Camp Cupcake, where are you when we need you?

Many disliked Brian Billick as head coach, ultimately the least of whom was not owner Steve Bisciotti, who flip-flopped and fired Billick following last year's embarrassing season. My beef with Brian was the play calling: conservative when he shouldn't be, and too aggressive when it made more sense to pound the football. I had no problem with Camp Cupcake (aka Billick's veteran-friendly training camps).

Today Harbaugh lost another tackle. Adam Terry went down with a leg injury. Already both guys penciled in as starting tackles have suffered injuries. At least we have an experienced quarterback who can deal with the increased pressure that would be coupled with any scenario that involves backup tackles. Wait, we still have Boller? And a rookie from Delaware!?!

"Jerry" Porter and the Thizzle Dance

Mac Dre is a Bay Area legend. Mac Dre invented the Thizzle movement, the precursor to Hyphy, going dumb, riding the yellow bus, ghostriding the whip, stunna shades, scrapers, yee, yadadamean, the Yay, the Thizzle Dance, and all that other weird Bay Area shiz at which the entire rest of the world laughs. Unfortunately Mac Dre passed away in 2004. Murdered on Halloween in Kansas City. Rest in peace, Drizzle.

Below is Mac Dre's "Feeling Myself," and below that he kicks it in Hawaii with a guy all Ravens fans love to hate. My friend was friends with Mac Dre, and he filmed this when they were at the Pro Bowl a few years back. Obviously 2003 or earlier. Not sure exactly when. Not that it really matters. It's just funny watching Jerry Porter and his posse get yelled at by a pudgy, middle-aged security guard.

Mac Dre: "Feeling Myself" (Remix)



Mac Dre & "Jerry" Porter

Bruises in Baltimore

Some injury news out of Baltimore this weekend. None of it is great. Only one of them has me worried.

3) Willis McGahee and his lower-left-leg injury are on the sidelines. There is no word on how long he'll be out, though Willis has said that he doesn't expect to be sidelined for too long. Regardless, this injury doesn't have me too worried. I was high on McGahee when the team picked him up from Buffalo, but my appreciation for his game has mellowed somewhat. Nothing that he did, and in no way is it indicative of his performance on the field. Rather, I suspect it's because Jamal played so well in Cleveland, and also because we have Ray Rice. Yes, Ray is small, but when Marshall Faulk says a running back is good, you listen. That's because Marshall knows what he is talking about. You probably sit at a desk all week and then on a couch all weekend, and the last time you probably broke a tackle was in 10th grade running from the cops. So don't trip. If Willis is out, Lil Ray is in.

2) Left tackle Jared Gaither sprained his right ankle. This is worse news than McGahee's undisclosed leg injury. Who can take Gaither's place? Adam Terry? Terry has failed to excel at any spot on the offensive line, and protecting the QB's blindside is not a job that should be left to a guy whose career has spent disappointing people. I'm not saying Gaither is Ogden II, but he definitely is a better choice than Terry. The Ravens have invested a lot of energy (i.e. draft picks) in the offensive line over the past few seasons (e.g. Grubbs, Yanda, Gaither); however, there is little room for error. These guys are young, inexperienced, and will struggle to gel if they continue to plug-and-play between roles.

1) Ngata Ngata Ngata good. Superman DT Haloti Ngata has a sprained MCL. This is the only injury that makes me cringe up my face and cuss silently. If it were the regular season already, I'd be cussing audibly. Coach John Harbaugh had this to say: "We don't think it's serious, but we've got to find out as we go."

Checking in with Charm City

Joe Flacco, Troy Smith and that other guy are all competing for the starting job. Let's not kid ourselves. That other guy has no shot. Here's what Flacco had to say regarding the competition: "We don't really have anything against each other. All we're trying to do is win a spot and do the best we can do. It's just the nature of the position. I don't really have any hard feelings."

I bet you Troy Smith has a few hard feelings, especially if he doesn't win the job. Smith had a horrible showing in practice this week (1-5 with 3 INTs); however, I still think Smith is the lead horse to start week one at home against the Bengals. The Ravens haven't even hit full-squad practices, so I'm not going to freak out about such terrible numbers. Smith has dropped a dozen pounds since last year, so he should be even more elusive than Happy Feet Boller and certainly more so than Mr. Big Flacco. I'm not sure why I'm such a supporter of Smith. I'm definitely an OSU hater, so I suppose it's because I think he has a chance to be a solid NFL QB. Don't make me look foolish, Heisman.

Suggs to skip training camp. Is anyone surprised? Does anyone care? Does it really matter? Sometimes I forget he's on the team. After Pryce went down with an injury, Suggs played as though he were sitting out. Disappeared. Poof. Ghost. Last year was a great year to QB against Baltimore. No other team in the league gave up more deep-ball plays than your "#1" Ravens D. The secondary shares the blame, but the secondary can't guard guys forever. You've got to pressure the QB.

Few other things: Second-round draft pick Ray Rice has signed a four-year deal. Third-round safety Tom Zbikowski has also signed with the team. Samari Rolle is excused from the team to deal with his father's untimely death (heart attack) last week. Then again, death is never timely. Sort of like Kyle Boller in the pocket. My bad. That was mean. All the best to the Rolle family, and, Kyle, get that clipboard ready.

Ovie @ the ESPYs

Last week former Ravens FB Ovie Mughelli and I spent the day on the red carpet at the ESPYs, along with 8,054 of ESPN's closest media friends. Ovie is a good dude and a great fullback. Le'Ron McLain just ain't the same. Below is my recap interview with Ovie (aka Black Knight pt. 2 aka Chocolate Thunder pt. 2 aka Nigerian Nightmare pt. 3).

Visit the Yard to watch Ovie's interviews with Matt Leinart, Braylon Edwards, Bob Sanders, Kellen Winslow, Vernon Davis, P.J. Brown from the Boston Celtics, and the USA women's Olympic volleyball players.

Thanks to the Goon

1) Thanks to Kyle Goon of the Baltimore Sun for his profile on Yardbarker and yours truly. Much appreciated, Kyle.

2) I put up a new Blogimore Ravens logo tonight while procrastinating. I'm sure I'll change it again before the season. In fact, I can guarantee it. Thirty years old (almost) and I can't even commit to a frickin' JPG. No wonder I'm still single.

3) Joe Flacco guaranteed himself a cool $8 million and change when he signed his five-year deal with the Ravens this week. Congratulations, Joe. Now do us all a favor... please don't suck.

4) Tomorrow night I'll be emceeing an event put on by Ronnie Lott's foundation. I'll have some pretty cool video to share. Unfortunately no Ravens will be there, but many greats past and present. Mostly Bay Area guys (e.g. Jerry Rice) but also some rivals (e.g. Michael Irvin) and at least one former Colt. Once I get that video up in the Yard, I'll share that with y'all.

5) I'm looking forward to the season, and blogging more frequently. I also have another blog in the works. Not a post, but an entirely new blog (subject matter, top secret). As soon as I can get a free day, I'm going to get that up and running. Free days are rare. My hope is to have it up by the end of the month. I had hoped to get started on it today, but last night I locked myself out of my apartment after spending about 17 hours traveling to and from Los Angeles for the ESPYs, and I ended up sleeping on my buddy's couch and was miserable (not because of the couch but because I didn't have my laptop and fell behind on work). Unfortunately no Ravens were at the ESPYs, at least not that I saw, but I did get a chance to get some photos and videos of other guys. I'll share those when I get 'em up early next week: Tim Tebow, Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, Tyler Hansbrough, George "Iceman" Gervin, Vernon Davis, and a handful of others that I'm forgetting. That was a long #5, which included probably three things. At least. My bad. I've got to get going. I've got some quote-unquote homework to do tonight in advance of tomorrow's event, and it's already late here on the West Coast. Going to be an all-nighter. Maybe. Except instead of fake studying and drinking, like back in my Villanova days, it'll be actual work. It sucks being an adult. But at least I don't have to commit to anything. At least when it comes to logos. Or paragraph breaks.

Later.

Blogimore on Vacation