Fun Ravens Facts You May Not Know

[EdTheMythicalOne]

Many of you know that Joe Flacco is the leader in all of the Ravens franchise passing records.

Did you know that the second longest tenured QB in Ravens history does NOT hold the second place for all of those records?

QB Kyle Boller is 2nd all time on the Ravens passing yard list, but did you know that he BARELY edges out Vinny Testaverde? Despite playing for 5 seasons with the Ravens, Kyle Boller has 7,846 passing yards compared to Vinny Testaverde's 7,148 in two seasons.

Did you know that Vinny Testaverde is second in franchise passing TD's? He has 51 TDs as a Raven compared to Boller's 45.

Did you know that Vinny Testaverde still holds the Ravens single season records for passing yards; 4,177 and single season passing TDs with 33?

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

8 minutes ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

Ma'ake Kemoeatu and Chris Kemoeatu, who played for the Steelers of all teams. And there is a Did you know to go along with that....Did you know that Ma'ake donated a kidney to his younger brother Chris?

It does make sense to stick with brothers that played on the Ravens and it is a cool addition to the thread so thank you for adding it.

Also forgot Jamie Sharper, Darren Sharper. 

[EdTheMythicalOne]

Many of you may know that the Ravens first coach was Ted Marchibroda, but....

Did you know that he coached the BALTIMORE Colts from 1975 to 1979?

Did you also know that he actually coached the INDIANAPOLIS Colts from 1992 to 1995 before becoming the Ravens coach in 1996?

Talk about a very strange journey.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

16 minutes ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

Also forgot Jamie Sharper, Darren Sharper. 

Ray Lewis and Keon Lattimore.

[Sherly_Tebow]

Thought this might fit here...

Just saw a 3 year old on Steve Harvey's 'Little Big Shot' have a talent for being able to list every Ravens player by their number. He was 10/10 in the segment. I thought it was pretty awesome. Fun fact, 3 year olds make great Ravens fans! Lol

Edited July 30, 2016 by Sherly_Tebow

[Nightman]

On ‎7‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 9:22 PM, EdTheMythicalOne said:

Many of you may know that the Ravens first coach was Ted Marchibroda, but....

Did you know that he coached the BALTIMORE Colts from 1975 to 1979?

Did you also know that he actually coached the INDIANAPOLIS Colts from 1992 to 1995 before becoming the Ravens coach in 1996?

Talk about a very strange journey.

Had the USFL actually played in the fall of 1986, Ted Maricbroada was going to replace Jim Mora as Coach of the Stars, as Mora already accepted the job with the New Orleans Saints.

Ted's record with the Ravens, 16-31-1 over 3 seasons and he was replaced by Brian Billick which was one of the pieces in the puzzle to start a winning tradition in Baltimore, the other was the draft picks playing better and Steve signed on first as Art Modell's partner, then buying him out in 3 years.

 

Edited August 4, 2016 by Nightman

[Purple_ICE 81]

On 7/28/2016 at 0:48 PM, berad said:

Fun fact that a lot of people may know. To decide on the "Ravens" nickname, the Modells approached the Baltimore Sun to host a telephone poll with naming options of: Ravens, Americans, Marauders, Mustangs, and Railers.

The Ravens won the poll by a very large margin with Marauders and Americans finishing second and third, respectively.

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/history/naming-baltimores-team.html

Later that year, the team unveiled it's colors and original jerseys and logos.

Ladies and Gentlemen your Super Bowl XLVII Champs...The Baltimore Americans hahahaha

[EdTheMythicalOne]

On 7/29/2016 at 11:31 PM, Sherly_Tebow said:

Thought this might fit here...

Just saw a 3 year old on Steve Harvey's 'Little Big Shot' have a talent for being able to list every Ravens player by their number. He was 10/10 in the segment. I thought it was pretty awesome. Fun fact, 3 year olds make great Ravens fans! Lol

Absolutely belongs here. Thanks for sharing it.

[JacktheRaven]

On 7/29/2016 at 4:44 PM, EdTheMythicalOne said:

Not sure how many people would not know or at least guess this...but.

Did you know:

That Ray Lewis is not only the first Ravens rookie to record a sack, but also the first Ravens rookie to intercept a pass?

What you may not know:

Rookie Elliott Fortune recorded the second sack ever by a Ravens rookie...in the only season he ever played in the NFL. It was the very last game of the 1996 season.

Good point, and Ray's first sack was non other than Jim Harbaugh.

[Nightman]

17 hours ago, Purple_ICE 81 said:

Ladies and Gentlemen your Super Bowl XLVII Champs...The Baltimore Americans hahahaha

When Modell came here, he tried to make an offer for the Colts name, but Jim Irsay wanted 300 Million and Art was so broke at the time he coulden't afford a practice squad the first year.

[January J]

Railers would've been cool. the rest sound pretty wack

[EdTheMythicalOne]

Did you know...

That the Ravens have never had a rookie throw a touchdown pass to another rookie?

[EdTheMythicalOne]

Did you know...

That the Ravens won their first game ever against the Oakland Raiders?

Did you know that Vinny Testaverde scored the first ever Ravens TD?

Did you know that despite setting a single season record with 33 passing touchdowns in 1996, Vinny Testaverde didn't throw a touchdown in this game?

That's right, the first ever touchdown and rushing touchdown was a 9 yard scramble for a score by Vinny Testeverde!

 

[EdTheMythicalOne]

Did you know...

That the first Ravens rookie running back to rush for a TD was Jay Graham in the second game of the season in 1997?

Did you know that he also scored the second rushing TD by a rookie running back in the very next game?

Did you know rookie FB Kenyon Cotton scored the third rushing TD by a rookie running back?

Did you know that neither Jay Graham nor Kenyon Cotton ever scored another touchdown in their NFL Careers? Graham would play sparingly over a career that lasted until 2002. Cotton would play again in 1998 but then never played in the NFL after that.

[Willbacker]

2 hours ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

Did you know...

That the Ravens won their first game ever against the Oakland Raiders?

 

Did you know..

Benny Thompson laid a vicious hit on the opening kickoff basically setting the tone for the Ravens way.

Also there used to be 3 mascots. Edgar,Allen and Poe which only Poe now exists. They were hatched at halftime in a preseason game in 1998 which I attended.

[K-Dog]

Did you know....

The very first offensive play for the Ravens, and the very first defensive play for the Ravens set ALL SORTS of records for the franchise. 

[Rav'n Maniac]

12 hours ago, K-Dog said:

Did you know....

The very first offensive play for the Ravens, and the very first defensive play for the Ravens set ALL SORTS of records for the franchise. 

LOL

[EdTheMythicalOne]

Haven't posted one of these in a bit. I was thinking of something a bit interesting to put in here and I think it is time to honor a real mighty man.

Did you know that there was only one player to ever play for the CFL Stallions and the Baltimore Ravens?

Did you know that this player is the one of the players to win a championship in the CFL and the NFL?

Did you know that this player is the only player to win those championships in the same city?

This player is none other than O.J. Brigance.

O.J. is currently the senior advisor for Ravens player development and refers to his Ravens players as his "Mighty Men."

Edited August 5, 2016 by EdTheMythicalOne

[CognitiveCorvus]

Did you know #52 is a member of the pretty exclusive 40-20 club and the only one in the 40-30 club (40 sacks 20/30 ints)

 

 

[EdTheMythicalOne]

After talking with some people in the Training Camp thread I thought of something else that was interesting and that maybe is a little known fact. I've mentioned Jermaine Lewis here before. The Ravens have had a pretty good history of really good return men...but did you know:

Jermaine Lewis is the franchise leader in Punt Return Yards: 2,730 AND punt return touchdowns with 6, AND he's the franchise leader in combined return yards with 5,883 yards?

Did you know that even during his brief stint with the Ravens that Jacoby Jones is the franchise leader in Kick Return touchdowns with 4?

The one I find most surprising is this one and I wouldn't have guessed it.....

Did you know that B.J. Sams is the Ravens franchise leader in kick return yards with 3,161? He is second in combined return yards with 4,481, AND his 1,251 kick return yards in his rookie season is not only a rookie record for a single season, but also the franchise record for a single season?

Who woulda thunked it...B.J. Sams:

 

 

Edited August 6, 2016 by EdTheMythicalOne

[EdTheMythicalOne]

On 8/1/2016 at 8:13 PM, Willbacker said:

Did you know..

Benny Thompson laid a vicious hit on the opening kickoff basically setting the tone for the Ravens way.

Also there used to be 3 mascots. Edgar,Allen and Poe which only Poe now exists. They were hatched at halftime in a preseason game in 1998 which I attended.

I loved Bennie Thompson. Guy looked like his arms were way longer than they were supposed to be for his body and he set a tradition for the Ravens special team aces that would follow.

Edited August 6, 2016 by EdTheMythicalOne

[ravensdan]

5 hours ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

After talking with some people in the Training Camp thread I thought of something else that was interesting and that maybe is a little known fact. I've mentioned Jermaine Lewis here before. The Ravens have had a pretty good history of really good return men...but did you know:

Jermaine Lewis is the franchise leader in Punt Return Yards: 2,730 AND punt return touchdowns with 6, AND he's the franchise leader in combined return yards with 5,883 yards?

Did you know that even during his brief stint with the Ravens that Jacoby Jones is the franchise leader in Kick Return touchdowns with 4?

The one I find most surprising is this one and I wouldn't have guessed it.....

Did you know that B.J. Sams is the Ravens franchise leader in kick return yards with 3,161? He is second in combined return yards with 4,481, AND his 1,251 kick return yards in his rookie season is not only a rookie record for a single season, but also the franchise record for a single season?

Who woulda thunked it...B.J. Sams:

 

 

Bj sams is forgotten about but he was a huge special teams edge. Missing until the Jacoby signing. 

[ravensdan]

Interesting there's not really a complete game changing return man in the nfl right now. 

[usmccharles]

Ray Lewis' first sack.... Jim Harbaugh 

[JoeyFlex5]

On 8/1/2016 at 8:43 PM, K-Dog said:

Did you know....

The very first offensive play for the Ravens, and the very first defensive play for the Ravens set ALL SORTS of records for the franchise. 

that was an impressive play. 

 

even more impressive, all of those records were likely broken before the end of the game.

[JoeyFlex5]

8 hours ago, EdTheMythicalOne said:

After talking with some people in the Training Camp thread I thought of something else that was interesting and that maybe is a little known fact. I've mentioned Jermaine Lewis here before. The Ravens have had a pretty good history of really good return men...but did you know:

Jermaine Lewis is the franchise leader in Punt Return Yards: 2,730 AND punt return touchdowns with 6, AND he's the franchise leader in combined return yards with 5,883 yards?

Did you know that even during his brief stint with the Ravens that Jacoby Jones is the franchise leader in Kick Return touchdowns with 4?

The one I find most surprising is this one and I wouldn't have guessed it.....

Did you know that B.J. Sams is the Ravens franchise leader in kick return yards with 3,161? He is second in combined return yards with 4,481, AND his 1,251 kick return yards in his rookie season is not only a rookie record for a single season, but also the franchise record for a single season?

Who woulda thunked it...B.J. Sams:

 

 

bj sams was legit, he was the best return man in the league no question until devin hester popped onto the scene. we were always known as one of the most likely teams to break a long return ever since our first SB year and bj sams was nearly as effective as jermaine lewis. he broke his leg and it was all over

[EdTheMythicalOne]

Alright, time for another installment of....Did you know?

Today I am going to focus on the passing attack because well...the Ravens aren't really known for it. Save for a great year from Vinny Testaverde and some recent success with Joe Flacco, the Ravens really had some AWFUL guys under center. They've also struck out on a lot of high end picks for receivers so some of these did you know's will be I hope rather educational for you all and enjoyable. By the way, if you are enjoying these posts I am really glad and thank you for following them and up voting them. Also, if you have some "did you knows" that you think should be added, by all means chime in like some others have. Good stuff!

Okay, so...here we go:

The Ravens all time leader for receptions is as you might expect a WR, but you probably don't know who it is. Did you know that in a very close second this player is not a WR? Did you know that the third player isn't even a receiver at all? Here are the top five all time Ravens for receptions:

1) WR: Derrick Mason: 471. He defied his age for all 6 of his seasons with the Ravens and went over 1,000 yards in all but two of those years. Though he wasn't a speed merchant he ran excellent routes, had great hands, and played tough..even playing part of one season with only one working arm. This is what also made him a productive player in terms of scoring, which we will get to later. It should be noted that the reason why he's up here on the list is that the Ravens really had no other viable options while he was part of the team and haven't really since then.

2) TE: Todd Heap: 467. There is a reason why we all screamed "HEAP" when the man got the ball. He made things happen. He's already considered to be a very good to possibly even great tight end and one has to wonder what would have been if he was teamed up with a QB that could actually hit him in the hands rather than in the helmet for most of his career. We might be talking about one of the all time greats to ever play the position, but he's certainly an all time great Raven.

3) RB: Ray Rice: 369. Yup, Rice. Part of what made him such a great player is not that he was just a good runner, but he was an excellent receiver out of the backfield. Since Flacco didn't have a lot of perimeter help and especially after his safety valve Pitta went down, the load fell onto Rice who handled it very well.

4) WR: Mark Clayton: 234. Drafted in the 1st round and considered to be a bust by many, the Ravens went a little outside the box on a prototypical franchise #1 WR. Clayton was only 5'10" and he didn't have amazing speed. What the Ravens were banking on was his playmaking ability after the catch. The thing is Clayton was actually a very good receiver, he just simply couldn't stay on the field. One can only wonder what might have been if the guy could stay healthy. I think it is pretty telling that despite his limited playing time that he's #4 here.

5) WR: Torrey Smith: 213. Another crack at a franchise #1 WR that some might say is a bust is Torrey Smith. Blessed with top flight speed, size, and decent hands the combo of Joe's big arm and Smith's speed paid instant dividends. But as the team was looking more and more to him as a #1 option teams realized that there was only one dimension to Torrey's game and his hands were a bit suspect. Since his departure the Ravens have been looking for another WR to fulfill the speed merchant role and we're still left wondering if we found that guy this season in 2016.

[EdTheMythicalOne]

Piggybacking from the previous post there probably won't be too much shock as to the all time Ravens leaders in receiving yards...but, did you know:

1) WR: Derrick Mason: Slow and steady wins the race and Mason proved you don't have to be blazing fast or be over 6' tall to be a good/great NFL receiver as his all time leading 5,777 yards attest. He only played 6 seasons here and last played for Baltimore in 2010 and we still don't have anyone to nudge him out of his top billing.

2) TE: Todd Heap: Probably no shock that the guy that caught the second most passes also has the second all time total in yards, right? Posting about him makes me miss him that much more and realize just how great of a Raven he was. Pitta is very good too and perhaps if not for those freakish injuries we might be putting him up here. Todd rumbled off 5,492 yards...can I get a "HEAP?"

3) WR: Torrey Smith: Despite being 5th in all time receptions he's at #3 here because of his feet and Flacco's arm. He was routinely targeted for deep bombs and usually he and Flacco would connect to the tune of 3,591 yards.

4) WR: Mark Clayton: Go figure, the number 4 guy in receptions is also 4th inall time yards? I think this proves that the Ravens were onto something with the whole YAC concept and the ability of Clayton to do just that. He didn't typically beat guys deep, though at times he could. Clayton put up a YAC-tastic 3,116 yards in his Ravens career.

5) RB: Ray Rice: He was #3 in all time receptions and he made it to a close #5 in yards despite the fact that he was coming out of the backfield and never a deep target. This just goes to show the talent Ray had in the fact that it didn't matter if you put the ball directly into his hands or if you tossed it to him, he was gonna make things happen. Ray Rice pinballed his way to 3,034 yards in his time with the Ravens.

What is equally interesting here and could also be another Did you know:

Nobody else in the top 10 broke 3,000 yards, almost all of them are no longer in football either due to injuries or age/retirement. There are only three other players within the top 20 that are active, but they are so far behind they probably don't have a chance to crack the top 5:

WR: Steve Smith Sr. 12th 1,735 yards: Coming off of a major injury and might miss a few games he only has some pedestrian numbers to reach some Hall of Fame chart climbing career numbers, but to crack the top 5 here he will need to have a 1,300 yard season. He's only done that three times in his 13 season career and most recently accomplished it in 2011.

TE: Dennis Pitta 14th 1,369 yards: He's going to first have to remain healthy, and then have a couple of huge seasons.

WR: Kamar Aiken 17th 1,211 yards: Depending on who is healthy he might get the playing time needed to put up some big numbers, but was he a one year wonder? If not, how much longer is he a Raven?

[EdTheMythicalOne]

Okay, I know I know, we know who caught the rock, but who actually scored the rock in the passing game for the Ravens? Did you know:

1) TE: Todd Heap: 49TD. He was the man, nuff said, nobody else is even close.

2) WR: Torrey Smith: 30TD. Flacco to T.Smith deep..TD!

3) WR: Derrick Mason: 29TD. Sure handed and reliable will have a QB looking for you in the endzone.

4) WR: Qadry Ismail: 18TD. Pronounced Kah-dree Is-my-ale, this "missile" had a target for the endzone.

4) WR: Michael Jackson: 18TD. Vinny made him greater than he ever was, and greater than he'd ever be again. More on that another time.

4) WR: Derrick Alexander: 18TD. Vinny tag-teamed with Derrick for two of Derrick's best seasons in his career.

 

[EdTheMythicalOne]

Okay, now that we got career receiving stats out of the way, who had the best single seasons ever as a Ravens receiver in the history of the franchise?

Did you know who had the most receptions in a single season?

That Derrick Mason occupies the top three spots for single season receptions? 103, 86, and 80 respectively.

Steve Smith is #4 with 79.

And Ray Rice is #5 with 78.

Did you know who had the most receiving yards in a single season?

Michael Jackson leads the way with the best season ever for a Ravens WR with 1,201 yards.

Torrey Smith is #2 with 1,128 yards.

Qadry Ismail is #3 (and #8) with 1,105 yards, and then 1,059 yards.

Derrick Alexander is #4 (and #11) with 1,099 yards, and then 1,009 yards.

Derrick Mason is #5 (and #6, and #9, and #10) with 1,087 yards, 1,073 yards, 1,037 yards, and 1,028 yards.

The Ravens have only had 11 1,000 yard single season receivers by only 6 players. The only other one is:

Steve Smith Sr at #7 with 1,065 yards.

Did you know who had the most receiving TDs in a single season?

1) WR: Michael Jackson: 14TD. That's right, 14 of his tied for 4th place 18 all time scores all came in one illustrious season which would be the only time he would have a 1,000 yard season.

2) WR: Torrey Smith: 11TD

3) WR: Derrick Alexander 9TD, and he tied himself for #3 again with 9TD the very next season. He would have back to back 1,000 yard seasons, and only one other in his 9 season career.

5) WR: Torrey Smith: 8TD

Okay, so who had the longest passes in Ravens history? Did you know...

1) Derrick Alexander: 92 yards: Vinny and Derrick just couldn't go wrong in their 2 year span together.

2) Mark Clayton: 87 yards: YAC-ing all the way.

3) Michael Jackson: 86 yards: Here's that name again, he had one heck of a 1996 season huh?

4) Steve Smith Sr.: 80 yards: Steve "Stiff Arm" Smith Sr. showed off his old man strength on that hook up.

5) Derrick Mason: 79 Yards: Of course...this guy must've been half-way decent?

Interesting that some of the names you might expect to see here didn't actually crack the top 5?