http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/2746 Recent articles about Chris McAlister en-us this iz an allstar team dat can win Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:13:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286504 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286504 What's what in Charm City. Quick snapshot of Baltimore's offensive line, linebackers, quarterbacks, cornerbacks, and also the coaching situation. Nothing groundbreaking here. Just my two cents. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:58:08 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278507 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278507 Though the Baltimore Ravens have struggled to find a top-notch quarterback since relocating from Cleveland 12 years ago, the Ravens also have had precious few talented wideouts. Four years ago, that almost changed with the attempted acquisition of Terrell Owens. They've also had a couple of cracks at Randy Moss over the years, but have never made a serious run at him. Instead, they've relied on the draft, which has yielded largely forgettable names like Jermaine Lewis (fifth round, 1996), Pat Johnson (second round, 1998), Brandon Stokley (fourth round, 1999), Travis Taylor (first round, 2000), Ron Johnson (fourth round, 2002), Lamont Brightful (sixth round, 2002), Javin Hunter (sixth round, 2002), Devard Darlin (third round, 2004), Mark Clayton (first round, 2005), Demetrius Williams (fourth round, 2006), and Yamon Figurs (third round, 2007). Currently, the roster consists of Figurs, Williams, Clayton, Matt Willis, and Derrick Mason. And so the Ravens are apparently looking for an upgrade in the 2007 draft. Per Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times, the Ravens will meet privately with receiver James Hardy of Indiana and Oklahoma receiver Malcolm Kelly. Also, the Ravens reportedly spent time with receiver Devin Thomas of Michigan State at the Scouting Combine. The Ravens hold the eighth overall pick in the 2008 draft — probably too high for any of the guys in this year's draft pool. Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:31:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/229496 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/229496 Heading into April, Baltimore and Cincinnati will be looking to add the necessary pieces to make them serious players in the division once again, Pittsburgh will be looking to reload, and Cleveland, for once, will be taking it easy on draft day. Here's a look at the three biggest needs each team should be looking to address. Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:23:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/213506 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/213506 With all the coaching craziness in Baltimore, the press and the people are saying all kinds of ridiculous things. Are Ravens fans losing perspective of the hiring process? Read on to see what I mean. Fri, 18 Jan 2008 05:39:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/76203 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/76203 Billick on the Dolphins: "Offensively, they're a bit like us." You mean terrible? Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:31:12 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/43012 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/43012 Alright heres my prediction for the game im not picking a winner because honestly im not sure but i think the scores will be low something like 20-17 or 10-17 Thats My Prediction Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:27:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/34664 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/34664 Check out these quotes from Ray Lewis, who ain't too happy with Chris McAlister, who last week gave up a 78-yard TD to Braylon Edwards. Oops. Fri, 05 Oct 2007 06:23:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/29794 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/29794 Overcast skies greeted the fans that came out to McDaniel College this morning. As many as 1,500 showed up in hopes of catching some great plays. Little did they know, their hopes should have pointed more toward the sky. The players came out today appearing to be in a rather chipper mood, hooting and howling as they went through their various positional drills. Kelly Gregg was back in pads and in action while Daniel Wilcox and Antwan Barnes (who sprained his ankle yesterday) watched practice in shorts and shirts on the sidle lines. Both players did light workouts and appeared to be close to ready to go. As each unit split up and went over various drills and formations, the Ravens coaches made sure to jump on the slightest error or inconsistency in the formations. Some coaches might be happy that a play turned out positive, whether it is a successful pass or a tackle for a loss. However, Brian Billick and Rex Ryan are not your ordinary coaches. Each day they have gone over every detail of a certain formation or a particular play, not just what each player should do, but perhaps more importantly, why the action must be done a certain way. Today was no different for the team except for one small detail, and that was that it had to be perfect. (Read more at the link below.) Thu, 16 Aug 2007 18:43:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23864 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23864 Streams of cars and SUV's pour into the player's parking lot. One player delays pulling completely into his parking space, which causes a long line of traffic to form. Another player gets impatient as a horn is heard echoing the campus of McDaniel College. Meanwhile, a similar scenario plays out in the fan's parking area. The fans, like the players, are anxious to get to their destination and commence with the entertainment. While the players will be providing that form of art to the fans, it is a symbiotic relationship the two seemingly diverse groups share. The fans, in their varied attire and painted faces, with their cheers of appreciation and well wishes, also provide a service for the players. Without one, it is debatable if there could be the other. Yes, it is Sunday morning, the day of rest and worship for many, but today, there is no rest for those who flock to training camp each day. On this day, those numbers would be smaller than past days, perhaps reaching as high as 1,500, but the entertainment the faithful who showed up today would find, would be well worth giving up a day of rest. Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:34:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23411 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23411 The bright sunshine and cooler temperatures brought the fans in masses to the campus of McDaniel College. A rough estimate puts the numbers over 5,000 boisterous fans eager to display their affection for this team. As receivers broke off into groups a loud cheer came from crowd. When the applause died down, Derrick Mason waved his arms, instigating another raucous round of cheers. Shortly thereafter, the quarterbacks joined the receivers to run through various routes. Leo Bookman dropped an easy pass near the sidelines and the crowd let out a groan as Bookman picked up the ball and trotted back to the line. Brian Billick, ever the showman, did not let the crowd's zealousness go by unnoticed. Instead of chastising the rookie for the lack of concentration, the head coach played to the crowd. "See, they're going to boo you today. They're going to boo you if you don't catch [those passes]," Billick advised the young receiver. The crowd in the general vicinity let out a chuckle in unison, and the only words to come out of their mouths the rest of the day were of joy and awe at the plays that occurred before them. With just two practices left before the first preseason game, the coaches made sure the second units received the bulk of the practice. Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:11:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23380 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23380 The crowds filtered onto the McDaniel College campus early this morning, ignoring the calls for record-like temperatures and dangerous heat indexes. Well before the bell tolled the eight o'clock hour, more than half the team was already on the field, getting an early jump on their drills. Much to the delight of fans, the action was hot, and the weather not nearly as bad as predicted, with a gentle breeze cascading through the stands, helping to stave off the stinging heat. Even with the thick humidity and high temperatures, there were no serious injuries or heat related issues this morning. Justin Green and Mike Kracalik were out in full pads, though neither saw much if any action in the live scrimmages, but they did participate in their respective drills. Ed Reed sat out practice today to nurse a sore ankle he injured in yesterday's morning session. Jonathan Ogden and Kelly Gregg were also in street clothes taking in the action and lending some words of encouragement when the opportunity arose. Second year linebacker Jamar Enzor also sat out today's action. The estimated crowd size of over 3,200 was entertained most of the early morning non-contact drills and stretching by Derrick Mason and the entire unit of the secondary. Mason continued his chatter at some of the secondary players about what he thought was their unfair play yesterday. During yesterday's practice, the receiver even went as far as to call some of the younger secondary players "scared" to cover the quicker receivers, after many of them held receivers in the man to man drills. Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:05:19 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23376 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23376 Here is my list of the best 20 corners in the league. 1. Champ Bailey 2. Rashean Mathis 3. Pacman Jones (when eligible to play) 4. Nate Clements 5. DeAngelo Hall 6. Asante Samuel 7. Dre' Bly 8. Chris McAlister 9. Ronde Barber 10. Lito Sheppard 11. Walt Harris 12. Al Harris 13. Terrence Newman 14. Nnamdi Asomugha 15. R.W. McQuarters 16. Ty Law 17. Charles Woodson 18. Aaron Glenn 19. Mike McKenzie 20. Nathan Vasher Some others are Antoine Winfield, Chris Gamble, and Brian Williams Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:17:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23075 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/23075 You might notice that this post looks different than my last one. That's because I had to telephone it in and have someone write it for me. I wanted to type it myself, but couldn't. I had a pretty sore left ring finger during the first day of practice. It was kind of on the inside edge, like a little black sore. I went through the whole morning practice with it, but then I hit my hand against Chris McAlister's helmet. I almost started crying. I ended up finishing practice, but when I took my glove off, it was completely swollen. That little black spot moved all the way to the top of my fingernail. It hurt so bad that they brought the doctor in. He said they were going to have to do something about it before it spread down my entire hand. We tried to poke it to get it to drain, but they came back and ended up cutting half of my fingernail off and then cutting back into my finger to get it to drain. They numbed my whole hand and did it right there at training camp. I like practicing so I'll be out there tomorrow morning. I know that we can meet our expectation level this year. I felt outstanding and everyone looked great. It felt like we hadn't stepped off the field since last year. It was sweet. Tue, 31 Jul 2007 04:13:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/21617 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/21617 I went 2-1 this weekend, and got two more off-handed victories. I'm getting warmer ... -4 offensive players recorded a tackle for the Falcons Sunday. Turn the ball over much? Vick had two picks and a fumble, the Lions shredded their defense and they fell. -Speaking of turnovers, Chicago gave Miami the ball on their side of the field 5 times. Chicago's defense got out scored by Miami's defense. Grossman has to hold onto the ball better: three picks again will get you benched. -Baltimore has at least two guys in their secondary, McAlister and Reed, that I would put on kick returns and maybe in a five wide set. Did you see that return the two shared? They have better hands than T.O., and they bitch less. -T.O. has the first instance of losing the game for his team with drops. It happened even back in the day in San Fran: that day he caught the game-winner in the playoffs versus Green Bay he had SIX DROPS! Parcells better be careful, or he'll end up like Larry Brown: a career success who lost his immunity to second-guessing. That two-point attempt was needless. What a great ending, though. Love the untimed down rule. Fuck Vanderjagt. -You can't give a team a 17-0 lead off of turnovers, but that's what St. Louis did and they never recovered. I believe I had this one. But its not hard to predict LJ for 170 a week after LT did it. -The Giants avoided the trap, but almost fell into it. They were down until eight minutes left, and Houston moved the ball pretty easily against a defense without Osi Umienyora. -Denver went up early and knocked Pittsburgh out officially. We won't stop talking about them, I bet. Javon Walker may have been the best acquisition last offseason. They looked solid. -My beloved Niners did it! They beat Minnesota! Note to Steelers fans: its not that much fun having been in every game but never winning it, is it? It was an ugly win but the defense came up big. Seemed like Brandon Moore was everywhere, and the line played solid. Alex Smith has upped his pocket awareness and it showed as he was able to elude sacks that would've been automatic week 1. We're not gonna make the playoffs, but we may just screw ourselves out of a top five draft pick. Hooray! -When you're down by a touchdown in the fourth quarter and your defense has just intercepted Peyton Manning, you can't throw a pick. C'mon, Brady! That may have been the worst game of his pro career, and they still only lost by a touchdown. I think they should've run the ball more. Credit Indy's defense for keeping New England out of the end zone in the second half, a key factor in the game. Tonight's game is gonna suck, and neither team is anywhere near top 10. Speaking of which ... 1 Indianapolis Colts (2). They kill the Pats resurgence to the top of the conference and have now laid the smack down on the next two best teams. Peyton wins regular season games. We know this. Nobody was talking about them going undefeated this season, but its possible. Road games at Dallas and Jacksonville and home games against Philly and Cincy are what stand in their way, but they are clearly the best team. Sad as it is to say. 2. Chicago Bears (1). Collinsworth wanted to bench Grossman, but in all fairness, I want to bench Collinsworth. Not a good way to head into that killer road trip, though. I can see them losing two of three, which once again opens up the conference for home field. 3. New England Patriots (3). Ok, so they're not the team they were two years ago. They probably won't ever be that team again. But Rodney Harrison missed most of the game: who knows if he had played, how that would've changed the game. They have five more games against teams with losing records, which gets them the division and maybe a bye. 4. Denver Broncos (4). They reach another level with the playmaking skills of Walker. But you still have Plummer as your quarterback. I feel bad for the guy, though: I loved him in college and wanted him for the Niners (we chose Jim Druckenmiler, thank you very much) but his playoff history is telling. 5. Baltimore Ravens (5). I really like their defense. They're whole linebacking crew should be in the Pro Bowl, plus Reed and McAlister. Add in a veteran offense with the most underrated tight end ever, Todd Heap, and you have a potent playoff contender. 6. San Diego Chargers (7). I'm still bitter about Merriman, but look at it this way: they let the Browns stay in it the whole game. I say they're toast next week against the Bengals. And the following week in Denver. 7. Jacksonville Jaguars (8). They have a sweet revenge game against Houston this week. Let's hope that this burgeoning QB controversy doesn't distract them too much. 8. Carolina Panthers (unranked). Disappointing performances by the Falcons and Bengals move these guys back up. They got routed by Dallas, but they hopefully used the bye week to fix the reasons why that happened. 9. New York Giants (9). They looked awful Sunday, and they have the Bears coming up. This will be the NFC's version of last night's game, and I have the Bears winning it. Can they get their defensive line healthy? 10. Atlanta Falcons (6). No excuses for this team. They were chasing Detroit's receivers and Kevin Jones all over the field on Sunday, and they have no excuse because they play in a dome like the Lions. But Michael Vick is learning from his mistakes quicker than in the past. Thursday, this week's picks! I'm 8-13 but roaring back with my first victorious week! 2-1, woohoo! We have four games coming up, and maybe I'll throw in the 'Skins-Eagles game if you're nice. Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:12:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/4598 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/4598