Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a National Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Franchise history

The Baltimore Ravens' first season was in 1996 after owner Art Modell relocated the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. Modell hired Ted Marchibroda who has previous experience with the Baltimore Colts during the 1970s and the Indianapolis Colts during the early 1990s, to coach the team. Ozzie Newsome, Cleveland's prolific tight end for many seasons, joined Modell in Baltimore as director of football operations. He was later promoted to Vice President/General Manager.

Related Topics:
1996 - Art Modell - Cleveland Browns - Baltimore - Ted Marchibroda - Baltimore Colts - 1970s - 1990s - Ozzie Newsome

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The NFL officially made its return to Baltimore after a 13-year hiatus on September 1, 1996, with a 19-14 Ravens win over the Oakland Raiders. That was one of the team's few highlights in their inaugural season. Despite 33 touchdown passes by Vinny Testaverde (second behind Brett Favre) - fourteen of them to Michael Jackson - the Ravens blew several leads through the season and finished 4-12.

Related Topics:
September 1 - 1996 - Oakland Raiders - Vinny Testaverde - Brett Favre - Michael Jackson

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Testaverde and the Ravens struggled in the 1997 season after starting off with an early winning streak. Peter Boulware, with 11.5 sacks, was named AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year, but the Ravens finished 6-9-1.

Related Topics:
1997 - Peter Boulware

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Baltimore continued to struggle in 1998. Testaverde, who had left for the New York Jets, was replaced with former Indianapolis Colt Jim Harbaugh, and later, Eric Zeier - neither of which proved to be very effective. Cornerback Rod Woodson joined the team after a successful stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Priest Holmes started getting his first meaningful playing time of his career and ran for 1000 yards, but the Ravens could only muster a 6-10 record.

Related Topics:
1998 - New York Jets - Jim Harbaugh - Eric Zeier - Rod Woodson - Pittsburgh Steelers - Priest Holmes

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After three consecutive losing seasons, Marchibroda was succeeded by Brian Billick, who had served as the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings the season before.

Related Topics:
Brian Billick - Minnesota Vikings

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The 1999 season, their first at the new M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore showed a marked improvement. Quarterback Tony Banks came to Baltimore from the St. Louis Rams and had the best season of his career with 17 touchdown passes and an 81.2 pass rating. He was joined by receiver Qadry Ismail, who posted a 1000-yard season. The Ravens struggled early, starting 3-6; but rattled off four consecutive wins to put themselves in playoff contention. A loss in the final week sent them home early with an 8-8 record.

Related Topics:
1999 - M&T Bank Stadium - Tony Banks - St. Louis Rams - Pass rating - Qadry Ismail

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Banks shared playing time in the 2000 regular season with Trent Dilfer. Both players put up decent numbers (and a 1300-yard rushing season by rookie Jamal Lewis helped too), but the defense became the team's hallmark, and bailed a struggling offense out in many cases through the season. Ray Lewis, who had been charged with murder in the offseason, was named Defensive Player of the Year. Two of his defensive teammates, Sam Adams and Rod Woodson, made the Pro Bowl. The season started strong, with a 5-1 start for Baltimore. But the team struggled through mid-season, at one point going four games without scoring an offensive touchdown. The team regrouped and won each of their last seven games, finishing 12-4 and in the playoffs for the first time since the team was based in Cleveland.

Related Topics:
2000 - Trent Dilfer - Jamal Lewis - Ray Lewis - Murder - Sam Adams - Rod Woodson - Pro Bowl - Playoffs

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Since the divisional rival Tennessee Titans had a record of 13-3, the Ravens had to play in the wild card round. They dominated the Denver Broncos 21-3 in their first game, their only playoff game in Baltimore. In the divisional playoff, they went on the road to Tennessee. Tied 10-10 in the fourth quarter, an Al Del Greco field goal attempt was blocked and returned for a touchdown by Anthony Mitchell, and a Ray Lewis interception return for a score put the game squarely in Baltimore's favor. The 24-10 win put the Ravens in the AFC Championship against the Oakland Raiders. The game was rarely in doubt. Shannon Sharpe's 96-yard touchdown catch early in the second quarter followed by an injury to Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon were the differences as the Ravens won easily, 16-3.

Related Topics:
Tennessee Titans - Wild card - Denver Broncos - Al Del Greco - Field goal - Anthony Mitchell - Ray Lewis - AFC Championship - Oakland Raiders - Shannon Sharpe - Rich Gannon

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Baltimore then went to Tampa for Super Bowl XXXV against the New York Giants. The game was, once again, dominated by the Ravens. They recorded four sacks and forced five turnovers, one of which was a Kerry Collins interception returned for a touchdown by Duane Starks. The Giants' only scoring was a Ron Dixon kickoff return for another touchdown, but the Ravens immediately countered with one by Jermaine Lewis. The Ravens became champions with a 34-7 win, becoming only the third wild card team to win a Super Bowl championship.

Related Topics:
Tampa - Super Bowl XXXV - New York Giants - Kerry Collins - Duane Starks - Ron Dixon - Jermaine Lewis - Wild card

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In 2001, the Ravens attempted to defend their title, but with a new quarterback: Elvis Grbac. An injury to Jamal Lewis and poor offensive performance stymied the team. After a 3-3 start the Ravens needed a win over the Minnesota Vikings in the final week to clinch a wild card berth at 10-6. In the first round the Ravens showed flashes of their previous year with a 20-3 blowout over the Miami Dolphins, in which the team forced three turnovers and outgained the Dolphins 347 yards to 151. In the divisional playoff the Ravens played the surprising Pittsburgh Steelers. Three interceptions by Grbac ended the Ravens season, as they lost 27-10.

Related Topics:
2001 - Elvis Grbac - Jamal Lewis - Minnesota Vikings - Miami Dolphins - Pittsburgh Steelers

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Baltimore ran into salary cap problems in 2002 and were forced to cut several players, including Sam Adams, Rod Woodson and Shannon Sharpe. The Ravens regrouped through the draft with picks like safety Ed Reed. Longtime backup QB Chris Redman took over behind center. The Ravens stayed somewhat competitive, before a December slide cost them a playoff spot with a 7-9 final record.

Related Topics:
Salary cap - 2002 - Sam Adams - Rod Woodson - Shannon Sharpe - Ed Reed - Chris Redman - December

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In 2003, the Ravens drafted their new quarterback, Kyle Boller, but he was injured midway through the season and replaced with Anthony Wright. Jamal Lewis ran for 2066 yards (including an record 295 yards in one game against the Cleveland Browns on September 14), easily tops in the NFL. With a 10-6 record, Baltimore won their first AFC North division title. Their first playoff game, at home against the Tennessee Titans, went back and forth, with the Ravens being held to only 54 yards total rushing. The Titans won 20-17 on a late field goal, and Baltimore's season ended early.

Related Topics:
2003 - Kyle Boller - Anthony Wright - Cleveland Browns - September 14 - AFC North - Tennessee Titans

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In April 2003, Art Modell sold 49% of the team to Steve Bisciotti a local businessman who had made his fortune in the temporary staffing field. After the season, Art Modell officially transferred his remaining 51% ownership to Bisciotti ending over 40 years of tenure as an NFL franchise owner. Modell still has an office at the Ravens' headquarters in Owings Mills Maryland and acts as a consultant.

Related Topics:
Art Modell - Steve Bisciotti

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The Ravens looked like they had signed Terrell Owens in the 2004 offseason, but he backed out and went to the eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles instead. Boller remained quarterback through the entire season. Ed Reed became a full-fleged star on defense, with nine interceptions. Baltimore remained in playoff contention the entire season, but a 2-4 slide in their last six games ultimately forced them out of the postseason at 9-7.

Related Topics:
Terrell Owens - 2004 - Philadelphia Eagles - Ed Reed

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In the 2005 offseason the Ravens looked to augment their receiving corps (which was second-worst in the NFL in 2004) by signing Derrick Mason from the Titans and drafting star Oklahoma wide receiver Mark Clayton in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft.

Related Topics:
2005 - Derrick Mason - Mark Clayton - 2005 NFL Draft

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The 2005 season began as the featured Sunday Night football game televised by ESPN. This game against the Indianapolis Colts led the announcer to state, "What a wonderful way to begin the season, the game between the team that plays here now and the team which used to play here." The game's first half was a defensive slugfest, with the score at the half 3-0 Colts, but the second half saw the Ravens fall apart and starting QB Kyle Boller was lost to a foot injury. In the 2nd week road opener versus historic rival Tennessee, backup QB Anthony Wright failed to spark the offense and the defense couldn't hold the Titans back, allowing the second straight loss. During the team's bye week, coach Billick tried to install the idea that after the bye, the season starts anew and they forget about their past losses. The Ravens continued to struggle on offense, but the defense held, and the Ravens won their Week 4 game against the Jets.

Related Topics:
2005 - Sunday Night football - ESPN - Indianapolis Colts - Kyle Boller - Anthony Wright

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Season-by-season