Trevor Pryce, one of the stars of the Ravens’ defensive line before injuries slowed him down in 2007, is in camp and looking better than ever.

The defensive end looked trim and didn’t seem to be carrying extra weight on his 6-foot-5, 286-pound frame. After practicing with mostly rookies in the morning at McDaniel College in Westminster, Pryce ran sprints on an empty football field, finishing the last one by backpedaling the entire way.

The Ravens gotta have this guy this season. Not only is he among the team’s veteran leadership, but any subdued performance on the part of Terrell Suggs missing camp is going to fall squarely on his shoulders. He recorded 13 sacks two years ago, but missed 11 games in 2007 with a fractured wrist and torn pectoral muscle.

This might be one of a remaining few years of productivity for Pryce, and from the looks of things, he’s going to maximize it.

The Baltimore Sun’s Jamison Hensley reports from Ravens camp that Troy Smith took the first team’s snaps today.

And struggled.

In six plays, he was 1-for-5 passing with three interceptions and a fumbled snap. One of the interceptions was made by secondary coach Chuck Pagano, who was filling in as a defensive back.

Kyle Boller was 4-for-4 in the same drill but threw all short passes. Joe Flacco was 1-for-3, but his one completion was a tough pass over the middle to Patrick Carter.

A pick by the defensive backs coach? Not good, TS.

Michael Strahan did it to perfection last year, and the hope is that Terrell Suggs’ contract situation and resulting absence from training camp will reap the same results.

The bottom line: why go to camp if its not necessary? Why suffer through hot days when you’ve already proven yourself as an elite player, have the respect of teammates, and have the leverage of contractually not being obligated to come?

Would you come to work if you didn’t have to?

Thought not.

There will be some ornery sportswriters wh omight stir the pot on this one, but there’s really no soup to the story. It’s no secret that Suggs had issues with the Ravens’ handling of his franchise tag, so its entirely possible that there are some hard feelings.

Neither side has copped to that, but the truth is his at home while everyone else is preparing for two-a-days and small college dorm rooms.

With the big fish finally into the fryer, the Baltimore Ravens still have a few more rookies to attend to prior to training camp on Monday. From the Baltimore Sun article:

The Ravens’ eight unsigned draft picks are running back Ray Rice (second round), linebacker Tavares Gooden (third), safety Tom Zbikowski (third), wide receiver Marcus Smith (fourth), offensive tackle David Hale (fourth), safety Haruki Nakamura (sixth), wide receiver Justin Harper (seventh) and running back Allen Patrick (seventh).

Obviously, Ray Rice, Marcus Smith and Tavares Gooden are the rookies that could have an impact on this season. Getting everyone into camp on time is essential for camaraderie and scheme familiarity, but those three will be the ones to replace veterans in the near future.

Five years and $30 million. That’s how long and how much it will take for Joe Flacco to become the face of the Baltimore Ravens franchise.

There’s been no secret that Flacco will play understudy for as long as possible. With Brett Favre rumors to the side, that means he has, at the most, this season to prepare while Kyle Boller or Troy Smith gets the nod for opening day.

Which may or may not be a good thing for Flacco and the Ravens.

Fans expect him to make an appearance this season, for better or for worse. He’s the quarterback they’ve been waiting for since the arrival of the franchise. As crazy as it may sound, fans would rather the team sink or swim with Flacco, then do either with Boller or Smith.

Okay, no need to panic about the Baltimore Ravens missing the Tuesday deadline to ink franchise tagged Terrell Suggs to a deal. No need to worry, right?

Or is there?

Ravens’ GM Ozzie Newsome says they’ll have a deal in place, and Suggs has said he wants to be in Baltimore, but what about when other big time players come up for renegotiation? It’s a question Newsome himself subconsciously entertained:

“We view him like Ed Reed, Todd Heap, Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden,” Newsome said. “He is one of those guys that we want to keep a Raven.”

Exactly. And that’s the exact reason why more than a ’serious’ offer should have been floated his way.

And then Suggs himself is questioning how serious he is about a deal.

“At this point, I don’t know,” Suggs said five months ago. “I love my teammates, and I want to be there for them. Before I make a decision, I’ll talk to a lot of people. I’ll confide in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, see what they think I should do and what is best for everybody.”

He didn’t sign the offer, so apparently there’s a lot of thinking going on.

It’s clear that money is on players’ minds more than ever, with revelations about pending strikes and money woes from the mouths of owners, they have to look out for their long term interests. Perhaps if Newsome wasn’t so good at spying defensive talent, there wouldn’t be a question of balancing the books between several sure-fire Hall-of-Fame players on the current payroll.

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that officials for the Baltimore Ravens and the representative for Joe Flacco will be meeting in the coming days to bring contract negotiations to completion. They are aiming for a two-day window, and preferably before the July 22 start of training camp.

Nice work by the Ravens to not only show commitment to their first round draft pick and presumed future of the franchise, but to also stifle those pesky Brett Favre rumors.

Interesting article from the Sporting News analyzing the world of grief the entire AFC North may be feeling this season. Mike Florio, who is most famous for his ProFootballTalk.com franchise, says that match-ups with NFC East opponents and select AFC contenders will render the division its first sub-.500 champion. From his column:

Each of the AFC North teams — Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers — will play each of the teams of the AFC South, which sent three teams (Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans) to the 2007 playoffs. And each of the AFC North teams will play all the teams of the NFC East, which sent three teams (Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and New York Giants) to the playoffs last season as well.

It looks like particularly bad news for the Ravens, who outside of these games, only have veritable gimme games against the Houston Texans, the Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders. And as we saw last year against the Dolphins, anything is possible.

Uh-oh.

Trent Dilfer retired yesterday, and while it might barely be a blip on the NFL radar, it’s pretty important around these parts. He played a significant role in the Baltimore Ravens first Super Bowl championship, and despite the interceptions, despite the inconsistency, Dilfer himself best summarized his time here in Baltimore.

“We all know I’m not Joe Montana,” Dilfer said after the Ravens’ 34-7 title win over the Giants. “But we’ll recognize that for an eight-month period, we did something pretty special.”

Dilfer holds the dubious distinction of being the only quarterback to start for a Super Bowl winning team, only to lose his spot the next season. If you look at who preceded him, and who has followed him, you realize that Dilfer was a good fit for the team under the Billick system. Every QB under Brian Billick’s tutelage struggled. Dilfer was the only one to navigate playoff success.

So dare I say it, Trent Dilfer is the greatest quarterback in Ravens history.

He had a hard luck career throughout his entire tenure in the NFL, but Baltimore was certainly lucky to have Trent Dilfer.

The results are disputable. The match-up was unlikely. But the dust has cleared on the NFL’s Fiercest Mascot competition, and the Baltimore Ravens’ Poe strikes fear into the hearts of men and animals.

Don’t let anybody fool you about automated voting. Poe, the unheralded 16th seed in the competition, faced Washington Redskins mascot and man of a thousand stereotypes Chief Zee in the championship round. In a world where the Ravens are one of the most unheralded teams in the NFL, Poe winning this contest infuses hope in a sports city unsure of its place within the national landscape.

The baseball team hasn’t be relevant for a generation. The Ravens may be the most looked-down upon Super Bowl champion in the last 30 years due to their lack of offense and lack of historical importance. There is no basketball team, and lacrosse hasn’t made the leap to mainstream adoration.

Plus, the fact that Poe crushed its Beltway rival makes it all the more sweeter.

The Washington Nationals and Orioles interleague match-up provides comedy where the Ravens-Redskins annual scrimmage is a spectacle to behold. There is bad blood between the two cities, but the franchises just aren’t good enough for any real competition to genuinely matter.

The mascots? They matter. And the fact of the matter is that our Poe is the Big Chief of NFL mascots.