The Baltimore Ravens won one Super Bowl and made 5 playoff appearances in the last decade. With two games left in the 2009 regular season, they are in contention to make a sixth trip to the postseason in the 2000’s. Even with all their playoff appearances and their one Super Bowl title, I think the Ravens have been one of the disappointments of the 2000’s. They’ve had so much talent on the team in the past decade that I could’ve easily put five or six guys on this list that didn’t end up making the cut. Of course the main problem with the Ravens is they just didn’t have enough offense to survive in the playoffs. With the emergence of Joe Flacco and Ray Rice, they hope to change that in the future, but will they still have the defensive talent by then? Here is a look back on who were the five best Baltimore Ravens of the 2000’s. (Only accomplishments and stats while playing for the Baltimore Ravens from 2000-2009 were considered.)
1. Jonathan Ogden – From 2000-2007, Ogden continued the domination of defensive lineman that started in the 90’s. The Ravens left tackle was selected to the Pro Bowl all eight seasons that he played in the 2000’s.
2. Ray Lewis – During the 2000’s, Ray Lewis picked up right where he left off at the end of the 1990’s; dominating the football field. From 2000-2009, Lewis has totaled 1,172 tackles, 23.5 sacks, 21 interceptions and 12 forced fumbles. In the 2000’s, Lewis has been selected to five Pro Bowls, won AP Defensive Player of the Year award twice and was the Super Bowl XXXV MVP.
3. Ed Reed – From 2002-2009, Ed Reed has been one of the best players in the NFL. During his eight seasons with the Ravens, he has 456 tackles, 46 interceptions and eight defensive touchdowns. He has been selected to five Pro Bowls and was named the 2004 AP NFL Defensive Player of Year. He has the NFL record for the longest interception return (108 yards) and the most interception return yards in one season (358 yards).
4. Jamal Lewis – Quick, who is the running back that has the second highest single season rushing total in NFL History? I’m going to test you even more now; what running back has the second most rushing yards in one game? The answer to both of these questions can be answered with two words; Jamal Lewis. In 2003, Jamal Lewis became the fourth running back in NFL History to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season, with 2,066. He was helped out on the way to that total by what was at the time a single game NFL record, 295 yards against the Cleveland Browns.
5. Terrell Suggs – From 2003-2009, Suggs had 419 tackles, 56.5 sacks and 18 forced fumbles. He was named the 2003 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and made three Pro Bowls in his seven seasons with the Ravens.
