#56

 

JONATHAN OGDEN

The champion Baltimore Ravens of 2000 boasted one of the most dominant defensive units in the history of the NFL. They were Ray Lewis’s team and the offense just went along for the ride. While Trent Dilfer manned the quarterback position—somebody had to do it—the offense was simply asked to not screw things up.

That assignment did not fall on left tackle Jonathan Ogden. The 6-foot-9, 340-pound stud drafted with the fourth overall pick in 1996 was a technician and a perfectionist. He dominated as a nasty run blocker and he quickly got the hang of pass blocking in the NFL. He was an 11-time Pro Bowl performer and a four-time All-Pro selection.

When Ogden’s career came to an end following the 2007 season, many called him the greatest offensive player in the history of the Ravens franchise. Some compared him to Ray Lewis when it came to overall importance to the Ravens.

He was an important player to the team and he was also instrumental in getting the mainstream media and fans to pay more attention to what went on along the line of scrimmage. The Ravens clearly suffered as an offensive team throughout Ogden’s era, but the more the team looked to upgrade the passing game and failed to reach that goal, the more Ogden performed at a level near perfection. The cameras of NFL Films regularly focused on what Ogden did in the trenches. His standard of performance put pressure on offensive linemen throughout the league.

Ogden’s consistent performance made him one of the all-time greats, but he was never in it for personal glory. “He’s a lineman. He’s real humble; he’s not in it for the fame,” said Orlando Brown, who played alongside Ogden on the Ravens offensive line. “We want to be in it for the fame, but the camera doesn’t look for us. The camera always did look at him because he was always doing his job at such a high level.”

When Ogden was on the field, the left tackle became the star. He became such a force in every game that the Ravens fans started to look for him, regardless of who was running the ball or who was throwing it for them.

To think where the Ravens offense would have been without him is mind-boggling. Ogden was almost personally responsible for carrying the Ravens offense on his back. The 2003 season may have been his best year. That year, the 10–6 Ravens made the playoffs with the likes of Kyle Boller, Anthony Wright, and Chris Redman at quarterback. The Ravens had four games that season in which they gained less than 100 yards passing and only had three games in which they gained more than 200 yards passing.

Opponents threw for 550 yards more than the Ravens that season, yet Baltimore made the playoffs largely because Jamal Lewis ran for 2,066 yards. He did it primarily running behind Ogden. The offense was thoroughly predictable and went against the principle of teams needing to throw the ball to win, yet the Ravens found a way to be successful.

Ogden’s presence on the other side of the line of scrimmage was always a wake-up call for his opponents. “Jonathan is one of the all-time best ever to play the position,” said Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter. “He always made me play at the highest of my abilities—otherwise he would embarrass me.”

His consistency was not lost on the Ravens coaching staff, nor general manager Ozzie Newsome, who drafted Ogden in 1996. “I have been a lucky man to have played with and against some of the best players who have ever taken the field in the NFL,” said Newsome, a Hall of Fame tight end. “I have also been able to watch some of the greatest players ever in my capacity as an executive for this team. I can say when it came to on-field performance, I have never seen any player do a better job than Jonathan Ogden. I don’t care who the player is or what position he played, Jonathan’s performance was always the best.

“Getting a chance to watch game films on Mondays after our games and watch him dominate week in and week out, it was something that always made you feel good. We had a lot of needs when we drafted Jonathan in 1996, but he was the best player in the draft and we got him. He paid us dividends for a long time.”

During his peak, Ogden had formidable competition from Tony Boselli of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Orlando Pace of the St. Louis Rams. Boselli might have provided true competition for Ogden but knee injuries shortened his period of peak effectiveness. Pace was nearly as good as those two at his peak, but he seemed to fall off dramatically after the 2004 season. Pace would make his seventh Pro Bowl in 2005, but that was not one of his better seasons and his reputation helped him make that team.

Ogden decided to retire after 12 seasons because he felt like he could not perform to his own standards. “I never wanted to toot my own horn and tell everyone how great I was, but I will say that I did what I set out to do when the Ravens drafted me,” Ogden said. “I feel like I did my job as professionally as possible and I feel good about the way I performed.”