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The Ravens head to the Buckeye state this Sunday vying for their 12th consecutive win versus the hapless Browns. Since 1999, Baltimore has dominated Cleveland 22-7.
The last time the Ravens lost to the Browns was way back in November 2007 – Cleveland also swept Baltimore that year. Jamal Lewis (remember him) was cut by the Ravens during the offseason prior to 2007 and signed with the Browns in an interesting twist of fate. The one bright spot that year was Ray Lewis’ 16 tackles against Cleveland.
2007 was destined to be a BAD year for Baltimore football fans as the Indianapolis “C-words” won the Super Bowl. After finishing 13-3 the year before, the Ravens finished last in the division with a 5-11 record, marking the end of Brian Billick in Baltimore.
Five of their first eight games were on the road that year, but the Ravens began 4-2. The bottom soon fell out as they lost their next nine games, one of which was against Cam Cameron’s 0-13, Miami Dolphins.
In case you’ve forgotten, a lot of other interesting things happened in 2007:
- The Monday Night Football game between the unbeaten Patriots and the Kyle Boller-led Ravens drew the highest basic cable rating in history, with over 17.5 million viewers.
- Super Bust, JaMarcus Russell was drafted number one by the Raiders. Marshal Yanda, Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch, Darrell Revis and Jacoby Jones were also drafted that year.
- Instant replay was made a permanent officiating tool.
- Brett Favre set five all-time high NFL records.
- Michael Vick was charged with dog fighting and animal abuse. He was sentenced to 23 months in prison, which wasn’t nearly enough, in my opinion.
- A Patriots camera operator was accused of videotaping the Jets’ coaches relaying signals. New England was fined $250,000, head coach Bill Belicheck was docked $500,000, and also stripped of their first round selection of the 2008 Draft.
- Worth mentioning, but not a football happening – the first generation iPhone debuts in the US.
Yep, 2007 was an interesting year, especially for Ravens fans. But as we all know, 2007 also ushered in the Harbaugh/Flacco era, which includes to date, five straight seasons with playoff appearances and, of course, a ring!
If 2007 taught us anything, it’s that Ozzie and company know how to quickly fix things.
Keep the faith, Ravens fans – part II of this season starts with a win Sunday in Cleveland!