BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Ravens fans are hoping for a win this Christmas Eve. But what does the holiday mean for the coaches and players?

Jessica Kartalija finds the Christmas spirit is alive and well.

This holiday season, the Ravens say playing in the NFL is a gift in itself.

“Too many guys can’t be a NFL player, so you’ve got to feel blessed,” Pernell McPhee, defensive lineman.

The team says Christmas is time spent with their biggest fans.

“It’s a very important time to spend with family and friends and to give back, most importantly to people who are less fortunate,” said Michael Oher.

“It’s about family, you get gifts, and you really want people to show expression of love for everybody,” said Chris Carr.

“Christmas to me means the celebration of the birth of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ.  That’s what it means. No greater celebration than that,” said Coach John Harbaugh.

Memories of Christmas past are kicking in for punter Sam Koch.

“We used to—on Christmas Eve–go to my grandma’s, and it was a way to get the family together and see each other,” said Koch said.

“When I think of Christmas, I think of a time to be around family, and relax and yeah, think about how fortunate we are and try and help other people out there who might not be in the same situation we are,” said Joe Flacco.

For Matt Birk, his kids are the center of attention.

“Now, with six young kids at home, there’s nothing like Christmas morning,” Birk said.

Ravens rookie Torrey Smith is looking forward to starting a new holiday tradition.

“It’s a time to realize how thankful you are for everything from family, to football to life in general.  I’m excited, and it’s the first time I’m on my own and my family is coming to Baltimore to celebrate it with me,” Smith said.

Every player we spoke with expressed their appreciation of being in the NFL, saying it’s their responsibility to help others less fortunate.

The Baltimore Ravens are currently 6-2, tied for first place in the AFC North, and a top contender to dethrone the Green Bay Packers. Baltimore’s rousing come from behind victory over Pittsburgh on November 6th gave the Ravens a season sweep of their chief rivals. The Ravens must not allow a post-Pittsburgh letdown to set in as they travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks.

Seattle is struggling. They have problems at quarterback and have been unable to consistently run the football. Seattle does however have one of the NFL’s loudest stadiums and boisterous fan bases. Tavares Jackson is unlikely to upend the Ravens, but an overwhelming crowd response could give Baltimore headaches in the Emerald City.

The Ravens had unexpected let downs following big wins earlier this season. Baltimore followed up week one’s 35-7 thrashing of the Steelers with a perplexing effort in a 26-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans. The game was brushed aside by the Ravens as a tough road game against a solid team led by veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. Now we see that the Titans simply aren’t a very good team. Tennessee has been outscored by 13 points on the season and has dropped lost three of the past four games.

The Ravens had another stupefying let down in a Monday night game against hapless Jacksonville in Week seven. The 12-7 loss to the Jags came on the heels of two dominant home efforts against Houston and the New York Jets. In the loss the Ravens failed to record a first down until well into the third quarter. I know it’s always difficult to win on the road in the NFL but the Ravens road lapses have been extreme in nature and too frequent for a true title contender.

Baltimore can make a statement about his position as an AFC power by going to Seattle and shutting down the Seahawks and quieting the crowd in the process. If the Ravens come out slow and the false start happy Michael Oher gets another case of the yips it could be a dog fight. The Ravens should look to establish Ray Rice on the ground and get Joe Flacco into an early rhythm in order to post some early points and take the Seattle crowd out of the game.

* Information gathered from Yahoo! Sports.

Dan Soderberg is a freelance writer, lover of pancakes and lifelong baseball fanatic. You can read some of Dan’s other work athttp://mudville9.blogspot.com/ . Follow Dan on Twitter @dan_soderberg

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The health of Joe Flacco is a major priority for the Baltimore Ravens, and that responsibility falls on an offensive line that must do a better job of protecting the quarterback.

Flacco was sacked twice, threw an interception and lost a fumble Sunday in Baltimore’s 29-14 win over the Houston Texans. He was also hit seven times, according to the stat sheet.

“We can do better,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We don’t need Joe getting hit like that.”

The last thing the Ravens (4-1) need is to lose Flacco, especially because his backup is untested rookie Tyrod Taylor. So it is imperative that Baltimore’s offensive front form a sturdier wall, beginning Monday night against Jacksonville (1-5).

“No question. That’s the truth,” centre Matt Birk said Wednesday. “Joe took too many shots on Sunday. He played great and we won, but certainly up front we need to perform better as a unit.”

In their defence, several of the linemen are still getting used to each other. Left tackle Bryant McKinnie was added just before the season began, and his arrival caused tackle Michael Oher to return to the right side, where he played two years ago as a rookie. Also, newcomer Andre Gurode has been playing left guard in place of injured Ben Grubbs.

Harbaugh said the problem against Houston could be attributed to a few lost 1-on-1 battles and mistakes in the protection scheme. Clearly, this revamped line might need some time before it starts performing as a cohesively.

“We fit Andre in there, and I think he’s done a great job filling in for Ben. McKinnie is very new to this, and we moved Mike back over to the right side,” Flacco noted. “As a team, we’re going to do nothing but get better, and that includes those guys. They’re going to get more and more used to each other and playing in the positions that they’re in.”

The running game, led by Ray Rice, has been effective. But Flacco has absorbed 10 sacks in five games, fumbled five times and thrown four interceptions, mainly because of pressure in the pocket.

Fortunately for the Ravens, the 6-foot-6, 245-pounder knows how to take punishment. In his first three seasons he never missed a start, and this season it’s been more of the same.

“Ever since I’ve been here, when people ask me about Joe, I say I love Joe,” Birk said. “He’s tough as nails and he stands in there. Even when he knows he’s going to get hit, he still keeps his feet on the ground and throws the ball.”

Flacco considers that to be merely part of the job description.

“Every now and then you’re going to get hit a little bit. That’s the name of the game as an NFL quarterback,” he said. “I’m going to have all the confidence in the world in those guys at all times.”

And he will never complain about them, either.

“They want to do nothing more than to protect me and make holes for Ray,” Flacco said. “You know where their hearts are. I’m optimistic about it, and feel great so far about where they are.”

The health of Joe Flacco is a major priority for the Baltimore Ravens, and that responsibility falls on an offensive line that must do a better job of protecting the quarterback.

Flacco was sacked twice, threw an interception and lost a fumble Sunday in Baltimore’s 29-14 win over the Houston Texans. He was also hit seven times, according to the stat sheet.

“We can do better,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We don’t need Joe getting hit like that.”

The last thing the Ravens (4-1) need is to lose Flacco, especially because his backup is untested rookie Tyrod Taylor. So it is imperative that Baltimore’s offensive front form a sturdier wall, beginning Monday night against Jacksonville (1-5).

“No question. That’s the truth,” center Matt Birk said Wednesday. “Joe took too many shots on Sunday. He played great and we won, but certainly up front we need to perform better as a unit.”

In their defense, several of the linemen are still getting used to each other. Left tackle Bryant McKinnie was added just before the season began, and his arrival caused tackle Michael Oher to return to the right side, where he played two years ago as a rookie. Also, newcomer Andre Gurode has been playing left guard in place of injured Ben Grubbs.

Harbaugh said the problem against Houston could be attributed to a few lost 1-on-1 battles and mistakes in the protection scheme. Clearly, this revamped line might need some time before it starts performing as a cohesively.

“We fit Andre in there, and I think he’s done a great job filling in for Ben. McKinnie is very new to this, and we moved Mike back over to the right side,” Flacco noted. “As a team, we’re going to do nothing but get better, and that includes those guys. They’re going to get more and more used to each other and playing in the positions that they’re in.”

The running game, led by Ray Rice, has been effective. But Flacco has absorbed 10 sacks in five games, fumbled five times and thrown four interceptions, mainly because of pressure in the pocket.

Fortunately for the Ravens, the 6-foot-6, 245-pounder knows how to take punishment. In his first three seasons he never missed a start, and this season it’s been more of the same.

“Ever since I’ve been here, when people ask me about Joe, I say I love Joe,” Birk said. “He’s tough as nails and he stands in there. Even when he knows he’s going to get hit, he still keeps his feet on the ground and throws the ball.”

Flacco considers that to be merely part of the job description.

“Every now and then you’re going to get hit a little bit. That’s the name of the game as an NFL quarterback,” he said. “I’m going to have all the confidence in the world in those guys at all times.”

And he will never complain about them, either.

“They want to do nothing more than to protect me and make holes for Ray,” Flacco said. “You know where their hearts are. I’m optimistic about it, and feel great so far about where they are.”

“We can do better,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We don’t need Joe getting hit like that.”

The last thing the Ravens (4-1) need is to lose Flacco, especially because his backup is untested rookie Tyrod Taylor. So it is imperative that Baltimore’s offensive front form a sturdier wall, beginning Monday night against Jacksonville (1-5).

“No question. That’s the truth,” center Matt Birk said Wednesday. “Joe took too many shots on Sunday. He played great and we won, but certainly up front we need to perform better as a unit.”

In their defense, several of the linemen are still getting used to each other. Left tackle Bryant McKinnie was added just before the season began, and his arrival caused tackle Michael Oher to return to the right side, where he played two years ago as a rookie. Also, newcomer Andre Gurode has been playing left guard in place of injured Ben Grubbs.

Harbaugh said the problem against Houston could be attributed to a few lost 1-on-1 battles and mistakes in the protection scheme. Clearly, this revamped line might need some time before it starts performing as a cohesively.

“We fit Andre in there, and I think he’s done a great job filling in for Ben. McKinnie is very new to this, and we moved Mike back over to the right side,” Flacco noted. “As a team, we’re going to do nothing but get better, and that includes those guys. They’re going to get more and more used to each other and playing in the positions that they’re in.”

The running game, led by Ray Rice, has been effective. But Flacco has absorbed 10 sacks in five games, fumbled five times and thrown four interceptions, mainly because of pressure in the pocket.

Fortunately for the Ravens, the 6-foot-6, 245-pounder knows how to take punishment. In his first three seasons he never missed a start, and this season it’s been more of the same.

“Ever since I’ve been here, when people ask me about Joe, I say I love Joe,” Birk said. “He’s tough as nails and he stands in there. Even when he knows he’s going to get hit, he still keeps his feet on the ground and throws the ball.”

Flacco considers that to be merely part of the job description.

“Every now and then you’re going to get hit a little bit. That’s the name of the game as an NFL quarterback,” he said. “I’m going to have all the confidence in the world in those guys at all times.”

And he will never complain about them, either.

“They want to do nothing more than to protect me and make holes for Ray,” Flacco said. “You know where their hearts are. I’m optimistic about it, and feel great so far about where they are.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.