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1 month ago | 
russellstreetreport.com | Tony Lombardi |grandbaby Elise |Shawshank Redemption
Any media outlet that provides sports coverage, owes it to their audience to inform and educate in an accurate way, assuming of course the intent is to be credible. Outlets that are consistently credible develop reputations as reliable sources. Those that don’t eventually lose the trust of their audience. Enter Inside Access on 105.7 The Fan. Now before I get too far along, let me make it clear where I stand on the three-headed monster that forms Inside Access.
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2 months ago | 
russellstreetreport.com | Tony Lombardi |grandbaby Elise |Shawshank Redemption
I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti on several occasions. Each time I walk away thinking how impressive he is, and it has nothing to do with his money. It is almost always about how he processes a question and then takes you on a journey, the destination of which is a response that surpasses your wildest expectations. He has a keen eye. He sees the strengths that people possess and then tries to align them with organizational roles that best suit those strengths.
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2 months ago | 
russellstreetreport.com | Tony Lombardi |grandbaby Elise |Shawshank Redemption
What Does Play Like a Raven Mean? When we submitted our Super Bowl LIX staff picks, I had it 31-17 Eagles. I just thought that Philadelphia had the kind of defense that could present problems for Patrick Mahomes, and I likened Vic Fangio’s defense to that of the Tampa Bay Bucs from 2020 when Tom Brady & Co. defeated the Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl 55.
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2 months ago | 
russellstreetreport.com | Kyle Cactus |Tony Lombardi |grandbaby Elise |Shawshank Redemption
Last week my colleagues Derek Arnold and Dev Panchwagh pointed out how the Ravens struggles in the playoffs can be directly attributed to turnovers. The Ravens commit them but don’t create them anymore. A comparison of the Joe Flacco years to the Lamar Jackson reign shows an amazingly inept dearth in forced turnovers for the better part of a decade – something that was once a key ingredient in the Ravens’ recipe for success.
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2 months ago | 
russellstreetreport.com | Tony Lombardi |grandbaby Elise |Shawshank Redemption
I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist. Perhaps that stems from my desire to believe in the sanctity and goodness of people, the purity of institutions and in the integrity of the truth. I hear it all the time, and perhaps you do too, that the NFL is fixed, that it is rigged. I have close friends who remind me that the NFL is entertainment and they’ll add that just because it’s entertainment it doesn’t mean that it’s on the up-and-up.
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Jan 23, 2025 | 
russellstreetreport.com | Tony Lombardi |grandbaby Elise |Shawshank Redemption
While Justice Hill Continues to AscendThe dust has settled. Slowly but surely, we are coming to grips with the Ravens loss to the Bills in the Divisional Round of the 2024 single elimination tournament known at the NFL Playoffs. After such bitter disappointment, it’s challenging to find the silver lining when hopes are dashed, and expectations turn into crash test dummies that crumble against the wall of despair.
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Jan 18, 2025 | 
russellstreetreport.com | Corvus Corax |Tony Lombardi |grandbaby Elise |Shawshank Redemption
The Playoff Stars are Beginning to Align For the RavensRecently I had the opportunity to be the guest speaker for Ravens Nest 1 in Bel Air, MD. Among the things we discussed were the similarities of Ravens’ playoff teams of the past. Clearly there’s a style of play, a pattern of success that aligns with the franchise’s battle tested credos and philosophies about winning football. And this edition of the Ravens, just feels right. It feels like things are aligning.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
russellstreetreport.com | Tony Lombardi |grandbaby Elise |Shawshank Redemption
Henry and Lamar Come Together at the Right TimeWhen the Ravens signed Derrick Henry to a 2-year, $16M contract this past offseason, some expected adjustments from both the Ravens and The King to make the marriage work. One local talking head who has pretended to be an NFL Insider nearly as long as Jerry Jones has pretended to be an NFL GM, cast serious doubt on the newly formed bond.
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Jan 13, 2025 | 
russellstreetreport.com | Tony Lombardi |grandbaby Elise |Shawshank Redemption
The atmosphere for this Wild Card showdown at The Bank was electric. As PBP announcer Al Michaels would say, the crowd was in “full throat”. This was the first time the Ravens hosted the Steelers in the playoffs. It was long overdue and those who braved the elements made sure that they would play a role in the game’s outcome. Y’all was so loud I lowkey got cussed out by Agent Zero for not communicating even though I was.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
russellstreetreport.com | Tony Lombardi |grandbaby Elise |Shawshank Redemption
Flacco Wasn’t Always January JoeFrom 2008 to 2018, Joe Flacco was the de facto starter of the Baltimore Ravens. Flacco was never decorated with Pro Bowl honors, never sniffed the status of All Pro on any level, and he never had a passer rating higher than 93.6 as a member of the Ravens. During his 11 seasons in Baltimore, Joe’s average passer rating was 84.1. That said, fans give Flacco a pass because he ran the table in 2012 on his way to a Super Bowl Championship and MVP.
