Birk Retires: Appreciation Thread

[NCBirdfan]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...retire-friday/

He came to the Ravens from the Vikings in 2009 in hopes of winning a championship before he retired. In 2013, he achieved that goal and apparently decided to retire as a winner.

Even though he was in the twilight of his career, he still had enough in the tank to provide stability at his position. Thank you Matt Birk for your role in bringing the Lombardi back to Baltimore.

[AnonymousTerpsFan]

Like the other 4 linemen who came together for the playoffs, he finished strong and was instrumental in the Ravens run. Filmstudy graded him in the high 80's and 90's throughout the playoffs, and he seemed to get better the closer he got to the Super Bowl.

Remember how Vince Wilfork dominated the line in the AFCCG this year, and almost single-handedly prevented the Ravens from winning? No? That's because Birk, with Osemele and Yanda, owned him and pushed him around the whole game.

Matt Birk leaves the game as a champion and with nothing left to prove. Enjoy retirement Matt.

[ivanbalt]

Retire like a Raven, retire as a winner.

[Peej7245]

Birk, like Ray Lewis, was faced with declining skills (Father time IS undefeated after all), but his primary contribution was to be the leader of the OL. Birk was another coach on the field for the young linemen. Despite a so-so regular season, the OL came on strong and dominated in the super bowl championship run!

I am sure I am not speaking for myself only: Matt have a great retirement and know that your time in Baltimore was time well spent for you and for us!

[OriginalColtsFan]

Great decision. (Now take Ed Reed with you.)

[Fang]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...retire-friday/

He came to the Ravens from the Vikings in 2009 in hopes of winning a championship before he retired. In 2013, he achieved that goal and apparently decided to retire as a winner.

Even though he was in the twilight of his career, he still had enough in the tank to provide stability at his position. Thank you Matt Birk for your role in bringing the Lombardi back to Baltimore.

Matt Birk played great this season. How awesome it must be to go out a World Champion! Congrats to Matt and thanks for the great memories the past 4 years.

[baltimoreron]

Once a Raven, always a Raven (unless you suck, of course).

Thanks, Matt and good luck with your future endeavors.

[regularguy]

Great player; great leader; smart move to retire with a ring.

I'm not crazy about his outspoken social-conservatism, but that doesn't detract from my admiration for his football career.

[afan]

I can recall many on here wanting to rid the Ravens of him. They said he was the weak link to the line, Well I for one will miss seeing that bloody nose and his butt lowerring before he snapped the ball in shotgun. Was he the greatest...no... but he always did his job. Now will the kid be good enough to take his place?

[Aclobat]

He played good the last few games of the year. Glad to see him go a Raven.

[Steveg85321]

Matt Birk is a great example of how one need not be a superstar athlete to be a key component of a championship team. Be solid, reliable, and a team player who helps make the guys around you better. He will be missed for those reasons, but the time is right for his retirement and I wish the best to someone who is clearly a quality man. Now for the Ravens it is next man up.

[Slidemaster]

Absolutely critical piece of some great Ravens teams. Thanks for the great years Matt. Enjoy retirement!

[cprenegade]

Birk's abilities were declining, he could have retired last year, but he had enough in the tank to last the year, and then come through in the playoffs. His run ended exactly as he wanted it to. Good job. His retirement with a ring is well deserved. Now.....who's going to replace him?

[NVDesertRaven]

Congrats on the well deserved ring, Matt Birk! All the best in retirement.

[Eastside Terp]

appreciation? seriously? ......

he came to baltimore, made good money and won a ring .....

on average he played ok while here, seems like a good guy and I wish him well in the future........

not sure why we are thanking him, he understands that he should be thanking us and he has been doing that ..........

[Slidemaster]

appreciation? seriously? ......

he came to baltimore, made good money and won a ring .....

on average he played ok while here, seems like a good guy and I wish him well in the future........

not sure why we are thanking him, he understands that he should be thanking us and he has been doing that ..........

For real?

Yeah, we totally carried Birk to a ring. He was practically a bench player, definitely not the leader and anchor of the offensive line for four years.

[OriginalColtsFan]

appreciation? seriously? ......

he came to baltimore, made good money and won a ring .....

on average he played ok while here, seems like a good guy and I wish him well in the future........

not sure why we are thanking him, he understands that he should be thanking us and he has been doing that ..........

While I did not think it was a good idea to re-sign him, Joe clearly wanted him, and Birk provided important continuity in an O-line that really didn't come together in 2012 until Oher went back to RT and McKinnie came in to play LT. Birk held off Wilfork this year, something he didn't do last year, and that helped the Ravens get by the Pats. Not sure what your post is all about, but it seems to indicate a significant lack of understanding.

[Eastside Terp]

like I said, I think birk did a good job while he was here ......

he did what he was paid well for ......

just not into the thank you and appreciation thing for pro athletes doing their job .....

[Ravens2006]

It's funny, all year long I thought (actually, I was positive) Birk was tipping off the snap in shotgun more than most centers do. Once they shuffled the line, that didn't seem as bad anymore...

Speaking of having a beat on the snap... if you go back and watch the SB and pay attention to the Ravens defense off he snap... it was remarkable how quick they were reacting. They obviously saw something on film in prep leading up to the game. Kruger on the early sack of Kaepernick was moving in perfect synch with the snap. Ed Reed when he rushed the incompletion on the two point attempt, perfect timing with the snap. Ellerbee on the rushed 4th down incompletion in the final two minutes, perfectly timed. One of the "Sound FX" like shows even caught Jim Harbaugh griping about how the Ravens D had the snap count / cadence figured out. Jim Harbaugh griped to the officials a lot about off-sides, trying to get a call... but if you frame-by-frame those snaps... they were just breaking off the ball as if Ray Ray was telling both sides when to go.

[West Chester Raven]

Birk was a great center. Very intelligent - graduated from Harvard with a degree in economics. Graduated in 4 years too. That says something about him. You want a smart guy calling out blocking assignments. He is a truly quality person and a very good athlete. You'll see the impact he had by his absence next season. Thanks Matt for helping the Ravens get that SB win.