Baltimore Ravens - Pro Football Betting, Online Sportsbook Casino
Baltimore
Ravens History
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Baltimore Ravens, professional
football team and one of six teams in the Central Division of
the American Football Conference (AFC) of the National Football
League (NFL). Under the league’s realignment plan, which
will take affect in 2002, the Ravens will play in the North
Division of the AFC. The Ravens play at PSINet Stadium in Baltimore,
Maryland, and wear uniforms of black, purple, and gold. The
team is named after a poem entitled “The Raven”
(1845) by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, who lived in Baltimore
during the 1830s.
Baltimore was home to the Baltimore Colts (now Indianapolis
Colts) from 1953 through 1983. The Ravens’ franchise was
founded after the 1995 NFL season, when Arthur B. Modell, owner
of the Cleveland Browns, moved his team from Cleveland, Ohio,
to Baltimore and renamed it the Ravens. (In 1999 a new Browns
franchise began play in Cleveland.) Modell brought to Baltimore
a roster of veteran stars, including quarterback Vinny Testaverde
and running back Earnest Byner. He also hired former Baltimore
Colts head coach Ted Marchibroda to lead the new Baltimore team.
Marchibroda had produced three consecutive Eastern Division
titles for the Colts in the mid-1970s, but coaching the Ravens
proved difficult. Despite fielding a potent offense, the franchise
struggled defensively and finished at the bottom of the Central
Division in 1996 and 1997. Testaverde left following the 1997
season and signed as a free agent with the New York Jets. After
finishing the 1998 season with 6 wins and 10 losses, the Ravens
hired Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Brian Billick
as head coach.
Through shrewd draft picks and free agent signings, the Ravens
rebuilt their team around a standout defense. The team was led
by linebacker Ray Lewis, who became one of the leading tacklers
and top defenders in the NFL. The Ravens’ defense gave
up a record-low 165 points during the 2000 season, then allowed
just 23 points in the postseason, including a 34-7 victory over
the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.
2001 Super Bowl XXXV Defeated New York Giants, 34-7
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