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Houshmandzadeh hopeful for new start after dropped pass

T.J. Houshmandzadeh's last play as a Baltimore Raven might be a dropped pass that ended the team's season.

Needless to say, he isn't happy about that.

"I wish things had ended better," the veteran wide receiver told the *Carroll County Times* in a story posted Wednesday. "I'm not a guy who drops the ball, but I dropped a ball that really matters. Last year was a really bad year for me on the field.

"The last two years have been the most disappointing years I've had. I know people will say I can't play no more. If I get to the right team, I'll shock a lot of people."

Houshmandzadeh was shocked in January when he dropped a perfectly placed fourth-and-18 pass that could have given the Ravens a first down with 1:09 left in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game. But the ball bounced off Houshmandzadeh's chest and fell to the turf, sending the Ravens home with a season-ending 31-24 loss and the AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers to the next round and eventually Super Bowl XLV.

Houshmandzadeh signed a one-year contract with the Ravens last season after being cut by the Seattle Seahawks. And with the Ravens taking wide receivers Torrey Smith and Tandon Doss in the April draft, Houshmandzadeh knows he'll need to find yet another home this year.

"I love the people there," Houshmandzadeh said of the Ravens. "I can't say a bad word about them. I wish I could come back, but I know the dynamic and how it works."

Houshmandzadeh, 33, started just two games for the Ravens -- his fewest since 2002, his second NFL season -- and caught 30 passes for 398 yards and three touchdowns. Despite that decreased production, Houshmandzadeh believes he still has something to offer a team.

"I need to go to the right team and get the right opportunity," he said. "Here's the thing: You can be a good-looking man and you like a woman, but it doesn't matter if she doesn't like you. I want to go to a team that wants me to play for them."

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