Tag: Ryan Grant

Watch: 2004 highlights of Notre Dame win at Michigan State

Remember this game?

One week after Notre Dame won its 2004 home opener over Michigan, it was time to head to East Lansing and take on Michigan State. With an opportunity to go over .500 for the first time that season, the Irish didn’t have the cleanest game as the special teams allowed two touchdowns. But the Spartans turned the ball over six times, one of which led to a [autotag]Tom Zbikowski[/autotag] 75-yard fumble return for a touchdown, in a 31-24 Irish victory.

Here’s how ESPN covered the highlights of that game:

[autotag]Brady Quinn[/autotag], completed less than half of his throws, but he threw for 215 yards. [autotag]Matt Shelton[/autotag] received 123 of those and caught Quinn’s lone touchdown pass. Quinn also ran for a touchdown himself and handed off to [autotag]Ryan Grant[/autotag] for another score. [autotag]Darius Walker[/autotag] ran for a game-high 98 yards on 26 carries.

While the season ultimately ended in disappointment, on one night in East Lansing, all was right for the 2004 Irish.

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Watch: 2004 highlights of Notre Dame win over Stanford

Were you at this game?

2004 was a so-so year for Notre Dame, ultimately finishing 6-6. One game came one week after losing to No. 15 Purdue as Stanford came to Notre Dame Stadium. It looked like the 3-2 Irish might drop to .500 sooner as they trailed the Cardinal, 15-10, going into the fourth quarter. But two touchdowns and one incomplete Hail Mary at the end later, the home fans could be content with a 23-15 Irish victory:

[autotag]Ryan Grant[/autotag] scored the go-ahead touchdown, his second of the game, early in the fourth quarter. [autotag]Brady Quinn[/autotag] threw for 173 yards and ran for the Irish’s other fourth-quarter touchdown. Quinn did not have any touchdown passes, and neither did Cardinal quarterback Trent Edwards despite throwing for 267 yards.

By all accounts, this was far from the prettiest game in this rivalry, and most fans probably have forgotten about it. But this still was a bright spot at a time when [autotag]Tyrone Willingham[/autotag] was fighting for his job, which he ultimately lost. At least he was victorious on this afternoon.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Watch: Larry King Attends Notre Dame Game With Regis Philbin

The broadcasting world was shaken Saturday with the news that Larry King died at the age of 87.

The broadcasting world was shaken Saturday with the news that Larry King died at the age of 87. Anybody who was somebody appeared on his CNN talk show. One of those somebodies was Notre Dame alumnus Regis Philbin, who passed away in July. When the Irish battled Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium in 2002, Philbin invited King to the game, and the two appeared on WNDU-TV’s pregame show:

The Cardinal were a bad team in 2002, so it should be no surprise that the Irish crushed them that afternoon, 31-7, in the first of a rivalry-long seven consecutive wins in the battle for the Legends Trophy. Notre Dame’s two-headed rushing monster of Ryan Grant and Rashon Powers-Neal combined for 211 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries. On defense, Courtney Watson and Shane Walton returned interceptions for touchdowns from 34 and 18 yards out, respectively. To say the least, King was in South Bend on a good day.

Shrek fans know that King and Philbin worked together on those films. They were the respective voices of Doris and Mabel, the ugly stepsisters. But whatever they did together, they were broadcasting legends who happened to be legends. Let’s be happy that they didn’t have to be separated from each other for very long.

Ravens haven’t been afraid of slow WRs in the past

Of the few wide receivers who have run slowly at the NFL Scouting Combine, the Baltimore Ravens have employed a surprising number.

It’s no secret the Baltimore Ravens have struggled to find and develop wide receivers over the last 25 years. From not spending picks early in drafts to first-round busts and signing players past their prime, Baltimore just hasn’t done well at the position overall. Though the Ravens seem to be changing their luck, seeing Marquise Brown do well in his rookie campaign, it’s an issue that will continue to haunt the team until they have sustained success there.

Looking back over the last 19 years, there’s a bit of a pattern that emerges — Baltimore isn’t exactly afraid of slow wide receivers. Though there are very few wide receivers who have run a 4.61-second 40-yard dash or slower at the NFL Scouting Combine, quite a number of them have ended up on the Ravens’ roster.

Of the 24 wide receivers Baltimore has drafted since 2000, two of them are on this list — Tandon Doss and Ron Johnson. Another, Marlon Brown, was signed as an undrafted free agent. The Ravens have brought in another four via free agency or trade — Anquan Boldin, Vince Mayle, Willie Snead and Ryan Grant (a failed physical voided the signing). Considering seven of the 157 receivers on this list are entering the 2020 NFL Draft and a bunch more never even made it to the NFL, that’s a considerable number for Baltimore to have brought on board.

While speed is just one factor that makes a successful wide receiver, it’s clear it’s a pretty important one overall. Of the players on this list, far more have never played a snap in the NFL than had even average careers. Further, only Boldin, Jarvis Landry, Cooper Cupp and Koren Robinson have what could be considered above-average careers to date.

As the Ravens look to the 2020 NFL Draft to potentially address their need at wide receiver, it’s something they should keep in mind. With general manager Eric DeCosta saying there are only 25 “draftable” wide receivers in this class, it might point to Baltimore having learned their lesson.

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Michael Brockers explains why things fell apart with Ravens, says his ankle is good

After failing a physical over an ankle injury and getting his deal with the Ravens pulled, Michael Brockers detailed his experience

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Michael Brockers had been a Baltimore Raven, unofficially, for nearly two weeks. But Brockers’ foray into free agency was an odd one this offseason and he ended up back with the Los Angeles Rams thanks to some concerns over his ankle.

With the coronavirus pandemic making getting physicals tougher, teams and players have had to turn to independent physicians to get things done. According to Brockers, it was there that things began to fall apart with the Ravens.

“I did my physical here in Houston,” Brockers said on the Green Light podcast, according to Rams Wire’s Cameron Da Silva. “I go to the doctor, they take X-rays and I did an MRI. The doctor sent it to Baltimore and Baltimore’s doctor gets to look at it and he says, ‘You know, I’m not a specialist, but I’m going to send it to a guy that I truly trust and he’s a third-party doctor. He’ll just tell me what’s up.’ I guess that doctor told him I might need something like a surgery and they were like, ‘Oh.’

“They get my MRI, they get all this stuff. Then we don’t hear from them after that. And I guess that’s the process where they were sending MRIs to Anderson or whoever and getting his word for it.”

It was at this point the Ravens pulled their offer and tried to work on a new deal with those concerns in mind, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec. However, minutes after Baltimore announced the deal had fallen through, Brockers had agreed to terms with the Rams, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Brockers passed his physical with Los Angeles, making the deal official. According to Brockers, the injury came in the last game of the 2019 season but was never really a problem to begin with.

“I feel great. I’ve been working out the whole time,” Brockers continued.

This isn’t Baltimore’s first time having a deal fall through at the last minute thanks to injury concerns. The Ravens had agreed to terms with free-agent wide receiver Ryan Grant in 2018 before a failing a physical with an ankle injury. The Ravens pulled out of the deal and Grant ended up signing with the Indianapolis Colts but he ended up playing in just 14 games thanks to an ankle injury suffered in Week 6 against the New York Jets.

With Brockers out of the picture, Baltimore turned to Derek Wolfe on a one-year contract, getting their replacement defensive lineman. For Brockers, “it worked out the way it was supposed to.”

Silver linings to the Ravens not signing Michael Brockers

Though not signing Michael Brockers leaves a huge hole for the Baltimore Ravens to fill, there are some positives to be had still.

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Though the Baltimore Ravens had agreed to terms with defensive tackle Michael Brockers, they did not end up signing him. After a physical from an independent doctor raised concerns over Brockers’ ankle, Baltimore pulled their offer, letting Brockers re-sign with the Los Angeles Rams.

While Ravens fans are rightfully left scratching their head and are frustrated over this, there are some positives to be had.

For one, Baltimore keeps the $5 million on their salary cap that they would have spent on Brockers. Though $5 million doesn’t seem like a lot considering the height of player contracts, that can be a ton of space depending on how deals are structured. As we saw with Brockers’ original deal, that was enough to lure a high-profile free agent to town. It could be enough to sign a few free agents of lesser status in the coming months.

The other side of not signing Brockers is that it allows the Ravens to keep one of their compensatory picks for the time being. While Baltimore could certainly still sign someone that will impact the formula, Over The Cap has them now earning a fifth-round pick due to the loss of Michael Pierce this offseason. That goes along with an expected sixth-round pick earned from wide receiver Seth Roberts signing with the Carolina Panthers.

By doing their due diligence, Baltimore might have saved themselves a headache down the road. It’s impossible to tell right now how Brockers’ season will go but a medical red flag concerning is something the Ravens clearly don’t take lightly. The only other time Baltimore has had something similar happen, it worked out in their favor.

In 2018, the Ravens had agreed to terms with wide receiver Ryan Grant before his physical showed a medical concern and the Ravens pulled their offer. Grant ended up signing elsewhere but has still yet to replicate his 2017 production. In two seasons — with the Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders — Grant has played in just 16 games, catching 39 passes for 348 yards and one touchdown. That’s a far cry from the 45 receptions for 573 yards and four touchdowns he had with the Washington Redskins in 2017.

While the Ravens now have a massive hole in the middle of their defensive line, not all is lost there. There are still a handful of players available in free agency right now to help fill the void. Of course, there’s the 2020 NFL Draft and the second wave of free agency following that could net Baltimore an even better player at a better price.

Granted, nothing in the NFL is guaranteed and not keeping their deal with Brockers could bite the Ravens in the long run. But it’s not as doom and gloom as many fans might feel right now.

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