Welcome To Baltimore, Anquan Boldin!

Four days later, and the grin has yet to leave my face. The Ravens finally get their #1 receiver, when they traded for Arizona Cardinals Anquan Boldin. Finally! A huge missing piece to the near-perfect puzzle, as arrived.

Since the trade, I've done everything imaginable to show my excitement. I sent out mass text messages, phone calls and blackberry messages. I've joined just about every Anquan Boldin Facebook group there is. And I'm officially looking for a new Boldin Ravens jersey as we speak. To say I'm excited about Boldin's arrival is a huge understatement.

While the Ravens have other holes in other positions (manly DB and DL positions), the wide receiver position was the biggest hole, and has been for some time. A lot of Ravens fans give GM Ozzie Newsome a hard time, but there aren't too many times you can say The Wiz didn't get it right. This time, he got it right.

Some folks are asking why didn't the Ravens front office pull this trade off last year, when the team initially showed interest on Boldin. But it's real simple- the asking price went down considerably from a year ago. Last year, the Cardinals wanted a 1st and 3rd round draft pick in exchange for Boldin. In hindsight, that means the Cardinals would have had Michael Oher and LarDarius Webb, the Ravens 1st and 3rd round draft picks in last years draft. Both have shown that they are great assets to this team. And while the Ravens still needed Boldin, they finished the season 9th in total scoring. Pretty impressive for a team without a true #1 WR.

It's too early to call what this season will be like. But it's never too early to get excited. As soon as I heard that the Boldin trade was a done deal, the Ravens NFL Shop commercial came on (my favorite commercial, BTW). Coincidence??? Maybe, especially since they play that commercial 50-11 times on the NFL Network. But at that very moment, it was all coming together. Maybe this is our time. Time to get over the hump.. time to be REAL contenders.... time for another Lombardi Trophy for the Baltimore Ravens.

Welcome to Baltimore, Q! We're glad to FINALLY have you with us.

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Bills' James Hardy Motivates Kids to Read

Buffalo Bills wide receiver James Hardy made a special visit to Country Parkway Elementary School in Williamsville, NY on Tuesday in support of National Reading Month and Read Across America Day. Hardy read Dr. Suess’s Horton Hears a Who! in the Country Parkway Library to all of the kindergarten students and Oh the Places You’ll Go in the second grade classroom. Hardy also took the time to visit with the fourth grade students to stress the importance of reading.

“The importance of reading has been instilled in me since I was in elementary school, by teachers and family members, so I wanted to come here today to encourage these students to read every day” said Hardy. “Reading is fundamental, and necessary for students to be successful in life, so I wanted to show these kids that reading is important and fun.”

He didn't contribute during the season, so this is a good look for him. With WRs Josh Reed and Terrell Owens out of the picture, Hardy has to step up big time if he wants to remain a Buffalo Bill. Being involved in the community is definitely a sure way of winning over some of the fans. The rest will decide his fate come September.

Source

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So Long T.O. -Thanks for the Memories...

...and just like that he's gone.

Terrell Owens is on the market after the Buffalo Bills announced Saturday they do not plan to offer him a contract. The Bills also declined to offer contracts to defensive end Ryan Denney and wide receiver Josh Reed, allowing them to become unrestricted free agents at midnight on March 5.

“We wanted to inform all three players ahead of the start of the free agency period so they could begin making their plans,” Bills general manager Buddy Nix said. “We just felt that was the right thing to do. All three have represented our organization with class and we thank them for their dedication and hard work.”

Owens, who will turn 37 in December, caught 55 passes for 829 yards and five touchdowns in his only season in Buffalo. He also ran for a touchdown. “I would like to thank the great fans in Buffalo, Ralph Wilson & the Bills organization for all their supports this past season,” Owens said on Twitter.

The six-time Pro Bowl receiver caught his 1,000th pass in Week 16 at Atlanta to become the sixth player in league history to reach the milestone. Owens then moved into third place on the career list with 14,951 yards receiving in a 30-7 win over Indianapolis in Week 17.

Let's give him his credit. He maintained his composure throughout the season and that's what teams were looking to see, "a change." Will it be enough for a contender to offer him a contract? Anything is possible in the NFL, he was a Buffalo Bill wasn't he.

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