A good villain makes the movie.  Along those same lines, I thought it would be fun to make a list of opponents that all had a significant role in Ravens’ history.  Each of the opponents was involved in a single play/event that is memorable, historic, or interesting.  I set 2 limitations only:

• No play/event is represented by more than 1 player
• I wanted to field a full offensive and defensive squad, including specialists  

Some positions lend themselves well to multiple goats (QB, K, CB, RB), but I had to choose 1.

Here’s my list:

P:  Tom Rouen.  His punt was blocked by Ed Reed to trigger the comeback vs. Seattle in 2003.  Reed scooped the ball and scored to start a string of 20 unanswered points beginning with less than 7 minutes remaining in Q4.

K:  Al Del Greco.  This might be tough for some folks.  He’s missed 6 very big kicks vs. the Ravens in 2000, but Washington’s block with Mitchell’s 90-yard return is the biggest play in Baltimore sports history, and that includes the Colts.

Holder:  Josh Miller.  Was the holder for Jeff Reed’s 4 missed FGs at Pittsburgh in 2001.  That was the Steelers first loss at Heinz Field.

Long Snapper:  Aaron Graham.  Ed Reed’s said the center was the key in blocking punts.  In week 12 of 2002, the Ravens needed a big win to propel the team back into the playoff race.  Reed’s block/TD was the only TD that day in the Ravens’ 13-12 win.  Watch the replay from the end zone and it’s clear he timed his takeoff on Graham.

DE:  Greg Ellis.  John Madden and Pat Summerall came to Baltimore for the national 4 PM game for the first time on 11/19/00.  The Ravens rolled up 250 rushing yards and I have never seen so much offensive line tellustration in a single game.  Ogden and Mulitalo (who went to the same HS Madden did) continually pummeled Ellis and the undersized Cowboys’ defense.

DT:  Keith Hamilton.  Called for defensive holding to negate Armstead’s interception return TD in SB XXXV.

DT:  Gerard Warren.  Warren was on the ground often during Jamal Lewis’ 295-yard day.  I’m singling him out, but their entire defense played very poorly in large part due to the relative number of offensive snaps.

DE:  Mario Williams.  Received the business end of Gaither’s breakout pro game.  By the middle of Q3 he had moved from RDE to LDE in an attempt to get more pressure.

LB:  Shawne Merriman.  Bounced off in his attempt to tackle Todd Heap on McNair’s TD pass to beat the Chargers in week 4, 2006.

LB:  Zach Thomas.  Collapsed by Chester, who initially pinned Ratliff effectively, on McGahee’s 77-yard burst at Dallas.  It was briefly tied for the longest opponent rushing TD in Texas Stadium history.

LB:  Keith Burns.  Graciously accepted what is still the most devastating block I have ever witnessed from Ray Lewis on CMac’s 107-yard missed-FG return.

CB:  Eugene Robinson.  Had “coverage” on Justin Armor for Stoney Case’s game winning OT bomb in 1999.  In case you’re wondering, it wasn’t a double move, just a plain post.

NB:  Dainon Sidney.  His pass interference penalty on 4^th and 2 set up the Ravens for the game winning TD on 11/12/00.  It was the Titans’ first loss at Adelphia.  I posted this article in the form of a trivia question first.  It was pointed out that Dainon also picked off Tony Banks in the end zone on what would be his last passing attempt as the Ravens starter.  He also had a Stonesque personal foul to set up the Ravens game-tying FG in the 1/7/01 divisional playoff game.  Of those, I think the Banks pick is the best choice, but he did enough in a short career to have something named after him at 1 Winning Drive.

S:  Marquez Pope.  I still can’t imagine what he was thinking when he pulled his hand back rather than try to deflect the 96-yard Dilfer to Sharpe pass in the 2000 AFCC.  That remains the longest play in postseason history.

S:  Ken Hamlin.  McClain administered the stiff arm of the season to Hamlin on his 82-yard TD with 1:18 left at Dallas.

CB:  Duane Washington.  He was beaten 3 straight times by Qadry Ismail in December of 1999.  Qadry would rack up 258 receiving yards that day on 6 catches.  Safety Scott Shields missed tackles on two of those plays.  He would be freed to pursue non-football opportunities after the season, ending a 2-year career.

QB:  JP Losman.  Threw CMac’s pick-6 that sealed the bye for the Ravens in 2006.

RB:  Lamont Jordan.  Immortalized by the “No, that’s Ed Reed” call by Herm Edwards on his halfback pass which began a comeback from 14-0 down to a 20-17 OT win at the Meadowlands in 2004.

FB:  Mack Strong.  After Adalius Thomas’ facemask had seemingly ended the Ravens’ comeback bid, Ray Lewis met Strong in the hole and simply pried the ball loose.  I dislike it when football movies have unrealistic late fumbles (“The Best of Times”, “The Replacements”, “Gus”, “Everybody’s All American”, pretty much every football movie), but this was a real life example.

WR:  Chris Henry.  Helped get the Bengals back in the game with a 71-yard grab in the 4th quarter, but when they got the ball back trailing 26-20, Palmer heaved a long bomb upfield for Henry.  He did not leap to catch it, anticipating contact, and CMac hauled it in to seal the game.  Palmer lambasted him as the pair left the field.

WR:  Andre Rison.  Called for offensive PI in the last 5 minutes of the 2000 AFCC to negate a TD that would have cut the Ravens’ lead to 6.  Sharper’s interception 2 plays later secured the Ravens’ trip to SB XXXV.

TE:  Rickey Dudley.  Had an apparent sliding TD grab in the Ravens all-time opener 9/1/96.  Dudley juggled the ball with his legs, however, and a rookie LB named Ray Lewis grabbed it from between his legs before the ball hit the ground. 

T:  Lomas Brown.  Drew Michael McCrary as his primary assignment in SB XXXV.  Lomas was playing in his 16th season and might have forgotten to take his night time medicine as McCrary registered 3 sacks and a FF.

G:  Brock Gutierrez.  So many Bengals could have been granted a piece of this, but Gutierrez played poorly enough that I’m going to start him out of position (he was actually the center that day) when Corey Dillon rushed 16 times for 4 yards.  After an early 4th quarter carry, Dillon slammed the ball to the ground and left the field in disgust.  The Bengals finished that game kneeling out the clock (very bad form for the trailing team) and Bruce Coslet resigned that week.

C:  Jeff Smith.  He was relieved at center during the Ravens’ ugly Sunday-night win at Jacksonville in 2000.  The win was the Ravens 2nd straight without a TD (no team had accomplished that since 1925) and featured an enormous number of fumbled exchanges between Smith and Brunell.  The game included 8 Jax fumbles, 3 interceptions and a wind-aided, “onside” kick recovery by Anthony Davis.

G:  Bubba Miller.  Forced into action the week after the Eagles had allowed 8 sacks, Miller played LG in the 10-10 tie in Baltimore on 11/16/97.  The Ravens registered 9 sacks, a team record matched only in 2006 at home vs. the Steelers.  Miller played poorly as did every other Eagles lineman that day.  Bubba, however looked more out of place as his number “65” was visible standing without a dance partner near the prostrate Bobby Hoying (his first NFL start) on multiple occasions.

T:  Max Starks.  He bit on Johnson’s hand check as Corey Ivy streaked by to dislodge the football and set up Adalius’ TD return in the 9-sack party vs. the Steelers in 2006.  It put the Ravens up 24-0 with less than 5 minutes remaining in Q3, but the Ravens would sack Roethlisberger another 6 times (1 nullified by penalty).