Matt Birk, the 14th-year veteran center from Harvard, says he’s ready to go in two weeks against the Steelers in the home opener… That’s good news for the Ravens and their fans. At 35 years old, the 6-4, 310 signal-caller on the offensive line believes he has one more great season left in him.
Matt Birk still has good quickness at 35 and can still make blocks downfield… he did seem to tire a little at the end of last season.
I hope Birk’s statement of confidence yesterday at the Ravens training complex will put to rest all the speculation about signing center Andre Gurode, who was released two days ago by the Cowboys.
On paper signing Andre Gurode sounds like a good plan… however, he is sufferring from knee problems (worse than Birk’s) and is also in his mid-30’s too. Bringing him in would maybe not be a bad move for depth but I can’t see the Ravens spending the $ to do it— especially with converted defensive end Bryan Mattison showing that he would at least be serviceable at center so far during the preseason.
Birk, who had knee surgery in early August, had his first full practice Monday, meaning he squared off against defensive linemen.
It was a new step for the anchor of the Ravens’ shifting offensive line. But the most important question is, will the 14-year veteran be ready for the Steelers on Sept. 11? “Yeah, why not,” he said. “I think so. Hopefully I won’t have any setbacks or anything like that. But I think if everything progresses like we hope, yeah.”
Birk’s knee caused him problems throughout much of last season. At the end of the year, he revealed that he had to have his knee drained on a weekly basis. Asked if he felt if the surgery has been successful, Birk joked. “I’m not really that in touch with my body,” he said. “It feels good now. Who knows what’s going to happen. It’s a long season, a lot of things happen to your body. Hopefully the worst is behind me.”
Birk said he’ll gauge how well his knee held up to today’s practice to see if he may be up for playing in Thursday’s final preseason game in Atlanta. “It’d be great, but at the same time, the goal is Sept. 11,” he said.
Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron was pleased with what he saw in practice. “He looked good today,” Cameron said. “You could stand here all day and talk about the great things about Matt Birk; how smart and tough he is. We need Matt Birk, and I’m thrilled to get him back.”
In an ideal world, the starting offensive line would get some time to gel in a game considering it has a new piece in left tackle Bryant McKinnie and Michael Oher moving to right tackle.
But at least Ravens fan can breathe a little easier knowing that Matt Birk is still very much in the mix.
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