Baltimore Ravens #24

Team: Baltimore Ravens
Division: AFC North
Last Year's Record: 5-11
Head Coach: John Harbaugh
Offensive Coordinator: Cam Cameron
Defensive Coordinator: Rex Ryan

Schedule:
Sept. 7 Cincinnati (CBS) 1:00
Sept. 14 @ Houston (CBS) 4:15
Sept. 21 Cleveland (CBS) 4:15
Sept. 29 @ Pittsburgh (ESPN) 8:30
Oct. 5 Tennessee (CBS) 1:00
Oct. 12 @ Indianapolis (CBS) 1:00
Oct. 19 @ Miami (CBS) 1:00
Oct. 26 Oakland (CBS) 1:00
Nov. 2 @ Cleveland (CBS) 1:00
Nov. 9 Open Date
Nov. 16 @ N.Y. Giants (CBS) 1:00
Nov. 23 Philadelphia (Fox) 1:00
Nov. 30 @ Cincinnati (CBS) 1:00
Dec. 7 Washington (Fox) 1:00
Dec. 14 Pittsburgh (CBS) 1:00
Dec. 20 @ Dallas (NFL) 8:15
Dec. 28 Jacksonville (CBS) 1:00

Key Losses: Mike Flynn
Devard Darling
B.J. Sams
Musa Smith
Steve McNair
Mike Anderson

Key Additions: Brendan Ayanbadejo
Fabian Washington
Frank Walker

Offensive Breakdown: Much like the Bears in the NFC, the Ravens have a dominant defense but not much going for them offensively. There are definite question marks at the quarterback position, and the retirement of Jonathan Ogden leaves a gaping hole at LT. New coach John Harbaugh and new coordinator Cam Cameron look to put some points on the board to give the at-times spectacular defense a chance.


The team took Joe Flacco with the 18th pick in the first round, clearly in a move to have him be the future franchise signal-caller. He probably won't be ready to go in September, so its more than likely going to be Kyle Boller, with Ohio St. legend Troy Smith as the backup. I actually like Smith better, as he is a proven winner who showed signs of promise in the two games he started last year. Boller has a cannon, but the key will be showing that he can be consistent in leading a team and not throwing terrible interceptions.
Willis McGahee stayed healthy all season and put up 1,207 yards to go along with 7 TD's. He is an upper-echelon back who needs to be the focal point of the offense for the team to do anything. Second-year fullback Le'Ron McClain looked ok both as a blocker, and in the passing game. He needs to do more of the former than the latter to truly be effective and has the size at 260 pounds to do so.
The receiving core lacks a true burner, but has quality possession guys with Derrick Mason and the other Mark Clayton. Todd Heap is a top-5 tight end when healthy, but he had problems staying on the field last year, killing many a fantasy team in the process. Mason actually had 103 catches for 1087 yards, but receivers going into their 12th seasons don't exactly gain speed, so Clayton, and Demetrius Williams need to step up.
Losing Ogden will definitely hurt the O-Line, as he has been a beast and a mainstay on the line for 12 seasons. Former Maryland product Jared Gaither looks to step in and fill these gigantic shoes (I'm guessing he had big feet if he's fucking 6'9" 345 lbs, but I don't know the exact measurements). Chris Chester, Ben Grubbs, and Jason Brown are all young, but have played well and helped McGahee gain a lot of yards on the ground last season.

Defensive Breakdown: Again, like the Bears, this is clearly the strongest part of this team, and this unit will ultimately determine whether or not the Ravens are in the playoff hunt.

The Defensive Line will be strong once again, especially up the middle, with Kelly Gregg and Haloti Ngata. Former wrestler Gregg is a master at leverage and positioning, while Ngata is simply huge. The two combined for 121 tackles last year, which is huge coming from the DT position. Trevor Pryce has been an All-Pro in the past, but missed 11 games last season due to injury. He needs to come back strong and get to the quarterback, as the team was lacking in the sack department with him being out. Dwan Edwards looks to hold down the other DE spot.

Future hall of famer Ray Lewis is back for his 13th season, establishing himself as one of the best MLB's of all time in the process. He's clearly slowed down, but he makes up for it by being one of the game's smartest players in terms of always being in the right place. He always seems to come up big in the clutch as well, whether its an INT or a fumble recovery. Bart Scott, Terrell Suggs, and Jarrett Johnson also will be in the LB rotation. The team needs more production from Suggs, as he should be putting up double-digit sack numbers instead of the 5 he had last year. To get back to Ray Lewis, here's a memorable SNL animated skit which made me giggle. (Granted, I was an undergrad at the time, so chances are I was hammered when I viewed it.



The Ravens are strong top to bottom defensively, and the Defensive backfield is no different. Ed Reed is a consistent pro bowl performer, who like his counterpart from the U., seems to always be there to step up and make a big play defensively. He was among the league leaders in INT's with 7. SS Dewan Landry proved to be competent on the other side with 70.5 tackles. Corners Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle aren't so bad themselves, however Rolle has to prove he can come back from seizures from epilepsy, something you don't see on the injury report everyday. Fabian Washington comes in from Oakland and provides good depth and worthy stand-in if one of the others goes down.

Matt Stover is 40 years old, but kickers these can kick well into their 40's so don't expect him to slow down too much. (Imagine if Janikowski kicks into his 40's, this would be a medical phenomenon). He hit 27-32 last year, and comes through when he needs to. Sam Koch averaged a career-best 43.6 yards last year, while Yamon Figurs (I'm stealing that name for my first-born son)will handle the return duties. The Ravens ganked one of my Chicago favorites in Brendan Ayanbadejo, who is simply a demon on the coverage units, surely helping this unit.

Position Grades: QB (C-) Boller is by no means a sure thing, and Flacco is probably a year or two away. Don't be suprised if Troy Smith is starting by midseason.

RB: (B+):McGahee needs to run for 1200 plus yards to help control the clock in the low-scoring games that the team will have to win.

WR: (B-): I don't see Mason putting up those kind of numbers again, and the grade will be higher with Clayton and Williams contributing.

TE: (B+): The only question here is Heap's health. If he's there for 16 games, he will help the passing game and then some. Daniel Wilcox is a threat along the goaline.

OL: (C+): Losing Ogden will sting a bit, but the youngsters should get better.

DL: (B+): Gregg and Ngata can be dominant.

LB: (A-): This will be an A if Lewis doesn't slow down and Suggs plays like he is capable of.

DL: (B): Reed is one of the best safeties in the game, but McAlister and Rolle have to stay on the field. Tom Zbikowski can punch people in the face and play football well (Sorry I'm a Notre Dame homer so I had to give him a shoutout).

Special Teams: (B-) The only question is whether Yamon Brody, I mean Yamon Figurs (sorry I was daydreaming), can provide a steady return presence. I hate the fact that Ayanbadejo is no longer in Chicago.

Analysis: I would have to say that this team could win anywhere between 6-10 games, but that's about as high as I would go. There are too many age/injury question marks that in the highly competitive AFC, should hurt their chances.

Langston's analysis: The Ravens have a lot of good pieces, this teams success will be keyed by the team's QB play.

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