Clocking Ochocinco All in the Show

Ray Lewis hit Chad Ochocinco in the mouth a couple of Sundays ago in Baltimore’s game versus Cincinnati.

Predictably, the NFL took exception. The league fined Lewis $25,000 for breaking its "defenseless receiver" rule among other charges of unnecessary roughness on a play where Ochocinco was clocked coming across the middle late in the fourth quarter of Cincinnati’s compelling 17-14 win over Baltimore.

You would think Ochocinco would be fuming mad and pointing to Nov. 8 for retaliation when the Ravens and Bengals hook up again in Cincinnati. But with Lewis and Ochocinco, two of the league’s premier players, everything is not always what it seems.

Ochocinco’s pummeling reverberated around the league that Sunday and ignited a mini-firestorm over the state of rough play in the NFL. Old-school NFL types may besmirch Lewis for the hit and say he deserved the fine. Granted, the league did have to fine Lewis in its attempt to reduce unnecessary injuries.

Only this was different.

No case of bad blood between rivals, just part of the intricate relationship among of some NFL players. This was just show. Thirty years from now Lewis and Ochocinco will reminisce on the hit from their rocking chairs.

Each time the Ravens and Bengals play, the good-natured Ochocinco puts on his serious face, takes to the airwaves and tells the local media about how he is going to hit the Ravens in the mouth. This tete-a-tete is, well, hilarious.

In the days leading up to the Oct. 11 game, Ochocinco "challenged" Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs to a boxing match. He then complained Lewis had bounced him around in games over the years and this time he would hit Lewis in the mouth. It was Ochocinco at his funniest. Then Ochocinco went on a tweeting binge, describing how he would torch Ravens cornerbacks Fabian Washington and Domonique Foxworth during the game.

Before a Ravens-Bengals game in 2008, the "target" then was former Ravens linebacker Bart Scott: "The last time we played, he (Bart Scott) cussed me out and told me to stay out of his huddle, and I took offense to that, so this Sunday I am going to hit him in the mouth. He's really rude," Ochocinco said in that conference call.

Ochocinco is legendary for his antics, but fact is, Lewis is like a "big brother" to Ochocinco and a number of players around the league who hold the middlebacker in high regard. And despite their personas, both Lewis and Ochocinco are solid citizens in their communities. They are ultimate showmen.

Players respect Lewis for the adversity he overcame early in his career (remember the Atlanta trial in 2000?), achieving big-money contracts, pushing himself to a Hall-of-Fame stature, taking advantage of business opportunities and engaging Baltimore youth in charitable projects. No matter how you see things, there is no arguing that Lewis rates with Cal Ripken, Brooks Robinson, Wes Unseld, Jim Palmer, Johnny Unitas and Michael Phelps as among beloved Baltimore sports figures for their influences on and off the field.

Ochocinco just last week received some major pub when he joined with technology company Motorola to buy remaining tickets for Cincinnati’s home game Sunday versus Houston to avoid a blackout so fans could watch the game on TV. He was a hero in Cincy for the gesture.

Ochocinco credits Lewis for settling him down two years ago when Ochocinco was hemming and hawing about getting out of Cincinnati.

"Ray is really the reason I’m happy, smiling and ready to go again ... He had me thinking about how I got to where I'm at, the things I went through, understanding the blessing it is to be where I am. There are millions of people that wished they were in my shoes doing what I do ... He told me to get back out here and smile all the time ... It's worked for me," he said in an interview with a Cincinnati newspaper.

Despite getting hit in the mouth, there is little doubt that Lewis is Ochocinco’s guy.

"Beautify game, Ray knock my head off, all part of the game, I love my big brother Ray Lewis, hope you all enjoyed thee event!!!!!" Ochocinco said afterward in a tweet.

Lewis defended the big hit, saying, "I've never played this game to hurt anybody. But the bottom line is, when I turn to go, I'm like a missile. When I’m locked in, I'm locked in. Whatever’s there is there."

For Lewis, could it be simply what you do when your "little brother" gets a little full of himself? You hit him in the mouth.

Showman: Chad Ochocinco

Photo: Getty Images

Baltimore's Bad Dream ... Brady in a Skirt

Baltimore Ravens' Coach John Harbaugh

Sunday's Don’t-Hit-Brady Game

Photo: Associated Press

Baltimore is having a bad dream over the notion of Tom Brady in a skirt.

It is so bad that you just want to run down the hall and tell your mother about it. Even after two days, the image just won’t go away.

See, Brady is an NFL golden boy, Super Bowl champion, etc., etc. His New England Patriots beat the Ravens 27-21 Sunday in Foxborough in a key AFC matchup.

But for a lot of Ravens fans, along with pro football commentators and observers nationally, some of that Brady mystique is taking a beating after perceived favoritism the QB received on officials’ calls Sunday.

Two particular drive-extending roughing-the-passer penalties against Ravens’ tackle Haloti Ngata and linebacker Terrell Suggs that led to two second quarter New England touchdowns are drawing major scrutiny around the league.

It was not so much that the refs threw the flags. Ngata was whistled for a clear blow to the side of Brady’s helmet. More questionable, Suggs was flagged for brushing Brady’s knees while falling to the ground -- the "Brady Rule." Clearly, the NFL must have rules to protect its quarterbacks, but Ravens coach John Harbaugh says Brady got calls his QB Joe Flacco didn’t. Harbaugh wouldn’t claim favoritism outright, but his words at his Monday press conference were clear.

Flacco "got hit (six) different times hard, and there was one call," Harbaugh said. "Tom didn’t get hit five times. We want him to be hit more than he was hit, but when he did sort of get hit, it was called. That goes to the credibility of the whole thing."

Others were even more strident on the charge of Brady favoritism. His former teammate Rodney Harrison on the NFL Sunday night pre-game show on NBC looked into the camera and told Brady to "take off the skirt." On the Suggs brush by, Brady excitedly pointed toward his knees and the penalty was called.

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis simply termed the penalties "embarrassing." Brady, who is coming back from a knee injury that wiped out his 2008 season, mockingly countered after the game that the refs were right to throw the flags. Brady, Lewis said in the tit-for-tat, "is good enough to make his own plays. Let him make his own play. When you have two great teams that are going at it, let them go at it. …The embarrassing part is when he understands that, and he walks up to one of us and says, 'Oh, that was a cheap one.' "

Lewis’ comments served to shine a spotlight on the seemingly obsession in the NFL with the pristine Tom Brady brand.

Harbaugh said he was submitting film to the NFL showing what he believed to be questionable calls. Ron Winter’s officiating crew called 14 penalties for the game for 126 yards – 9 for 85 yards against the Ravens, including a puzzling 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty against Harbaugh in the third quarter.

If anything, the Don’t-Hit-Brady Game came down, as usual, to none other than Patriots coach Bill Belichick. He may have outsmarted everyone again.

Belichick conceded he game-planned for penalties – noting that Winter and his crew have been the league’s most aggressive officiating crew at calling penalties the past two years. "It tells me the game's going to be tight. So yeah I did mention that to the team. And they did call it tight."

Those damn Pats.

Imperfect, Can Ravens Get Back to House?

Joe Cool: Ravens second-year QB Joe Flacco
Photo: http://www.baltimoreravens.com

Heading into the new season Sunday versus a struggling, red-meat Kansas City Chiefs, the Ravens are looking like a team out to show -- again -- that imperfection can win a Super Bowl.

The 2009 version of the Ravens is relying on a familiar formula -- a Ray Lewis-led, shut-down defense, a solid running game and stout line play on both sides of the ball. If they can beat AFC North nemesis Pittsburgh after three losses last season (23-20, 13-9, 23-14) to the Super Bowl champion, the stars could align their way.

After the surprise of last season, reaching the AFC title game with first-year head coach John Harbaugh and rookie quarterback Joe Flacco, the Ravens are being touted as one of the league’s elite teams along with the Steelers, Eagles, Patriots, Giants, Titans, Chargers and Vikings. There is every reason to believe that the unflappable and strong-armed Flacco will be even better going into his sophomore season.

A Sporting News list of the 100 greatest players in the NFL today listed five Ravens, safety Ed Reed at No. 7, middle backer Lewis (11), center Matt Birk (40), linebacker Terrell Suggs (45) and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (92). Only the Steelers, Vikings, Chargers and Colts had more players on the list than the Ravens.

All spring and summer, most Ravens talk involved the wide receiver position and whether to mortgage draft picks and salary cap for an Anquan Boldin of Arizona or a Brandon Marshall of Denver. GM Ozzie Newsome opted for pulling the trigger on neither. Instead, the Ravens did what the good teams do – fortify the O-line and defense with fresh talent. First-round pick Michael Oher from Mississippi just might help keep Steeler blitzers off Flacco’s right flank.

In 1996, Newsome made the right move when he selected future Hall of Famer and character-guy Jonathan Ogden out of UCLA over the alluring but troubled all-world Nebraska back Lawrence Phillips.

After NFL cut-down day last Friday to the 53-man roster, the Ravens were content to enter the season with just four wide receivers. Derrick Mason along with Mark Clayton, Kelley Washington and Demetrius Williams may not stack up to Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald, Chad Ochocinco or Terrell Owens on the outside, but if the line holds up, Flacco is poised to get the ball up field. Ray Rice wrestled the starting tailback position from Willis McGahee during the offseason and figures to catch a lot of balls out of the backfield, and tight end Todd Heap is promising a return to his All-Pro form. A David Tyree or Bobby Wade, late of the Giants and Vikings, respectively, might be a last-minute addition to the roster to bolster the passing game.

Imperfect, yes, but Super Bowl serviceable.

Same on the corners and in the kicking game. In the secondary, Fabian Washington and Domonique Foxworth, may not be as good as Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle at their best, but they are fast and have the ultimate hedge – Reed at free safety. Another question mark? Whether Steve Hauschka can hit field goals consistently after the team jettisoned the aging great kicker Matt Stover.

Capturing the franchise’s only championship after the 2000 season, that Ravens Super Bowl team also had its share of holes – with no proven commodity in a Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning under center, just the dink-and-dunk leadership of Trent Dilfer. But they took it to the house anyway, imperfections and all.

• More: Ravens team site, Sporting News NFL Top 100 list.