Pirate Galaxy » hich the club lost 94 games.Were motiva

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- As teammates shouted We got your back, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco acknowledged he was taken aback by comments from former teammate Ray Lewis, who called out the former Super Bowl MVP for a lack of passion for the game.Its a little surprising coming from Ray, Flacco said after Fridays practice. But its been something Ive dealt with probably back before high school. Its just part of my personality. When things are going good, its questioned as if its a good thing. When things arent going as well as you might like them to be, its always a question as to whether my personality is that of one that fits what an NFL quarterback should be. Its not anything Im not used to. But it is a little bit different coming from Ray.On Thursday, Lewis told Fox Sports 1 that Flaccos emotionless approach to football is a reason for the quarterbacks inconsistency. Flacco ranks 29th in the NFL in passer rating (78.3) this season, throwing as many interceptions (nine) as touchdowns.Gifted? Absolutely. Passionate about what he do? Ive never seen that, Lewis said. I dont know what that looks like.Lewis comments struck a nerve in the Ravens locker room and seemed to galvanize many players leading up to Sundays high-profile road game against the Cowboys.Safety Eric Weddle and cornerback Jimmy Smith could be heard shouting support in the background while Flacco spoke to reporters. Flacco smiled when he heard the uproar in the locker room.Its just odd that you hear Ray Lewis saying something, Weddle said. Joe Flacco won you a Super Bowl; did you forget about that?Flacco helped Lewis and the Ravens to the Super Bowl in 2012 with a nearly unprecedented postseason run. He joined Joe Montana as the only players to produce 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the playoffs.In addressing Lewis comments, Flacco never took a shot at the player who has a statue outside M&T Bank Stadium. Flacco initially didnt see what Lewis said about him, but he decided to watch after coach John Harbaugh brought it up Friday morning.You want to be able to listen to what he says and all that, Flacco said. I know he hasnt been here for a while. We want him to feel a part of this place. We want him to come around.Wide receiver Steve Smith Sr.?showed respect for the future Hall of Fame linebacker, saying Lewis voice carries weight. But he also pointed out that time has passed and players change.Lewis has been away from the Ravens locker room for four years, which is nearly as long as he was teammates with Flacco (2008-12).You dont play this game this long and be able to accomplish some of the things that Joe Flacco, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, all the great guys that have played with the Baltimore Ravens that Ive admired, you dont play this long without having a drive or a passion for the game, Smith said.Weddle was not as restrained when it came to Lewis.We love Joe. Hes our guy, Weddle said. Hes a great teammate, professional, leads, everything you want. Its kind of irrelevant. We dont really care what the outside thinks. For an old teammate to say that, its just like, Dont you have something better to talk about? I guess he didnt.Flacco has often been called Joe Cool for his stoic and quiet demeanor. But members in the organization pointed out that Flacco shows his passion in different ways. He never missed a game until his eighth season, putting together the fifth-longest streak for an NFL quarterback. When he tore two ligaments in his knee last November, he stayed in the game to finish out the final few plays. In getting back from the knee injury, he never missed a day of rehab.I think everybody expresses their passion in different ways, Harbaugh said. Youve got a locker room full of guys and an office full of coaches. Everybody is different. Every personality is different. Every single guy does their thing in a different way, but every single guy here cares deeply and works very hard and wants to be great at what they do.Will Flacco call Lewis to address the comments?Probably not, Flacco said. Me and Ray are going to cross paths again. It might be brought up. It might not. Who knows?Nolan Cromwell Rams Jersey . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. David Long Rams Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Greg-Gaines-Jersey/ . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. Darrell Henderson Youth Jersey . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Jack Youngblood Youth Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.Tampa Bay Rays president Matt Silverman said the team is hell-bent on improving following a season in which the club lost 94 games.Were motivated, Silverman told the Tampa Bay TImes on Tuesday. Were hell-bent on getting this team back into contention. We have to play better baseball. For us to win, we have to fire on all cylinders.That means in the front office, we have to make good personnel decisions, that means Kevin (Cash) and the coaches have to manage the games properly, the players have to execute. We have to be clean. We have to do things better than we have done. Weve worn this this year. Weve seeen a lot of the bad this year.dddddddddddd It also helps us to identify that and be able to learn from it.Silverman said the blame for this season is shared by everybody, from the players to the manager to the front office.The Rays (68-94) finished with their worst record since going 66-96 in 2007, the year before going to their only World Series.Said Cash: Its tough to sit here and tell you guys that we feel good about things with a lot of our core players. But we honestly do. ' ' '