MPT TV Interview

I talk on MPT Television about the Ravens success and my career. Check it out if you missed it. Interview was aired January 14, 2013.

Watch Monday, Jan. 14, 2013 on PBS. See more from Direct Connection.

Baltimore Ravens win 16-13 against the San Diego Chargers

The Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Diego Charges with a field goal in overtime 16-13. That game was probably one of the most exceptional games I have seen, especially the run by Baltimore Ravens #27 Ray Rice had. 29 yards on 4^th down and he got it by about a foot. It was good, smart thinking on Joe Flacco’s part. He set the field up to throw a Hail Mary and instead threw underneath to Rice. Flacco had his Receivers go deep with 8 of the Chargers defensive players. The Chargers were prepared for the Hail Mary pass… everyone was expecting a Hail Mary pass. So, when Joe threw a short pass to Ray Rice, the Chargers were taken off guard and had to hustle. It was lucky play, but it was also a talent showcase. Flacco made the right call, Rice had the right moves, and the offensive line was able to block. I think this play is going down in Ravens history as one of the greatest plays. It won them the game, no question about it.

It’s hard to say the Chargers made a bad play. They had every reason to believe Flacco would go for the Hail Mary. With 29 yards for a 1^st on the 4^th down, to think it could be done as a short running pass would have seemed incredibly unlikely. They did the right thing preparing for the Hail Mary. The credit really has to go to the Ravens on this one. That play had everything and it kept their drive alive. It was a game changer.

There were so many big plays at the end of that game. The beginning was so lack luster that going into the half, I think most of Baltimore was feeling glum. Both teams had been playing cat and mouse. I know I was in doubt. I thought “oh, here we go again…”. The Ravens are always so hot or so cold. In the first half, they were cold as a fish in the freezer. They made no big plays and they capitalized on nothing. They had no points on the board. Something happened during half time. My guess is Coach Harbaugh must have been pretty upset and had some choice words with the team. He would have told them that they all needed to adjust and act like a team… and that’s what we saw in the second half.

Winning any football game is a team effort. If we’d only seen that big play from Ray Rice, the Ravens wouldn’t have won. There was also the fantastic reception by Torrey Smith in over time getting the Ravens into field goal range and of course Tucker getting the ball between the uprights. The defense stepped up and stopped the Chargers from scoring in overtime. It was a great game. I think that in the end they came together as a team and that’s what you have to do in the NFL. These guys are thinking that way right now. With the possibility of Ray Lewis coming back within a week or two weeks along with the team we saw Sunday in the second half, their credibility for their drive to the championship in strong.

Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers

The Ravens can not walk into this game in San Diego like it's going to be easy. Rivers is a hell of a quarterback and the San Diego Chargers have the potential to really put it to the Baltimore Ravens. Something people don’t understand is traveling across country really takes a lot out of you. So it’s going to take a good job of coaching and it’s really going to require the offense and defense to step up. Rivers can drill that ball. The defense has to put a good rush on him and get him flustered a bit. That way he’ll start putting it in the air giving the Ravens the chance to pick a few off. We’re already without Ray Lewis and Ladarius Webb, it’s a good thing the Ravens will not be without Ed Reed. I think if we can get past this one we will get to the play offs no matter what. However, right after this game we’re right back here Baltimore against the Steelers again. Is Roethlisberger going to be ready? I don’t think so. Plus, we’re undefeated at home. We have everything to really be excited about. I know that John Harbaugh will have this team focused and that’s the key. You have to pay attention to each game one at a time. The Ravens can’t be focused on Pittsburgh next week. They have to treat every game like it’s the most important game of their lives. I really think the focus will be there. I think we have a lot of real leadership on the field. Matt Burke, Flacco, and Ray Lewis are all firing these guys up. Haloti Ngata is going to be better this week too. The Ravens have to be sure they’re 100% ready for this game.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am have a fun day planned today for Thankgiving! This morning I’m up bright and early, I have to be down at M&T bank stadium really early. Scott Garceau and I are broadcasting the Turkey Bowl which is a football game between Loyola High School and Calvert Hall High School. It’s been a tradition here in Baltimore. It’s been going on for so long I can’t tell you how many years. Scott and I have been doing it for 10-12 years now. It’s just a fun time to see on Thanksgiving Day. It brings everyone out and everyone is in a great mood. We enjoy watching the game and then we all leave and go home to delicious Turkey dinners.

My family will be here for dinner. My daughter, my grandson, my nieces and their families, we will have about 8 or 10 people at our table. We will sit around the table and lie about how great we used to be. We’ll have a real nice time.

This Saturday, the fun will continue because I have friends coming over to watch the Ohio State- Michigan game. One of my best friends, Ricky Volk who played at Michigan and played for the Colts with me, will be coming over. It’s a $10 bet and no points. I have been winning the last 5-6 years and he’s a little frustrated with it. I think Michigan has a great team and Ohio State is 11-0 right now. Irving Myers who’s the new coach there has done a great job getting these kids refocused after the tough year least year.

Thanksgiving is a time for Family. My wife is cooking dinner and she’s a fantastic cook. Family is really important to my wife and I and we cherish these times because we don’t have many left.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO MY FANS AND READERS

The Wonderful World of Broadcasting

I used to broadcast. I worked for CBS with Bob Costas. I was up in New York with the head of CBS Barry Frank, who was head of CBS sports at the time. He said “you’re a pretty good golfer, can you broadcast?” I told him I would love an opportunity in broadcasting and he gave it to me. The first guy I worked with was Bob Costas. Bob Costas was a young kid at that time and never had paper in front of him. He had total recall on everything. He was fantastic. Our first broadcast game was the St. Louis Cardinals against the Green Bay Packers. The game was absolutely terrible! They made a lot of mistakes. It was the first pre-season game and they looked like a bunch of amateurs. Everything that could go wrong in a pre-season game, did go wrong. Bob Costas and I tried to make light of the conversation. I started telling stories and he was able to ask the right questions to make the game into something the listeners would enjoy hearing

I was also given a chance to broadcast for the Ravens when they were brought to Baltimore. I was great friends with Art Modell. The first time I met Art Modell, because I grew up in Cleveland Ohio, is when he took over the Browns in 1961. He had bought the Browns from Paul Brown when Paul went to Cincinnati. It was in my rookie season and in the first game I played, I crushed two vertebrae in my neck. I was placed on injured waiver. Back in those days that made you a free agent. So, Art Modell called me to Cleveland. He wanted to have x-rays taken to see if I was alright. The doctors decided I would be fine, so Art said he would like to sign me in Cleveland. He made me an offer that would have increased my salary by 30%. I went back to the Baltimore Colts’ general manager and told him I wanted to go to Cleveland because they were offering me more money and it was my hometown, I wanted to go back there. He told me “Tom, whatever they offered you, we will match it.” So, I got a 30% raise thanks to Art Modell. In later years, when he came to Baltimore for Preakness or other like events, I always had Art Modell come to my radio show. Art and I just hit it off. I was in attendance at his wedding. He was just the nicest guy in the world, everyone loved him. He was a great philanthropist. When he finally decided to come to Baltimore with the Browns, I fixed up memorial stadium and put down a brand new field for him. That field was voted the best field in the football league at the time. He was grateful for all the work I’d done and in return, he got me a job in broadcasting for the Ravens. For the year we went to the Super Bowl, he gave me and Scott Garceau Super Bowl rings. He was a real gentleman and people don’t give him credit. He deserves to be in the hall of fame.

I had a great time broadcasting with Scott Garceau for the Baltimore Ravens. The year that the Ravens drove for the Super bowl one of my fondest memories. Dilfer was the quarterback at the time. Although, Dilfer was a mediocre quarterback, he didn’t make any mistakes. He was very conservative. He always kept us in the game and the defense would make the big plays. It was just a fun drive. It was great watching the progression of the Ravens into the Super Bowl. It was just a fun time for everybody. I had a great time broadcasting and Scott Garceau is my best friend. It was like broadcasting with a brother.

Sadly, all good things come to an end. When BAL came around, they got the rights away from CBS radio. After 10 years, the Ravens got a better deal and changed stations and that was the end of Scott Garceau and I broadcasting for the Baltimore Ravens.

Week 11 Ravens vs. Steelers Recap

This past Sunday was week 11 in the 2012 NFL season. We saw a lot of good games this Sunday but the number 1 rivalry in the NFL is still on everyone’s minds. The Ravens-Steelers game was a serious knock down and sock ‘em type of football game. The Ravens knew they were going up against the best defense in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they knew it was going to be an intense battle. I was really happy to see our offensive line step up.  They did a really good job. Plus, our defense really came around and shut down the Pittsburgh players. Roethlisberger being gone really helped us out. However, going up against the toughest defense in the league and being able to come out on top was something I found to be very impressive. I think John Harbaugh did a good job coaching that game. It was no doubt a tough fought game, but those are the games you HAVE to win. Some have said that the Ravens victory was a result of the Steelers being without Roethlisberger and I say it could be a true statement.  However, in football, you play one game at a time and the objective is always to win that game. Don’t worry about the previous games or your future games. Focus on the game at hand The Ravens did that and they won the game. Now, next time we play the Steelers, I don’t know if that’s going to happen again. It’s going to be a flip of the coin, because I still think Pittsburgh is one of the best teams in the national football league. We definitely have the capabilities, but we’ve also had some very serious injuries. We have overcome these setbacks so far and we’ve picked up some players who’ve really helped us out. On top of that, our special teams have played superb and our defense really stepped up their game. The game was close and I give credit to the coaches of both teams because they really did a phenomenal job.

Remembering Johnny Unitas

Johnny Unitas and I were very close. He was my favorite golf buddy in the off season. We even played Racket Ball together. One of the strangest days we had took place in 1968. The two of us traveled to the Towson YMCA, like any other outing, to play Racket ball. The two of us teamed up again two young ladies who were racket ball members of the YMCA. We were having a great time. John and I made a great pair on and off the field. Our fun was stopped short when at the front of the court John fell to the ground. “You tripped me!” he yelled back at me. I was standing in at the back of the court when I responded “John, I couldn’t have tripped you from all the way back here.” I quickly rushed him to Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore. I wasn’t happy to call Coach McCafferty to tell him the news. “Mack, John just tore his Achilles’ Tendon” I said into the cold telephone connecting me to the coach. I had a reputation for being the team prankster and wasn’t surprised when Mack responded “Tom, that’s not funny.” I wish it had been a joke but I told him “Mack, I’m not trying to be funny. John really did tear his Achilles’ Tendon.” I don’t know what sort of stress the coach must have been in at this point but I had to be in Havre De Grace that evening. Driving to the restaurant in Havre de Grace, my stomach didn’t feel right. I assumed it was stress from a day at the hospital. I was wrong. I became very sick. I was taken to Union Memorial Hospital. Unfortunately, I had to call the coach for the second time that day with bad news. I too was in the hospital but at the time I had no idea why. Turns out, it was acute appendicitis. In less than 24 hours John and I went from Racket Ball partners to hospital roommates.

The whole hospital was humming. Johnny Unitas and Tom Matte were both in the hospital and our friends were visiting. All of our friends brought a case of beer with them. They wanted us to be able to have a couple of drinks when they visited. By the end of the day we had eight cases of beer against the wall! We actually had a good time in that hospital… but we were both happy to get out of there.

John and I had a lot of good times but I will always admire him. He was the epitome of professionalism. He always had a game plan. He had a great arm and he was always thinking. He practiced intensely. He’s the reason I was in the league for 12 years. He helped me understand what the defenses were and how to read them like he read them. He told me that if I could read the defense the same way he could, then he could always anticipate where I’d be on each and every play. He was right. We had a great rapport with each other.He said he knew where I would be every play and he wanted me in his back field, and his back field is where I was. John was a true leader on the field. When we got into a huddle, there wasn’t a peep. We waited silently because when John spoke, we all listened. We were incredibly successful all the years we played.

It’s because of my admiration as well as what Johnny Unitas means to football that we decided to release his Keepr collectible first. He really is a Keepr Legend. His Keepr card will have his hall of fame speech, his statistics, different head shots, different posing shots, his two minute offense, and his interviews. We dug into the NFL vaults to get footage of Johnny Unitas that people haven’t seen in 40 years.

Johnny Unitas’ legacy will live on and what he’s done will never be forgotten. I’m excited to give a Johnny Unitas Keepr to my grandson so I can show him why Johnny Unitas is a legend.