Two Former Ravens Elected to Hall of Fame

The 2011 inductees were announced tonight off of a loaded ballot, and two former Ravens made the cut. The five non-Ravens elected were Marshall Faulk, Ed Sabol, Richard Dent, Les Richter, and Chris Hanburger. The two former members of the purple army were Shannon Sharpe, tight end on the 2000 SuperBowl championship team, and Deion Sanders, who spent the final two years of his career with the Ravens. Combined, the two players only spent four of their 28 seasons as members of the Ravens, but dammit, they were RAVENS. The only other former Raven in the Hall of Fame is Rod Woodson, another member of the 2000 team, but he spent most of his career with the Steelers. We really can’t take pride in that one.

First, we’ll focus on Sharpe, one of the key pieces of that title winning team. In his two seasons as a Raven, Sharpe caught over 65 passes in each year, had over 800 yards in each seasons, and had a total of 7 touchdowns. Sharpe was the favorite target of the Tony Banks/Trent Dilfer combo in 2000, but dropped to second on the team in receiving in 2001 behind Qadry Ismail when Elvis Grbac took over as Ravens QB. He made the Pro Bowl that season. 2001 was also the rookie season of a guy you made have heard of named Todd Heap, the Ravens all-time leader in receptions.

Then there’s Deion, who ended his career in Baltimore, coming back to the NFL with the team after three years on the sidelines. Sanders wasn’t the same player he was back in the day with the Niners and Cowboys, but was still capable. He intercepted five passes in his 25 games in purple, one of which he ran back for a TD. He also defensed ten passes. Like I said, he wasn’t what he was, but he was still damn effective. Neither of those Ravens teams made the playoffs, as they were led by Kyle Boller. I’ve tried to wipe those years from my mind.

Congratulations to both men, and it’ll only be a few years before some true Ravens start getting in, and that charge will be led by the former pillar of the offensive line, Jonathan Ogden.