Williams famously posed in a wedding dress with Mike Ditka after being selected by the Saints in the first round of the 1999 draft.  Williams’ best season came as a member of the Dolphins in 2003 when he ran for 1853 yards and 16 TDs.  For his career Williams ran for 10,009 yards and 68 touchdowns.

The Ravens have several young running backs on the roster in Anthony Allen and Damien Berry who could take Williams’ place in the lineup..  Baltimore may also look to free agency in an attempt to find a suitable backup to Ray Rice.

John Harbaugh also ended speculation surrounding offensive coordinator Cam Camero who will be returning for his fifth season in Baltimore.  Cameron has been the subject of fan unrest for years.  The team is expected to add a quarterbacks coach to the offensive staff this off-season.

Twitter shut down second half here. back on. Ray Lewis says he's not retiring. Coming back next season.

January 22, 2012 6:14 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@ClarkJudgeCBS

Clark Judge

The Ray Lewis retirement speculation can end.  Lewis confirmed that he will return for a 17th season with the Baltimore Ravens.  Lewis, regarded as one of the best linebackers in NFL history, had a down season but was still a force in the middle of the Ravens vaunted defense.

The 36 year old is a 13 time Pro Bowl selection and a Super Bowl MVP award winner.

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice

Rice, the diminutive 5’8 fourth-year running back out of Rutgers, may be the best dual-threat running back in the NFL.

While other running backs such as Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew, Kansas City’s Jammal Charles, Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy, Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch, Tennessee’s Chris Johnson and Houston’s Arian Foster can stake a legitimate claim, Rice’s versatility out of the backfield as a receiver and his durability makes him stand out.

It will Rice—not Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco—that holds the key to whether or not the Ravens will advance to their second-ever Super Bowl.

Flacco would help lead the Ravens to a 20-13 win over the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round last Sunday, Rice would rush for 60 yards on 21 carries and catch four passes for 20 yards.

Rice would also have one fumble against Houston.

Rice draws a favorable match-up against the New England Patriots and their re-vitalized defense which went from being ranked 31st overall during the regular season to the best in the post-season as they have allowed 252.0 total yards per game—albeit the stats may be eschewed because it was against Tim Tebow—Baltimore is not Denver and Rice is not Tebow.

Rice has recent history to draw upon against New England as he would rush for 159 yards and score two touchdowns in leading Baltimore to a 33-14 upset of the Patriots in Foxboro during the 2009 AFC Wild Card opening round game.

Rice would open the game with a 83-yard touchdown run, and the help the Ravens score 24 straight points in stunning Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on their home field.

For Baltimore to win at Foxboro for a second time against the Patriots, they will have to establish Rice early on the ground, and use his versatility late in attacking New England’s suspect defense on the edge late.

Flacco may be under the harsh media spotlight to help lead Baltimore past New England, Rice may be the proverbial shadow who could steal the show.

Follow me on Twitter, @Dawgfather_76

Not so fast.

With the AFC North champion Baltimore Ravens set to play the AFC South champion Houston Texans, both teams—despite their regular-season accomplishments may be nothing more than beneficiaries of luck and circumstance.

For the Ravens—their arch-rival and nemesis—injury-riddled Pittsburgh would be upset by the Denver Broncos 29-23, thanks to Tim Tebow’s 80-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime, do not have to face the prospect of losing to the Steelers for the fourth time in the post-season.

For the Texans, they would run away with the AFC South—thanks in part to Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Peyton Manning suffering a neck injury.

Not to take anything away from either Baltimore or Houston, but what if Pittsburgh didn’t lose to Denver? What if Manning didn’t injure his neck?

Would either even be in the playoffs facing each other?

If there is one person who may have benefitted the most that is involved in the up-coming Texans-Ravens clash is quarterback Joe Flacco.

Flacco, the fourth-year quarterback out of Delaware has finally been given the tools to not only slay the Steelers but ultimately lead the Ravens to their second Super Bowl title.

Flacco would throw for 3,610 yards, throw 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a QB rating of 80.9

In an effort to help Flacco, Baltimore would draft speedy wide receiver Torrey Smith in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft and tight ends Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson in the third and fourth rounds of the 2010 NFL Draft respectfully.

Baltimore would also acquire Pro Bowl wideout Anquan Boldin from Arizona and Lee Evans from Buffalo and along with Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice, has a bevy of talent at the skill positions.

So is this the year that Flacco finally leads Baltimore to the Super Bowl?

If there was such a golden opportunity for the Ravens to go the Super bowl, this is it, due to playing at home in the Divisional round in Houston and their recent post-season success against the Patriots, Baltimore is the one team in the AFC that New England does not want to face due to their physicality.

While Flacco is a good quarterback, is he elite?

Does he have the mental toughness to be aggressive downfield in the post-season?

At 6’6 and 240 pounds, Flacco has the arm strength and physical makeup of an elite quarterback, but in terms of his mental make-up, he has shown a tendency to fold by throwing an ill-timed pass, taking a bad sack or simply making a bad decision.

Tomorrow’s game against Houston will be his first shot at staking his claim to elite status against one of the top defense in the league in Houston.

And if he succeeds, Flacco will face the top-seeded Patriots in Foxboro, and with all of the weapons at his disposal in Rice, Smith, Boldin, Evans and Dickson, Flacco and his apologists will have no more excuses if he comes up short again.

Follow me on Twitter, @Dawgfather_76

Houston starting quarterback Matt Schaub played against the Ravens the first time around but has since been placed on injured reserve with a foot injury. Rookie quarterback TJ Yates will likely start for Houston. The youngster will be tested in the hostile environment of Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore went 8-0 at home in the regular season and is riding a 10 game home winning streak.