The Baltimore Sun endorses in races for governor, attorney general, comptroller and state’s attorney – The Sun Johns Hopkins summer programs cancelled as some students are en route – Washington Post New Super PAC enlists former mayor Sheila Dixon in support of Ivan Bates –...

Baltimore, Maryland and the rest of the country are at a “critical crossroad,” Mayor Brandon Scott said Monday during a press conference in which he implored Balimoreans to vote in the state’s July 19 primary election. “Grab your friends, your loved ones – or as...

Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images High praise from the former Patriots receiver Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman recently joined the I AM ATHLETE podcast and shared the one cornerback who he’d wake up thinking, “I have to face this m—— f——?” was Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith. Julian Edelman with some high praise for Jimmy Smith. “There would be times he would win. He was a long guy. He was also kind of quick. He was patient at the line of scrimmage. He kind of knew how to.. he kind of knew how to f— me.” pic.twitter.com/6dtYDnULnN— Kyle Phoenix Barber (@KylePBarber) June 27, 2022 “I would play a lot of outside with Jimmy. I was [the outside receiver] at that time. I was F,” Edelman said. “Me and Jimmy, I remember him—like I trained over at Exos in LA and I remember him coming out and he was really quick in and out of breaks and I’m like, ‘Who’s this dude?’ And then we started playing against each other and that’s when we were playing Baltimore like twice a year. So like, we know each other. You know when you play teams a lot, I know your tendency, you know my tendency, so like, this is what we’re going to see who can win. So like there would be times he would win. He was a long guy. He was also kind of quick. He was patient at the line of scrimmage. He kind of knew how to.. he kind of knew how to f—- me. I won my battles but he won his. We always played in important games against each other.” Throughout Edelman’s career he played in four regular season games against the Ravens with active, where his stats combine for 28 receptions on 44 targets for 267 yards and one touchdown. In the playoffs, Edelman faced the Ravens twice with Smith on the roster, and caught nine of 16 targets for 82 yards.

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images Ravens’ defensive backs top the list After ranking No. 32 in passing defense last season, the Baltimore Ravens and General Manager Eric DeCosta got to work on rebuilding their secondary. Fortunately, most of the work was simply getting back two All-Pro cornerbacks in Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. But the Ravens still used the offseason as an opportunity to usher in fresh talent, signing top free agent safety Marcus Williams and drafting top safety prospect Kyle Hamilton with the No. 14 pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Now, the secondary looks far more capable of defending passing offenses, ultimatley leading PFF’s Michael Renner to consider them the No. 1 NFL secondary. No. 1 - Baltimore Ravens There are a lot of complete secondaries around the NFL, making the Tier 1 rankings a toss-up in a number of ways. The Ravens simultaneously have some of the most question marks heading into 2022 from a health perspective while also possessing the highest-end elite potential. Four of their five starters have earned top-10 grades at their respective positions at some point over the past four seasons. And this list doesn’t even include rookie first-rounder Kyle Hamilton, who will undoubtedly factor in heavily. Takeaway It’s fair to question the Ravens’ health after a historically injured-marred season, but all signs point to those who missed last season will return. If Peters and Humphrey return to form, they’re arguably the best cornerback tandem in the NFL. If they return and aren’t the same players they were, it can be assumed they’ll still be effective starters. Now, they’ll be paired with one of the best coverage safeties over the past five years with Williams and the always dependable Chuck Clark. As Renner noted, this is all without considering expected-star Hamilton, who many considered to be one of, if not the best draft prospect in this years’ class. To go along with the starting unit, they also significantly improved the depth at the position with second-year defensive back Brandon Stephens, cornerback Kyle Fuller and the rookie pair of Jalyn Armour-Davis and Damarion “Pepe” Williams. In short, the Ravens have—on paper, fixed their greatest 2021 flaw this offseason. The secondary was carved up twice by Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, and the back-half of the schedule that allowed an average of 284 passing yards per game. With the return of their injured starting corners and better depth to account for any losses, the Ravens’ secondary appears capable of defending the ever-growing NFL passing game.