June 22, 2022, has grow to be the saddest and longest day in Ravens historical past.
Early Wednesday morning, the crew introduced that fourth-year outdoors linebacker Jaylon Ferguson died at age 26 after authorities discovered him unresponsive late Tuesday in a North Baltimore residence.
Early within the night, a crew spokesman confirmed that former Ravens defensive sort out Tony Siragusa died at age 55. The reason behind dying was not instantly recognized.
The affect of the information was felt all through the group.
“Just a tough, tough day,” mentioned former Ravens outdoors linebacker Peter Boulware, a one-time teammate of Siragusa’s on the 2000 crew that gained the franchise’s first Super Bowl title.
“We’ll get through it. My prayers are with this team and this organization. That’s who we are.”
Only a number of guys within the Ravens’ 26-year historical past exemplified toughness higher than the 6-foot-4, 330-pound Siragusa. At the identical time, he turned a voice for a crew looking for management.
Some of the previous Baltimore Colts followers in contrast Siragusa with late Hall of Fame defensive sort out Art Donovan, however Donovan was the happy-go-lucky kind.
Siragusa might be loud, obnoxious, vicious, nice and humorous, however he was an awesome teammate. If you took an affordable shot at any of the Ravens, you needed to reply to Siragusa or his prime henchman, defensive finish Rob Burnett.
“First of all, my deepest condolences to his family,” Marvin Lewis, the architect and coordinator of the 2000 Ravens’ record-setting protection, mentioned in an announcement. “With Tony as a friend and teammate, you needed no other. He played and lived life to the fullest. He always reminded me to have fun.”
That was Siragusa’s nature. He had a larger-than-life persona and he might mild up any room. The locker room was his area. If you had been a reporter and your garments didn’t match, Siragusa was going to poke enjoyable.
If you didn’t comb your hair, Siragusa was going to get you. If your shirt was too tight, he’d ask why you had in your little brother’s T-shirt.
No one was spared the wrath or jokes. Not the media, not his teammates, not coach Brian Billick.
“If he stared at you, something was going to come out of his mouth,” Boulware mentioned. “The stare was deadly.”
I’d get into these exchanges with Siragusa, Burnett, defensive finish Michael McCrary and security Bennie Thompson perhaps two or 3 times every week. Siragusa was relentless in monitoring folks down. He as soon as referred to as me at residence on his radio present to inform me I used to be an fool. The subsequent day we’d battle after which the subsequent day we’d be within the locker room goofing round once more.
Players again then preferred to banter, and so they revered you in case you talked as a lot trash as they did. The wisecracks and outgoing persona led Siragusa to grow to be a TV commentator and later a sideline reporter for Fox’s NFL protection.
But right here’s a facet of Siragusa few received to see.
“When I was a rookie and got to Baltimore, I was fortunate enough to live on same street with Tony so he’d take me home and his wife would cook me dinner,” former Ravens weakside linebacker Jamie Sharper mentioned. “Tony was a fun-filled guy, and everybody loved and looked up to him — the media and his teammates — but I got to see him as a good family man.”
Sharper hadn’t seen Siragusa in practically three years, however they reconnected at a reunion for the 2000 Super Bowl crew on May 23. He mentioned that event allowed him to hug Siragusa and take an image with him one final time.
“When we were done playing, Tony would open up his businesses to us,” Sharper mentioned, combating again tears. “He didn’t care what color you were, where you lived, what profession you were in, he treated everyone the same. And yes, he made fun of everyone.”
But Siragusa got here to Baltimore for a particular purpose. At the top of the 1996 season, then-Ravens basic supervisor Ozzie Newsome walked into the shed on the previous complicated on the opposite facet of Owings Mills and delivered a message.
“Mike,” Newsome mentioned, “during the offseason, I am going to bring me in a big-ass lineman to anchor the middle of the defense. Write it down, and remember I told you that.”
Enter Tony Siragusa.
The Ravens completed 6-9-1 that season, however they had been simply starting to construct an awesome protection with three younger promising linebackers in Boulware, Sharpe and Ray Lewis within the center.
That trio will go down in historical past as among the finest ever within the NFL. Lewis is the best linebacker of all time, however that defensive position ran the crew in 2000.
Talk about robust guys?
McCrary and Burnett on the ends, and Siragusa and Sam Adams, the 2 sumo wrestlers, at sort out. No one ran on this protection, which gave up solely 165 factors in 16 video games that season.
Adams might disrupt working performs and put strain on a quarterback with an explosive first step. Siragusa , in the meantime, might occupy two or three offensive linemen to maintain them off Lewis.
Forget Siragusa’s stats.
He had 159 complete tackles in his 5 seasons in Baltimore whereas Lewis had 768 throughout that span. Siragusa’s signature second got here when he drove Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon into the turf within the 2000 AFC Championship sport.
Gannon suffered a shoulder damage and Siragusa was finally fined $10,000 for an unlawful hit, which he mentioned shortly after the Ravens’ victory was not finished on goal.
But a couple of month later, after I requested him if it was an intentional slam, he winked, laughed and replied: “What do you think?”
That was classic Siragusa. He performed arduous and he lived that approach, too. He was a particularly athletic and cellular massive man who might speak lots of smack and again it up.
He “played like a Raven,” a time period first utilized by former coach Ted Marchibroda. Few gamers have been as fierce and aggressive.
And no Raven has laughed as a lot.
“I can’t believe Goose is gone. He was more than a teammate, he was my brother,” McCrary mentioned. “There was Goose, Burnett and me, we had been the D-line, however a lot extra. We had been all the time there for each other and he all the time managed to carry a smile to my face, regardless of how unhealthy issues might have appeared.
“There are so many memories. I will never think of him without smiling, and I will miss him. Watch out heaven’s gatekeepers, Goose in on the way and heaven will never be the same.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com