Recently I had an opportunity to speak with Eric DeCosta regarding the 2011 season, a few current players and a look ahead to the 2012 NFL Draft. The Ravens are running what seems to be exclusive zone blocking schemes in the running game. Why did you make that move and how do you think it’s coming along? Eric DeCosta:  The zone scheme questions are really out of my territory. The one thing I will say is that we wanted to be a better running team this year and any changes we made this off-season were a result of that desire.  The Ravens have had the luxury of getting great productivity out of lower round linebackers and even undrafted linebackers thanks in part to No. 52. The way I see it, it’s a bit like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers getting production from lower round receivers. But Ray is in the December of his career and you will likely have to invest higher picks at inside linebacker. Talk about what Ray means to the others beside him on defen...

NEW ORLEANS -- Responsible for all aspects of the Baltimore Ravens, team president Dick Cass is intimately involved in every piece of team and league business. Highly regarded around the NFL, Cass was a lawyer for the NFL and the league prior to joining the Ravens seven years ago. He provided counsel for the Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys and the NFL office. Five years ago, Cass had a major hand in helping to shape the revenue sharing portion of the current collective bargaining agreement that the owners have opted out of. The Yale Law School graduate was owner Steve Bisciotti's first hire after taking over as majority owner. Cass spoke with 24x7’s Aaron Wilson at the annual league meetings at the Roosevelt Hotel, touching on a variety of topics. Q: Did these meetings take on a different feel due to the labor situation? A: "We actually get a lot of the same reports that we get at a regular annual meeting. It's more like the fall meeting or the spring meeting th...

OWINGS MILLS -- Baltimore Ravens safety Haruki Nakamura is throwing his support behind Japan, which has been devastated by a massive earthquake, tsunami that have caused widespread destruction and the dangerous spread of radiation. Nakamura conducted the following e-mail interview with Ravens24x7.com. 24x7: What's your reaction to what's happening in Japan? Nakamura: "Emotionally I was in utter shock of the images. It is unreal what Mother Nature is capable of. The devastation is remarkable yet the people of Japan are staying calm disciplined and true to their humble unwavering culture under horrible conditions. I am truly proud to call myself a Japanese American." 24x7: What can people do to help those affected by this tragedy? Nakamura: "Right now they can contact their local Red Cross and donate water, clothes, food, basically anything they feel could help the cause. I am also putting together an autograph fundrai...

MOBILE, Ala. -- Speaking in a serious, enthusiastic tone, Baltimore Ravens director of player personnel Eric DeCosta is seated a few hundred yards away from the site of the Senior Bowl. The topic of conversation? The NFL draft, the Ravens' respective needs and the merits of several players. Ladd Peebles Stadium is where dozens of the top senior football players have been bashing into each other this week in an effort to impress the NFL brass. With so much talent for this year's pivotal draft all in one place, the Ravens are taking an aggressive approach to gathering as much information as possible to delineate the prospects from the suspects. Following a 13-5 season that ended with a disastrous loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC divisional playoff game triggered by three costly turnovers, the Ravens could use an influx of skill, size and speed at several positions. Whether it's acquiring an explosive deep threat at wide receiver...

We’ve all stewed over Steelers fans and their reach across the country. There are many theories as to why the Pittsburgh Towel-a-Ban cult is so widespread (kind of like swine flu) but at the end of the day, who cares? We are RavensNation and we’re building our own reach. Granted, we are decades behind since our “nation” was founded in 1996 but that said, we are Baltimoreans. We embrace underdog status, bring our lunch pails and hard hats to work and willingly stare adversity in the face. This is who we are! Recently members of West Wing LA reached out to us on Facebook. Their story speaks to the strength and promise of RavensNation and they say they’ve got the nation’s left flank covered. What is The West Wing LA? How, why and when did it begin? The West Wing came about this season when about 3 separate groups of Ravens fans in the Los Angeles all came together. Peter Shaulis started the site Baltimore Ravens Fans in Los Angeles and Orange Coun...

Around the time you took over as full time owner, the Ravens organization was proud of their communication within the building and boasted that they had one of the best communication systems in the NFL. You are on record saying that if true, then the NFL has a real problem. How has the communication improved? Is it where you want it to be and if improved how has it benefitted the club on the field? Steve Bisciotti: The communication in my businesses has been better. Everybody talks about how a new owner wants to put his stamp on an organization. It really isn’t that. When I walk in to that company, I might own it but I’m not the boss. I didn’t earn my way up. I didn’t learn from those guys. When I made the decision to replace Brian [Billick] and I got John [Harbaugh], John was a first time head coach. Brian was coming from the position of being a Super Bowl coach while John was coming from being a special teams coordinator and a one year DB coach. So it take...

Back on October 7 Steve Bisciotti joined us on the Ravens Rap at The Greene Turtle in Ocean City as he does every fall. The Ravens owner is always forthcoming and informative and the show is always very lively. Some of the exchange amongst the hosts (myself, Bruce Laird and Mike Bradley) and Bisciotti was edited out so as not to incriminate anyone (if you want the unfiltered version, join us live next year). That said in this first of what will at least be a two part interview, the Ravens owner pulled no punches and enthusiastically tackled some tough NFL issues. What percentage would you place on the NFL reaching a new collective bargaining agreement? Steve Bisciotti: Well I’m on the broadcast committee. There are two major committees. One is broadcast and one is labor. I’m not on labor because I have a hot temper. So they figure I’m not the best guy to help do that. But honestly as I sit here today there’s a 100% chance that we’ll have football next y...

Derek Hanson from the Foxboro Blog recently asked us to participate in an exchange of questions regarding this weekend’s contest between the Ravens and Patriots. Even though they talk funny and annunciate “r’s” where they don’t belong and mysteriously ignore them where they do belong, we agreed. If we win, they send up some lobsta…if they win, they get a crab cake at the Inn-ah Ha-bah. First Them… TL: How do the sports media feel about the Randy Moss trade and what do they believe was the rationale? DH: I think the general consensus among the media and Pats fans is that the Patriots did what they had to do. Both Belichick and Moss have been pretty tight-lipped about what really happened behind the scenes, but given Randy's track record, one can safely assume that things were on the verge of turning very ugly.  The Patriots' 2009 season was submarined due to issues in the locker room and with their young and impressionable roster, the la...

Tony Lombardi: Willis many are speculating that a trade involving you is imminent. Can that be a distraction? What do you do to maintain the focus needed to perform between the lines? Willis McGahee:  Sure, I guess it could be a distraction if you let it, but I don’t let that stuff get to me.  Until someone tells me to pack my bags, I’m going to continue to be 100% focused on my training and winning!  I just don’t pay any attention to rumors and all that…never have. TL: You seem to have settled into your role in Baltimore. You’ve also been quietly active in the community and you’ve personally made sure that many underprivileged families have enjoyed Thanksgiving Day. What motivates such generosity of your time and money? WM:  The kids motivate me.  When I first set out to come up with a mission for my foundation, I wasn’t totally sure what I wanted to focus on so I chose to just do a simple toy drive with some kid...

WASHINGTON - Baltimore Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth is the youngest member of the executive committee in NFL Players Association history. And the University of Maryland graduate is regarded as a strong voice for the players' union who was instrumental in the election of new NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. With labor strife surrounding the league as the owners and the players continue to haggle over a new collective bargaining agreement after the owners opted out of the old deal, the 24x7 caught up with Foxworth for a 20-minute interview at the U.S. Capital during an NFLPA forum. Do you feel like the players will stay united if a lockout commences in 2011? Foxworth: "We're a union. We're not like the NFL. We're only as strong as our solidarity. The more we can get people involved and feel a part of it, the more united we'll be. That's where our strength lies in a union." Do you think the players would cave in to pressure and take a deal if they're missin...