Who Powered Through
Who Powered Through: Morgan Cox
Baltimore Ravens long snapper Morgan Cox may be done for the season after tearing his ACL, but he is definitely not forgotten. The rookie whose name was rarely mentioned, tore his ACL in the second quarter of last week's 20-10 win over the Cleveland Browns. It happened on Billy Cundiff's 27 yard field goal, yet Cox continued to play the rest of the game with the knee heavily wrapped to support his leg. A rookie, Cox supplanted the veteran Matt Katula, who was subsequently signed and remains on the roster of the New England Patriots.
With Cox out for the rest of the season, the Ravens tried out a group of long snappers this week, putting two through physicals before signing veteran Kevin Houser, a nine-year NFL veteran. See more on Houser at BaltimoreRavens.com.
Cox not only tore his ACL but sprained his MCL as well and was on crutches after game, impressing everyone for his grit and determination to stay in the game for the second half's extra point and for Sam Koch's punts. For that level of commitment and loyalty he received a game ball from Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, and earns this honor from Vicks as well. Cox is expected to recover in time to be healthy and ready for Training Camp next summer.
Get well soon, Morgan and much respect for your efforts!
Who Powered Through? Derrick Mason
The Baltimore Ravens' Derrick Mason has been in the NFL for 14 seasons. At 36 years old, 5'10" and 197 pounds, he is far from an intimidating presence on the field, so his size has certainly not protected him from having his career shortened due to injury. Mason stays in great shape year 'round and is a student of the game, with almost perfect technical skills including route running and catching the ball correctly.
With 53 receptions so far in 2010 with three games remaining, Derrik now has had 11 straight seasons with at least 50 receptions and if he can catch at least 10 more balls in the next three games, that total will be 11 seasons with at least 63 receptions. He has just under 700 receiving yards this year and while he won't get to the 1,000 yard level, he has hit that mark in eight of the past ten years. If he makes it to 750 receiving yards, that will make 11 straight seasons at that stat level.
This week, Mason is on the Baltimore Ravens injury report with an ankle sprain, but you can fully expect him to be out there when the team hosts the New Orleans Saints in a critical game with significant playoff implications. When the Ravens traded for Anquan Boldin and signed both Donte Stallworth and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, one might have thought Mason's importance to the Ravens offense would diminish with so many other targets for QB Joe Flacco. However, Mason ranks third on the team in receiving behind Boldin (59 receptions, 811 yards, 7 TDs) and Ray Rice (57 receptions, 476 yards, 0 TDs). In fact, Mason still appears to be Flacco's "go-to" guy in key situations, as evidenced by his 16 receptions in the past three games, including six for 78 yards and two TD's in the Ravens 34-28 OT victory over the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football, and one was actually without one shoe!
Who Powered Through? Todd Heap
Contrary to popular belief, the expected demise of the 30 year old Baltimore Ravens tight end, Todd Heap, have been greatly exaggerated. Heap is in the midst of his tenth NFL season and was expected to be challenged for playing time by both of the rookie tight ends that the team drafted in the third and fourth rounds of the 2010 NFL Draft.
However, along the way, no one told Heap that he was done for his career and is actually having what many people are saying is a possible Pro Bowl-type of season. Through eleven games, Heap has 37 receptions for 546 yards and five touchdowns. He is averaging 14.8 yards per catch and to really understand his value, his 37 catches have resulted in 29 first downs. He may not reach his season high for receptions (75 in 2005, but will come close to setting a personal high in yardage (855 in 2005) and touchdowns (7 in 2005).
Critics speak about durability, which is deceiving, as Heap has played all 16 games for the past two seasons after only playing six in 2007. In fact, it was mentioned that Todd played more snaps in 2009 than any other tight end in the entire league. Some people think his falloff in production from that stellar 2005 season is indicative of his career coming to an end but it may have been more due to his blocking abilities in pass protection being needed more than sending him out to run receiving routes.
Either way, Heap is far from done and those rookies will continue to have to find other ways to get on the field, as Todd is not planning to go anywhere anytime soon, other than downfield for more receptions. Obviously, the Ravens Todd Heap has "powered through" the adversity!
Who Powered Through? Lardarius Webb
When the Baltimore Ravens promising cornerback Lardarius Webb went down with a major ACL tear in December 2009, the team and its fans did not expect to see him back on the playing field until deep into the 2010 NFL season, if at all. However, Webb made it back by week seven and has already made his presence felt by the team. A key interception by Lardarius that was almost returned for a touchdown in the Ravens 26-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins in week nine proved that he is healed and healthy which is a pleasant surprise on a team plagued by injuries in its secondary.
Webb has 25 tackles, three passes defense and that one pick in the three games since returning this season. In 2009, Webb finished his rookie season with 36 tackles, six passes defensed and no interceptions in the 14 games he played in.
Looking at the recent performance of Lardarius Webb after such a devastating injury that can easily take at least a full year to return from, it is obvious that Webb has "powered through!"
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"Who Powered Through?" Ed Reed
When Baltimore Ravens All-Pro free safety Ed Reed was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List just before the beginning of the 2010 regular season, many Ravens fans held their collective breaths for the first six weeks, wondering when, much less if he would ever return to play football again.
Reed underwent hip surgery during the off season and rehabbed it through OTAs, Training Camp and the six games he sat out as he watched the team race out to a 4-2 record. Over Reed's nine year career, the guy many say might be the best safety to ever play the game has always fought serious injury, from his neck to the hip injury he played through in the 2009 season until he could no longer stand the pain and succumbed to the surgery earlier this year.












