Disappointment settled into Baltimore Friday, as FA WR and Ravens target Malcom Floyd signed a two-year deal this afternoon to return to the San Diego Chargers, per a league source.

The move was confirmed by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

“We have a lot of happy Chargers today with the return of Malcom,” General Manager A.J. Smith said in a team release. “He has been an integral part of our team and it’s great to have him back. He is a very talented receiver and that will just add to the continuity of our offensive unit.”

Floyd caught 37 passes for 717 yards and six touchdowns in 2010 despite missing five games. He enjoyed the best game of his career with eight catches for 213 yards against Oakland on Oct. 10.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound receiver, nicknamed “M-80,” signed with San Diego as a college free agent in 2004 and caught Rivers’ first touchdown pass as a rookie.

The move now forces the Ravens to either go into the first week of preseason with the receiving corps they currently in camp (Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, James Hardy, Tandon Doss) or reach out to one of the available wide receivers available in former Giants WR Steve Smith, or former Ravens Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason-who could sign with the New York Jets or Tennessee Titans.

-A Team Release from the San Diego Chargers contributed to this report.

The Ravens may have had to cut ties this week with veteran receiver Derrick Mason and saw the likes of receiver Donte Stallworth take his services to the Washington Redskins, but there is one receiver who is leaving Baltimore behind who not a lot of people are talking about.

And that may be the strangest part of it all. It’s because this receiver in the past has been a guy to usually get the trash-talk started.

That of course is free agent wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh, who by the way of a coaching change in Seattle last summer, found his way to Baltimore and was projected to be the third leg of a superb receiving corps joining the likes of Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason, Donte Stallworth and others.

Unfortunately, Houshmandzadeh-a catching machine for his first eight seasons in the league with Cincinnati-struggled to get himself in the mix in an offense that lacked identity at times last season, and it turned out there weren’t enough balls to go around for the many playmakers and egos in the Ravens passing game.

But Houshmandzadeh-despite his frustration at his role-was very mature about what happened and he voiced that same expression on “The Mobtown Sports Beat” with Thyrl Nelson Monday.

He was actually more displeased with the Ravens losing in the playoffs than his performance on the field.

“It wasn’t my use,” Houshmandzadeh told Nelson. “It was how the season went. My experience was great, except for not catching that last ball.”

Houshmandzadeh said he doesn’t blame the quarterback, Joe Flacco,  coach John Harbaugh, OC Cam Cameron, or anyone else on the team. He admitted that wearing out his welcome in Seattle and coming into the mix in September was all on him.

“Getting here five days before the start of the season, I was behind everyone else,” Houshmandzadeh said. “We were getting ready to play the Jets, and I only had a few days to learn the plans, and for the coaches to put me in.”

Houshmandzadeh played in all 16 games last year, but as the third wide receiver behind Boldin and Mason-and being a similar receiver to those two, he didn’t get a lot of chances to make plays.

His 30 catches were the lowest total since his rookie year in 2002, and after 2004 with the Cincinnati Bengals, he saw no less than 73 balls come into his possession until suiting up in purple.

The highlight of his season came in Week 4 against the Steelers in Heinz Field, where he caught the game-winning touchdown from Flacco with just 32 seconds on the clock to put down Pittsburgh, 17-14.

It was that play in particular, and several others, that had Houshmandzadeh putting Flacco in the elite quarterbacks of the NFL, and he would know having caught passes from a Heisman Trophy winner and former top overall pick in Carson Palmer for years.

“The Ravens have the right guy in place,” Houshmandzadeh said. “It’s funny when people pick on him, because he’s cool. Joe was always the last guy to leave the facility. He puts the work in, and he’s only going to get better.”

Houshmandzadeh saw firsthand how much criticism the reserved Flacco took last season for the team’s struggles and for not being a vocal leader, and he said none of that was warranted to say the least.

“The criticism was unfair. Joe’s leadership was never in question,” the receiver said. “His style might be different, but the media didn’t understand.”

And further defending his quarterback-even if he is catching passes from another one this season-he says that the comparisons of Flacco to other elite quarterbacks in the NFL aren’t fair either because of the unique systems each signal-caller has at their disposal.

“Everybody’s offense is different,” T.J said. “Joe worked with what was given to him. It’s unfair to compare him to others’ offenses. We did a lot of different things here in Baltimore.”

And for Houshmandzadeh, it could all be different again for him in the next few weeks should a team other the Ravens give him a buzz. Given the Ravens full depth chart at receiver and Houshmandzadeh’s veteran asking price, he probably won’t be parking at 1 Winning Drive for this year’s training camp.

And he knows that.

“I would love to come back,” he said, “but they have a lot of guys there though.”

But, Houshmandzadeh has learned, especially after his time in Cincinnati and Seattle, to never burn your bridges because there’s always a chance to a return visit.

Maybe even one from Baltimore, per chance?

“I loved Baltimore. My time there was great…if the Ravens want me back, I would stay. All a team has to tell me is that they want to sign me.”

And whoever calls upon his services, he wants them to know that he’s all-in.

“Whenever the call is made, I’m ready to go,” Houshmandzadeh said. “My body feels great. I’m looking forward to what this year holds.”

WNST thanks T.J. Houshmandzadeh for joining @WNST and being a part of a great Ravens team in 2010! WNST-We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports!

Since leaving the Baltimore Ravens more than two years ago to become the head coach of the New York Jets,  Rex Ryan has had nothing but success as coach of Gang Green up in New York.

During that time as coach, Rex Ryan has taken the Jets to consecutive playoff appearances going as far as the AFC Title game in each trip.

His career record as the Jets coach is 20-12, and is 4-2 overall in the playoffs.

This after building up an impressive resume in Baltimore as defensive coordinator for the Ravens from 2005-2008 in which his defenses-anchored  by Ray Lewis-never finished less than sixth-overall in total defense.

Ryan spent 10 years on the Baltimore sidelines for both Brian Billick and John Harbaugh, but when a head coaching job for the Ravens wasn’t put in front of him, he couldn’t wait any longer for that opportunity to come his way, and he took advantage of another one.

But the one thing he has learned-and he details it in his new book, “Play Like You Mean It” which he introduced to Rex Snider last week on “The Afternoon Drive”, that it’s the people he’s been around who he has to thank for where he is today.

And a lot of them are still in the Baltimore organization, and despite knowing the organization holds John Harbaugh in high regard and that they chose him over Ryan, Ryan said he will always hold a place in his heart for the Ravens.

“I had ten great years in Baltimore that I am really proud,” Ryan told Snider. “And I still have a home in Baltimore. It was ten great years and met a lot of great people.”

One of the great people Ryan interacted with and had a great relationship with while in Baltimore was linebacker Ray Lewis.

“I was with Ray for all ten years and I talk about that he is one of the rare guys, a player that actually motivated me,” Ryan said. “That usually doesn’t happen. Usually it’s the coach motivating the player.”

Ryan said that Ray Lewis was  probably the most special person he’s been around in his 24-year coaching career.

“Ray was such a passionate leader and everything that we would motivate me as well as his teammates and things. He is a once in a lifetime player, an amazing talent and he is still going strong even today.”

Ryan became the Jets coach in 2009-ironically the same year that both Ravens linebackers Bart Scott and Ray Lewis were free agents on the market.

Ryan admitted that getting #52 to follow him to New York was definitely on his agenda.

He said he would be lying if he didn’t.

“It’s funny because when I went to New York the first thing right off the bat I wanted to get Ray Lewis to come and coach here and all that kind of jazz and let him play here,” Coach Ryan said.

Ryan took a lot from Baltimore up I-95 including several coaches, players, personnel, support staff and philosophy, but he admitted to Snider that there was nothing he could do to get Ray Lewis away from the city of Baltimore.

“Ray was not going to leave Baltimore anyway but it was not the right decision,” he said. “Ray’s team is the Baltimore Ravens, more so than Ozzie Newsome, or Steve Bisciotti, or anybody else.”

“But when you think of the Baltimore Ravens you think of Ray Lewis that is why there was no way I could take him away from Baltimore even if I wanted to, and was able to.”

Another player that Ryan didn’t have the longest amount of time to interact with but has high hopes for is a man on the other side of the ball than Ryan’s defense-that being quarterback Joe Flacco.

He remembers taking a look at Flacco just days into the first round of practices at Owings Mills and training camp and noticing that he was going to be something special despite the fact he came in projected to be the third quarterback on the depth chart behind Kyle Boller and Troy Smith.

“Joe Flacco was without a doubt is our best quarterback, and I remember mentioning that to Steve Bisciotti that in my opinion is wasn’t even close and that he ought to be our starting quarterback,” Ryan said.

“Joe Flacco is an outstanding talent, he’ got great arm strength, he’s got poise, and he is a better athlete than you think. I think he has all the tools to be a great quarterback in this league.”

But Rex was still the guy we have got used to in New York calling out the likes of Bill Belichick when he did admit that he’s biased when it comes to Joe Flacco winning championships.

Like Steelers LB LaMarr Woodley, he hopes Flacco wins none-at least at the expense of his teams.

“Well I hope he doesn’t win one, because I want to win them,” Ryan laughed. “And I am no different then those other guys; I mean I guaranteed a Super Bowl this year. But the funny thing is, that is how you have to think. It’s our team, I don’t care about anybody else’s team.”

One of those teams in particular that he doesn’t care about, but one that he has to keep his focus on at all times?

Why, that would be none other than Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots, who despite Rex Ryan’s previous statements about the Coach may have been construed as disrespect, Ryan would tell you otherwise.

He would do so because he had that same level of respect for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a member of the Baltimore Ravens.

“There is a huge amount of respect with the Steelers and the Ravens, I can promise you. But you also want to beat that team worse than anybody.”

He knows Ravens fans still take that statement to heart.

And now that he’s the enemy, he knows that he’s probably included in that as well.

“I know the Ravens want to beat the Steelers worse than anything, probably right there with the Jets for some reason.”

We’ll  find out this year Week 4 of the regular season at M&T in prime time.

WNST thanks Coach Rex Ryan for joining us! Be sure to check out a copy of his new book, “Play Like You Mean It”, for a great in-depth look inside the mind of one of the NFL’s biggest personalities!

As the title of the blog confirms, we will have a ROCKSTAR quality guest during today’s edition of the Afternoon Drive. We will be chatting with former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator and current New York Jets head coach, Rex Ryan.

We will emphasize the conversation on his new book, Play Like You Mean It, which provides the reader with an insightful look into Rex’s childhood and his earlier days of coaching, as well as a thorough account of his time in Baltimore and New York.
.

Of course, we’ll take a few moments to chat about how much his career and life have changed in the few short years following his move up I-95.

How does Rex Ryan the HEAD COACH differ from the same man who once commanded a Ravens defense that was feared throughout an era in the National Football League?

Have public demands and obligations accompanied his rise to coaching stardom?

Do the Jets and Patriots share that same intense disdain we see between the Ravens and Steelers? And, does he mention Bill Belichick in the new book?

You’ll find out the answers to these questions and much, today at 4:05pm …..

You can order Play Like You Mean It online, RIGHT HERE

Remember when Jerry Jones was a new and maverick owner, taken to task by the NFL for his creative approach to maximizing team revenues outside of the league’s oppressive and collective marketing practices? In a “Rip Van Winkle” kind of way it feels like I’ve suddenly woke up to find Jones’ maverick model now par for the NFL course, but also to find Jones himself looked to as part of the league’s “old guard”. As the league’s owners have elected to opt out of the previous collective bargaining agreement citing increased expenses associated with stadiums etc. it’s tough not to turn a suspicious eye toward Jones and the billion dollar monument to his ego recently constructed in Dallas.

Indeed, Jones along with Bob Kraft in New England and the joint venture between the Jets and Giants in New York have wasted no opportunity to remind us of the great expenses incurred by each of those teams in building their new stadiums. Now it seems that they are leading the charge to recoup some of the money they so generously fronted, and are attempting to do it at the players’ expense. This however seems to be an argument almost exclusive to the aforementioned teams, and maybe a handful of others.

It’s probably fair to guess that for every owner who has reached deep and spared no expense in building facilities, there are probably two more enjoying cushy downtown real estate along with naming rights to their stadiums under farcical leasing terms subsidized largely by taxpayers. Stadium expenses for those teams, if anything, likely amount to the payback of loans taken out against property largely gifted to the teams courtesy of their cities. How do we quantify their increased expenses for those teams in the face of exponential growth to the league’s revenue pool in an otherwise stagnant economy?

Maybe we simply concede that any time the teams who are already substantially out earning everyone else begin clamoring for ways to increase everyone’s margins and thereby close the gap between the league’s best and worst earning franchises, representatives of the latter would quite predictably jump aboard.

What’s even more fun to speculate about is how much of a role Jones (and his new building) has in the recently unearthed – and still unfolding – drama surrounding the Fiesta Bowl and the misappropriation of funds scandal. It should have been an easy guess that once that building was constructed, it would somehow find its way into the BCS picture. The drama now provided courtesy of the Fiesta Bowl investigation would seem to open the door for just such a happenstance.

As cynical sports fans, jaded by so many years of corruption and mismanagement in seemingly all sports, we might guess that the reason folks have found inequities around the Fiesta Bowl is simply because they bothered to look; and that if they bothered to look at the rest, they’d likely find a similar brand of misappropriation. For that matter, how many “fun” and “creative” bookkeeping practices would we find in the books of NFL owners if they were ever compelled to open them? Luckily for those in charge of the other BCS Bowls, Jones has only one building (and therefore one Bowl) to shop; and luckily for those in charge of the other NFL teams the maverick Jerry Jones is riding with them. They’ve seen what it’s like to oppose him too.

So as Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith take care of all of the dirty work in the proverbial trenches of NFL labor, and player after player, owner after owner and agent after agent offer ridiculous sound bytes and summations of the proceedings, is Jerry Jones (and a small faction of similar minded owners) the driving force behind it? Is Jones the face of the lockout? Given his notorious ego, I’m not altogether sure he’d be unhappy about being the face anything, as long as it came with exposure.

For those who are still finding themselves occasionally shaking their heads at the disappointing and unceremonious end to the Ravens season, welcome to the club. In the lead up to the season, we talked a lot about the burden of expectations and the possibility that decent sized stretches of the season (and as we learned the end too) would be difficult to tolerate much less enjoy.

In that way, you might argue that we should be pros at this type of disappointment. If there’s a downside to being a perennial contender, it’s that more often than not, you’re in for a disappointing ending to an otherwise encouraging season. I suppose we could ask Peyton Manning or even lately Tom Brady about that, as both have typically authored the types of seasons that lead fans to believe that the promised land is eminent, and both have fallen disappointingly short more often than they’ve seen it through.

Still, this season feels different. It feels different for a lot of reasons. For perhaps the first time in the John Harbaugh / Joe Flacco era, this season feels like it ended short of what were considered to be reasonable expectations. In 2008, although their ouster was to the same Steelers team, there was still an “aw shucks” mentality about the whole thing. We began that season with modest expectations and cautious optimism given the rookie coach and quarterback. And when the final draw in the playoffs was a Steelers team that had beaten them twice already, it wasn’t as difficult to digest as it has been this time around. Having won two playoff games that season, it was hard not to quickly turn from disappointment to pride and encouragement over what the team had accomplished and what they appeared poised for. You could say the same about last year. At 9-7 the Ravens hardly gave the impression of world-beaters. That they were able to pick up an impressive win in Foxborough over the Patriots before falling to the Colts and their typical Ravens kryptonite was again enough to be encouraged about.

This year however, things were supposed to be different. This was the year that the Ravens were supposed to turn the page, to get over the hump, to finish the deal. This year felt like they should have beaten the Steelers twice in the regular season, as opposed to the “could have” feeling of the previous two campaigns. And this year couldn’t have ended in a more disappointing fashion if it had been scripted.

As a fan it’s been tough to take. In fact it’s been downright torturous to not only see the season end at the hands of the team’s most bitter rival, but again to see that rival find their way to the Super Bowl as a result. And as a fan I surely can’t begin to imagine the impact that the loss has had on those players and coaches who had a hand in it. At least I hope not anyway.

Losses like that one can make or break a team. Whichever winds up being the case for this Ravens team going forward, it’s probably safe to assume that there’ll never be a better litmus test provided to John Harbaugh and his coaching staff than the season ahead and the opportunity to gauge the character and the wherewithal of every member of that locker room.

I hope that they’re losing sleep over this one. I hope that they’re replaying it in their minds and figuring what they could have done differently, done better, how they could have finished the job (I know some fans who are). And as a result, more so than at any time that I can ever remember, I can’t wait to see what that answer is. This football season isn’t even officially over yet, and I for one, can’t wait for the start of the next one. I hope that the coaches and players will soon be feeling the same.

As I started by saying that this has been a most peculiar feeling for me as a fan, I’ll admit that last weekend’s conference title games were tough to take, and the prospect of the Steelers in the Super Bowl, even tougher. As a Ravens fan, it’s maddening. But maybe that’s the point, or at least the opportunity.

As fans around town unite behind the Packers and their cause in the upcoming Super Bowl, that feels like the right thing to do, if not the easiest. Since at least the day that the Ravens came to town, rooting against the Steelers has been second nature, and as a fan of the Ravens, seeing the Steelers end the season by hoisting a 7^th Lombardi trophy seems like a worst case scenario. But I’ll take the opposite stance anyway, for the betterment of the team I’d hope.

Count me amongst the minority of local fans, real Ravens fans that is, that will be fighting every ounce of Steelers hatred that I have inside of me, and rooting for them to win it all. (Damn it hurts to even type that)

If the sting of the end of their season is something that should serve to motivate the Ravens going forward, if that becomes one more thing that they can rally around in trying to get over the top, then let’s hope to see a little more salt rubbed in that wound. Let’s hope that the Ravens will have to watch the Steelers hoist the Lombardi trophy, their Lombardi trophy, and feel the resultant sting. Let’s hope that when next season begins, it will do so at Heinz Field with the Ravens on the opposing sideline, watching them raise the banner, watching them parade the trophy and kiss the rings. If there’s any chance that by the start of next season the pain of unfulfilled expectations will have dulled or worn off, then let’s hope for insurance policy against it.

A Steelers win in the Super Bowl would likely provide that insurance. There’s little chance of forgetting the fortune that they took from you if they’re constantly being introduced as the 7-time and defending world champs. It’ll be tough for Ray Lewis or anyone else to call scoreboard on the Jets or any other team touting themselves as pre-season champs if they have to evoke the name of the Steelers in doing it. If the fire’s burning inside them now, let’s see it stoked a little more…in the Super Bowl and throughout next season. That’s the type of impact I’m hoping for.

For what it’s worth, that’s my hope for the outcome…all of it. Is there really any greater magnitude to the bragging rights that come with 7 trophies as opposed to 6 anyway? And given the outcome for the team that I was pulling for to begin with, would the Steelers really even want me pulling for them to win now?

For the betterment of the Ravens, a Steelers win sounds counter intuitively like an ideal outcome, and if I hope for that it would still be tough to be disappointed in watching them lose on the big stage. On Super Bowl Sunday, I’ll be taking one for the team and will hopefully will be sitting quietly, angrily, arms crossed brewing over a Steelers win and hoping that the players and coaches are doing the same.

The NFL playoffs have a strange way of turning strengths into weaknesses and weaknesses into strengths.

The playoffs sure have a way of punishing perfection, or near perfection. I have relayed several times on air this week a conversation I had with a friend on the night before the Vikings played the Falcons in the 1998 playoffs. On that occasion, one of the sports news shows was touting Gary Anderson, who had been perfect to that point in the season, as automatic. To that, my friend opined that the 15-1 Vikings were sure to see their season end on a missed field goal. That it happened the next day, at the hands of the Falcons was still quite a surprise.

Last weekend saw Tom Brady enter the postseason on the NFL’s all-time streak of passes without an interception. An early interception set the stage for the Jets’ improbable win. Likewise, Ray Rice entered the post-season without a fumble all year. While his fumble on Saturday was hardly the pivotal moment in the Ravens’ season ending loss, it certainly contributed.

You could even throw in Brady’s ’07 Patriots who went unbeaten into the Super Bowl, while striking a fear in opponents that kept them reluctant to blitz. The Giants ended that run unceremoniously with constant pressure on Brady. We could also mention that last season’s Colts were perfect in the times that they were trying to win. They too failed to finish the deal.

If we apply that logic to the remaining match-ups, we might guess that the Jets would beat the Steelers by running right at them. While that doesn’t seem to be the textbook game plan for beating Pittsburgh, the Jets already rode that strategy to a degree of success in the regular season. Perhaps instead they’ll win by causing Ben Roethlisberger to melt down in the two-minute offense, as that seems to be the Steelers other inherent strength. If the Steelers hope to win, they might make it happen by attacking Darrelle Revis often, or by backing out of their stacked fronts and spreading the field defensively, by making the Jets run and move down the field methodically.

In the other match-up, the Packers might win by kicking to Devin Hester or by attacking Julius Peppers at the line of scrimmage. And the Bears’ best bet might be to stuff the box and stop the Packers improbably successful ground game, and put the game on Aaron Rodgers’ seemingly able shoulders.

If history has shown us anything, it may be that regular season trends are subject to change in a big way once the post-season rolls around. On the other side of the coin, the ’06 Colts found their only opportunity in the Manning era to hoist the Lombardi trophy only when their historically bad (even for Colts standards) run defense turned stout for their playoff run. Or what about the ’08 Cardinals who couldn’t seem to get out of their own way on the road in the regular season? They became road warriors in the playoffs.

From that perspective it may make a little more sense. That teams would try to beat the Colts by running at them was predictable, so the fact that they were ready for it should have been equally predictable. Once teams found themselves at a loss to do it however, they had no answer for Indy. Maybe the Jets strategy against the Patriots on Sunday only worked because it was so out of the realm of the typical Jets / Pats game plan. Maybe Brady struggled with the pressure in ’07 only because the copycat nature of the NFL had teams backing away from the pressure against New England from at least week 6 on. Once charged with dealing with it again, as late as in the Super Bowl, the Patriots simply weren’t ready. And perhaps teams in ’08 simply failed to take the Cardinals seriously, assuming travel alone would have taken a heavier toll on them than in did.

To that end, perhaps we should count ourselves lucky as fans that the Ravens with perhaps the NFL’s best ever defense in 2000, were still able to ride that defense through the post-season. To that I’ll offer this, I always found it curious that as dominant as that defense was, they never scored on their turnovers. In week 17, against the Jets, Chris McAllister had an interception return for a TD, and Jermaine Lewis returned 2 punts for TDs too. Those were (by my count) the only defensive or special teams TDs that the team scored all season. Of course once the playoffs began the defense made up for lost time, piling up TDs on their way to the title. Maybe that was their saving grace against a shift in trend.

This much I’d bet. These have been some of the most curious / interesting playoff games in recent memory. If you could hit the reset button and start back over from the beginning 10 times, you’d almost certainly get at least 6 different winners. As the conference title games get closer and closer, someone else’s luck (2 more in fact) is bound to change for the worst.

The week of preparation is finally over and on Saturday, the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers will hit the field and put their long-standing AFC North and divisional rivalry to the test with a chance to advance to the conference championship on the line.

The Ravens (13-4)-entered the postseason as the five-seed in the AFC playoffs-defeated the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday 30-7 on the road in their opening wild card matchup, and now along with the Jets and Patriots facing off in the other Divisional game, the Ravens are determined to get over the hump known as the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Several Ravens players joined “The Morning Reaction” this week to discuss their eagerness to punish the hated Steelers, and making the AFC Championship by beating them would make it that much more worth it.

“I know the playoff atmosphere is going to be crazy,” linebacker Dannell Ellerbe told Drew Forrester of “The Morning Reaction” earlier this week, “because when we played Pittsburgh earlier this year it was a lot like a playoff game, and that was a regular season game.”

Ellerbe has played well in the recent weeks with the injury to linebacker Tavares Gooden, giving Ellerbe more of an opportunity to showcase his skills again to coach John Harbaugh in the attempt to get out of the dreaded “doghouse”.

Punter Sam Koch also joined Drew and Glenn Clark on Thursday and re-iterated the same point.

“We’re such a closer team this year from last,” Koch said. “And it’s just a vibe that were going to go out and we’re going to do it this year. A lot of people are excited, and we’re all ready to see where we are and where we’ll end up.”

And it would get even better for the Ravens to host the AFC Championship game should the cards play out for them on Sunday.

“It will be a lot of fun,” the Ravens punter said. “It would be even nicer if the Jets beat the Patriots.”

Both Koch and Ellerbe talked about the difficulty though of playing up in a hostile environment of Heinz Field, and with the stakes higher, it makes the challenge of having a solid game of football that much harder.

Koch and Ellerbe both challenged the Ravens fans to be present, active, and lively on Saturday on the road to make it that much harder for the Steelers to concentrate on their game plan.

“We’re going to need every fan we can get there,” Koch added.”Whenever you were going to Pittsburgh or they were coming here, everybody wanted to go to the game, and everybody is cheering you on. It’s just a great atmosphere and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Koch compared the Pittsburgh-Ravens rivalry to the rivalries his alma mater, Nebraska, has with Oklahoma and Colorado, but times ten.

Ellerbe meanwhile compared it to his college-the University of Georgia-and its rivalry with in-state foe Georgia Tech.

The name of that rivalry game?

Good, Old-Fashioned Hate.

And while Ellerbe said he feels the same way toward the Steelers, he did admit that the rivalry takes on a bigger result in the professional leagues of football as opposed to the amateur level of college football.

“It’s different now because we’re in the NFL and more is at stake right now,” Ellerbe said.

“It would be great to get this win and get the best out of three this year and move on in the playoffs.”

WNST has you covered for Saturday’s game versus Pittsburgh! WNST-We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports!

Ravens center Matt Birk was a huge part of the Ravens’ offensive workload on Sunday in the Ravens 30-3 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on the road in the Wild Card opening round,  and he joined Drew Forrester on “The Morning Reaction” to diagnose what the key to victory was over the AFC West champs.

Birk did mention the fact that the Ravens took the momentum out of the game for the Chiefs in the third quarter ,when they forced three Chiefs turnovers, turning a 10-7 Ravens lead into a good, old-fashioned Baltimore beatdown, but ultimately Birk said the offense did its’ part in helping the defense by keeping them fresh.

The Ravens got 13 points in the quarter off Chiefs turnovers or changes of possession, and went into the fourth and final quarter with a little room to work with, up 23-7.

The Ravens offense held the ball for nearly 42 minutes on Sunday, beating the Chiefs at their own game and forcing Matt Cassel to try and beat them as opposed to Jamaal Charles, who was having a field day against the Ravens defense in the first half.

Birk said that was the key in stopping the Chiefs was getting them out of their rhythm, which ultimately forced them to make mistakes.

And on top of tiring out the Chiefs defense while keeping their own fresh, that was another added benefit.

“The longer you stay out there offensively,” Birk said, “the more you can wear a defense down. [We] chipped away, chipped away, and eventually took the crowd out of it and blew the game open in the fourth quarter.”

Eventually the Ravens were able to do one better and take the hostile crowd of Arrowhead Stadium out of the picture as well.

The play that did it in Birk’s mind? The play that emptied the seats at Arrowhead?

This one.

McGahee’s 25 yard touchdown run on 4th and 1 finished a drive where the Ravens ate up nearly ten and a half minutes of game clock and ultimately was the dagger that went in the Chiefs’ chest. It turned a two-possession game(with several two-point conversions) into a game well out of reach and punched the Ravens’ playoff tickets to Pittsburgh.

“When Willis broke that run, that was nice cause it was 4th and 1. We were trying to run the game down and run the clock down. Everybody knows the inconsistencies we have had in the running game this year and the lack of big runs.”

Birk-like his other fellow teammates, Ravens fans, and the media alike-all had a ton of credit to throw the way of Ravens tight end Todd Heap, who became the first-ever Ravens player to top 100-yard receiving in a playoff game.

“Todd’s a great player and Todd gets open a lot,” Birk said. “When you have multiple weapons, you have to see who the defense is going to take away from you and who they are going to gamble with. If they are gambling with Todd Heap, then I like our chances.”

The team now moves on to Heinz Field Saturday in the AFC Divisional matchup against their AFC North rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The two teams split their series this year with the Ravens winning 17-14 in Pittsburgh in Week 4 and the Steelers stealing a win in Baltimore, 13-10, in Week 13.

As linebacker Terrell Suggs said in his postgame press conference, this is how the whole world wanted it to be. The Steelers versus the Ravens, and the Jets versus the Patriots.

“This is a great rivalry,” Birk said of their hatred/respect for the Steelers, “probably the best one in the NFL right now considering what has happened the past few years.”

“I’m sure it’s going to be a heck of an atmosphere and a heck of a game.”

It’s Steeler week here in Baltimore and WNST has you covered! Continue to follow WNST this week as we track the Ravens as they prepare for Pittsburgh! We’re even going up there to watch the battle! Just go to www.wnst.net and click on the TRIPS tab and you can go up with us! WNST-We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports!

If you look back on the totality of this past weekend’s games, I think it’s pretty easy to detect the obvious: every round of the NFL playoffs will present some unpredictable circumstances, as well as some very quirky results …..

Many of us thought 3 of 4 visiting teams would win their respective matchups. But, did we think the New Orleans Saints, as the most resounding favorite (-10.5 points) in NFL history, would be the sole “road loser?”

If I presented the following circumstances: the Indianapolis Colts are losing by one point, they’re driving inside the Jets 30 yard line with less than one minute remaining …. would you predict a Manning win or loss?

If you knew 2 running backs would rush for 100+ yards, and the weekend’s matchups featured names like Ray Rice, Joseph Addai, LaSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles and LaDanian Tomlinson, would you ever imagine that Marshawn Lynch and James Starks would be those guys?

A pretty telling factor …. Michael Vick’s last win was the week before Christmas, when he was being mentioned in the same breath with Tom Brady, for NFL MVP honors.

Does the respective, opposing defense matter? Well …. the Philadelphia Eagles averaged 28 points, per game, during the regular season and the Seattle Seahawks averaged just 19 points, per contest. Which team is still alive?

After a steady December of witnessing snowy, icy games across the midwest and northeast, the first two weeks of January have not been impacted by inclement weather, at all.

Did you ever imagine Joe Flacco and Dan Marino would be mentioned in the same sentence? That’s right, they’re the only quarterbacks to win 36 games in their first 3 seasons. With a win in Pittsburgh, Flacco will stand alone on this record.

Ten years ago, Brandon Stokley caught a touchdown pass in the Ravens Super Bowl victory. Did any of us think he would catch another touchdown, a decade later? He did it Saturday – in Seattle’s win.
Speaking of touchdown receptions …. Anquan Boldin went more than a month (5 weeks) without one. The troubling streak ended yesterday – let’s hope he can have two consecutive games with TD catches for the first time since October 17th and 24th.

With this weekend’s wins by the Ravens and Jets, both AFC wildcard teams advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs, in consecutive seasons, for the first time (2010 & 2011).

Yesterday’s win also yielded John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco as the only HEAD COACH and QUARTERBACK to win playoff games in their first 3 NFL seasons.

On Saturday, the Seattle Seahawks won their 8th game of the season. Their opponent, the New Orleans Saints, won their 8th game of the season, a mere 44 days earlier …. on Thanksgiving Day !!!!

Speaking of those Seahawks, it will be impossible for them to finish with a winning record, UNLESS they win the Super Bowl. That’s correct, if they lose the Super Bowl, they’ll finish the season 10-10 overall.

And finally …..

On a weekend when Matt Ryan debuts as one of Gillette’s new “clean shaven” models, Joe Flacco grew a beard. Who says Joe doesn’t want to be different?