Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with some reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine.
Running it back:
There's good news for the Ravens after their Week 6 loss to the Patriots: Ed Reed is eligible return, but there's no guarantee he'll play Sunday. ... Ravens coach John Harbaugh said on Monday that RB Willis McGahee isn't going anywhere. ... The Ravens might be forced to put OT Jared Gaither on the injured reserve. ... Tom Brady gave the Ravens a colossal burn on Monday morning, saying "They talk a lot for beating us once in nine years."... The NFL wants to cut down on vicious hits like the one Todd Heap took Sunday. ... Rangers ace Cliff Lee is kind of clutch.
Hitting the links:
1. Mike Preston: It's time for the Ravens to loosen the reigns on Joe Flacco [Baltimore Sun]
2. Ravens coach John Harbaugh insists the offense didn't get conservative Sunday [Ravens.com]
3. The Ravens aren't as good as everyone thought they were [Eagle-Tribune]
4. Unsurprisingly, Jerome Bettis thinks the AFC North is Pittsburgh's to lose [SI]
5. An unapologetic Brandon Meriweather feels his hit was the key to the Patriots' victory [NECN]
6. There was plenty of blame to go around in the Ravens' loss to the Patriots [Baltimore Beatdown]
7. Former Ravens QB Kyle Boller is warming up in the Raiders' bullpen [S.F. Chronicle]
8. Buck Showalter, Andy MacPhail will meet with Peter Angelos to discuss the offseason [Orioles Insider]
9. Where is all the pitching in this year's free-agent class? [Orioles Insider]
10. How many home runs can Luke Scott hit? [MASN]
11. The Capitals are still waiting for a dominant team performance [Washington Post]
12. Alex Ovechkin chats it up with ESPN's John Buccigross [On Frozen Blog]
You said it:
"I read a lot over the last few years about Heap supposedly being in Harbaugh's "doghouse" for being "soft," which I always thought was a bunch of BS. Heap has taken a lot of tough hits over the years, many due to playing with awful quarterbacks with a propensity for throwing hospital passes." -- Andrew disagrees with the notion that Todd Heap is soft
Today's water cooler question (your response could be published in b):
Should the Ravens sign Shawne Merriman?
Video of the morning:
This is probably the craziest catch we'll see all season, courtesy of Pierre Garcon
Send me your funny and/or interesting links, photos, YouTube videos, blogs, Tweets, comments, emails, ideas, leads, etc. If I deem them to be worthy for the blog, I'll give you a plug. You can reach me at matt@bthesite.com, twitter.com/mattvensel and facebook.com/VirtualVensanity.
