Football Diner 2008 Team Reviews / Previews
Baltimore Ravens
by Ben Stockwell
23/6/2008
 
Overview
 
Coming into last season everything was looking rosy for the Ravens; coming off of a 13-3 season the Ravens defence had found its elite form close to that of the record setting 2000 defence, and the offence had found the efficiency that was set to be the perfect foil to that suffocating defence. Well, the wheels fell off of that bandwagon, big time. The Ravens fell from a 4-2 start to lose their next 9 games (a franchise record) to finish 5-11. Head coach Brian Billick lost his job and both their left tackle and quarterback have retired. Now with rookie head coach John Harbaugh at the helm a new dawn is upon the Ravens franchise. But with a lot of youth on board and a lot of dead money sitting on the cap, there may yet be some gloom before the bright new dawn in Baltimore.
 
Quarterbacks
 
The Kyle Boller era it would seem has come to an end, first round rookie Joe Flacco of Delaware is most certainly the future and there is even doubt as to whether Boller is even the present. For the first time in his career Boller has to compete in a truly open quarterback competition, with a new offensive co-ordinator and a new offence to learn, he must win the starting job outright, not win it by default. This year he faces a three way battle with Troy Smith and Flacco for the starting gig and right now Smith seems to have the lead. Whoever wins it of Smith and Boller is merely keeping the seat warm for Flacco for a year and anything at even a capable level of QB play will be a pleasant surprise this season.
Grade : D-
 
Running Backs
 
Willis McGahee replaced Jamal Lewis at running back last year and the split benefitted both parties: Jamal was re-born behind an upgraded Cleveland Browns line and the Ravens got a back who could catch the ball from the backfield and do more than just run the ball. What the Ravens needed to upgrade and appear to have addressed in this draft is to add depth behind McGahee to let him take some breathers. New offensive co-ordinator Cam Cameron is said to like Ray Rice's running power and low centre of gravity running the ball as well as his hands and instincts catching the ball from the backfield. Second year fullback LeRon McClain should open some big holes for Mr McGahee and Mr Rice.
Grade : B
 
Receivers/Tight Ends
 
The Ravens have one certainty in their receiving corps and it might just be the biggest certainty on the entire roster and that is that Derrick Mason will get open on short routes and fight for passes that he really has no business bringing in with his size and stature. Todd Heap, Mark Clayton and Demetrius Williams are all key contributors whose 2007 campaigns were brought to a grinding halt by injuries. All of them must overcome these injuries and make meaningful and consistent impacts to help both their teams as a whole and also their quarterbacks, who need all the help that they can get from their receiving corps.
Grade : C
 
Offensive Line
 
All change! Barring some strong training camp performances from rookies and veterans, no-one on the Ravens' opening day offensive line in 2008 will start in the same positions that they finished the 2007 season. Jared Gaither replaces the departed Ogden at LT, Ben Grubbs shifts from RG to LG, Jason Brown shifts from LG to C, Marshal Yanda shifts from RT to RG and Adam Terry returns to the starting line up at RT. OK, did you follow all that? Youth is very much the order of the day with this unit, Jason Brown will be charged with marshalling the unit from the middle. The most pressure will fall on Jared Gaither's shoulders to be a competent replacement for Ogden.
Grade : D+
 
Defensive Line
 
Looking at this as a three man line, with Trevor Pryce returning from injury, the Ravens are well set here. With Haloti Ngata and Kelly Gregg inside the Ravens have the most dominating defensive tackle pairing in the entire league. Gregg combines flawless technique, a low centre of gravity and a relentless motor into the perfect run stopping defensive tackle package and Ngata is the perfect athletic foil. Dwan Edwards will be called upon to spell Pryce this year and keep him fresh, with Edwards in the Ravens have a three defensive tackle set which you simply will not run on. This unit is the strongest on the team and when is the foundation to Rex Ryan's schemes at the second and third level.
Grade : A
 
Linebackers
 
A strong unit that is not as great as it once was, but still one of the best and most rounded in the NFL. It suffered for the loss of Adalius Thomas last season, but it would've needed a hopeless optimist to think that wasn't likely. Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Jarrett Johnson and Bart Scott will do as it says on the tin. There's not necessarily an individual elite performer in there anymore (Suggs is the closest thing to this), but this quartet rounds out a front seven that has no glaring weakness. The main desirable improvement here is for Suggs to turn some of his pressures into sacks, the Ravens missed the big play last season from their linebackers.
Grade : A-
 
Secondary
 
At safety the Ravens have an entrenched and high calibre pairing with Ed Reed and Dawan Landry, Reed provides the big plays and Landry does the dirty work, just don't isolate him in space. The concern for the Ravens comes at corner, Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle aren't getting any younger, when they're in there they enable Rex Ryan's scheme to leave them isolated on an island and let Ryan draw up all sorts of crazy blitzes with his other 9 defenders. When those two go down (as they did last year) the scheme hits problems, the depth at corner was exposed last year and the only new face is Fabian Washington who couldn't hold down a starting job in Oakland last season.
Grade : B-
 
Special Teams
 
There will be no changes at punter or in the return game this year; Sam Koch and Yamon Figurs should retain those duties. The camp battle to watch out for is whether Matt Stover has hit the wall. He's struggled in mini camps the last few seasons but recovered in time for the regular season, but as he continues to struggle in mini camps, concerns will grow that the end may be nigh. New head coach John Harbaugh is a former special teams co-ordinator and with signings such as ST ace Brendan Ayanbadejo, he will be looking for this unit to be a strength and something to hang his hat on this season as the rest of the team looks to grow in his identity.
Grade : B-
 
Coaching
 
The fans in Baltimore have responded positively to the hiring of a young and hungry head coach in the shape of John Harbaugh. He is completely unproven but he has been articulate in front of the cameras and said all the right things to show that things will be different in the off-season from under the previous, relaxed camps of Brian Billick. Harbaugh has done an excellent job surrounding himself with experienced coaches on his staff to make up for his comparable lack of experience for a head coach: Cam Cameron and Rex Ryan are amongst the best and most respected co-ordinators in the NFL and if Harbaugh can grow into his role the Ravens will be well set in the coaching department.
Grade : B+
 
Outlook
 
After a tough final season under Brian Billick the Ravens will probably face a tough first season under John Harbaugh. The talent and veteran savvy is there for a solid football team who with the right breaks and big plays in the right places could make a push for .500 or just above, it's not the most likely outcome but it is a possibility and what the team will strive for. The main objectives from this season will be for Cam Cameron to shows signs of improvement on the offence, and particularly for the young offensive line to show signs of cohesion, coming together as a unit. The quality of the defence is beyond reproach and they will no doubt carry their weight and try to drag the team into playoff discussion, but for the time being at least the offence looks to be at best a work in progress. With a vicious schedule including the NFC East and AFC South there are an awful lot of difficult games that a team looking to grow back together must look at as learning experiences to build for the future.