![]() We watched backup QB Randall Cunningham take rookie QB Jenkins under his wing, but to no avail. Afterword, Woodson stated, “Football is a small part of life.” He was entering his 15th season and no doubt his perspective helped him achieve such longevity. Goose, “If we don’t win the Super Bowl, this season is a failure.”Įpisode 2 began with a well-attended team bible study lead by the team chaplain. Can you handle success? We’re not going to hide from the face that we’re World Champions. This included the rookies singing (a gift Heap clearly did not receive), but fortunately some of the other rookies departed from the tradition of singing school songs and went to more popular material, a move that seemed to please the veterans, even Goose.īillick to the team, “We know how to handle adversity. Late in the episode, we saw the first team meeting of camp, at Westminster’s Best Western Hotel (still there and still a Best Western). He rolled with it well, seemingly quite used to that happening. Ismail also had a humbling moment when he was asked for an autograph by someone who clearly mistook him for his brother Raghib (Rocket), the former Notre Dame star. He prepares as well as anyone I’ve ever been around.”), and Goose being obnoxious with his detest of training camp and showing off his wealth by flying into camp via helicopter. It displayed a picture of the Lombardi Trophy, the team logo, and the phrase “Defense Begins.”Īs we are introduced to the other players, I was struck by Todd Heap’s sincere humility (I suspect he had Ray beat in that regard), Qadry Ismail and Ron Woodson’s love for their families (and Woodson’s mansion in Pittsburgh), Shannon Sharpe’s preparation (Billick would say he was “the consummate professional. Once arriving at Westminster’s Western Maryland (now McDaniel) College, we are introduced to a two-story tall banner that would be a constant presence in this series. We saw the van lines trucks taking equipment to camp-a somewhat tone-deaf shot to include for Baltimore fans, but thankfully they were not Mayflower trucks. I’m probably the most humblest(sic) person you’ll ever know.” Okay. Lewis described himself, “My heart is pure. There was lots of purple (Prince would have been comfortable paying a visit) and an oversized Bible was openly displayed. While not quite “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” I’m confident he put more money into that than any of us reading this are worth. In the first episode we also saw Ray Lewis walking through his home in Owings Mills while it was being renovated. I don’t think those are bad qualities as long as you don’t take them to excess.” Okay then, Brian, own it. He gave us a look into his psyche, “People talk about being arrogant, egotistical, eccentric. We see Coach Billick early in the first episode during a family trip to a cabin on a lake in northern Minnesota (remember he had been the offensive coordinator with the Vikings before coming to Baltimore). The contrast between the aw-shucks newlywed Heap (who professed to find signing autographs awkward) and the other rookies scrambling for a spot and having worked through challenges in life was compelling. We also met rookies 1st round pick TE Todd Heap, 7th round pick DE Dwayne Missouri, and UDFA’s DB Reggie Waddell, LB Kenny Jackson, and QB Ortege Jenkins. The veterans were LB Ray Lewis, TE Shannon Sharpe, S Ron Woodson, DT Tony Siragusa, and WR Qadry Ismail-a group that was hardly tight-lipped in front of a camera. The first of six episodes followed the formula of introducing viewers to Billick and the players who would be followed closely throughout the camp. (You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.) ![]() He walked viewers through the process of how camp was organized, how his players prepared for the season, and the difficult part of cutdowns. In fact, Billick served as the tour guide. In 2001, the very young Ravens’ Nation and the Ravens’ organization were basking in the glow of their Super Bowl XXXV Championship, and Brian Billick was all too happy to open the doors to his team’s preparation to defend the title. I recently went back to rewatch all six episodes and found that, for the most part, they aged well. ![]() Yes, the Baltimore Ravens were the first team to be featured in what was experimental series on HBO. ![]() In my effort to divert attention away from yet another Hard Knocks season featuring Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones, I draw your attention to the 20 th anniversary of the original Hard Knocks series. ![]()
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