During his five years in Baltimore, offensive tackle Michael Oher gained a reputation with fans for his false starts.
When Oher comes back to M&T Bank Stadium for the first time as a member of the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, expect fans to be loud in trying to get him to jump.
And count on Oher's new opponent, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, to ask officials to watch Oher's especially quick step, too.
"I'm definitely going to point it out to the referee," Suggs said. "You want to watch this just a little bit."
Oher actually outgrew his problem with false starts. He had six during his rookie season and eight in 2010, which was tied for the league-lead. But he cut the false starts to four in 2011, three in 2012 and three in 2013. He has just one so far this season.
Ravens players still have fond memories of Oher. He never missed a start in Baltimore after being the team's first-round pick in 2009.
"What was he here, five years? Yeah. It speaks for itself," quarterback Joe Flacco said. "Michael was a great teammate and a great player, and I'm sure he'll be fired up for this one. No doubt about it."
"He was with us and was part of the special [championship] team, the team that got something done. So we'll always have that bond with Mike," Suggs added. "But he's going to see different colors and we're going to see different colors when he walks in here. We're both going to be sizing each other up, trying to compete and get a win."
Oher said he has no clue about what to expect from fans upon his return, and isn't worried about it.
"I've played a lot of games and won a lot of games. Shouldn't be nothing too bad," he said.
Oher dodged the question of whether he was ever offered a contract by the Ravens. The Memphis, Tenn. native said he didn't want to leave, but went to his home-state Titans on a reported four-year, $20 million deal instead. He said he's been happy with the transition.
"I kind of thought I might be back [in Baltimore] for a second, but as soon as free agency kicked off, everything happened so fast where I got everything done right away, and it came down to Tennessee," Oher said.
Oher said he still keeps in touch with many of his former Ravens teammates and doesn't expect much trash talk on Sunday.
"We've always had respect for one another, always been a family," Oher said. "The thing that stands out the most is dealing with a great organization in Baltimore, a great fan base, the team was always a family and things like that. There's a great culture around there and they love football."
