Nov 16, 2009; Cleveland, OH, USA; Baltimore Ravens quaterback Joe Flacco (5) talks with wide receiver Mark Clayton (89) and Derrick Mason (85) in the huddle against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The Ravens defeated the Browns 16-0. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

Our trip through the Lions’ 2012 schedule continues with the opponent they’ll face in their second preseason game: the Baltimore Ravens.

My thanks go out to Riley Babcock from Ebony Bird for taking the time to answer my questions.

1. What is your assessment of the Ravens’ draft?

Riley Babcock: I was overall satisfied with the Baltimore Ravens’ draft. The Ravens got some quality players, most of whom will be able to contribute right away. Courtney Upshaw is obviously the best looking pick at the moment due to the recent injury to Terrell Suggs, which generated immense panic throughout the Ravens’ fan base. Kelechi Osemele is the riskiest pick, in my opinion, as I don’t believe his transition from tackle to guard will be as fast as most expect. Bernard Pierce is a mean back that fits well with the Ravens already strong rushing attack and I see Tommy Streeter becoming the next big thing at wideout. As always, we won’t know until the season kicks off, but I’m happy with how they look on paper.

2. The Ravens defense seems to be able to defy age, is this the year it finally catches up with them, particularly with the injury to Terrell Suggs, or can they remain as fearsome as always?

RB: If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being a Ravens’ fan, it’s that you can never count them out. We saw this with the Ray Lewis injury late last season, when many critics doubted the Ravens’ ability to be successful on defense with #52 out of the lineup. While things don’t look as good as they did before Suggs tore his Achilles, there’s plenty of teams who would kill to have Haloti Ngata, Ray Lewis, and Ed Reed on the same team. I feel that the Ravens have built such a strong core of defense, that it would take a massive series of changes to alter that overall team mentality. The Ravens have always symbolized defense and I don’t think we’ll ever see that change.

Brian Russell, Louis Delmas and Ray Lewis… I remember them RT @KINGCOOPER81: how many concussions do you think u had in your career?

— Chad Ochocinco (@ochocinco) May 9, 2012

Although Ochocinco could be correct, it may be impossible to confirm that Delmas was in fact responsible for the hit that made the Patriots wide receiver suffer his second concussion of his career. However, dating back to 2009, Delmas’ rookie season, Delmas would have had two opportunities to give Ochocinco a concussion—one when Ochocinco was a Bengal and one since recently joining the Patriots.

The following dates are possibilities of when the concussion occurred:
- 2009 – Week 13 – Detroit Lions at Cincinnati Bengals
- 2011 – Preseason Week 3 – Detroit Lions vs. New England Patriots

Here’s a big hit from the 2009 meeting that certainly looks the part:

(h/t @j16941 for the video clip)

The Madden video game started featuring players on the cover of US versions with Madden 2001. Since that time, some feel a trend has developed in which bad things happen to the players whose images appear on the game’s cover. The Madden curse theory is now so ingrained in the landscape of NFL fandom that 66% of Lions fans in a recent poll said they don’t want to see Calvin Johnson on the cover of Madden 13.

Is the Madden curse really something to be concerned with? As it turns out, not surprisingly, no.

At this point you have two choices as a Lions fan. One, just go vote for Calvin Johnson over Arian Foster to move on in the cover tournament. Two, read through whatever portion of the next 2,000 words you need to come to your senses and conquer your irrational fears of the Madden curse and then go vote for Calvin Johnson.

Here’s the real story behind all 12 Madden covers. (more…)