Everyone is shocked, SHOCKED, that borderline criminals hired to play

football have violent tendencies that are lurking beneath the surface, ready

to explode. (BTW, my favorite part of the knockout video is immediately after

Ray drops his wife, he does a little shimmyshake with his shoulders to bring

home the point to her that you that when you mess with the bull, you get the horns).

Classic.

Just as entertaining is watching the NFL and the Ratbirds falling all over themselves

as they backpedal from this story. "Mistakes were made." Priceless.

@mudfly said:

-- Ravens executives (owner Steve Bisciotti, president Dick Cass and general manager Ozzie Newsome) embarked on "extensive public and private campaigns" seeking leniency in Rice's punishment;

-- The pretrial intervention program Rice entered is an unusual result, as the report says only "1 percent of all assault and aggravated assault cases" in New Jersey are resolved in that fashion;

Two things...

1. Bisciotti's name appears throughout that article; Ozzie's does not.

2. That 1% figure is a familiar one... wherever have I heard it before???

@mudfly said:

And it's starting to break......first glimpses from espn....

The Ray Rice scandal has taken yet another turn.

An "Outside the Lines" report Friday claims the Baltimore Ravens employed "a pattern of misinformation and misdirection" in handling the case after Rice was videotaped striking his now-wife Janay in an Atlantic City casino elevator in February.

The report, which says it spoke to 20 sources within the team and the NFL, is lengthy and worth reading on your own. The NFL declined to comment on it. The Ravens are disputing it. Some of the key claims:

-- Darren Sanders, the Ravens' director of security, apparently saw the infamous "elevator" tape that was made public by TMZ in September "just hours" after the original incident and "quickly" notified team executives;

-- Ravens executives (owner Steve Bisciotti, president Dick Cass and general manager Ozzie Newsome) embarked on "extensive public and private campaigns" seeking leniency in Rice's punishment;

-- The NFL took "an uncharacteristically passive approach" when it came to gathering evidence;

-- Four of OTL's sources say that Bisciotti urged Goodell to give Rice no more than a two-game suspension, which is what Goodell did on July 24;

-- Four sources said Ravens head coach John Harbaugh wanted Rice released immediately, upon seeing the initial video of him dragging Janay out of the elevator, though Harbaugh was supporting Rice publically and the Ravens denied to OTL that Harbaugh wanted Rice released right away ("John Harbaugh did not want to release Ray Rice until he saw the second video on September 8 for the first time. The video changed everything for all of us.");

-- The pretrial intervention program Rice entered is an unusual result, as the report says only "1 percent of all assault and aggravated assault cases" in New Jersey are resolved in that fashion;

-- On the ongoing question of whether Rice provided an accurate account to Goodell in that meeting, this report says yes, he did;

-- A source close to Goodell told OTL that after handing down the two-game punishment, the commissioner wasn't sure he had done the right thing and that it gave the impression that Goodell "regretted that someone had talked him out of leveling a tougher penalty against Ray Rice;"

-- Shortly after releasing Rice on Sept. 8, Bisciotti apparently sent Rice text messages in support of Rice and intimating that the Ravens would have a job for him down the line (the team did not deny the sending of messages);

-- Those text messages made Rice feel as though Bisciotti was attempting to bribe him to keep quiet, a source close to Rice told OTL.

OTL says it sent several questions to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello and received this response, referencing only the investigation being led by former FBI director Robert Mueller:

"Mr. Mueller is in the process of conducting his investigation into the pursuit and handling of evidence in the Ray Rice domestic violence incident," Aiello said. "His report will be made public."

The Ravens disputed the report, OTL said, and commented that "it was not their initial understanding Rice had knocked out Janay 'with a punch.'"

Reports surfaced earlier Friday that the Ravens held an emergency team meeting regarding "some potential revelations of what some knew and saw re: Rice.

All this on the same day that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell held a press conference reiterating the league's stance that it had never seen the Rice videotape and outlining new initiatives to curb domestic violence among its players.

The truth is still unclear, but what is clear is that this story won't be going away any time soon.

GuNNerGatSKy said:

This game is far more important than just getting a divisional win. This is our prove it game. We opened some eyes pulling one out from under the saints last week. Now we must prove that was more than just an aberration.

Agree... and your entire post was eminently comprehendible...

Zombo said:

I like Brian Hoyer over anyone in a mud bowl.

Anyone?

@the-gipper said:

More like the Goodell story, that they had tape and more info than they let on, then lied about it.....could be BIG trouble for Ozzie and/or Harbaugh......but lets wait and see what happens.....tick tick tick.....

@mudfly said:

What new can come out of the Ray Rice story. Did he like knock out his grandmama as well?

@gumby73 said:

This is big.. Who's hanging with Cinncy. tenn. @ Cinn. Pitts. @ Carolina. We Home with screaming wet dogs in the Pound.. Our Def. Frt. with a questable birdterd o-line.. Just tackle. first to 15 wins and I got the birdterds on 13.. Run the Ball Browns At 20. Game up on Balt. and Pitts.. see u there, and b LOOUUUDDD & Proud..

@gumby73 said:

This is big.. Who's hanging with Cinncy. tenn. @ Cinn. Pitts. @ Carolina. We Home with screaming wet dogs in the Pound.. Our Def. Frt. with a questable birdterd o-line.. Just tackle. first to 15 wins and I got the birdterds on 13.. Run the Ball Browns At 20. Game up on Balt. and Pitts.. see u there, and b LOOUUUDDD & Proud..

This game is far more important than just getting a divisional win. This is our prove it game. We opened some eyes pulling one out from under the saints last week. Now we must prove that was more than just an aberration.

I feel very confident that we have the superior tAlent overall. To me this all rides on Pettine continuing the fantastic coaching he has done the past two weeks and Hoyer stepping up his game and making some of those throws he wishes he had back from last week.

We win this one we will be 2-1 and sitting pretty not only in the division but in the AFC itself. There are a ton of 1-1 teams at the moment. Let's be one of several teams who will be 2-1 come Sunday evening.

GO BROWNS!

Zombo

@clevfan4life said:

There was that and there was Hoyer passing to Miles Austin, Hawkins and ???

They saw a passing attack that was not very good losing it's best weapon. Hoyer didn't make anyone's top-30 QB list. And nobody likes Haden nearly as much as Browns fans do.

All I wanted to see out of this season was progress. There's a good team here that I suspect will be better halfway through the season than we've seen so far. And so far, so good IMO,

@mudfly said:

hmmm......I now see that the Sunday weather forecast looks pretty bad....80% chance of thunderstorms....could be a good old fashioned mud bowl.....

So 80% chance of a game delay?

When was our last mud bowl? A soggy Heinz field??? Which was about every Sunday in the fall for its first few years.

@harry-taintsniffer said:

Media outlets often lag behind the times. Yes, the Steelers were in 3 SBs since 2000, and yes the Ravens have won 2 SBs in the 2000s, so that deference to the teams that have been good lately is hard to get over. Yes, in fact, the Bengals have been the overall better team in the division for like the last 3-4 years. But they have not done anything in the postseason as have the Steelers and Ravens. So they are not getting respect.

Plus, yes, I agree that I think the Browns have about as much talent as any team in the division, but they are not going to be given any credit since they can't get past the 4-5 win level for the last 6 years. The natural assumption is that they will continue to lose to those other two who have had success. Of course, the burden of proof is on the Browns to show they aren't the same old losers. Not being able to pull the game out against the Steeler solidifies the image of the "can't win when the chips are down" belief. Pulling the game out against the Saints goes a little bit to overcoming that image.....but they ahve to keep it up.

I honestly don't know why Baltimore and Pittsburgh got so much love in the offseason. It's clear to me that the Bengals and Browns are the best two teams in the division now. I know you guys dropped the opener to the Steelers, but, I still don't think the Steelers will sniff better than 8-8.

AND....The last four times that Baltiwhore played in Cleveland, Flacco did not put up good passing yardage....

2013 = 250 yds

2012 = 150 yds

2011 = 158 yds

2010 = 102 yds

So....his history here....plus a good rainy day.....makes for some smash mouth style running and defense.....

Originally, I had us winning 24-13........but if it's pouring rain and a messy muddy game....I'd adjust, but still give it to the Browns 17-10