Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens
Established 1996 Play in M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Helmet Logo
League/Conference affiliations
National Football League (1996–present) American Football Conference (1996-present) AFC Central (1996-2001) AFC North (2002-present)
Current uniform
Team colors	Purple, Black, and Metallic Gold
Mascot	Edgar, Allan, and Poe
Personnel
Owner(s):	Steve Bisciotti
Team President	Dick Cass
General Manager	Eric DeCosta
Head Coach	John Harbaugh
Team history
Baltimore Ravens (1996–present)
Championships
League Championships (2) Super Bowl Championships (2) 2000 (XXXV) 2012 (XLVII)
Conference Championships (2) AFC: 2000, 2012
Division Championships (4) AFC North: 2003, 2006
Home fields
Memorial Stadium (1996-1997) M&T Bank Stadium (1998-present) also known as PSINet Stadium (1998-2002) also known as Ravens Stadium (2002-2003)

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They are currently champions of the Northern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Ravens have won two Super Bowl titles, Super Bowl XXXV in 2001 against the New York Giants, and Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 against the San Francisco 49ers. The team was named after Maryland native Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven".

Team History

Team name

The name "Ravens" was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven. Chosen in a fan contest that drew 33,288 voters, the allusion honors Poe, who spent the early part of his career in Baltimore and is buried there. As the Baltimore Sun reported at the time, fans also "liked the tie-in with the other birds in town, the Orioles, and found it easy to visualize a tough, menacing black bird."

Background

After the controversial relocation of the Colts to Indianapolis, several attempts were made to bring an NFL team back to Baltimore. In 1993, ahead of the 1995 league expansion, the city was considered a favorite, behind only St. Louis, to be granted one of two new franchises. League officials and team owners feared litigation due to conflicts between rival bidding groups if St. Louis was awarded a franchise, and in October Charlotte, North Carolina was the first city chosen. Several weeks later, Baltimore's bid for a franchise—dubbed the Baltimore Bombers, in honor of the locally produced Martin B-26 Marauder bomber—had three ownership groups in place and a state financial package which included a proposed $200 million, rent-free stadium and permission to charge up to $80 million in personal seat license fees. Baltimore, however, was unexpectedly passed over in favor of Jacksonville, Florida, despite Jacksonville's minor TV market status and that the city had withdrawn from contention in the summer, only to return with then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue's urging. Although league officials denied that any city had been favored, it was reported that Taglibue and his longtime friend Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke had lobbied against Baltimore due to its proximity to Washington, D.C., and that Taglibue had used the initial committee voting system to prevent the entire league ownership from voting on Baltimore's bid. This led to public outrage and the Baltimore Sun describing Taglibue as having an "Anybody But Baltimore" policy. Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer said afterward that Taglibue had led him on, praising Baltimore and the proposed owners while working behind-the-scenes to oppose Baltimore's bid.

By May 1994, Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos had gathered a new group of investors, including author Tom Clancy, to bid on teams whose owners had expressed interest in relocating. Angelos found a potential partner in Georgia Frontiere, who was open to moving the Los Angeles Rams to Baltimore. Jack Kent Cooke opposed the move, intending to build the Redskins' new stadium in Laurel, Maryland, close enough to Baltimore to cool outside interest in bringing in a new franchise. This led to heated arguments between Cooke and Angelos, who accused Cooke of being a "carpetbagger." The league eventually persuaded Rams team president John Shaw to relocate to St. Louis instead, leading to a league-wide rumor that Tagliabue was again steering interest away from Baltimore, a claim which Tagliabue denied. In response to anger in Baltimore, including Governor Schaefer's threat to announce over the loudspeakers Tagliabue's exact location in Camden Yards any time he attended a Baltimore Orioles game, Tagliabue remarked of Baltimore's financial package: "Maybe (Baltimore) can open another museum with that money." Following this, Angelos made an unsuccessful $200 million bid to bring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Baltimore.

Having failed to obtain a franchise via the expansion, the city, despite having "misgivings," turned to the possibility of obtaining the Cleveland Browns, whose owner Art Modell was financially struggling and at odds with the city of Cleveland over needed improvements to the team's stadium.

During the 1995 season, Modell, decided to move the team to Baltimore. This created a controversy in Cleveland, that was settled with the NFL determining that the franchise could move, but the Browns name, color, and franchise records would remain with Cleveland. The team was, for all intents and purposes, an 'expansion team'.

Ted Marchibroda was hired as the first coach of the Baltimore Ravens. Marchibroda was well known for coaching the former Baltimore Team, the Colts.

Championships

The 2000 season saw the Ravens defense set a new NFL record in holding opposing teams to 165 total points. Inspired by linebacker Ray Lewis, who was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Baltimore won their last seven games of the regular season, finishing 12–4 as a wild-card team to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Ravens defeated the Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, and Oakland Raiders on their way to reach Super Bowl XXXV.

Baltimore then went to Tampa for Super Bowl XXXV against the New York Giants, cruising to a 34–7 win for their first championship in franchise history. The Ravens recorded four sacks, forced five turnovers, one of which was an interception returned for a touchdown by Duane Starks. Ray Lewis was named the Super Bowl MVP for his leadership, as the defense allowed only 152 yards and no points (New York's only points were from a kick-off touchdown return).

Personnel

Current staff and coaches

Baltimore Ravens current staff
	Front office Owner – Steve Bisciotti President – Sashi Brown Executive vice president/general manager – Eric DeCosta Executive vice president/player personnel – Ozzie Newsome Senior vice president of football administration – Pat Moriarty Director of player personnel – Joe Hortiz Director of player personnel - George Kokinis Director of football administration – Jessica Markison Senior personnel assistant – George Kokinis Assistant director of pro personnel – Chad Alexander Head coaches Head coach – John Harbaugh Associate Head Coach/Defensive Line - Anthony Weaver Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Todd Monken Quarterbacks – Tee Martin Assistant quarterbacks - Kerry Dixon Running Backs – Willie Taggart Wide Receivers - Greg Lewis Tight Ends – George Godsey Offensive line – Joe D'Alessandris Assistant offensive line – Mike Delvin Offensive quality control – Danny Breyer Offensive quality control - Travis Switzer			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Mike Macdonald Outside Linebackers – Chuck Smith Inside linebackers – Zachary Orr Pass game coordinator/Secondary - Chris Hewitt Defensive Backs – Dennard Wilson Defensive quality control – Matt Robinson Defensive quality control - Daniel Stern Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Chris Horton Special teams/specialist – T.J. Weist Special teams – Randy Brown Coaching support staff Senior football analyst – Eugene Shen Senior opponent analyst – Scott Cohen Football analyst – Daniel Stern Football Information manager – Megan McLaughlin Coaching analyst = Brian Duker Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Steve Saunders Assistant strength and conditioning – Anthony Watson Coaching analyst – performance – Scott Elliott Coaching analyst – performance – Ron Shrift Coaching analyst – performance – Sam Rosengarten → Coaching staff → Management → More NFL staffs

Current roster

Baltimore Ravens current roster
Quarterbacks 8 Lamar Jackson 7 Trace McSorley Running Backs 27 J.K. Dobbins 43 Justice Hill 42 Patrick Ricard FB Wide Receivers 13 Devin Duvernay 15 Marquise Brown 11 Chris Moore 80 Miles Boykin Tight Ends 89 Mark Andrews 86 Nick Boyle 88 Jake Breeland 85 Eric Tomlinson		Offensive Linemen 77 Bradley Bozeman C 78 Orlando Brown, Jr. T 71 Jermaine Eluemunor G 74 James Hurst T 72 Alex Lewis G 68 Matt Skura C/G 79 Ronnie Stanley T 73 Marshal Yanda G Defensive Linemen 69 Willie Henry DT 97 Michael Pierce NT 95 Zach Sieler DT 96 Brent Urban DE 98 Brandon Williams DT 93 Chris Wormley DE/DT Linebackers 49 Chris Board ILB 54 Tyus Bowser OLB 48 Patrick Onwuasor ILB		Linebackers (cont'd) 50 Otaro Alaka ILB 45 Jaylon Ferguson OLB 58 L.J. Fort ILB 40 Malik Harrison ILB 48 Patrick Queen ILB Defensive Backs 28 Jordan Richards FS 37 Iman Marshall CB 32 DeShon Elliot FS 36 Chuck Clark SS 44 Marlon Humphrey CB 23 Anthony Averett CB 24 Marcus Peters CB 33 Davontae Harris CB 22 Jimmy Smith CB 25 Tavon Young CB		Defensive Backs (cont'd) 41 Anthony Levine SS 25 Tavon Young FS 32 Eric Weddle FS Special Teams 46 Morgan Cox LS 4 Sam Koch P 9 Justin Tucker K Reserve Lists Practice Squad 60 Randin Crecelius G 31 Robertson Daniel CB 45 Christopher Ezeala FB 59 Myles Humphrey ILB 33 Cyrus Jones CB 91 Christian LaCouture DE 65 Nico Siragusa G		Practice Squad (cont'd) 47 De'Lance Turner RB 80 Darren Waller TE 14 Tim White WR Unrestricted FAs currently vacant Restricted FAs currently vacant Exclusive-Rights FAs currently vacant Note: Rookies in italics Roster updated September 9, 2018 Depth Chart Transactions On Roster: 53 Active, 0 Inactive, 11 Practice squad

Logo controversy

Baltimore Ravens logo from 1996-1998

Bouchat's original sketch

The team's first helmet logo, used from 1996 through 1998, featured raven wings outspread from a shield displaying a letter B framed by the word Ravens overhead and a cross bottony underneath. The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict that the logo infringed on a copyright retained by Frederick E. Bouchat, an amateur artist and security guard in Maryland, but that he was entitled to only three dollars in damages from the NFL.

Bouchat had submitted his design to the Maryland Stadium Authority by fax after learning that Baltimore was to acquire an NFL team. He was not credited for the design when the logo was announced. Bouchat sued the team, claiming to be the designer of the emblem; representatives of the team asserted that the image had been designed independently. The court ruled in favor of Bouchat, noting that team owner Modell had access to Bouchat's work. Bouchat's fax had gone to John Moag, the Maryland Stadium Authority chairman, whose office was located in the same building as Modell's. Bouchat ultimately was not awarded monetary compensation in the damages phase of the case.

The Baltimore Sun ran a poll showing three designs for new helmet logos. Fans participating in the poll expressed a preference for a raven's head in profile over other designs. Art Modell announced that he would honor this preference but still wanted a letter B to appear somewhere in the design. The new Ravens logo featured a raven's head in profile with the letter superimposed. The secondary logo is a shield that honors Baltimore's history of heraldry. Alternating Calvert and Crossland emblems (seen also in the flag of Maryland and the flag of Baltimore) are interlocked with stylized letters B and R.