The only game-casualty of the NFL Lockout is going to be the Pro Football Hall of Fame game that was originally scheduled for next weekend. The Baltimore Ravens will keep their pre-season schedule as is, with their first exhibition game scheduled for August 11th at the Philadelphia Eagles. The game begins at 7:30pm, and while it is a game that truly means nothing, these two teams figure to be in the hunt for playoff spots once the regular season rolls around.
Having their first game against Michael Vick and company will be a real test and while we certainly hope Vick's athletic moves don't break any Ravens player's ankles, he should be well aware of how he injured his own in pre-season as a member of the Atlanta Falcons, when former Ravens LB Bart Scott promised his teammates would "put a little hot sauce on it."
Hopefully, everybody on both teams will come out of the game healthy and as incredible as it seems on the day Ravens Training Camp opens, this game is only a bit more than two weeks away from now. Clearly, both teams have a ton of things to accomplish, signing and filling out their rosters, much less putting some sort of even a basic game plan in for the upcoming pre-season contests.
The remainder of the Ravens exhibition games are as follows:
Friday, August 19: Kansas City @ Baltimore (7:30pm)
Thursday, August 25: Washington @ Baltimore (8pm)
Thursday, September 1: Baltimore@ Atlanta (7:30pm)