Sometimes the losses are so tough for fans that you can’t imagine how a player could ever get over a devastating loss or how whether it’s even fun to play football after you lose a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Flacco, who clearly loves playing football, had a realistic and completely un-jaded view of his lot in life.
“Really, they are all good times, playing football,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to do anything other than what I’m doing right now. Losses are part of that. Taking criticism is part of that. I want to play football. I want to play football with the Baltimore Ravens. There’s nothing in the world I would rather be doing.”
Though the wounds hadn’t healed, the focus was clear. By the time the April draft arrived on Thursday, April 26, 2012, Newsome had plenty of quality prospects’ names for the middle rounds and, as expected, the Ravens traded back from pick No. 29 into Minnesota’s 35th pick while on the clock, grabbing an extra fourth round pick. After the 32nd pick, the end of the first round, the teams go home for the night in New York and the Ravens had the third pick of the second round on Friday night and were eyeing up a pair of prospects who were still in their Top 20.
Wide receiver Stephen Hill from Georgia Tech had impressed Cam Cameron with his speed and intellect and several scouts liked him. Linebacker Courtney Upshaw, however, had an advantage that seems to trump all with Newsome – he attended the University of Alabama. The pick was Upshaw, which elated new defensive coordinator Pees. Sure, Upshaw was best-suited for the same position as incumbent AFC Defensive Player of The Year and well-paid quarterback stalker Terrell Suggs, but Newsome felt like the Ravens couldn’t have enough big, fast, strong guys who could chase a speedy quarterback in the backfield and cover a tight end in the middle of the field or catch a running back from behind.
A week later, Newsome would look clairvoyant.
On the morning of May 3rd, rumors began surfacing on the internet about an injury to Suggs in Arizona at a basketball game. Within hours, it had been confirmed – Suggs had ruptured his Achilles tendon the previous week and the news had moved slowly. This was a devastating loss of the Ravens’ highest priced player who was coming off an amazing season. Even with three months to go before the beginning of training camp it was clear that the team would feel lucky to get any productivity at all from Suggs during the 2012 season based on the medical prognosis of a six-to-eight month recovery period.
Suggs, while not yet a Hall of Famer, was certainly in the hall of very, very good. And he still had plenty of tread left on his tires at 29. The Ravens believed that he was finally maturing off the field and was ready to continue to wreak havoc on NFL quarterbacks. And now, off the field in his prime, he would endure a major surgery on the most delicate of all tendons on a giant of a 270-pound beast. His life would be all about rehabbing for the next six months. No one comes back quickly from this injury. Suggs knew some adversity but never any kind of injury like this.
Terrell Raymonn Suggs, was born on October 11, 1982, in Minneapolis. He moved to Arizona during middle school and bounced amongst high schools until he landed at Hamilton High School, where he starred as a running back, once running for 367 yards in a game. He was named Arizona Player of the Year by USA Today and was a Parade All-American in 2000.
At his hometown Arizona State, which he selected over Tennessee, his big frame landed him on the defensive side of the ball for head coach Bruce Snyder, and later Dirk Koetter. Suggs began to dominate offensive players with his freakish speed, agility, and a mean streak that he used to deliver while carrying the ball in high school. He created havoc for quarterbacks, ending his three seasons with the Sun Devils with 163 tackles, including 65 for losses, 44 sacks, and 14 forced fumbles. If the Ravens wanted college production on draft day in 2003, they couldn’t turn down a chance to select Suggs, who fell down the board to No. 10.
