I remember the 2007 Ravens.
That swashbuckling group of marauding renegades that led the 2006 team to a 13-3 mark and, in my eyes, fielded one of the greatest defenses ever assembled in the history of the National Football League, was returning, along with star quarterback Steve McNair.
The vibes were high. The team added some heft for the line in that year’s draft in the likes of Ben Grubbs, Marshal Yanda and Jared Gaither. The Ravens looked serious and primed to give it another run, and Charm City was ready to embrace another terrific chapter of the story of Brian Billick’s wild dogs — even if the rest of the NFL world didn’t quite share our enthusiasm with the team.