A guy walks into a bar wearing a Raven's jersey, and carrying a cat that also has a Raven's jersey on with a little Raven's helmet on his head, too.
The guy says to the bartender, "Can my cat and I watch the Raven's game here? My TV is broke and my cat and I always watch the game together".
The bartender replies, "Normally, cats wouldn't be allowed in the bar, but it's not very busy in here right now, so you and the cat can have a seat at the end of the bar. But, if there's any trouble with you or the cat, I'll have to ask you to leave."
The guy agrees, and he and his cat start watching the game. Pretty soon the Raven's kick a field goal and the excited cat jumps up on the bar and walks down the bar and gives everyone a high five.
The bartender says, Hey, that's pretty cool! What does he do for a touchdown?"
The guys answers, "I don't know, I've only had him for 3 years."
Just had to throw that one in here at the top. It's so sad, but so true!
Anyway, everywhere you look in and around the Cleveland Browns, you see former Ravens, both on and off the field. It is a combination of the good, the bad and the ugly. Working good to ugly, the obvious "good" is QB Derek Anderson, who has had such a good year that they have the fans of Cleveland debating the fate of Anderson versus the future of Brady Quinn. The irony here is that perhaps the Browns will go with Quinn and the Ravens will sign Anderson when he becomes a free agent! Doubtful. The other good is in the Front Office, where former Raven Assistant GM Phil Savage has finally paid the dividends he was expected to when he was whisked away from the Ravens years ago.
The "bad" in my opinion has been running back Jamal Lewis. While others may argue that he rushed for 215 yards against Cincinnati, my response is that it was the Bengals - hello!? When you say he had four touchdowns against Seattle, I say he finished with 37 yards, for the game! Combined with his injuries and lack of versatility, I'll take current Raven Willis McGahee over Lewis any day.
As far as the "ugly," remember Gary Baxter? The former Raven cornerback was signed by the Browns when he became a free agent for $28 million over four years. This was three years ago. See Baxter anywhere? He has been plagued by injuries from the day he stepped on the field for the Browns and even I'm not sure what his status is now (don't really care, either). The Ravens signed Samari Rolle in Baxter's place and even though Rolle has been injured this season, it certainly was worth it at the time.
So the ghosts of Ravens past may come back to haunt us when Baltimore hosts the Browns this Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. Hopefully, the Ravens will be ready to exorcise their demons!
Check out my fellow SBNation blogger for the Cleveland Browns at Dawgs By Nature