The Maryland Sports Blog

The Baltimore Ravens have released this press release announcing several front office moves.  The most important of these moves is the promotion of Eric DeCosta, a very well respected man in the NFL.  DeCosta has been on many teams wish list for the General Manager position and this hopefully keeps him with the team longer.  Here is the press release.

The Baltimore Ravens announced several promotions within their personnel department on Thursday: Eric DeCosta has been named Assistant General Manager, Joe Douglas has been elevated to National Scout, and David Blackburn has been tabbed an Area Scout.

DeCosta, 41, who has served as the Ravens’ Director of Player Personnel the past three years, joined the franchise in an entry-level position in 1996. He moved his way up through the personnel ranks, first as an Area Scout, then as Director of College Scouting, and was subsequently promoted to Director of Player Personnel in 2009.

 

DeCosta works closely with Executive Vice President/General Manager Ozzie Newsome to oversee both the college and pro scouting departments. During his tenure as the scouting director, the Ravens drafted Pro Bowlers OLB Terrell Suggs (’03), DT Haloti Ngata (’06), G Ben Grubbs (’07), G Marshal Yanda (’07), FB Le’Ron McClain (’07) and RB Ray Rice (’08).

 

“When we extended Eric’s contract earlier this year, we changed his title to Assistant GM,” Newsome said. “As Eric continues to grow in the personnel department, he is becoming a vital part of the decision-making process.”

Entering his 13^th season with the Ravens, Douglas, 35, has served as the team’s Area Scout Southeast since 2009. From 2003-07, he evaluated players in the Northeast, and in 2008, scouted the entire East Coast. Douglas played a key role in scouting and evaluating first-round pick QB Joe Flacco – the Ravens’ all-time leading passer – and Rice, the two-time Pro Bowler.

Additionally, Douglas has organized and coordinated the team’s post-draft rookie free agent signing process, which over the past several seasons has produced standout players such as LB Jameel McClain, LB Dannell Ellerbe and WR LaQuan Williams.

 

“Joe is so deserving of his promotion to national scout,” DeCosta stated. “He’s a top evaluator and communicator, and he’s been loyal to the Ravens over the years. In his expanded role, he’ll be scouting players across the country, which only makes us better. We are very excited for Joe.”

 

Blackburn, 29, joined the Ravens as a Player Personnel Assistant in 2007 after serving one year as a graduate assistant at Butler University coaching cornerbacks. He has spent the past five seasons working with Baltimore’s scouting staff in a number of roles, including preparing advance scouting reports of upcoming opponents, analyzing free agent prospects for pro personnel, scouting draftable collegiate players at multiple schools and helping coordinate in-season free agent workouts/visits.

In his new position as an Area Scout, the 2004 graduate of DePauw University will scout prospects at schools in the Northwest, Southwest and Midwest regions.

“We are looking forward to working with David in his new role as an Area Scout,” Director of College Scouting Joe Hortiz said. “He has done a great job the past five years working in both our pro and college departments, and he has received a well-earned promotion. David has a strong understanding of the type of player and person we look for in a ‘Raven.’ We’re confident he’ll give us another good set of eyes and ears to continue identifying the prospects we value.”

The Ravens also announced that Mark Azevedo has assumed the title of Area Scout Southeast, formerly held by Douglas. Azevedo, 30, was named an Area Scout in 2010, focusing the majority of his attention on schools in the Southeast, Southwest and Midwest regions. He originally joined the Ravens as a Player Personnel Assistant in 2005 and will now shift his primary responsibilities to the Southeast.

Additionally, Kenny Sanders, who spent the past two seasons interning in the team’s scouting department, has been hired as a Player Personnel Assistant. A 2004 graduate of Gettysburg College, he was a three-year letterman while playing defensive back. A Baltimore native, Sanders, 30, prepped at the McDonogh School.

Ravens “20/20 Club” Graduates: Current Personnel Staff

DeCosta, Hortiz, Douglas, Azevedo and Blackburn are all current graduates of the Ravens’ “20/20 Club,” which includes members of the team’s personnel staff who started with the organization as young personnel assistants and grew into evaluators with more input. The term “20/20” refers to hiring 20-year-olds for $20,000. According to Newsome, however, “The guys actually started when they were a little older than 20 and for more than $20,000, but that’s what we call them.”

 

Name                        Joined Ravens       Current Title

George Kokinis (Cle.)      1991                 Senior Personnel Assistant

Eric DeCosta                    1996                 Assistant General Manager

Joe Hortiz                        1998                 Director of College Scouting

Chad Alexander              1999                 Assistant Director of Pro Personnel

Joe Douglas                     2000                 National Scout

Mark Azevedo                2005                 Area Scout Southeast

David Blackburn             2007                 Area Scout

 

The Baltimore Ravens have released the bios of all the recent draft picks.  Courtney Upshaw, who I think was a steal as a second round pick is the first listed because he was the Ravens first pick.  Here is the link to the bios.

News broke over the weekend via MLBTradeRumors.com, that twice former Oriole, Miguel Tejada, was in conversation to potentially rejoin the Birds!  As Roch Kubatko tweeted, Tejada will sign tomorrow (a minor league contract), and report to Sarasota for workouts.  This took many, including myself, by surprise.  I knew Mark Reynolds was struggling defensively and offensively, but who would have guessed.

While Tejada is in the twilight of his career at 37 years old, Dan Duquette must have seen something in him to think he can still contribute at the major league level.  As mentioned previously, this will be Tejada’s third stint with the team.  He left the Oakland Athletics and signed via free agency with the Orioles to a 6 year $72 million contract after 2003.  He had a career year in 2004, his first with the Orioles, leading all of baseball with 150 RBIs while hitting 34 home runs.  The Orioles traded him in 2007 to the Astros and news broke quickly after about performance enhancing drugs in The Mitchell Report.

Tejada found his way back to Baltimore in 2010, signing a 1 year contract for $6 million.  Late that year, he was traded to the San Diego Padres.  He last played in 2011, with the San Francisco Giant, appearing in 91 games.  His full career stats can be found here.  Tejada had big power for the SS position, coming up around the same time as A-Rod, Nomar, and Jeter.  At this point, he may still have some power left, but he is far from the player we first saw in 2004.  I feel like he and Reynolds may split time, and he could fill in at shortstop if Hardy needs rest.  With that said, he has to be promoted first.  Tejada is remembered as a former Oriole, who has had controversy in his career (steroids, false age).  Let’s see what he has left!!

Feel free to comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Should he be welcomed back with open arms?  Do we need him? Keep it here for more updates on this story!

The Baltimore Ravens have released a press release announcing that they have signed Maake Kemoeatu, here is the full press release.

The Baltimore Ravens have signed NT Maake Kemoeatu, general manager/executive vice president Ozzie Newsome announced Wednesday morning.

An eight-year NFL veteran, Kemoeatu, 33, originally entered the league as a rookie free agent with the Ravens in 2002. The 6-5, 345-pounder played in 61 games for Baltimore over a four-season span (2002-05), making 21 starts – including all 16 contests in 2005.

Seeing action in 121 career games (73 starts), Kemoeatu has totaled 185 tackles and four sacks during his time in the NFL.

“Maake will be given an opportunity to make our 53-man roster, and if he does, he will provide added depth on our D-line and help our ability to stop the run,” Newsome stated.

After leaving Baltimore, Kemoeatu played for the Carolina Panthers from 2006-08, seeing action in 46 games and making 40 starts. He missed the 2009 campaign after being placed on Injured Reserve with an Achilles injury sustained during training camp. Kemoeatu then signed with the Washington Redskins in 2010 and played in 14 games (12 starts). He was out of football during the 2011 season.

“When we signed Maake as a rookie free agent in 2002, he really rose to the occasion and worked his way into becoming a highly-regarded player in Baltimore and throughout the league,” director of pro personnel Vincent Newsome stated. “He is incredibly strong – someone who has heavy hands and great punch. For a guy his size, he also moves really well and creates separation.”