s clear he’s lagging behind Thompson in the race for the sixth spot — assuming there is a sixth one — on the final roster. It wouldn’t surprise me if Streeter’s foot injury lands him on injured reserve at this point, but his chances of making the team are remote.

TIGHT ENDS (6)
LOCK: Ed Dickson, Dennis Pitta
BUBBLE: Billy Bajema, Matt Balasavage
LONG SHOT: Bruce Figgins, Davon Drew
Skinny: The veteran Bajema is in line for the third tight end job while the rookie free agent Balasavage has moved past Drew in the race for a spot. Though Balasavage has shown some skill as a receiver, Bajema’s ability to block helps his cause for the job.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (16)
LOCK: Matt Birk, Marshal Yanda, Bobbie Williams, Michael Oher, Bryant McKinnie, Kelechi Osemele, Gino Gradkowski, Jah Reid
BUBBLE: Ramon Harewood, Justin Boren, Tony Wragge
LONG SHOT: Jack Cornell, Cecil Newton, Antoine McClain, Addison Lawrence, Cord Howard
Skinny: With Reid still dealing with the calf injury and Osemele now receiving more extensive work at guard, Harewood could grab a roster spot instead of Boren to boost the Ravens’ depth at offensive tackle. However, he might only be a short-term option until Reid recovers and the Ravens can devote the roster spot elsewhere.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (11)

CONTINUE >>>

Owings Mills-The drama of the Ravens kicking situation continued on Saturday, as Billy Cundiff was still present and on the field and working with the specialists for the team’s practice session available to the media.

Cundiff, who has been widely criticized for his 32-yard field goal miss in the AFC Championship game last season among  other struggles, has been competing with rookie kicker Justin Tucker in camp for the team’s job at the position.

And the situation got even more intriguing Wednesday night before the Ravens eventual 48-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, as Ravens coach John Harbaugh named the rookie Tucker as the team’s sole kicker for their third preseason game the following night.

Tucker excelled-going two-for-two in his attempts from 33 and 53-yards.

Tucker was excited and thrilled leading up to the game, and said he appreciated the fact that he was given a fair opportunity to compete.

Meanwhile, Cundiff, who did suit up and watched from the sidelines, certainly showed his frustration with the situation in the locker room following the game.

“I found out before this game that I wasn’t going to get any reps, which shocked me,” Cundiff said. “I felt like I had a really good week of practice. So, it’ll just play itself out.”

Cundiff defended himself, and he brought up his 90% completion percentage on kicks below 50 yards, and his 12-of-13 record  in the playoffs. And that’s where Cundiff said he feels like he deserves better.

“I feel like if that’s not good enough, I’ll take my services elsewhere to be perfectly honest,” Cundiff replied.

The Ravens have to make 15 cuts on Monday by 4PM to trim the roster limit to 75.

If Ravens coach John Harbaugh and the staff feel like Thursday was enough of a test to give Tucker the job, they would save roughly 1.8 million this season in cap savings by cutting Cundiff, as reported by the Baltimore Sun.

Harbaugh said the team will not be hurt by either kicker’s departure, and know what each of them has in store with their abilities.

“Obviously both of them bring something to the table..I dont think it’s as complicated with what the factors are, so we’ll just have to make a decision.”

But Harbaugh said they will not make any rash choices until they have to.

“I don’t think we’ve made any decision yet,” Harbaugh said. “We’re on schedule. We learned what we needed to learn. If it was an easy decision, we would have made it.”

“Why should we rush that? We can get as much information as we can.”

Dickson, Pitta return to practice

While Ravens fans may be hoping to see Billy Cundiff absent from team practices, they may be encouraged to hear about tight ends Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson’s return to the practice field Saturday in limited fashion.

Both were in uniform and doing light running and catching with tight ends coach Wade Harman.

Pitta has been slowly working his way back from a broken right hand suffered in the first days of training camp.

“It feels really good being able to practice a little bit-run around, catch a few balls but not at full-speed, but it feels good to be back certainly,” Pitta said.

Pitta said his right hand and wrist feel better each day, and he expects to be back ready to go with Joe Flacco for the season opener against the Bengals.

“I think being able to get out there and run around and actually catch the ball a little bit certainly helps my confidence. And it helps me understand that I will be back playing soon enough.”

Having missed the first three preseason games with Flacco, you could say that Pitta might be off-track with his quarterback.

But Pitta denied that, saying that he’s already built enough of a rapport with his quarterback in his first two NFL seasons.

“That’s something we’ve been developing for a few years now, and I don’t think it’s something that you lose right now,” Pitta said, “and I don’t think it’s something that you lose right away. I think it will come back quickly once I’m able to start jumping in there and running with the offense.”

Dickson meanwhile is nursing a sprained right shoulder that he sustained in the team’s preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

“I feel really good,” Dickson said. “It’s tough not to be out there, and once you get a chance to be out there for a little bit, you go out there with all smiles.”

Dickson said it’s pained him more to not be able to practice than it has to raise his arm or catch a pass.

“I’m a competitor,” Dickson said. “I don’t like sitting out for anything-it doesn’t matter if it’s a scrimmage or a game. Just missing these preseason games was tough on me.”

Dickson has been encouraged on his return and his role in the Ravens’ new “Sugar Huddle”, no-huddle offense.

“That’s all we did at Oregon,” Dickson said of his time in college. “I like it. I think it helps us out because we get more plays, and it puts the defense on their toes.”

Those absent from practice Saturday included LB Terrell Suggs (Achilles), G Marshal Yanda (leg), T Jah Reid (calf), WR/KR David Reed (ACL), S Emanuel Cook (broken leg), S Sean Considine (concussion), LB Stevie Baggs, Josh Bynes, WR Tommy Streeter and Ryan McBean (ankle).

Cook appears to be out for the year after suffering his leg injury Thursday, and both Considine and Baggs received their injuries in Thursday’s game as well.

This is the second concussion in preseason for Considine, so the team will have to be careful with that going forward.

WR Tommy Streeter, who caught two passes for 40 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars, received an MRI for a sprained foot Friday.

He had been battling back problems in camp, but told WNST, “I’m fine. Everything’s okay. Just a little banged up.”

Given the decisions the Ravens have at the wide receiver position, it also could be forseen that the Ravens may try to stash Streeter on IR to avoid having to cut him Monday.

Streeter has been raw so far, but certainly is an intriguing and difficult piece to give up given his 6’5” frame. If the team were to place him on IR, he would not be allowed to practice with the team.

CB Corey Graham returned to practice after suffering a stinger in Thursday’s game.

Be sure to follow WNST on Twitter for all your Ravens news! WNST-We Never Stop Talking!

BALTIMORE — A 48-17 win in what’s commonly referred to as the dress rehearsal for the regular season went as well as the Ravens could have reasonably hoped.

That is, for everyone other than incumbent kicker Billy Cundiff, who was left standing on the sideline hoping for another opportunity to hold onto the job he’s held for the last 2 1/2 seasons.

But after rookie kicker Justin Tucker handled all kicking duties and converted six extra points and field goals from 33 and 53 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars, even Cundiff might be starting to see the writing on the wall. The 32-year-old appears to be in grave danger of losing his job, and there’s nothing he could do about it Thursday as he watched Tucker perform flawlessly.

He wasn’t happy about it following the game.

“I found out before this game that I wasn’t going to get any reps, which shocked me,” Cundiff said. “I felt like I had a really good week of practice. So, it’ll just play itself out.”

How much longer it will take to make a decision remains to be seen as the Ravens made a bold move in allowing the rookie to play the entire game while Cundiff was relegated to pre-game work to stay sharp. It appears there’s no turning back after Tucker didn’t stub his toe while owning the full spotlight at M&T Bank Stadium on Thursday night.

Coach John Harbaugh offered his explanation following the game, saying the Ravens needed an opportunity to better evaluate what the rookie could do over the course of an entire game. Tucker passed with flying colors.

“Billy has had a great, great camp. He’s done really well,” Harbaugh said. “I think we know Billy. Billy would have come in here and made every one of those kicks, and when we kicked it deep, he would have kicked every one into the back of the end zone. Billy has proven. ‘Tuck’ has not proven. This is something that he needed. We needed to see if he could handle a whole game from beginning to end and have that pressure on him, and obviously he handled it very well.”

The Ravens had to know the potential firestorm this would create with the incumbent kicker, who clearly wasn’t fond of the competition being taken out of his hands. And while the words of praise uttered by Harbaugh sounded good, it almost reminded you of a person offering the “it’s not you, it’s me” line to someone they’re about to dump.

How can the organization go in any other direction now but to choose the rookie as their guy and to part ways with the man who missed the 32-yard field goal in the AFC Championship last January?

Knowing that the question of how much we should read into Thursday’s decision was going to be asked following the game, Harbaugh’s answer hardly sounded reassuring that it was still Cundiff’s job to lose. He easily could have said Cundiff would receive opportunities in the final preseason game Thursday in St. Louis, but the Baltimore coach didn’t.

“We have to make some decisions here again next week,” Harbaugh said. “So, we’ll just have to see how that goes.”

Rumors swirled Thursday evening that the Ravens will not only part ways with the 2010 Pro Bowl kicker but could do it before the final cut-down day on Aug. 31, which would provide the professional courtesy of giving Cundiff more time to potentially find a new team. It makes sense as there’s no point in delaying the inevitable if they’re sold on the idea of Tucker being their kicker for the 2012 season.

In January 2011, the Ravens signed Cundiff to a five-year, $15 million contract that included a $3 million signing bonus. Releasing Cundiff would save $2.2 million in cap room this season — with a $600,000 cap hit remaining — but that would leave $1.8 million in dead money for the 2013 salary cap.

Clearly feeling the sting of not being able to compete, you could almost sense in Cundiff’s tone and words that he might be resigned to the fact that he’ll be moving on sooner rather than later.

“Regardless of my track record, if you look at it in the last two years as a full-time kicker, inside of 50 yards, I’m about 90 percent,” Cundiff said. “If you look at the playoffs, I’m [11 of 12 in three seasons in Baltimore]. In the last two years, if you take all of my touchbacks combined, I have more touchbacks than anybody else in the league. I feel as if that’s not good enough, then I’ll take my services elsewhere.”

What had already been an awkward situation with Tucker forcing the issue so dramatically this summer after Harbaugh had proclaimed Cundiff to be the Ravens’ kicker early in the offseason grew even more uncomfortable Thursday night.

Yes, after a summer full of flirting, the Ravens might be on the verge of moving on with someone else.

“Let’s be honest, I feel I’ve been through enough,” Cundiff said. “There’s not a single thing that someone could throw at me that I’m not prepared for. I know my confidence has been high. I know when I came into training camp a lot of people asked me where my head was at and questioning whether I would be able to kick, or whatever the case may be. I feel I proved throughout training camp that I came in prepared. Regardless of what’s been thrown at me or the situation that I’m in, I feel I’m ready to kick.”

Cundiff’s right. He has performed well this summer.

But it’s looking more and more like he might have been auditioning for a job with another team.

For me, it was probably my 15th birthday party.

ESPNZone had just opened in the Inner Harbor about a month earlier and I wanted absolutely nothing more than to check it out. I convinced my parents to let me have a party there after weeks of haggling.

The agreement came with one significant stipulation. As my parents were by no means wealthy people (although clearly I was more fortunate than others), they informed me I could only bring three friends.

I knew then that the decision I made would easily be the most agonizing of my entire life.

(You probably think I’m being sarcastic. With the gift of hindsight, it’s understandable. But think back to the time you had to make a similar decision. Remember how significant you thought it was? I thought so.)

I was obviously going to bring Brandon, as he and I had been hanging out together almost every day that summer. I had also figured I would take Matt, one of my buddies since first grade. The third choice was by far and away the most difficult. Ryan and Andy were stepbrothers, so how was I going to pick one and not the other? Billy had invited me to his cool birthday party earlier that year, so maybe I owed him. Adam was having a paintball themed birthday later in the month, I definitely didn’t want my decision to jeopardize an invite to his party. And for perhaps the first time in my young life I thought perhaps it was more important to consider inviting a GIRL (Leslie) instead of one of my buddies.

I remember thinking “perhaps I could cheat the system.” I tried convincing my parents I couldn’t invite Ryan without inviting Andy. I tried seeing if they would allow me to invite a fourth if I promised to invite one fewer friend to my 16th birthday. I told them Brandon shouldn’t count against the limit because he was basically living with us that summer anyway. I had hoped to find out someone wouldn’t be able to come anyway because their family already had plans.

I wish I could tell you I remembered who I picked. I don’t. I just remembered how awkward the whole process was.

I’m assuming by this point you clearly see the analogy I’m trying to make between my 15th birthday party and the Baltimore Ravens’ preseason kicking competition. How could you possibly not? I’m laying it on so thick!

(Continued on Page 2…)

The Ravens ramp up their summer preparations for the 2012 season by traveling to Atlanta to take on the Falcons in their preseason opener Thursday night.

Meeting the Falcons for the ninth time ever in the preseason, the Ravens are 5-3 all-time and defeated Atlanta by a 21-7 margin in their preseason finale last season. The two teams have met four times in the regular season, with the series tied 2-2.

Baltimore has won 10 of its last 12 preseason games, but the Ravens will naturally only play their starters a brief time as coach John Harbaugh labeled it a “standard” plan for the opening preseason contest. Most starters will play roughly a quarter and the Ravens have not game-planned in any way for the Falcons specifically.

Even with the brief cameo, quarterback Joe Flacco and the starting offense hope to play efficiently before calling it a night roughly midway through the first half.

“It’s all about timing and execution,” Harbaugh said. “How crisp do we play? How do we execute under pressure? How do the guys take that execution from a practice environment and take it to a game environment against another team in a live-type situation? It’s all about executing our offense.”

A story that may go overlooked by most fans Thursday night will be who is officiating the game at the Georgia Dome. The National Football League is currently using replacement officials after locking out its regular officials when labor negotiations were going nowhere in early June. Reports suggest the league is prepared to begin the season with replacement officials.

Some concerns have been raised over the competency of replacement officials and how it might impact player safety, but most players have had little to say about the labor dispute and the Baltimore coach took the high road when asked about the situation earlier this week.

The league has put the replacement officials through extensive training and candidates have officiated at the collegiate level or for other professional leagues.

“We don’t even think about that,” Harbaugh said. “The refs will be fine. They will be what they are. Everybody is going to try to do their best. Our guys have plenty of things to worry about besides the officiating.”

Unofficial (and largely speculative) injury report

The Ravens are not required to release an injury report like they do for regular-season games, but I’ve offered my best guess at what the injury report would look like if there were one.

Harbaugh revealed that any player who didn’t practice Tuesday would not play in the game and players who have recently been held out of extensive practice due to injury may not play either. Older veterans may also be included in the list of inactives, which could mean linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed sit out the preseason opener.

Again, this is not meant to be an official injury report:

OUT: C Matt Birk (back), DE Arthur Jones (hip), CB Jimmy Smith (back), LB Josh Bynes (back), RB Bernard Pierce (hamstring), LB Dannell Ellerbe (hamstring), LB Darryl Blackstock (groin), WR Patrick Williams (leg), TE Dennis Pitta (hand), OL Jah Reid (calf), LB Terrell Suggs (Achilles tendon), WR David Reed (knee)
DOUBTFUL: LB Courtney Upshaw (shoulder), WR Tandon Doss (hamstring)
QUESTIONABLE: WR Jacoby Jones (undisclosed), DE Pernell McPhee (knee), DT Haloti Ngata (hamstring), OT Bryant McKinnie (back)
PROBABLE: G Marshal Yanda (limited Monday and Tuesday)

Five players to watch Thursday night

1. LT Bryant McKinnie

The 32-year-old lineman told WNST.net Wednesday morning that he will not only play but receive more reps than usual in the preseason opener in an effort to get into better football shape after missing the start of training camp with a lower back injury. McKinnie has worked mostly with the second-team offensive line as Michael Oher continues to receive most of the first-unit reps on the left side.

If McKinnie has a good showing against the Falcons, he’ll likely find his way back into his starting spot sooner rather than later as the Ravens will want to build some continuity with the offensive line. However, if he struggles, this competition could play out a little longer, especially if rookie right tackle Kelechi Osemele continues to impress as he has during training camp.

2. LB Albert McClellan

With Upshaw unlikely to play, McClellan could find himself making the start at outside linebacker along with Paul Kruger. Last season, the former practice squad member established himself as one of the team’s best special teams players and even filled in admirably at inside linebacker when Ray Lewis and Dannell Ellerbe were sidelined late in the season.

McClellan could at least put himself in the conversation with Upshaw for a starting spot if he can take advantage of his opportunities to work with the starting defense. Upshaw’s weight is still higher than it should be, and he’s just coming back from a sprained shoulder that sidelined him for over a week.

Upshaw clearly has the higher upside, but McClellan has had a strong start to training camp and his versatility could earn him some significant time defensively this season.

3. LB Nigel Carr

The rookie from Alabama State has earned plenty of publicity early in training camp, but he needs to turn in a strong performance on Thursday with Ellerbe unlikely to play with a hamstring injury.

Much like Ellerbe, Carr is considered a “thumper” and has drawn praise from the coaching staff and media alike, but he will need to show more discipline and the ability to drop into pass coverage to earn stronger consideration for a roster spot. Ellerbe figures to see action in the nickel package and is a good backup despite questions about his work ethic and durability.

If Lewis is also held out of Thursday’s game, Carr may even see some time with the starting defense, and you can’t ask for more than that as an undrafted rookie. The 6-foot-2, 247-pound linebacker will need to prove he belongs, however.

4. RB Anthony Allen

Expected to battle the rookie Pierce for the backup running back job behind Ray Rice, Allen has found plenty of reps with the 2012 third-round pick sidelined for much of camp with a hamstring injury. Instead, Allen has seen more competition from diminutive rookie free agent Bobby Rainey at running back.

Allen is a physical runner and impressed as a seventh-round rookie last preseason, but he doesn’t possess great vision, which may limit him to short-yardage and goal-line situations. However, he can gain separation from Pierce in their competition with a strong performance against the Falcons.

Rice will likely play no more than a series or two, meaning Allen will receive touches with the first-string offense as well as the second unit. The Georgia Tech product must secure the football and recognize running lanes in the Ravens’ zone blocking schemes.

5. K Justin Tucker

Tucker has impressed over and over again during the first two weeks of training camp, with a 62-yard field goal at M&T Bank Stadium being the highlight in front of 20,000 fans. As good as incumbent kicker Billy Cundiff has been during training camp, Tucker has created a serious competition by being even better.

It will be interesting to see if Tucker brings the same swagger and consistent leg to the Georgia Dome turf with the knowledge that kicks in preseason games will undoubtedly hold more weight in the eyes of Harbaugh and special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg. Considering the Ravens have now had a kicking competition in three of their last four seasons, it’s important to remember kicks in practice only mean so much.

The Ravens will likely alternate quarters or halves for the two kickers, so you’d expect the veteran Cundiff to handle duties in the first quarter, but many eyes will be on the rookie from Texas when he gets an opportunity to line up against the Falcons.

BALTIMORE — After a very impressive start to the competition between veteran Billy Cundiff and rookie Justin Tucker this summer, the kickers didn’t disappoint Saturday as the Ravens practiced at M&T Bank Stadium.

After going a perfect 17-for-17 at home last season, Cundiff was 7-for-8 during the practice session with his only missing coming from 65 yards, which is two yards longer than the NFL record. The incumbent kicker made a 57-yarder in a “game-winning” situation and also connected on kicks from 54 and 48 yards.

Meanwhile, Tucker performed well in his first experience at the Ravens’ home stadium as he was a perfect 7-for-7. His long kick came from 62 yards, and the Texas product also added two successful tries from 48 yards and another from 54.

“We got a lot of reps for the kickers in game-like situations, which is really unusual and hard to do,” coach John Harbaugh said. “They both came through. Both of those guys kicked about as well as you could kick.”

With the Ravens not playing a preseason home game until Aug. 17 against the Detroit Lions, Tucker relished the opportunity to kick in front of the home fans — comparing it to the great turnouts the Longhorns would get for their annual spring game — and to get acclimated to the nuances of M&T Bank Stadium.

The rookie certainly gained a few fans with his initial performance at his home stadium.

“If you’re like me or Billy, the crowd doesn’t do too much [to affect] you,” Tucker said. “It’s just being able to get into the stadium and pick landmarks on the scoreboard or whatever just so you have something to aim at.”

While Tucker is still adjusting to life in the NFL and attempting to win the Ravens’ kicking job, Cundiff is trying to hold onto his and has focused on improving his technique in order to do so.

“I think the emphasis right now is on just getting better,” Cundiff said. “I’m using practice for what it’s supposed to be and that’s to get better on technique. It’s a little bit different for most guys [on the team]. We don’t have plays.”

Practice highlights

The Baltimore starting offense ran a successful two-minute drill against the second defense early in practice, marching down the field 80 yards to finish with a Joe Flacco touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin.

However, the starting defense offered more resistance to Flacco and Co. as safety Ed Reed picked off a pass that bounced off the hands of wide receiver LaQuan Williams. Earlier in the workout Reed nearly picked off Flacco again as he and Ray Lewis both deflected a pass the quarterback threw near the goal line during 9-on-9 passing drills.

Cornerback Lardarius Webb also grabbed an interception thrown by fourth-string quarterback Chester Stewart in what easily qualified as the biggest mismatch of the day.

After a rough start in organized team activities, rookie wide receiver Tommy Streeter is showing more confidence in running routes and catching the football. The 6-foot-5 target made a nice catch on a sideline route and later ran an impressive drag over the middle as he caught another pass from backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

Tight end Davon Drew had a disappointing day, dropping several passes while working with the starting offense. After Dennis Pitta broke his hand earlier this week, Drew has received extensive reps as the team’s current No. 2 tight end and had performed well until struggling on Saturday.

With a number of players injured or limited along the defensive line, the Ravens gave a number of reps to rookies Ishmaa’ily Kitchen and Terrence Moore with the starting defense.

The Ravens also gave extensive time to Albert McClellan at the rush linebacker spot while Paul Kruger worked as the strongside linebacker for most of practice. Kruger has worked extensively at each outside backer position as the Ravens try to sort out what their best alignment will be without Pro Bowl linebacker Terrell Suggs to begin the season.

Infirmary report

Having already lost Pitta for the remainder of the preseason, fans had to be nervous to see tight end Ed Dickson being looked at by the training staff halfway through Saturday’s practice.

Dickson was poked in the eye and didn’t return, but he told media in the locker room he was fine and expected to be back on Monday. His right eye was red, but he said his vision was already getting better.

“He just couldn’t get [his vision] back where he could really get going, but he’s going to be fine,” Harbaugh said.

Reserve linebacker Darryl Blackstock left practice early with what Harbaugh believed to be a groin injury.

Thirteen players were missing at the start of the Saturday evening workout at M&T Bank Stadium.

Offensive linemen Matt Birk (back) and Jah Reid (calf), defensive lineman Arthur Jones (hip), cornerbacks Jimmy Smith (back) and Cary Williams, linebackers Courtney Upshaw (shoulder), Terrell Suggs (Achilles tendon), and Josh Bynes, tight end Dennis Pitta (hand), running back Bernard Pierce (hamstring), and wide receivers Tandon Doss (hamstring), Patrick Williams, and David Reed (knee) are sitting out Saturday’s practice.

Williams was absent from practice for the second straight day, but he said it was not related to his surgically-repaired hip.

“It has nothing to do with my right hip that I had surgery on,” Williams said. “It’s perfectly fine. I’m just taking a couple of days off.”

The MRI results on Jones’ hip flexor injury came back favorably as the third-year defensive lineman is only dealing with a strain. The projected starter was unsure whether he’d play in the preseason opener in Atlanta after missing the last three days of practice.

Doss said his hamstring injury is feeling much better and plans to practice on Monday afternoon.

Upshaw said he is dealing with a sprained shoulder after Harbaugh labeled it a bruise on Monday. He is working closer to a return to the practice field.

Offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata practiced on a limited basis for the second straight day. Both players were still subject to the acclimation period under the collective bargaining agreement and are expected to be full-go for Monday’s practice.

Fullback Vonta Leach returned to practice Saturday after sitting out with a tight back a day earlier. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and cornerback Asa Jackson also returned to action after missing Friday’s workout.

Visit the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault to hear from John Harbaugh, Haloti Ngata, Bryant McKinnie, Cary Williams, Arthur Jones, Matt Birk, Billy Cundiff, and Justin Tucker HERE.