Joe Flacco has more wins in his first 3 seasons than any quarterback not named Dan Marino, but there is one thing he’s yet to do and that’s beat Ben Roethlisberger. Flacco has beaten the Steelers twice in those 3 years, but that was when Ben was out of the lineup. Roethlisberger has gotten the best of Flacco in all 6 of their matchups, including twice in the playoffs. Roethlisberger and the Steelers over Joe Flacco and the Ravens was how Baltimore’s season ended last year.

If Flacco is ever going to win a Super Bowl, he’s going most likely going to have to beat Roethlisberger. He’s got a very good shot to do so this season, week 1. The Steelers are Super Bowl runner ups and Super Bowl runner ups typically disappoint in the following season and typically do badly in their season opener. The Steelers also have a history of struggling after making the Super Bowl and they had a lot of offseason distractions. Plus, the game is Baltimore.

If the Ravens can win that game, they might not look back. This is one of the most talented teams in the league and if they can just get over the hump and beat their archrivals, they have the talent to win the division and make a deep playoff run. They did win 12 games last year, remember, though they lost the division to those Steelers. If they do that again this year, they’ll win this division.

Flacco is supported by some solid talent offensively. They had one of the best run blocking lines in the league last year and one of the league’s best running backs in Ray Rice. Rice is also one of, if not the best pass catching back in the league, a huge part of this offense. He will be backed up by Ricky Williams, a talented #2 back. At fullback, they have the league’s best fullback, Vonta Leach.

On the line, Michael Oher starts at left tackle. He had a fantastic rookie season at right tackle, but when he moved to the blindside last year with Jared Gaither hurt, the protagonist of “The Blindside” struggled in pass protection. Hopefully for Flacco, he’ll be better there this year. Opposite Oher, Gaither is gone, but 3^rd round rookie Jah Reid will start at right tackle. He could struggle a bit as a rookie, especially given this lockout. If he does, right guard Marshal Yanda could move outside to right tackle, but then the question would be, who plays at right guard? Do they try Reid there? Do they promote backup Oniel Cousins. The loss of Chris Chester in free agency could end up hurting them.

At center, veteran Matt Birk is expected to start, though he could miss week 1 with a knee injury. At his age, an injury is a huge worry, though centers typically have long shelf lives in the NFL. They have mulled bringing in free agent center Casey Rabach as insurance, a smart idea because undrafted rookie center Ryan Bartholomew is currently 2^nd on the depth chart. At left guard, Ben Grubbs is the only non-question mark on the line. Grubbs is a punishing run blocker and has only allowed 3 sacks in the last 2 seasons combined.

Their receiving corps is also a bit of a question. Anquan Boldin is their #1 receiver. The problem is he’s never proved himself as a #1 guy. He put up nice stats as the #2 to Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona, but as the guy in Baltimore last year, he struggled, especially down the stretch. In his final 10 games, including the playoffs, Boldin had 30 catches for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns, hardly #1 receiver stats. He’s 31 in October so he’s not going to get any better.

Opposite him, veteran Derrick Mason is gone. The Ravens traded a 4^th rounder for Lee Evans recently so he is expected to start. Evans was a talented receiver who possibly just needed a change of scenery in his prime to be recognized as one of the best receivers in the league. Unfortunately, Evans might have gotten his change of scenery too late. The veteran receiver is declining at this point in his career and doesn’t look to have much left, though maybe having Joe Flacco to throw him will prove me wrong.

2^nd round rookie Torrey Smith is expected be the slot receiver. Rookie receivers typically struggle and this lockout won’t help. The good news is that Smith will give them the deep threat they lacked last season and he could become a productive player by late in the season and the playoffs, like Emmanuel Sanders did for the Steelers last season.

At tight end, oft injured veteran Todd Heap is gone, but 2^nd year tight ends Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson should more than fill his void. Between those two tight ends and Ray Rice, Flacco has 3 very good possession receivers, and Boldin still has something left in the tank, but they need a deep threat to step up on the outside. Flacco has one of the strongest arms in the league, but you aren’t maximizing his value unless you have someone to catch his deep throws.

 

Overall, this team isn’t going to win the division because of their offense. They have a winner at the helm who can make the deep throws, but what they are known for is their defense and they once again have one of the league’s best defenses. Terrell Suggs at rush linebacker, Ray Lewis at middle linebacker, Ed Reed at safety, and Haloti Ngata at 3-4 defensive end all are among the league’s best defensive players.

Suggs and Ngata combined for 16.5 sacks last season, but the rest of the team combined for a mere 10.5. They need a 3^rd pass rusher to step up. Arthur Jones has surpassed Cory Redding on the depth chart and will start opposite Ngata at end and Jarrett Johnson will do the same at rush linebacker opposite Suggs. Jones, once a first or second round talent who slipped to the 5^th with injury concerns in 2010, is now fully healthy and could easily step up as that 3^rd pass rusher. However, Johnson had 1.5 sacks last year and he’s never had more than 6 sacks in his career so there’s not a lot of upside with him.

The Ravens are hoping Sergio Kindle can take the nickel rusher job and become a force for them rushing the quarterback. Kindle, a 2^nd round pick in 2010, didn’t play a snap last season after a scary fractured skull injury. Fortunately, that injury didn’t end up ending his career. He’ll be someone to watch in the preseason for them.

Kindle is not the only 2010 2^nd round pick expected to make an impact for this defense. Terrence Cody will start at nose tackle with veteran Kelly Gregg gone. He’s had weight problems in the past so we’ll see how he handles playing a lot of snaps this season. If he can, he’ll be a defensive force them in the middle of that 3-4 line.

If he can’t, I don’t know what they’ll do. They don’t have a proven nose tackle on the roster. Haloti Ngata would probably have to move inside and Cory Redding, a marginal player and an incumbent starter on the line, would play end. 2009 2^nd round pick Paul Kruger or rookie 5^th rounder Pernell McPhee could also play end. McPhee will be hurt by the lockout and Kruger, once a promising prospect, has done next to nothing in 2 years in the league.

Of course, you can’t talk about this defense without talking about Ray Lewis. He seems to be an ageless wonder. Lewis, now 36, is still playing at a Pro-Bowl level. The issue is who will play next to him inside at middle linebacker. Jameel McClain is a marginal player. He is penciled in as the starter once again while Tavares Gooden and Dannell Ellerbe wait in the wings.

Though they use a 3-4 base defense, they do play some 4-3. In a 4-3 alignment, Haloti Ngata moves inside with Terrence Cody. Terrell Suggs plays on the line, where he also plays well. Arthur Jones is the left end in this alignment. Their 3 linebackers are Jarrett Johnson, a much better player in a 4-3, Ray Lewis in the middle, and then Jameel McClain rounding things out.

At corner, they lost talented #2 corner Josh Wilson in free agency, but they resigned Chris Carr, a talented #1. Lardarius Webb will step into the starting lineup in place of Wilson. He is now fully healthy. They also have first round pick Jimmy Smith as their #3 cornerback. In a league where so many teams go 3 deep at wide receiver, it’s very valuable for this team to go 3 deep at cornerback. They had the 2^nd best pass defense in the league last year, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they did that again.

At safety, Ed Reed is one of the league’s best players, when he’s healthy. Reed has missed 10 games in the last 2 seasons, but led the league with 8 picks last year despite missing the first 6 games of the season. However, if he goes down with an injury, all of a sudden this safety unit looks pretty bleak. 3 marginal players, free agent acquisition Bernard Pollard and top backups Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski, will compete for Dawan Landry’s old spot at strong safety. Landry signed in Jacksonville this offseason and was one of the best run stuffing safeties in the league last year.

Overall, this team does have some holes. However, they have plenty of talent on the defensive end and good leadership and a good running game on the offensive end. They aren’t an elite team, but they’re one of the best 2^nd tier teams in the league and with the Steelers having a down year, according to my predictions, that should be enough to win the division. I don’t consider them a legitimate Super Bowl contender, but at the same time, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if they did win it all.

Quarterback: B

Running backs: A-

Receiving corps: C+

Offensive line: B-

Pass rush: C+

Run defense: A-

Pass coverage: A

Coaching: B-

Projection: 12-4 1^st in AFC North

 

By Derek Arnold 

On Sunday, the Ravens lost.

They lost to a very good football team.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and a Hall-of-Fame quarterback.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, who had two weeks to rest and prepare.

They lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, who had two weeks to rest and prepare, on the road.

All of that, I can deal with.

What makes this loss so difficult to stomach is what I neglected to mention above…

On Sunday, the Ravens lost to a very good football team with a Hall-of-Fame head coach and quarterback, who had two weeks to rest and prepare, on the road…in a game in which they held a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.

Yeah. That last point is the inexcusable part. For the first 45 minutes of the game, the Ravens beat the Patriots up and down the field, building a 20-10 lead with 14:57 remaining. What was unfortunate, and what ultimately proved to be the difference in the game, was that in the four plays prior to Billy Cundiff’s 25-yard field goal gave the Ravens what would be their final points for the day, Ravens’ receivers dropped two potential touchdown passes. On the first, Anquan Boldin was separated from the ball by a New England safety after a perfect strike from Joe Flacco from 20 yards out. On the second, Derrick Mason heard footsteps and couldn’t haul in what should have been a seven-yard score.

Sure, both plays would have required impressive, if not spectacular, catches. But both Boldin and Mason got two hands on the ball, and in the NFL, those passes should have been caught – especially by veterans like those two. If they are, this recap likely has a much different tone.

Compounding the problem was that, after that series, the Ravens offense (both playcalling and execution) seemed to climb aboard the plane back to Baltimore. With the exception of an 18-yard pass from Flacco to Boldin on the opening play of their next drive, the Ravens offense went 3-and-out, 3-and-out, 3-and-out on their next three possessions of regulation and overtime. The aforementioned Boldin completion came with 10:24 left in the fourth. The Ravens would not pick up another first down until the 10:17 mark of overtime – over a full quarter of play.

Three plays after that 10:24 first down, a sequence that could likely be pointed to as the pivotal one of the game unfolded.

On 3rd-and-1 from their own 47, leading 20-17, Cam Cameron called for a quarterback sneak. A play which, for anyone watching, was obviously doomed from the start. Flacco attempted to go through Pats’ defensive linemen Vince Wilfork and Greg Warren, and didn’t have a prayer.

The talk radio lines will no doubt be lighting up this week with people blaming Cameron for the odd call, and Flacco for not recognizing the defense and audibling out of the play. What is likely to be an even greater point of contention this week in B’More, though, is what happened next.

Facing 4th-and-the length of the football, Coach John “you have to put teams away when you have the chance” Harbaugh elected to punt. To punt the ball back to Tom Brady and the Patriots offense, who were fresh off an 8-play, 60-yard drive where they faced only a single first down, in that situation…puzzling, to say that least. To say a bit more, it was the kind of decision that we just aren’t used to seeing from Harbaugh, who has proven during his 2+ years as the head coach, that he has plenty of “balls” in those type of situations. This time, though, he went timid, and the Ravens paid dearly.

It wasn’t just Harbaugh that went into a shell in the fourth quarter and overtime though. He took the entire Baltimore coaching staff with him.

Cam Cameron stopped picking on the Patriots’ secondary.

Greg Mattison gave Brady the short underneath stuff in the passing game, and Brady took it eagerly.

Now, give New England credit. As mentioned, they have a great coaching staff of their own, and those guys made the necessary adjustments. They took away Flacco’s passing lanes. They threw quick screen after quick screen on offense. They did what was necessary to win the game. What the Ravens’ coaches were up to is anybody’s guess.

Flacco played very well all day, going 27/35 for 285 yards and two touchdowns. I don’t know if the Ravens’ coaches’ tentative mentality was preached to Joe on the sideline during the fourth quarter or what, but he wasn’t the same after those two dropped touchdown passes. He seemed much more willing to check down to Ray Rice, even though Rice was routinely swarmed by New England linebackers.

That’s another area where New England must be commended – they were not going to let Rice destroy them like he did in the two 2009 meetings. Although there seemed to be some nice holes on the Ravens’ opening drive, ultimately Rice ran the ball 28 times for just 88 yards, and his long of the day was just eight. He added eight receptions for 38 yards, but really wasn’t a major factor in the game.

Which brings us to the next puzzling thing about the gameplan of the Ravens’ staff…

Where the hell was Willis McGahee???

McGahee did not see a single touch in Foxborough, and I’m not even positive he was at the stadium. Sure, I was calling for Rice to take over goalline duties from Willis, but to just leave #23 on the sideline all afternoon? Especially considering the relative lack of success that Rice was having? It just makes absolutely no sense to me that McGahee was never even inserted as a sort of change-of-pace, and I’ll be anticipating how Cameron and Harbaugh explain that fact this week.

Before we wrap up, we can’t excuse the Ravens’ defense or special teams here either. While it’s commendable to hold New England to just 23 points, after they had put up 38 in each of their prior two home games, there were some disturbing signs from the “D.”

First off, what the hell is it with the Ravens’ inability to stop white running backs? We all remember Peyton Hillis running roughshod over them in week 2, and in Foxborough, Danny Freakin’ Woodhead had 63 yards and 5.7 per carry. They also had a hell of a time tackling Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, and Deion Branch, allowing the Pats to rack up an incredible amount of YAC, after doing such a great job against the Denver Broncos last week.

Next, Mattison’s insistence to only rush three men so often is starting to cost the team. By now we know not to expect the kind of blitzes that we saw when Rex Ryan was in town, but giving Tom Brady 5 or 6 seconds to find a receiver down near the end zone isn’t a recipe for success in any universe. I don’t care if the Ravens emptied the bench and put 12 guys in the end zone covering Pats’ receivers, if Brady can basically take his helmet off back there and stand flat footed, he’s going to find someone. And that’s exactly what he did to get New England to within 20-17. With the exception of Haloti Ngata, the Ravens’ pass rush was disturbingly non-existent, especially considering the past success they have had against the Patriots.

Finally, we come to special teams. While they never came up with the huge game-breaker that we feared, and that they used to beat Miami in week 4, New England was clearly the superior unit on Sunday.

Jalen Parmele needs to be out of a job. His indecision/terrible decisions cost the Ravens a good bit of field position on at least two occasions.

Neither Chris Carr nor Tom Zbikowski can generate anything on punt returns. And when it seems like they just MIGHT, it’s always because someone else is illegally blocking or holding. On top of that, their refusal to come up and field punts that aren’t hit directly to them cost the team additional field position several times. It’s a sad state of affairs for the Ravens’ return games.

Even Billy Cundiff, despite his three touchbacks, had a costly gaffe. After going up 20-10, Cundiff’s ensuing kickoff squirted out of bounds at about the two yard line…two yards too soon, which resulted in the Patriots starting at their own 40-yard line.

The Ravens outplayed the Patriots for three quarters Sunday. Despite the Pats having two weeks to prepare, the Ravens appeared ready to take their best shot and bring a 5-1 record back to B’More.

Unfortunately, they were outplayed and (thoroughly) outcoached during the final quarter and the overtime period, and 4-2 is the result.

Still not a terrible place to be, after four tough road games, and with only a home game against Buffalo standing between us and the bye week.

Oh, and a certain guy who wears #20 is rumored to be coming back this week.

Things could be worse.

http://www.bmorebirdsnest.com/

By Derek Arnold 

For the third time in just over a calendar year, the Ravens travel to Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots on their home turf. So will this trip end in heartbreak like the 2009 regular season meeting, or in jubilation as the playoff matchup did?

The Patriots have won 22 consecutive regular season home games.

They are coming off their bye week, a situation in which Bill Belichick coached teams are 8-2 since 2000, and have not lost since 2002.

In short, it won’t be easy, but if the Ravens play a solid game, they could have the talent on both sides of the ball to hand the Patriots their well overdue post-bye week loss.

Tom Brady is having another stellar season so far in 2010, completing 69.7 percent of his passes for 911 yards and 9 touchdowns to go with only two interceptions. In the first meeting with Baltimore last year, “Tom Terrific” was just that, going 21/32 for 258 yards and a critical touchdown to Randy Moss. In the playoff game however, a time during which Tom has been exceptional during his career, the Ravens held Brady to 23/42 for 154 yards, and picked him off three times. One area in which B’More has had success against the Patriots, though, is in pressuring Brady. They sacked him three times in each of those 2009 meetings, and Terrell Suggs especially seems to dominate Pats’ left tackle Matt Light. Even last season, when Suggs was generally playing poorly, he got to Brady and forced a fumble in both games. He, and the rest of the Ravens’ pass rush, will need to be equally effective against Brady, who has only been sacked five times in four games, on Sunday.

The Pats’ offense is also dealing with the much ballyhooed departure of All-World wide receiver Randy Moss, who was traded to Minnesota during New England’s bye week. Moss was not particularly effective against the Ravens last year (managing just 8 catches for 98 yards and 1 score total in the two games), but his presence on the field undeniably opens things up for the Patriots’ very strong underneath passing game. Guys like Wes Welker, and more recently Julian Edelman, have found great success running routes against linebackers with Moss taking the coverage deep with him. New England reacquired Super Bowl XXXIX MVP Deion Branch from Seattle, and he and second-year wideout Brandon Tate will try to pick up Moss’s slack.

Perhaps the more dangerous weapon in the Patriots’ passing attack Sunday will be rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez, out of the University of Florida, has 18 receptions for 240 yards already (for comparison’s sake, Moss had 9 for 139), and at 6′1″ 245 lbs., could pose a big matchup problem for the Ravens. Ravens’ linebackers struggled mightily in pass coverage in the preseason, and will have their hands full this week. As a whole, the Ravens’ 2nd-ranked pass defense will face easily their biggest challenge of the young season. Though Kyle Orton managed over 300 yards last week, the defense held him in check while it mattered, allowing the offense to build a comfortable lead through the early part of the game, before Orton racked up some yards with the game out of hand. Even sans Moss, they’ll have to play their best game of the year to beat Brady and the Patriots.

On the other side of the ball, the Ravens have a clear advantage over the Pats’ young and struggling defense. New England is 29th overall and 28th against the pass, so Joe Flacco and the Ravens’ passing game could be in for a big day. In the playoff game, of course, it was Ray Rice and the running attack that won the game, racking up 234 total yards on the ground. Flacco, meanwhile, was just 4/10 for 34 yards and an interception. I don’t expect New England to allow such a one-dimensional attack to be successful again, so B’More will have to be much more balanced from the start to have a chance. Fortunately, with the additions of Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, along with Todd Heap and Ed Dickson, the Ravens have plenty of weapons to turn to, should New England shut down the run as they were unable to do in January.

One area where the New England defense has excelled is in catching errant passes from opposing quarterbacks. The Patriots have seven interceptions, tied for third highest in the NFL, through just four games. Let’s hope Flacco leaves his patented “back foot floater” at home, or he could be in for a long day.

The Patriots’ special teams have also been a strength, as evidenced by their single-handedly costing the Miami Dolphins’ special teams coach his job two weeks ago. Brandon Tate is averaging over 33 yards per kick return, and the Patriots have blocked several punts. Fortunately for the Ravens, they have the ultimate special teams trump cards in their excellent kickers. Billy Cundiff has 11 touchbacks already this season, and Sam Koch’s incredible directional punting skills were on full display against the Broncos’ dangerous returner Eddie Royal. Although the Ravens’ return games have been disappointing as a whole in 2010, the coverage has been solid, and John Harbaugh’s special teams background could be a great asset for the team in Foxborough.

Now, when you see my prediction, some may accuse me of “flip-flopping” or of pandering to the audience earlier in the week when I picked the Patriots to win in my chat with Foxboroblog.

However, I did that interview on Tuesday, and in the days since then I have been convinced otherwise. Through listening to the local and national pundits, and watching Playbook on the NFL Network, I’m now much more confident that the Ravens can pull out a victory against the favored Patriots.

Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston says he “can’t figure out how” the Patriots will beat the Ravens.

All three guys (Brian Billick, Sterling Sharpe, Joe Theisman) on NFL Network picked the Ravens.

All the Boston-area media who were guests on Baltimore talk radio this week picked the Ravens.

Six of the 8 ESPN personalities picked the Ravens (even Steeler-loving Raven-hater Merrill Hoge!)

Bill Belichick was the one that called Steve Bisciotti nearly three years ago and told him to hire John Harbaugh. He regretted that phone call, if just a bit, last January. Let’s hope he regrets it again, just a bit, Sunday.

Ravens win in a squeaker. 

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By Derek Arnold 

This Sunday, the Ravens travel to Charlotte for the second of three consecutive clashes with the NFC South.  They managed a 3-1 record against the AFC East this season, and after last week’s heartbreaking loss to Atlanta, that’s the best they can hope for against the other conference this year.  The Carolina Panthers offer a great opportunity to put the Falcons’ loss firmly in the rear view, and get back on the winning side of things.

Carolina has been bitten by the injury bug in an extreme fashion in 2010.  They are down to their third string running back, having lost both members of their very potent two-headed rushing attack.  DeAngleo Williams was just this week placed on season-ending IR with a foot arch injury, and Jonathan Stewart is dealing with a concussion.  Third stringer Mike Goodson put up 100 yards against Tampa last week, but is nowhere near the dynamic talent that Williams and Stewart are.  On top of that, the Ravens looked to have gotten their run defense shored up, holding Michael Turner to just 39 yards last Thursday.

Rookie defensive lineman Terrence Cody had his best game to date, racking up five tackles and doing a great job of clogging up the middle of the line.  Brandon McKinney has been a healthy scratch for the last two games, but many Ravens fans would much rather see Kelly Gregg as the inactive DL at this point.  “Buddy Lee” is having a sub-par year, and McKinney was playing very well before sitting out against Miami and Atlanta.  With Haloti Ngata, McKinney, and now Cody playing well, running the ball against the Ravens could suddenly be, if not quite as impossible as it’s been in the past, still quite a task.  Regardless, Goodson shouldn’t find much room on Sunday.

The Panthers are also banged up at quarterback.  They lost Matt Moore for the season with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, and rookie Jimmy Clausen is out against the Ravens due to a concussion.  Instead of going with the other rookie signal caller already on the roster, Tony Pike from Cincinnati, Carolina head coach John Fox decided to go instead with Brian St. Pierre, signed just this week.  If St. Pierre’s name sounds familiar, that’s because he was the Ravens’ 3rd-string QB in 2005.  In his 8-year NFL career, he has thrown just 5 passes.  Needless to say, the Pierre-led Panthers present the perfect opportunity for the Ravens to rebound after being gashed through the air by Matt Ryan last week.  While shutting down St. Pierre and the Carolina passing attack won’t impress anybody, it certainly beats the alternative, which would be making him look like Johnny Unitas, as they did with Ryan Fitzpatrick back in Week 7.

On the other side of the ball, the Ravens are dealing with their continuing struggles to get on the board early in road games.  It was a popular topic of conversation around Ravens blogs and B’More talk radio all week, and at this point there is no denying their troubling tendency to come out of the gates extremely lame.  While these slow starts have been something Joe Flacco has seemingly been prone to as a whole for at least the last two seasons, the problems are even more magnified on the road, where the Ravens offense averages just 1.2 points in the first quarter over their last 11 games.  The coaching staff is obviously well aware of the problem – at this point the burden falls on them to get it fixed.  While it’s nice to see Anquan Boldin going off on his offensive teammates on the sideline when they need it – especially when it results in a touchdown on the very next possession, as it did in Atlanta – that’s not the kind of thing you want to see from a playoff-bound team.  Much more preferable would be to never see those long stretches of anemic play from the offensive unit.

Again, Carolina offers the Ravens a chance to cure what ails them.  The Panthers have trailed by a touchdown or more at halftime in five of their nine games this season.  They boast the fifth-ranked pass defense in the NFL, but let’s not kid ourselves; those numbers are a direct result of teams jumping out to a comfortable lead and then spending the majority of the second half running the ball and killing the clock.  With the #27 run defense, the Panthers offer little resistance in that area, and Ray Rice and Willis McGahee should be in for big days.

As we do every time our boys clash with a clearly inferior opponent, we have to remind our fellow Ravens fans – many of whom still have visions of Miami in 2007 dancing through their heads – that this is the kind of game John Harbaugh’s teams just don’t lose.  While they nearly wet the bed against Buffalo, that performance was much more the exception than the rule.  At this point, the Panthers are basically fielding a junior varsity NFL team.  Seriously…Brian St. Pierre.  Joe Flacco, Joe Flacco’s backup (Mark Bulger), and even Joe Flacco’s backup’s backup (emergency quarterback Anquan Boldin) would give Carolina a better chance on Sunday.  Some Panthers fans are angry because they see the St. Pierre move as John Fox basically begging for an in-season firing.

Last year, December games against Chicago and Detroit offered the Ravens a great chance to pad their record, a chance which they took full advantage of.  This December’s slate is none so kind, but these final two games in November – at Carolina and at home against the Bucs – offer a similar opportunity for the 2010 Ravens.  To solidify their position going into a grueling stretch run over the season’s final five weeks, the Ravens need to rip off wins here over the next two.

There are 30 other teams who wish they were playing the Panthers this weekend.  There is absolutely no excuse for this game to even be close.

Go back to Ravens Fan Spot 

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Offensive Tackle

The Ravens signed Bryant McKinnie right before the season and he did a solid job at left tackle this year, though he declined down the stretch. However, McKinnie will be 33 this offseason and has a history of weight problems, hence why he was available right before the season. Michael Oher has proven to be so much better on the right side in his career (ironically for the star of the Blindside novel), so the Ravens should start looking for a new left tackle. Unfortunately, this is a weak class for left tackles and they don’t pick until 29, so they may have to settle for a developmental prospect. They drafted Jah Reid in the 3^rd round last year, but his long term future may be guard.

Middle Linebacker

Ray Lewis will return for the 2012 season, but there are no guarantees about 2013 for him. Remember, he’ll be 38 heading into that season. Even if he can stay play at a high level (wouldn’t doubt it), he just might not want to. Meanwhile, they lack a solid starter inside next to him when they go to a 3-4. Expect them to target a young linebacker, groom him next to Lewis and have him eventually take over in 2013 or 2014. Dont’a Hightower makes a lot of sense if he’s available at 29.

Rush Linebacker

It may sound weird because their 48 sacks was one of the highest totals in the league, but only Terrell Suggs had more than 5.5 sacks this season. When Suggs struggled in the playoffs, they couldn’t get to the quarterback. They need to find someone else capable for doing so. Jarrett Johnson is great in coverage and against the run, but isn’t much of a threat rushing the passer. He might not even be back anyway as he’s a free agent and may leave to join Chuck Pagano in Indianapolis. They need a capable pass rusher opposite Suggs.

 

Safety

It might sound unbelievable, but Ed Reed turns 34 in September. He’s had some injuries in his past so he might not be someone you can count on for 3-4 more years. They should look for a successor for him. In the meantime, they could use someone to play next to him. They missed Dawan Landry this season. Bernard Pollard was only good for injuring Rob Gronkowski and he’s a free agent anyway.

Center

Matt Birk is another aging player the Ravens have. The NFL’s Man of the Year, Birk turns 36 this offseason and, always a class act, has offered to train his eventual successor. They should try to find one through the draft.

Running Back

Ricky Williams is retired. However, they need someone to spell Ray Rice for a few carries per game, assuming Rice is resigned, but it sounds like he’ll be franchised so he should be back next season.

Guard

Ben Grubbs is another prominent free agent of the Ravens. They shelled out big bucks to Marshal Yanda opposite him last year and they might not be able to give Grubbs what he wants. If he leaves, 2011 3^rd round pick Jah Reid could be an internal replacement. If not, they may have to go external.

 

() FA Rank

QB Marc Bulger

RB Jalen Parmele

RB Matt Lawrence (exclusive rights)

FB Le’Ron McClain 

WR TJ Houshmanzadeh

OT Jared Gaither

OT Oniel Cousins

OT Tony Moll

G Marshal Yanda

G Chris Chester

G Bryan Mattison

NT Lamar Divens- resigned

NT Kelly Talavou

3-4 DE Haloti Ngata (#4)- franchised

Haloti Ngata is one bad dude. He’s 355 pounds and moves like a linebacker. He’s one of the best defensive linemen in the league and should be paid as such.

RLB Prescott Burgess

MLB Jameel McClain (exclusive rights)

MLB Dannell Ellerbe (exclusive rights)

MLB Tavares Gooden

CB Chris Carr (#49)

Carr broke out this season, just in time for a new contract. The Ravens front 7 play may have helped him out big time.

CB Josh Wilson

CB Fabian Washington

CB Cary Williams

S Dawan Landry

S Tom Zbikowski

S Haruki Nakamura

P Sam Koch- resigned 5 years

Offseason moves:

Resigned Lamar Divens

Franchised Haloti Ngata

Resigned Sam Koch

Draft

 

By Derek Arnold 

Well, if the Atlanta Falcons weren’t the worst team ever in the history of teams, the Ravens could be sitting in first place in the AFC North this morning without having yet even played a down in 2010. The Bengals came out looking like the Bungles of old against the Patriots before getting things together in the second half and making the final score a respectable 38-24, and the Browns were undone by two Jake Delhomme interceptions (raise your hands if you’re surprised…anyone? anyone?) down in Tampa. Pittsburgh, however, pulled another one out of their rear ends, winning despite going four full quarters without scoring a touchdown.

So the Ravens miss out on the ridiculously meaningless chance to enter their Monday Night showdown with the Jets with an early 0.5 game lead in the AFC North. No matter. At this point its all about results on the field anyway.

And those results will come after a week of jabber-jawing between these two teams, smack talk which is sure to continue well after the opening kickoff. The Ravens and Jets would be wise to keep the extracurriculars to a minimum, however, as the officiating crew set to watch over this one is the same group that was on the field for the FLAGSFLAGSFLAGSFLAGS Game, which saw an incredible 310 collective penalty yards. I think about 270 of those were Frank Walker’s though, so maybe we’ll be ok.

As long as the zebras let them play, this game could easily be the most smash-mouth, hard-hitting contest of Week 1. They say familiarity breeds contempt, and if that holds true, the hate will be palpable on the field in East Rutherford Monday Night. The Jets’ roster and coaching staff are, as has been well documented, littered with former Ravens.

However, some important things have changed since guys like Rex Ryan, Bart Scott, and Jim Leonhard left B’More. Most notably are the emergence of Ray Rice as a budding superstar, and the addition of some other quality weapons to Joe Flacco’s arsenal, including wide receivers Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and tight end Ed Dickson. The threat of the 3-headed monster Ravens’ backfield still exists as it did when Rex was still going up against the Ravens’ O in practice every day, but the Ravens have since obviously put much more effort into becoming a team that can more efficiently move the football through the air.

Moving the ball in general Monday night, whether through the air or on the ground, will prove difficult against Rex’s Jets.

New York had the #1 defense in the NFL in 2009, #1 against the pass and #8 against the run. That scary-good pass defense has the potential to be even better in 2010, having been bolstered by the offseason acquisitions of cornerbacks Antonio Cromartie and Kyle Wilson, a rookie out of Boise State. As everyone has heard 10,000 times by now, they will also be with Darrelle Revis, thought by many to be the best CB in the league. Flacco and all his fancy new weapons will have their work cut out for them.

Surprisingly, even with Rex’s complex blitz schemes, the Jets had only 32 sacks in 2009, the same number as the Ravens (tied for 18th in the NFL). While the numbers don’t really back up the reputation of the Jets as a get-after-the-passer type team, the Ravens have some questions on the offensive line that make us uneasy regardless. Jared Gaither’s back issues will keep him out, and Oniel Cousins is still dealing with some headaches after suffering a concussion in the preseason, but is expected to start at right tackle. If his noggin starts to hurt, or if his play is poor, the Ravens will likely move right guard Marshal Yanda to right tackle, and insert Chris Chester at right guard. This may be the safest course of action anyway, but the Ravens seem willing to start with Yanda in his more natural spot. If Cousins is effective, this is easily the Ravens’ strongest offensive line alignment in Gaither’s absence.

The Ravens have shown a fair amount of the “slow-hurry” no-huddle offense during the preseason, and Flacco looked very comfortable doing so, especially against the New York Giants. This is something that Ravens fans can attest Rex Ryan’s defenses always struggle to defend against. The issue will be whether or not Flacco can run this offense in what is sure to be an extremely loud New Meadowlands Stadium. He has used a silent snap count in the past, and while it will be a challenge, it could still be the best kryptonite to counter the Jets’ defense.

On the other side of the ball, its surprising how everyone is still talking up the Jets’ rushing attack, which was also #1 in the league last year, despite leading rusher Thomas Jones departing for Kansas City. Sure, Shonn Green may be able to step in and seamlessly continue Gang Green’s dominant ground attack, but let’s make him prove it before we go ahead and just assume they will be as effective this season as last. I’d feel much better about the Ravens defense against this Jets rushing attack were rookie Terrence “Mount” Cody playing. Cody will miss the game with knee issues, and Kelly Gregg will have to play like the Buddy Lee of old to make up for the giant rookie’s absence. Stopping the Jets running game, especially if the offense can jump out and put some points up early, will put the game squarely on the shoulders of second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez, which, conventional wisdom suggests, plays right into B’More’s hands.

Sanchez was just good enough as a rookie, getting his team to the AFC Championship despite throwing 20 picks to just 12 touchdowns, with a QB rating of 63.0. This preseason he hasn’t looked any better, throwing 2 scores and 2 interceptions. Much ado has been made of the Ravens’ issues in the secondary, but it hasn’t looked all that bad so far in the “fake” games. With the potential return of Lardarius Webb, a game-time decision, the chance is there for the Ravens to lock down the Jets’ passing game, which will be missing perennial Raven-killer (while he was in Pittsburgh) Santonio Holmes, who is suspended for the first four games.

More concerning has been the play of the linebackers against the pass. Jets’ tight end Dustin Keller caught 45 passes in 2008, and could cause the Ravens problems. The best defense against Keller may be to crank up the pass rush on Sanchez, so that they are forced to keep their tight ends in to block, much as the Ravens have been forced to do with Todd Heap in the past.

The build-up to this game has been a bit extreme, and admittedly probably tiresome for fans that don’t quite care for these two teams (which, if we’re honest, is MOST NFL fans). Like Ray, we’re all just ready to see them “strap up their chinstraps” at this point.

The Jets seem all too willing to take the torch from the Ravens as the league’s most brash, heaviest trash-talking, and generally universally despised team. What better way to officially pass said torch than to treat the Nation to a very public shutting-up of Rex and his yet-to-win-anything squad?

http://www.bmorebirdsnest.com/ 

 

By Derek Arnold 

Just four days after dispatching of “the other” other quarterback taken in the first two rounds of the 2008 Draft, Chad Henne (to the point that he was benched), Joe Flacco has the chance to take on the guy with which his fortunes will be forever linked and compared, fellow 2008 first round draft pick Matt Ryan.

While Ryan is in no danger of suffering a Henne-like benching no matter how bad the Ravens may (hopefully) make him look Thursday night, it would no doubt mean a lot to Joe to take a 1-0 series lead over the Atlanta franchise savior.

Like Flacco, Ryan has started since day one, making those formerly sad-sack Falcons fans forget all about Mike Vick and his endless string of “Bad Newz.” Those old stories about the Ravens wanting Ryan, and nearly trading up to take him, in the 2008 draft have resurfaced again this week. Regardless of how much truth there is in these “war room legends,” the fact remains that both Baltimore and Atlanta are extremely satisfied with their young signal callers.

The two have nearly identical stats through their first two-plus years in the league…eerily similar, some would say:

Flacco: 8501 yards, 47 TD, 30 INT, 85.8 QB Rating, 26-14 Regular Season, 3-2 Playoffs
Ryan: 8305, 51, 30, 85.7, 26-12, 0-1

Ridiculously similar production, both in stats and in wins. The two also both became the first rookie quarterbacks to start all 16 games for their teams during a season in which they qualified for the post-season.

Enough history, though.

While “Flacco vs. Ryan” is the main event headliner that the NFL is using to drum up interest in this game, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that the guys who are truly going to decide the outcome of this match up are the guys on the undercard. Namely….

Ray Rice/Willis McGahee vs. Michael Turner/Jason Snelling

While both quarterbacks are taking greater control of their respective offenses here in their third years, the ground games are still the straws that stir the drink in both B’More and Hotlanta.

For the Ravens, Ray Rice and Willis McGahee have combined for 1121 yards from scrimmage (837 rushing, 284 receiving) and seven touchdowns (6 rushing, 1 receiving.) Throw in Le’Ron “Spit Train” McClain and you can tack on another 146 total yards.

For the Falcons, Michael Turner and Jason Snelling have put up 1172 yards from scrimmage (974 rushing, 198 receiving) and eight touchdowns (7 rushing, 1 receiving.)

That’s some impressive productions out of the backfields for both squads.

While the Ravens inched back into the upper half of the NFL in run defense on the heels of holding the Miami Dolphins to just 73 yards, we’re not quite convinced that they’ve gotten things totally straightened out. Perhaps the Dolphins’ opening drive, during which Ronnie Brown completely gashed the Ravens’ defense, was really just a result of them knocking the rust off after the bye week, but there’s no way to really know, since Miami inexplicably had abandoned the running game by the second quarter.

Turner stands 5’10” and weighs in at 244 lbs. Think Peyton Hillis of the Browns…but faster. I’ll wait while you go get a drink…

Back with me? Alright then.

Coming out of the bye, the Ravens paid lip service to the fact that they addressed their run gap coverage and tackling issues during the extra week. Then they came out and were immediately dressed in a clown suit by Ronnie Brown. They’ll have to prove that they really did patch up those gaping holes in the ground game on Thursday, because the Falcons won’t be nearly as quick to stop feeding Turner the rock as Miami was with Brown.

Not that things get any easier once Turner is slowed down. The Falcons have one of the best wide receivers in the NFL in Roddy White. Even though he was banged up last week against Tampa and missed practice this week, White is expected to play. White at even 70 or 80% is a formidable challenge for this Ravens secondary. Josh Wilson is expected to start in place of Fabian Washington, who has found his way to the bench in each of the last two games. Wilson played strongly against Buffalo and Miami. Lardarius Webb has been uneven so far in 2010, getting beat for a long pass along the sideline by Brian Hartline last week.

The Falcons also have All-World tight end Tony Gonzalez. Although he’s getting a bit long in the tooth, Gonzalez is still a big part of what the Falcons do offensively, especially if White isn’t playing at full strength. The hope here is that Ryan is unprepared for the master ballhawk that is Ed Reed, and that Reed is able to bait him into a bad throw or two.

Just in case I have to completely spell it out for you after all that – I’m not at all convinced that the Ravens can stifle the Atlanta attack. I think holding them in the lower 20s for the game should be considered a minor victory. Now, whether or not that minor victory can translate into a true victory in the standings will rest on the shoulders of the offense.

We’ve heard since summer that this was supposed to be the year that the Ravens’ offense can step up and bail the defense out. Thursday night in Atlanta should be a prime opportunity for the O to put up or shut up.

The Falcons defense is tough to figure out. They’re small and fast on the defensive line and in the linebacking corps, leading Sun columnist Mike Preston to predict that the Ravens will have no problem pushing them around and controlling the ball, clock, and game. However, as fellow Sun writer Jamison Hensley points out, the Falcons have gone from the 26th ranked defense against the run to the 6th over their past six games. Unlike the Ravens, who so far just SAY they’ve figured out this run defense thing, with the Falcons, the numbers back up that claim.

The secondary is equally schizophrenic. They are ranked 26th, giving up over 250 yards per game. Despite that, they are tied for 3rd in the NFL with 13 interceptions. Flacco hasn’t thrown a pick in 129 passes, the longest streak of his career; however, those who watched the Bills and Dolphins games know that there were certainly a few during those 129 that could have easily been picked off. The Falcons don’t drop interceptions, so Flacco will have to earn it if he wishes that streak to continue.

This was a game that, at the start of the season, many Ravens fans had circled as a loss.  Nothing that either team has done through the first eight games can justifiably alter that prediction.  A short week, going on the road, playing against a fellow Super Bowl hopeful, with a quarterback who is 17-1 all-time in his home stadium, in an environment (dome) where they are historically dismal (2-9 all time).  If the Ravens are to win this game, they’ll have to overcome a lot of things that aren’t working in their favor.

Which will make it all the sweeter when they do.

http://www.bmorebirdsnest.com/

Go back to Ravens Fan Spot

 

OT Levy Adcock (Oklahoma State)

G Brandon Brooks (Miami-OH)

CB Ron Brooks (LSU)

MLB Zach Brown (North Carolina)

G Gino Gradkowski (Delaware)

S Brandon Hardin (Oregon State)

WR Stephen Hill (Georgia Tech)

CB Buddy Jackson (Pittsburgh)

WR A.J. Jenkins (Illinois)

RLB Cam Johnson (Virginia)

C Ben Jones (Georgia)

MLB Mychal Kendricks (California)

CB Dre Kirkpatrick (Alabama)

C Peter Konz (Wisconsin)

RB Isaiah Pead (Cincinnati)

CB Josh Robinson (UCF)

WR Nelson Rosario (UCLA)

S Phillip Thomas (Syracuse)

MLB Bobby Wagner (Utah State)

 

 

27. CB Jimmy Smith A-

The Ravens made this pick at 27 instead of 26 because a botched trade with Eugene Levy…er Jerry Angelo and the Bears forced them to go over their time on the clock. However, I’m not holding that against them because they still got their guy and it wasn’t even their fault. Smith fits the range well, but I had Brandon Harris rated higher as a cornerback. I also didn’t have cornerback rated that highly as a need. They may only have two under contract, but they’re either going to resign Chris Carr or sign Nnamdi Asomugha so they’d really only need a 4^th cornerback. Yes, you can never have enough corners and a trio of Lardarius Webb (assuming he’s healthy), Carr/Asomugha, and Smith is pretty nice, but I think their pass rush was the bigger problem with their pass defense. Outside of Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata, they managed just 11.5 sacks. That’s not very many. They desperately needed a 3^rd pass rusher.

58. WR Torrey Smith B

I think Smith was a reach by about a round here, though people obviously disagree with me. I don’t like his inconsistent production and small hands. However, there’s no denying he fills a need for them as a speedy receiver to stretch the field.

85. OT Jah Reid C-

Right tackle was definitely a need, as was right guard and Reid can play either of those positions. I just don’t get using a 3^rd rounder on him. I had a 5^th round grade on him. Also, I don’t like that they traded up for him.

123. WR Tandon Doss A-

Two receivers? Well I don’t hate it. Their receiving corps are pretty thin, but they had other needs. They need to get a 3^rd pass rusher. Doss is a good value at this point though.

164. CB Chykie Brown B-

More cornerback depth here. They had other needs, but given that they technically only have 2 cornerbacks signed for next year, adding 2 cornerbacks in one draft isn’t a terrible idea. Also, Brown fits the range.

165. 3-4 DE Pernell McPhee C+

Well this is a pass rusher and McPhee fits the range, I just don’t think he fits the 3-4 scheme at all.

180. QB Tyrod Taylor B-

A backup quarterback shouldn’t have been high on their list, but Marc Bulger is probably gone as a free agent so this makes some sense even though he’s a minor reach.

225. RB Anthony Allen A

Willis McGahee probably will be gone this offseason so they need another power back to spell Ray Rice.

Overall:

This was a pretty solid draft. Only the Jah Reid selection was a major reach and at least they filled a need with that one. I would have liked to have seen them grab a 3^rd pass rusher along with Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata rather than taking two cornerbacks, but Jimmy Smith in the first round was an above average pick. Torrey Smith was a reach in the 2^nd round, but he fits their needs like a glove. There was nothing amazing about this draft, but it wasn’t bad either.

Grade: B