Adam Schefter of the NFL network is reporting that the Ravens will be putting the Franchise Tag on OLB/DE Terrell Suggs. League rules state this his salary would then be the average of the top-five players in his position.

This leads to some interesting maneuvering from the front office. With three of the top five and six of the top 20 highest-paid players (including bonuses) being defensive ends, it makes sense to save the $814,000 by applying the LB tag.

Here are the salary breakdowns:

DE: Julius Peppers, Jason Taylor, Justin Smith, Jevon Kearse and Michael Strahan make up the elite 5 in the DE category, with a franchise salary of $8,879,000.

LB: Ray Lewis, Zach Thomas, Keith Brooking, Keith Bulluck and Nick Barnett make up the highest paid quintet in the LB category, with a franchise salary of $8,065,000.

According to the USA Today Salaries Databases, the Ravens had the 10th highest payroll in the NFL ($104,997,764).

Maybe we should have saved our money and drafted Kevin Hart right out of High School. He really wants to play Division-I ball!

Aaron Wilson has a nice feature story on RavensInsider about Terrell Suggs and his pending unrestricted free agent/franchise tag status.

If Suggs is franchised, he would cost the Ravens $8.065M against the cap ($8.065M being the average of the top five salaries at his position). The Ravens have until February 21st to apply the franchise tag and keep Suggs from becoming a highly sought-after unrestricted free agent.

Rumors are flying that Suggs is seeking a better contract than the one Adalius Thomas signed last year with the New England Patriots (5 years, $35M) and Dwight Freeney’s insane six-year, $72M ($30M guaranteed) contact with the Colts.

Is he worth that kind of money?

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Moments after I posted the coaching update yesterday, the Ravens and Coach Harbaugh made some more personnel acquisitions.  The updated list, current as of this morning, is below:

Head Coach: John Harbaugh
Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator: Rex Ryan
Offensive Coordinator: Cam Cameron
Special Teams Coordinator: Jerry Rosburg
Defensive Line Coach: Clarence Brooks
Outside Linebackers Coach: Mike Pettine
Secondary Coach: Mark Carrier
Running Backs Coach: Wilbert Montgomery
Offensive Line Coach: John Matsko
Assistant Offensive Line Coach: Andy Moeller
Tight Ends Coach: Wade Harman
Special Assistant to the Head Coach: Vic Fangio
Quarterbacks Coach: Hue Jackson

File this under the “Good to Know” category: the Ravens ARE NOT pitching an offer to the Eagles for Donovan McNabb.  No word on the cans of Chunky Soup.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Ozzie Newsome has been disputing reports from ESPN and other media outlets that the Ravens are after the oft-injured QB.

“We have not had one meeting to discuss any personnel on our team or anyone else’s team,” Newsome said yesterday. “We’ve been very busy hiring assistant coaches.”

We already have an injury-prone QB and he’s currently rehabbing his non-throwing shoulder this off-season.  With wholesale coaching changes across the board (with the obvious exception being Rex Ryan), who’s to say that the Ravens won’t roll with Troy Smith and a backup to be named later until they can draft/develop a QB of their own?  Why trade a first round pick for a veteran during a transition year?  It just doesn’t make sense.

Baltimore Ravens coaching staff update, as of February 5, 2007:

Head Coach: John Harbaugh
Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator: Rex Ryan
Offensive Coordinator: Cam Cameron
Special Teams Coordinator: Jerry Rosburg
Defensive Line Coach: Clarence Brooks
Outside Linebackers Coach: Mike Pettine
Secondary Coach: Mark Carrier
Running Backs Coach: Wilbert Montgomery
Offensive Line Coach: John Matsko
Tight Ends Coach: Wade Harman
Special Assistant to the Head Coach: Vic Fangio

I’m sure McGahee would much rather win the real Super Bowl… but with the season we just had, I’m sure Willis will take what he can get.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — It’s not quite the Super Bowl, but Willis McGahee has to be pretty happy with this championship nonetheless.

The Baltimore Ravens running back took home the trophy at Electronic Arts’ Madden Bowl, the annual video game tournament that pits National Football League players against each other in “Madden NFL” matchups prior the big game.

McGahee bested Buffalo running back Marshawn Lynch — the guy who took his old Bills job, coincidentally — during Thursday’s eight-round tournament. Current pro athletes, Dennis Rodman and other partygoers cheered from the sidelines at the packed Martini Ranch nightclub, which had been outfitted with dozens of flat-screen televisions and Xbox 360 video game consoles to accommodate the event.

Other attendees included Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, San Diego Chargers defensive end Luis Castillo, Carolina Panthers linebacker Jon Beason and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Earlier in the day, EA Sports announced that simulations using “Madden NFL 08″ predicted that the New England Patriots would be victorious over the New York Giants by a narrow margin of eight points with a final score of 38-30 at the Super Bowl. The video game’s engine simulated the championship bout using the teams’ most-recent rosters and player statistics.

EA Sports says the simulation has correctly predicted Super Bowl winners for the past five years.

Interesting prediction from Madden 08: 38-30 — that has to make sports boooks really nervous.