Anquan Boldin Has A Joe Flacco Freudian Slip
You can't blame Anquan Boldin for having the Ravens, and his former quarterback, on his mind.
The man is less than a week away from returning to the team with which he won a Super Bowl. He and Joe Flacco could do no wrong in their historic postseason run together.
As Boldin's homecoming nears, memories of his MONSTER performance flood my mind.
And it appears Flacco memories are flooding his mind, because Boldin had a Freudian slip (twice) when asked by San Francisco reporters if he feels more comfortable in his second year with the 49ers offense and quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
"Me and Joe are communicating a lot better ... 'Flac' (and I are) communicating a lot of better... I mean, my bad, me and Colin are communicating a lot better," Boldin said Wednesday, per the 49ers team website, drawing laughter from reporters. "Offensively, we're a lot farther ahead than we were last year."
Oops!
Jokes aside, the 12-year veteran receiver is genuinely excited to return to Baltimore.
"For me, it will be a cool time. I still have relationships with those guys," said Boldin. "I still have relationships with the staff with the Ravens as well."
Boldin has kept in contact with several of his former Ravens teammates. He hosted Flacco, Ray Rice and Torrey Smith at his Florida home this offseason, according to 49ers.com. Additionally, Boldin came to Baltimore to participate in Smith’s charity basketball game in March, where he caught up with Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, Lardarius Webb and many others.
But Boldin has not had closure with Ravens fans yet.
The Aug. 7 preseason opener will mark his first appearance at M&T Bank Stadium since being traded in 2013. That game, plus the open 49ers-Ravens practice at the stadium the following day at 1 p.m., will give Boldin the chance to formally bid farewell.
"It will be a chance to say goodbye to the fans in a proper way," Boldin said. "I really wasn't afforded that opportunity; I got traded while I was away. Getting to practice at (M&T Bank Stadium), be around the fans, will be cool."
And it will be interesting to see the reception fans give Q.
In the meantime, let's reminisce about this clutch catch on a gutsy third-and-1 audible from Flacco in the Super Bowl. The play set up a game-sealing Justin Tucker field goal.
Juszczyk 'Blew Up' Suggs As Lead Blocker
Sure, second-year fullback Kyle Juszczyk can catch passes out of the backfield. But, can he block?
Well, just ask former Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Suggs.
According to The Baltimore Sun's Mike Preston, Juszczyk "blew up" Suggs as the lead blocker Wednesday, when the youngster squared up and took down the veteran. Juice also made a solid seal block yesterday afternoon, springing running back Bernard Pierce for a long gain.
It was about this time last year that Juszczyk lost his chance at the starting role when he wasn't able to clear the way for his backs.
Our Garrett Downing has a story on that coming later today.
Pads Come Off, But Mosley Still Physical
"[C.J.] Mosley is featured … every day for a reason — he’s going to be good," wrote The Sun's Jon Meoli.
You got that right.
The pads came off yesterday for a lighter day of practice in shorts, but the first-round rookie was still physical.
In a one-on-one drill, fullback Shuan Chapas tried to run a route past Mosley, but the inside linebacker planted his feet and became a brick wall that Chapas slammed squarely into. Oh, and Mosley followed the hit up by knocking down the pass thrown by rookie Keith Wenning.
"[He] has only one speed," wrote ESPN's Jamison Hensley.
The team also worked on overtime situations, and Mosley was "singularly responsible" for the goal line stand, says Meoli. On second down, Mosley stuffed Rice on a screen pass. On third down, he draped over tight end Dennis Pitta in the end zone to force a field goal.
Tucker Practices Touchdown Dances
I don't know how he'll ever be able to put them to use, but kicker Justin Tucker was apparently practicing touchdown dances yesterday.
"The light practice left plenty of down time for the special teams players, which left plenty of time for kicker Justin Tucker to drag his toes for a touchdown catch from long snapper Morgan Cox," wrote Meoli. "The kicker probably did six different touchdown dances, each more outlandish than the last."
While I can't imagine any planned scenario with Tucker scoring a touchdown (well, I guess there was the fake in Super Bowl XLVII), I still want to see those dances. So hopefully he can start a new trend for kickers and introduce field goal dances.
He's already done it once. Remember when he celebrated with the Terio Dance after kicking the game-winning field goal in overtime against the Cincinnati Bengals last year?
No? Well, here ya go …
Chris McAlister Wants To Start Coaching Career
Former Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister wants to get the next chapter of his life started.
"I’m trying to get into coaching," McAlister told WNST's Nestor Aparicio.
He hasn't always wanted to be a coach.
Two years ago, McAlister was visiting his alma mater at the University of Arizona to be enshrined in the school's athletic Hall of Fame. While in town for the ceremony, they offered McAlister a graduate assistant position, but he couldn't take it because he didn't have his college degree.
So* *he went back to school to get that rectified, and is taking the summer semester off to do a coaching internship with the Buffalo Bills.
"Ultimately, what it boils down to is I love the game that I played for 10 years [in the NFL]," McAlister said. "And I've been playing it since I was 8, so the passion is always going to be there. What better job is there than to do something you love?
"Since I no longer can play the game, I definitely have been taught by a lot of great coaches and played with a lot of great players and I have a lot of knowledge from all those experiences. Right now, it just makes me happy to be able to go out and teach the game."
Quick Hits
- @RavensCommunity: Know youth groups that provide excellent service to the Baltimore community? Tell them about the #HonorRows program! [Twitter]
- @RavensInsider: Ravens rookie wide receiver Jeremy Butler sprained his knee. [He] should be able to return in a few days, severity of sprain isn't regarded as major. [Twitter]
- @Ravesn: Happy 40th Birthday to Jonathan #Ogden! A year ago this weekend, J.O. became the first #Ravens player enshrined in the @ProFootballHOF. #ravensnation #halloffame [Instagram]
- @89SteveSmith: Training camp is a grind!!! So Ace and Deuce sent me a hello!!! Man I'm so lucky [Twitter]
