Football. Passion for it runs through our veins. Yet, when we peel ourselves off the couch Sunday night after 10 hours of worshipping at our flat-screen altars, few of us (hopefully) have actual blood on our jerseys.
For the Ravens—players, coaches, announcers, and owners—Sunday is a workday, one that involves painful hits, heartburn-inducing decisions, and, occasionally, gut-wrenching outcomes. But the countless hours of preparation and sacrifice that lead to seminal moments on game day also can result in glory: a fourth-down attempt converted, a clutch field goal nailed, a touchdown called perfectly.
What follows is football from the eye of the participant, with a little off-the-field fun thrown in. So sit back, crack a cold one, and devour this window into the minds of the men we share our Sundays with.
...to Come Out of the Tunnel
Ray Lewis, Middle Linebacker
“I pray all the time. That’s my time alone. The crowd is crazy, but I give God every piece of my energy, because I know what I’m about to go do to my body. I really go into my own zone when I’m there to completely be free. That’s the way I play. I don’t like nothing else outside of the pure moment of the competition. When they introduce me, you can’t hear, but that’s the electricity that’s going through the building. It’s just like ‘boom!’ ’cause everybody’s screaming so loud. I never plan it. It’s only in the moment. I deal with God directly, so when he gives it to me, I give it to [the crowd]. That Sunday will never be again. That’s what I always relay to them. I don’t care what you do, don’t hesitate on nothing, just play the game out, let the game take care of itself, because once this game is over, it’s over. That’s why it has to be about that moment. Whether it’s a game, whether it’s business, whether it’s kids, whether it’s life, it’s always that moment that you gotta be prepared.”
...to Outrun the Opposing Team
Ray Rice, Running Back
“I’m not thinking about scoring; I’m thinking about reading my blocks, and if it opens up, making the best of the play. Every time a play is drawn up, it’s always drawn up for us to have one guy to beat. When you beat that guy, there’s no better feeling. One thing that happens with big runs is receivers have to block down the field. I’m pretty confident that if they get the guys blocked that I have enough speed to get in the end zone. When you feel like [the end zone] is close, you kind of want to get that extra drive. It’s fun knowing you’re out in the open field. That’s everybody’s dream. Many times, when I thought I was home free, I got tripped up from behind or I felt a guy on my side. It’s really you and him and you’ve got to make him miss. The tough run is when the guy is already back there and you’ve got to make him miss. It’s fun when you get in there. Getting in the end zone in the NFL is not easy. Whether it’s a one-yard TD or an 80-yard TD, it’s still not easy.”
...to Get Sacked
Joe Flacco, Quarterback
“You get a pre-snap look, and you know where the people are coming from, you know where your protection is weak. Once the ball is snapped, you can sense how good your protection is holding up. I think everybody has to have a clock and know when to get rid of the ball, but at the same time, you’ve got to be confident enough to be able to stand in there. You can’t hurry yourself. When I get hit from behind, it’s not really that big of a deal, because you don’t know that it’s coming. Before you know it, you’re on the ground and the play’s over. The bigger times are when you’ve got a guy coming right in front of you and it’s tough to avoid. Sometimes, you’re stuck in a spot, and those are the times that are the worst. Say I’m letting go of a ball, and I know I have to stand in there. You can get caught with your arm up. The ones that hurt the most are when you get hit under the ribs. It’s all about making sure you land okay. As long as you can land flat, and not on the top of your shoulder, then I think you’ll be all right. If you get driven in and land on the top of your shoulder, that’s when you end up getting hurt. If I’m not going to feel good, it’s on Monday.”
...to Sack a Quarterback
Terrell Suggs, Outside Linebacker
“You’ve got to get there by any means necessary. Offensive tackles are leaner, they’re faster, they’re more athletic, so you’re beating one of the most physically talented specimens in the world. It’s a feeling like no other to win that personal battle and help your team win. You’ve got to try and kill him! That’s saying things to their team, to your team. It gives your team momentum. There are five or six guys protecting that man, so if you get a shot at him, you better make it count. It just feels good. There are no words in the English dictionary that can describe it. You get to hit the most valuable person in the league. Every one is better than the last.”
...to Make a Risky Call
John Harbaugh, Head Coach
“You anticipate, okay, we’ll go for this if we get within one [yard], or we’ll go for this if we get within two. You give yourself some ground rules as much as you can before the play—then you pull the trigger. The interesting thing that goes through my mind in that situation is now you’ve already thought of all the pros and cons, but now the ramifications become very real. You don’t know the future, so the realization comes in, ‘If we don’t get this, now what?’ I think I make the assumption that it’s not going to work, and then what’s the next move? The good thing we have going for us is we have really good coordinators. Those guys are making decisions every 40 seconds. Because I’ve got those guys that do that, then I can kind of step back and look at the big picture. You have fun in the moment. It’s a different kind of fun. It’s kind of an adrenaline fun. Why do people jump out of airplanes? I would never do it, but there must be some kind of a thrill to that. For some reason, I get that from coaching a football game.”
...to Be On the Bottom of a Pile
Haloti Ngata, Defensive Lineman
“The worst thing that happened to me was getting my eye poked. That’s why I wear the shield every now and then. There are a lot of things that go on. People twisting limbs and trying to break fingers and twist ankles. I never do anything like that. [Smiles] I’m a good guy. When you’re in that pile and you can’t do anything about it, you just hope that nothing happens. I know I’ve sucked other people’s air out. When I have Ray [Lewis] underneath me sometimes, I try to lift up so that he can breathe, but, a couple times, I know he can’t breathe when he’s underneath me. You have to get right back up. You don’t want to show that you’re tired, but sometimes you are, ’cause you’re fighting for a while.”
...to Call a Winning Touchdown
Gerry Sandusky, Play-by-Play Announcer
“You don’t have to consciously get excited, because the nature of the game will get you excited. With 70,000 people, there’s so much energy around you, it’s easy to tap into it. From my perspective in the booth, I can see the potential of the play. In that case, instead of talking about pressure on the ball, you’re talking about where the ball is, where it’s going, where it could go. I weave that simultaneously in so the listener has a sense of, this isn’t just a 10-yard run, this could be the kind of run that blows this game wide open, right from the start. It’s the most fun thing in the world, because I can see the outcome before anybody else listening. It becomes this eight-, nine-, 10-second opportunity to convey one of a handful of plays that people will remember at the end of the year. It’s really one of the most challenging and one of the most enjoyable slices of a minute that you get in the span of three hours, and it’s definitely one of the things that drives my train. I never try to pre-think a line, because if you do, it’s forced and it will sound artificial, and it might not fit the situation. I find it’s best to let a play go, be on it, and let the words come out that best describe that play in that situation. The only line that’s really evolved is ‘touchdown Ravens’ with the emphasis on the second syllable of touchdown.”
...to Make a Game-winning Field Goal
Billy Cundiff, Kicker
“You’re trying to absorb the situation: What’s the distance, what are the field conditions, the wind. I do my pre-shot routine, and then just act. If you prepare the right way, the rest takes care of itself. The roar of the crowd will tell you what happened before your eyes will be able to. With my technique, I’m trying to keep my head down longer. If you look up, nine times out of 10, generally you’re going to find a ball you missed. So you just trust your line. A lot of times it doesn’t really sink in because that’s what I was supposed to do. For me, it’s not shock, [I’m] more pleasantly surprised.”
...to Win the Super Bowl
Art Modell, Former Owner
“[The Super Bowl] was exhilarating to say the least. It was the thrill of my sporting life and that of my family’s. I loved every second of it. Every second. Mrs. Modell never lets me leave the box or get up until the game is over; not waiting for the fat lady to sing, but something like it. Well, they sent an armed escort to get me and bring me down to the field for the presentation when they thought we had it locked up. She thought that was bad luck. We had a hell of a fight about it, but I won. You have to experience it yourself. It’s a thrilling moment. It’s more than just the trophy—it’s the whole aura of winning the championship. My family loved it as much as I did. I could sense a very wide acceptance and enthusiasm on the part of the public. I have some very distinct views about sports franchises, and I think I’ve been right more than others. More than buildings and stadiums and hotels and parks, the most important ingredient is the people. The people make up the city. Baltimore rated very high in my book, as did Cleveland. It’s the people of the city that make the franchise special. We’re closer to another trophy than we were at this time four years ago. We’re working on it every day. We have a very good team in the making. We have a great coach and some good players, and we intend to win it again.”
...to Suffer a Devastating Injury
Anquan Boldin, Wide Receiver
(Two years ago, then-Cardinal Anquan Boldin absorbed a hit so devastating it almost caused his teammate at the time, quarterback Kurt Warner, to retire.)
“I remember everything about the play. I was running a seam route. Kurt threw the ball between two people. The guy hit me from behind, and I kind of went down, helmet lifted up, and the guy hit me face on. Guys were standing around asking me if I was okay. There was no pain. It wasn’t numb. I tried to get up, but [they] told me to stay down. I heard, ‘Let’s be cautious and let ’em take you off.’ I saw my fiancée in the tunnel. She looked worried and I asked her if she was okay. From there, we went to the hospital. I had sinus fractures, so I got six plates and 40 screws. Titanium. I don’t take pain pills, so I was in pain from the surgery. Not headaches, just soreness. The bad part about it was my three-year-old son head-butted me probably three days after surgery. I was playing with him. Boom, hit me right here [in the face]. I missed two games. I was trying to get the clearance from the doctors earlier than that, but they were real cautious about it, told me it usually takes six to eight weeks. But I guess I put some pressure on them.”
