JANUARY 2008

>>19: The Ravens introduced Harbaugh as the franchise’s third head coach 19 days after firing Coach Brian Billick on the heels of a 5-11 season in which the team missed the playoffs for the third time in four years.

“John comes from a football background, a family of football people and a special teams background, which to some is a disadvantage and to others it’s quite an advantage,” Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said. “He’s dealing with the entire team, he’s dealing with Pro Bowlers, he’s dealing with the 53rd man on the roster and making him feel like his contribution is and could be the most important one of the day. And, he’s done that very successfully. This is a great day for us.”

>>23: Cam Cameron, who had just been fired after going 1-15 in his first season as coach of the Miami Dolphins, is introduced as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator.

>>28: Rex Ryan was officially retained as defensive coordinator and also promoted to assistant head coach after being turned down for head coaching jobs in Atlanta, Miami and Baltimore.

>>30: Harbaugh announced the hiring of Jerry Rosburg as special teams coordinator. Rosburg spent the previous season with the Atlanta Falcons.

FEBRUARY

>>12: Harbaugh completes his coaching staff, which included the hiring of John Dunn (assistant strength and conditioning), Marwan Maalouf (assistant special teams), Greg Mattison (linebackers), Chuck Pagano (secondary) and Bob Rogucki (strength and conditioning).

APRIL

>>17: Quarterback Steve McNair retires after a 13-year career, which included last two seasons in Baltimore. His retirement leaves Kyle Boller and Troy Smith battling for the starting job.

“Your mind and your body have got to be on the same page,” McNair said. “My mind was there, but physically I just couldn’t do it any more, not to the capacity that I need to help my teammates win a football game.”

>>26: The Ravens select quarterback Joe Flacco with the 18th pick in the draft. To acquire the Delaware star, the Ravens moved down from eighth to 26th pick by trading with the Jaguars before moving back up in a trade with the Texans.

“He’s got a rocket arm,” said Eric DeCosta, the Ravens director of college scouting. “He’s highly accurate. We love the kid, he’s very smart. He did well. He passed every test.”

Hours later, the Ravens traded a fourth-round pick to the Oakland Raiders and acquired cornerback Fabian Washington.

MAY

>>2: Harbaugh stresses that there is an open competition for the starting quarterback job among Flacco, Boller and Smith.

“It’s Troy [Smith] against Troy, and Troy against operating our offense,” Harbaugh said. “And, it’s Kyle against Kyle, and Kyle operating our offense. And just like it’s going to be Joe against Joe.”

JUNE

>>12: Left tackle Jonathan Ogden announces his retirement after a 12-year career as a Raven. The departure of the future Hall of Famer, which he blamed on an injured left toe, leaves second-year player Jared Gaither as the heir apparent to blocking for Flacco’s blind side.

“Could I have still gone out there and played? Yes, probably, and still done an adequate job,” Ogden said. “In my mind, I wouldn’t have been helping the team as much as I needed to, and it wouldn’t have been good for me.”

JULY

>>21: Flacco officially signs a five-year contract worth as much as $30 million on the same day training camp opens in Westminster. Flacco joins eight other Ravens’ draft picks, who all reported to training camp on time.

AUGUST

>>7: The Ravens opened the preseason with a 16-15 win at the New England Patriots. Flacco goes 0-for-3 passing and loses a fumble in limited action.

>>16th: The Ravens lose their preseason home opener, 23-15, to the Minnesota Vikings. Boller suffers season-ending shoulder injury, causing Harbaugh to announce Flacco would likely start the season as the third-string quarterback.

“I think Troy and Kyle, by the basis of practice so far have separated themselves from Joe in terms of being ready to line up and win a football game for us at this level,” Harbaugh said. “Not to say it couldn’t happen, but right now they’ve moved ahead.”

>>23: Flacco plays the entire preseason game at the St. Louis Rams after Smith is diagnosed with a severe case of tonilitis. Smith missed a month and lost more than 20 pounds. And just like that, Flacco is named the starter, and we all know how that has turned out.

SEPTEMBER

>>3: Boller’s season officially ended when he was placed on injured reserve. The Ravens sign veteran quarterback Todd Bouman to add depth at the position.

>>7: The Ravens win their season-opener, 17-10, against the Cincinnati Bengals. Flacco completes 15-of-25 passes for 129 yards and runs for a 38-yard touchdown. Fullback Le’Ron McClain provides a glimpse of things to come by rushing for 86 yards on 19 carries.

>>14: The Ravens’ road game in Houston is postponed until Nov. 9 because Hurricane Ike causes severe damage to Reliant Stadium. The schedule change causes the Ravens to play the final 15 weeks of the season without a bye.

>>29: The Ravens suffer their first loss of the year when the Steelers rally from a 13-10 halftime deficit to win 23-20 in overtime on Monday Night Football in Pittsburgh.

OCTOBER

>>5: The Ravens hit the low point of their season. They get blown out, 31-3, by the Colts in Indianapolis to drop their record to 2-3. Right guard Marshal Yanda suffers a season-ending injury to his left knee in the loss.

>>26: Flacco proves he can play receiver when he catches a 43-yard pass from Troy Smith in a 29-10 win over the Oakland Raiders. It was the first of several trick plays the Ravens revealed this season in the “Suggs Package.” The name comes from linebacker Terrell Suggs claiming in a radio interview that Smith should be the starting quarterback.

NOVEMBER

>>2: Flacco rallied the Ravens, as he threw two touchdown passes helping Baltimore comeback from a 14-point deficit to defeat the host-Cleveland Browns, 37-27.

>>11: The Ravens placed starting cornerback Chris McAlister (knee) and safety Dawan Landry (spinal concussion) on injured reserve. McAlister had seen limited action and expressed frustration in his role with the team. Landry

>>23: Playing their first home game in a month, the Ravens defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 36-7, which included an NFL-record 107-yard interception return for a touchdown by safety Ed Reed.

DECEMBER

>>7: The Ravens snapped a streak of seven straight losses in prime time when they defeat the Redskins, 24-10, on Sunday Night Football on NBC.

>>14: The Steelers clinch the AFC North with a 13-9 win in Baltimore. Ravens fans claim the game was controversial because Ben Roethlisberger’s four-yard pass to Santonio Holmes is ruled a touchdown by instant replay officials after he initially was ruled down at the 1-yard line. Still, the Ravens allowed the Steelers to drive 92 yards in 12 plays to win the game.

>>20: Baltimore closes Texas Stadium with a 33-24 win over the Cowboys, overcoming Flacco getting sacked five time in the first half. McClain and McGahee secure the win with fourth quarter touchdown runs of 77 and 82 yards.

>>27: The Ravens clinched the sixth — and final — AFC playoff berth with a 27-7 rout of the Jaguars. Reed has two interceptions for the third time in four games.

JANUARY 2009

>>4: Reed has two interceptions, including one he returns 64 yards for a touchdown, to lead a 27-9 victory over the Dolphins. It’s the Ravens’ first postseason win in seven years.

>>13: Kicker Matt Stover makes a 43-yard touchdown with 53 seconds left to lift his team to a 13-10 victory over Tennessee in Nashville. The Ravens forced three turnovers, but Suggs suffers a serious shoulder injury that could sideline him for today’s game.

>>Today: The Ravens play the Steelers for a berth in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla.

“I look at it as I have an opportunity, one opportunity, to get somewhere that I always dreamed about when I was a kid,” linebacker Bart Scott said. “And that’s playing in the Super Bowl.”

>>Feb. 1: Playing in Super Bowl XLIII?

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