Larry Brown Sports

Ray Lewis and Ed Reed have been the core of the Baltimore Ravens’ stellar defense over the past decade, but both players are aging and at some point may either retire or move to another team. CBS Sports’ Jason LaCanfora reported on Sunday that the team is bracing for the possibility of life without both players.

Lewis is 37 and has been out since tearing his triceps in Week 6. He is scheduled to earn $5.4 million next season, and LaCanfora says the Ravens are leery about paying him that kind of money to potentially be a part-time player. Additionally, the team reportedly is concerned that Lewis wouldn’t accept being a part-time player should matters come to that. Given Lewis’ age, there has been looming speculation that the 13-time Pro Bowler might retire after the season. We have heard that might be the case, though it’s possible he might want to return to play a full season rather than go out following an injury.

Reed will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, and the 34-year-old safety could be in for another long contract negotiation with the team. LaCanfora says Reed would not take to being franchise tagged very well. Reed mentioned the possibility of retirement in May when he was seeking a new contract from the team. He’s in the final season of a six-year, $44.4 million deal signed in 2006.

Who knows if Reed will retire as he’s threatened, return to Baltimore, or sign with another team. What we do know is that Baltimore reportedly is preparing for a future without either player.

The Ravens are 10-5 and visit the 9-6 Bengals on Sunday. They’ve clinched a playoff spot for the fifth consecutive season, but their defense has slipped from allowing the third-fewest points in the league the past three seasons to ranking 12th this season.

Eli Manning has the benefit of having more than just game film at his disposal to prepare for the New York Giants’ game against the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. He has an older brother. The Denver Broncos defeated the Ravens in convincing fashion last Sunday, which means Eli’s next opponent is fresh on Peyton Manning’s mind.

“I talked to him a little bit and watched the game,” Eli Manning said on Wednesday according to the Baltimore Sun. “Our offenses are a little different. I tried to just watch the game and see what they were doing and see how the defense played certain looks. So I talked to him a little bit, but it’s really going to be a matter of our own preparation and trying to understand what type of scheme we’re going to run against them.”

Peyton didn’t exactly light it up (17-for-28, 204 yards, 1 TD), but he didn’t have to. Baltimore made so many mistakes that Denver’s offense had to do very little. However, Peyton is a known student of the game who can certainly pass on anything he saw to his little brother. Given the fact that the Giants are in a three-way tie atop the NFC East with two regular season games remaining, Eli will take all the advice he can get.

It should be noted that Eli also sought advice from Peyton earlier in the season after big brother lit up the Cincinnati Bengals. Eli wound up throwing for 215 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in a loss to the Bengals, so hopefully Peyton’s wisdom has more of an impact this time around.

Photo credit: Jim O’Connor-US PRESSWIRE

The Baltimore Ravens surprised most people when they announced the firing of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron with three games left in the regular season. Jay Glazer reported on FOX NFL Sunday that Cameron’s dismissal did not surprise the team’s players; many of them had been looking for a change for a while.

Glazer says Ravens players have been clamoring for a change for over a year. Players reportedly have gone to the front office and head coach John Harbaugh to complain about Cameron. Glazer also says players were frustrated that Cameron wouldn’t adjust gameplans when it was clear to them that they weren’t working during games.

According to Glazer, the edict came down from ownership a few weeks ago to remove Cameron. Harbaugh reportedly helped Cameron hang on for as long he could until he was finally let go.

Glazer’s report isn’t at all shocking. Not only has the media questioned Cameron, but linebacker Terrell Suggs publicly questioned the coordinator’s usage of offensive playmakers Ray Rice and Anquan Boldin last season.

Cameron had been the team’s offensive coordinator since 2008 after being fired following a 1-15 season as head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

For what it’s worth, the Ravens were held to three points through the first three quarters at home in a 34-17 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. They had a fumble, interception, and five punts in their first seven possessions with Jim Caldwell as offensive coordinator.

We think the Ravens should have fired Cameron before the season began, and that they should have turned to someone other than Caldwell.

The Baltimore Ravens may have one of the best records in football, but that doesn’t mean their season has been free of problems — both on the field and behind the scenes. In fact, just last month head coach John Harbaugh found himself having to work through a player revolt that started when several Ravens veterans did not want to practice in pads.

According to Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports, Harbaugh broke the bad news to the Ravens about a full-pad practice on Halloween morning — 10 days after they suffered a 43-13 loss against the Houston Texans.

“It was practically a mutiny,” one Ravens player said. “It came very close to getting out of control. But the way Coach Harbaugh handled it was amazing. He let people have their say, and he listened, and he explained himself, and pretty soon it was like a big group-therapy session. In the end, a lot of positive things were said. We didn’t practice in pads, but we came out of there stronger as a group.”

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If the Ravens front office was looking for leverage in contract negotiations with Joe Flacco, they found none this week. Baltimore is expected to give Flacco more freedom this season and let him run the no-huddle offense, and he turned that freedom into 21-for-29 passing, 299 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 44-13 win over Cincinnati Monday night. He also got the ultimate endorsement from his head coach after the game.

“Pay him whatever he wants,” John Harbaugh said while bursting into laughter, according to the Baltimore Sun. “Pay the man.

“We’ve always stood up here, and we’ve always, all our coaches, the organization, we know what we’ve got in this guy. Of course he is (elite). He is a winner. He is one of the toughest quarterbacks I have ever been around. He’s the best quarterback I’ve ever been around.”

Flacco and his agent certainly appreciate the kind words. We already knew he had confidence based on statements like this one that he is made in the past. Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome has openly stated that he wants to see Flacco back up his comments and perform like an elite quarterback, and if Monday was any indication he just might do that this season. With Matt Schaub having just received a four-year, $62 million extension from the Texans, Flacco is in a great position. If he continues to play like he did against the Bengals, the Baltimore front office should be happy to open its check book.

Photo Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

Fans who attended the August 17 preseason game between the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions have been urged to contact their local health department following a potential rabies scare at M&T Bank Stadium. During the game, a bat reportedly landed on a person in the stands. The bat was not captured and therefore can not be tested for rabies.

Bats commonly carry rabies and officials said in a press release that rabies can change animal behavior, making typically friendly, domesticated animals more aggressive and wild animals more friendly. Since bats are usually afraid of people, it is somewhat alarming that one may have landed on a fan. The Maryland health department urges people to avoid touching any bat that should enter their home and to try to capture it and not let it go until animal control has tested it, unless you are sure no animal or person in your household came into contact with the bat.

We have seen several incidences of animals in sports over the years like a this furry creature delaying a baseball game or a golfer getting attacked by a reptile, but possible exposure to rabies has to be among the strangest occurrences. Hopefully no fans who attended the game were affected.

If you have not yet seen the way the Ravens 2011 season came to an end, you probably aren’t a sports fan. If that’s the case, I’m sorry you ended up on this site. For those of us who have seen at least a dozen replays of Billy Cundiff shanking a 32-yard field goal, we know how painful the AFC Championship game was for Baltimore. Cundiff has been called the Billy Buckner of football among many other not-so-nice nicknames, but I think Steelers safety Ryan Clark may have come up with the best metaphor thus far.

“I know for those guys it is heart breaking, but that is what football is about,” Clark said during an interview with 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh Wednesday. “You have to make every play and New England made just enough plays to win the game. I know it seems like for the Ravens right now always the bridesmaid and never a bride. It just shows that no matter how good your team is from year to year, no matter how many future Hall of Famers you have, you have to perform every day and winning Super Bowls is hard.”

What about always the best man and never a groom? I know that phrase wouldn’t be as powerful, but the Ravens and Steelers already don’t like each other.  Whether he meant anything by it or not, being compared to a bridesmaid has to irritate the Ravens — even if only a little.

That being said, Clark is right.  The Ravens are their own worst enemy right now in terms of getting over the hump.  They have been one of the best teams in the AFC for the last several year, but they continue to find ways to lose big games.  Oftentimes the more that happens, the tougher performing in the clutch becomes.