Here’s some stuff to get your blood pumping for the season - USA Today’s NFL guys have been putting together a list of the 25 best NFL players of the past 25 years to pass the time until training camp begins. Having worked down from 25, here is #18, All-pro, All-world, All-bad-ass Ray Lewis:

Ray Lewis has been the lifeblood of the Baltimore Ravens’ defense for the past decade. But he might also be the NFL’s most physically dominating player during the same span, an achievement that has earned him the 18th spot on USA TODAY’s list.

A seven-time Pro Bowler. The MVP of Super Bowl XXXV. The NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003. Lewis has won nearly every major award for which he’s eligible in his 11-year career.

Drafted with the 26th overall pick by Baltimore in the franchise’s inaugural season, Lewis made an immediate impact as he was named to USA TODAY’s all-rookie team in 1996. Named to the All-Pro team six times, Lewis has directed a Ravens defense that has consistently ranked near the top throughout his career.

…

Lewis’ signature season came in the Ravens’ Super Bowl-winning campaign of 2000. His unit recorded four shutouts and set NFL marks for fewest rushing yards allowed and fewest points surrendered in a 16-game season. The defense then permitted just one touchdown in the postseason, when Baltimore outscored its opponents 95-23.

The Ravens linebacker is regarded as one of the most ferocious hitters in the league. “He wants to break someone in half each time he hits them,” current Dolphins general manager Randy Mueller told USA TODAY about Lewis in 2004.

Lewis’ passion — whether his fiery pre-game introductions ritual, the mean glare he wears onto the field or the intense focus he brings to his job — has been as much a hallmark of his career as his devastating tackles.

“A linebacker’s job,” he told USA TODAY in 2005, “is to knock out running backs, to knock out receivers, to chase the football.”

Nobody does that better than Ray Lewis. And to think, morons like Pete Prisco and Adam Schein think that Ray is done because he’s ‘old.’ I guess they didn’t read that he’s in the best shape of his pro career…

BaltimoreRavens.com has their Top 5 touchdowns of 2006 online, and it’s up to the fans to vote in their favorite.

To be honest, this was my single favorite moment in 2006:

Ah, memories. But really, here are BR.com’s top five (listed chronologically):

• Chris McAlister’s 60-yard interception return at Tampa Bay (Week 1)
• Todd Heap dives into the end zone from the 3-yard line for the game-winning TD vs. San Diego (Week 4)
• Steve McNair’s untouched QB-draw at New Orleans (Week 8 )
• McNair hooks up with Derrick Mason in the back of the end zone for what proved to be the game-winning TD at Tennessee (Week 10)
• Mark Clayton’s 87-yard reception from McNair at Kansas City (Week 14)

If I had to rank ‘em, here’s how I would go:

1. Mark Clayton’s 87-yard reception in Kansas City. For starters, I was actually at the game. I had ironically just left D.C. and was flying out of BWI at 6-ish in the morning with a whole boatload of Ravens fans. It was kind of cool being on the Purple and Black plane.Anyway, being from St. Louis, I’ve run into my fair share of Chiefs fans, one of which is my good friend, John. John managed to get tickets to the game, so when I had the opportunity to fly out of BWI and into KC, I had to jump at it. I had been to Camarohead once before, for a Chiefs vs. Texans matchup (that KC lost, by the way), so I knew how hostile the environment would be. Nonetheless, I proudly wore my black Ed Reed jersey and took shit from everyone around.

   It’s brutally hard to win in KC in the winter months, and when I saw Clayton streaking out, having just burned the D-back on a sweet double-move, I stood up in awe. I saw McNair unload a PERFECT pass right into Clayton’s outstretched arms and just couldn’t believe it…

2. Todd Heap does his Superman impression, beating the Chargers in Week 4. I love watching football. Lord, do I love it. But I hate close games. I nearly had three heart attacks last season, and Week 4 was no different.  McNair engineered a 60 yard drive that was capped with Heap giving Steroids Merriman the cold shoulder (see? steroids don’t help you stop bad-ass TEs from winning games). When Heap dropped his shoulder into ‘ole Roidy, I thought that the drive was over… but when he leaped into the end zone with the football extended, I literally spit out my beer and nearly fainted. Todd Heap just PWN3D Shawne Merriman and the Bolts.
3. McNair to Mason Redux, Week 10. Yet another game I was able to attend. Y’see, if I can’t make it out to Baltimore for the games, I travel really, really well. This time, I dragged the soon-to-be wife out to the game to experience some Ravens football… and I really wish I would have left her at home the way the Ravens played! The Ravens played scared in the first half, with McNair looking like a pile of crap, throwing like a pile of crap, and the defense playing like a pile of crap, not able to stop the run. Then something cool happened - the Ravens charged back from what I felt was a nearly impossible deficit, capped with McNair to Mason… something all too familiar with the Titans fans. 20 unanswered points and a Trevor Price blocked punt later, we headed down to my favorite Nashville bar, the Beer Sellar.
4. Chris McAlister sets the defensive tone for the season with a Week 1 INT returned for a Touchdown. I’ll make this one short, as I’ve rambled quite a bit… so… I knew we’d beat the crap out of the Buccaneers, I just didn’t know we’d make Phil Simms look so bad. What an opener!
5. McNair opens up the Weak 8 defense in New Orleans and marches in (see what I did there?). I’ll be honest: I wasn’t able to watch this game, which is why this is so low on my list. Y’see, I was at the St. Louis Cardinals’ World Series Championship parade. I was, however, getting updates sent to my phone constantly. I still have the game on my TiVo, so I should probably watch it sometime before the 2007 season kicks off…

So, there you have it - my top 5 plays, in order, as picked by BR.com. (I still think that Bart Scott totally owning Ben Worthlessberger is my absolutely favorite moment of last year)

This weekend I’m heading on a road trip to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ballpark.

My trip has me and mine stopping off at Red Hot Mama’s place tomorrow night in the heart of Colts country, then we’ll all pack up and head off to Cincinnati, where I’ll be hated even more for wearing a Ravens hat and an Adam Wainwright jersey in the middle of Bengals land.

My aunt just moved to Cleveland. You bet your ass I’m flying in to the Cleve to see the Ravens play the Browns this year. Hell, I may even rent a car if I go up there and head over to Pittsburgh for a Steelers or Pirates game.

I’m still looking to fly out to Baltimore for two games: Rams @ Ravens and Steelers @ Ravens on my Birthday (December 30).

Either way, I’ve got the entire AFC North covered this year. That’s a lot of road games!

Memo to all 2007 NFL rookies: I hope you brought something to keep yourself busy, because this ‘four day summit’ sounds like the biggest waste of time.

The ever-present Mike Duffy of BaltimoreRavens.com penned an interesting story about a mandatory meeting NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called to order to address player conduct.

When it comes to Sundays in the NFL, the phrase, “Just go play football,” is tossed around the locker room, breaking down the game into X’s and O’s on the field.

But that’s just Sunday.

At the NFL’s Rookie Symposium, which began June 24, the league attempts to address the rest of the week.

The four-day summit is attended by all 255 players selected in the 2007 NFL Draft, mainly focusing on the players’ lives off the field. It is a chance to discuss the challenges that the rookies will face throughout their careers, whether it is substance abuse, media and fan relations, family issues, finances, or simply what it’s like to be a rookie.

Good to see the NFL commish trying to put the kabash on extra-curricular activities. Now that Pacman and half the Bengals have been disciplined by the league, I’m glad that Goodell is sitting all of the rooks down for a stern talking-to. But why limit this to the rookies? Surely veteran players need to pull their heads out of the sand to listen to this as well, right?

Right?

As a first-time homeowner, I find myself watching quite a bit of the DIY Network. You can imagine my surprise when I saw Tony Siragusa pimping a lame-ass show called Man Caves, where mentally underprivledged guys who don’t know the difference between a table saw and a DVD player try to make their basements look ‘cool.’ It turns out that he’s actually on the show as a co-host.

Acting isn’t new to the Goose - he was in a Spike Lee film, for godssakes. How? He’s a big, slow, fat, awkward looking former football player! What could he possibly bring to the table? He acted with Ed Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson, and Brian Cox… did something rub off on him?

That got me thinking - just how much random stuff is the Goose involved in? I thought I would compile a brief list:

• You can book Tony for a speaking engagement if you have a few grand laying around…
• Netflix 25th hour and watch Tony play a Russian dude.
• Netflix The Sporanos and watch Tony play a big tough dude (really stretching his acting ability, fo’ real).
• Eat some of his Ribs - the ‘fillet mignon of ribs’. Oooookay…
• You could pop in some headphones while he butchers coverage for Fox’s NFL team.
• You could laugh at his bad-ass mullet:
  

Don’t get me wrong - I loved watching the Goose when he was tearing up the field with the Ravens, but this is getting silly. What’s next? An underwater basket weaving seminar? An organ harvesting and maintenance show on TLC?

His speaking bio made me think he came up real lame - who would want to book a guy with a bio like this?

Tony had a pet boa constrictor and a tarantula with college roommate Burt Grossman and currently owns a yellow Labrador retriever named Sambuca and a cat named Parmesan. He also rides a Harley and owns a 30-foot fishing boat in Florida to fish for Marlin and to scuba dive. Tony has a deep friendship with the members of the band “Hootie and the Blowfish” and once performed on stage with Meat Loaf during Super Bowl week in Phoenix.

Hootie? Meat Loaf? Good gravy…

At any rate, with all the ventures Siragusa has involved himself with (and I’m sure I’m missing quite a few), his accountant must be working overtime every February through April.

The Carroll County Times has some information that Ravens fans may find handy… training camp details!

OWINGS MILLS — The Baltimore Ravens’ six-week vacation ends late next month when the defending AFC North champions report to Westminster for their annual training camp.

It will be a busy period at McDaniel College with 27 practices scheduled over the course of the 20-day camp, including a scrimmage against the Washington Redskins at M&T Bank Stadium on Aug. 4.

The Ravens report to the team hotel July 29 for an afternoon team meeting followed by an 8:15 a.m. practice the following morning to officially launch camp. Camp is scheduled to break Aug. 18 when the team will return to its Owings Mills training complex.

“We’ve had a productive offseason, our players are in shape and we’ll hit the ground running on July 30,” Ravens coach Brian Billick said in a statement. “Coming off a 13-3 season, a lot is expected of us. That’s good, because we expect a lot of ourselves. We’re excited about and prepared for a challenging season.”

All of the practices are open to the general public except Aug. 6.

The Ravens open the preseason with home games against the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants on Aug. 13 and Aug. 19, respectively. They play the Redskins on the road on Aug. 25 and conclude the preseason on Aug. 31 against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome.

The Ravens, who lost 15-6 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts in an AFC divisional playoff last January, return 18 of 22 starters and All-Pro linebacker Adalius Thomas was the most notable free agent departure.

The Ravens are under contract to hold camp at McDaniel, a private, liberal arts school, through the summer of 2010.

First, this is great news.  As some of you may/may not know, I’m a HUGE St. Louis Cardinals fan.  This season sucks isn’t exactly going as well as I hoped, so any Ravens news is good news… especially when it means that football is right around the corner.

Second, did I mention that football is right around the corner?  It seems like forever since we held Peyton Manning and the Colts to ZERO touchdowns in the playoffs, and I’m itching to put on the purple and black and walk around the streets of St. Louis getting funny looks as people wonder why a Ravens fan lives in the heart of Rams country.

Finally, I never really understood why teams hold training camps at small liberal arts colleges.  Are the fields in great condition because they’re never used? Or when they are used, the athletes are usually cream puffs?

One of life’s great mysteries, I guess.

Are you excited about Willis McGahee replacing Jamal Lewis yet? I know I am…

On the official site, Mike Duffy writes:

Looking back on the Ravens’ organized team activities (OTAs), which wrapped up last week, Willis McGahee admitted that he was wary of meeting his new teammates for the first time.

After all, the personnel staff that nabbed him from Buffalo already knew what the former Bill could bring to Baltimore. The Ravens’ coaching team had already spent face-time with McGahee since the March trade took place.

So while there was a sense of camaraderie and fellowship as the players that had previously worn purple and black returned to their familiar team headquarters, there was also a new starting running back to meet. The welcome mat was certainly placed in front of the locker room from the start, but nobody had played with McGahee before.

It only took a few plays from scrimmage for the Ravens’ veterans to realize what those minds upstairs were thinking.

“I think he is going to be a great addition to the team,” said quarterback Steve McNair. “Looking at him and how he’s getting a feel for this offense, he’s not only going to help us in the running game but also the passing game.

“If you give the ball to him at five yards, you’ll get 10 out of it. Those are all the things he brings to the table, with his experience and with his ability to get outside to make plays.”

That’s exactly what I’m looking for in a back - you don’t necessarily need a prototypical ‘power back’, but rather someone who is smart enough to find a hole, a lane - anything, and turn 5 into 10.

In his second season as a Raven, McNair has some great targets - Mason, Clayton, Williams, Heap, Wilcox… and now McGahee. That has the potential to be a really scary list once we start playing games that matter.

Duffy continues:

Offensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel was in agreement after watching tape of McGahee, who will provide an alternative to the power-running style of Jamal Lewis, whom the Ravens released this offseason.

The four-year veteran sat out his rookie campaign while recovering from a major knee injury, but bounced back with two-consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. After rushing for 990 yards in 2006, the Ravens are looking for their young and athletic offensive line to help McGahee break the 1,000-yard barrier again.

“With McGahee, we’ll probably be more in one-back [formation],” Neuheisel explained. “He’s more of a draw runner, outside, zone runner, able to use his speed. Our personnel will adapt to the style of the runner. We’ll have a chance to be more explosive and get four receivers down the field fast.”

That philosophy-change showed in OTAs, as McGahee was frequently seen making the linebackers work to cover him out of the backfield.

“You can’t be grabbing me,” he kidded Bart Scott when the linebacker got a handful of jersey during a skel drill.

Much like how McNair took the offense up a notch last year, I have a feeling that McGahee will be the icing on the McCake. Is a 1,000+ yard season out of the question? Absolutely not. With our athletic line opening up the holes, he’ll break off some big gains.

McGahee’s tattoo reads “Guess Who’s Back?”

The Baltimore running game.

Quote of the Day:
“[This is a] perfect scenario, perfect situation, perfect team. It doesn’t get any better than this. When I got here, at first I was little nervous. But it’s all love right now.”
-Willis McGahee

Some interesting tidbits on the Ravens’ otherwise slow off-season:

Pete Prisco is still a brain-dead moron.  He released his top 50 players list, and despite Ray Lewis saying that he’s in the best shape of his career, dropped him all the way down to #32 (all this in spite of Prisco saying that “Some scouts say he’s lost a step. If he has, he’s still the best at his position in the AFC”).

Ed Reed comes in at #17.

Is Prisco really saying that a ball-hawkin’ Ed Reed is worse than Andre Johnson?  Because I just don’t buy that.  He’s the most complete (and highest paid) safety in the game.

Adam Schein of FoxSports.com thinks that Demetrius Williams will be a breakout player in 2007:

Last season was a breakout campaign for Mark Clayton. This year, Williams is going to shred his rookie numbers of 22 catches and two touchdowns. Williams became a favorite target of Steve McNair in the vertical passing attack late in the season with his speed, body and hands. The second-year receiver will very much be a factor early on in the, dare we say it, explosive Ravens offense.

Explosive and Ravens offense in the same sentance?!  What a difference a year makes!

I really, honestly, deep-down want to believe that if the Ravens have a league-average offense, they can play deep in the playoffs.  Who knows, with a healthy Willis McGahee hitting cutback lanes and accelerating through holes, we may have an above average offense.  If it is as ‘explosive’ as Schein thinks it can be, we may be in for a real treat in 2007.

I’m hoping we get to play the role of underdogs again.  That sure was fun…