State Of The Team - Baltimore Ravens Preview

Discussion in 'Baltimore Ravens' started by mike oxlong, Mar 31, 2008.

  1. mike oxlong

    mike oxlong The Voice Of Reason

    State of the Team Baltimore Ravens

    After destroying the competition just 2 short seasons ago, their team crumbled in 2007. Their star RB that was supposed to be the missing piece couldnt produce much more than he did in Buffalo. The defense that has been so dominant in recent history was hit with key injuries and the loss of a few key pieces in Free Agency during the prior off-season which saw them become as inconsistent as they have been during Ryan's nearly decade long tenure. This team has questions on offense, defense and has to deal with a new coach. Its going to take at least a season or two to get this ship back on track

    Coaching Changes

    There are many coaching changes to address with the Ravens. Incumbent Head Coach Brian Billick was fired for basically not delivering. In comes Former Eagles Coach Jim Harbaugh and his intense attitude will only add to that defense that has run on attitude for the last couple seasons. OC Rick Neuheisel left before his dismissal accepting the coaching job at his alma mater UCLA and was replaced by Cam Cameron who should help McGahee reach his potential. DC Rex Ryan was originally let go only to return as DC after being briefly considered for the HC job.

    2008 Team Needs

    Where to begin

    QB Usually when a new coach starts his regime he starts it with his franchise QB. McNair is ancient and Boller has failed to take advantage of his many opportunities to take spot of a leader. You can rest assured that Harbaugh is targeting his Franchise QB in round 1 or 2.

    CB The Ravens defensive weakness is in the passing game. Both Rolle & McAllister were hit with injuries and David Pittman has been more than a little disappointing. They need to draft a CB or risk not having any depth or a future at that position at all. They need to draft the heir apparent to these guys and play them on nickel and dime to groom them to take over for the aging vets. They signed FA CB Frank Walker from Green Bay, but he is more of a gunner on ST than a player at CB.

    WR Mark Clayton took a step backwards last year. Derrick Mason is 34 and that leaves Demetrius Williams and Yamon Figurs. Yeah, I would classify this as a need.

    DE When Trevor Pryce went down to injury it was evident that the Ravens lacked needed depth at DE. Once again, I say that teams like to follow suit in reproducing the defense of the Superbowl Champions and that could have the Ravens drafting one of the top DEs high in the first round.

    NT - A powerful, compact, pocket-collapsing, run-stuffing nose tackle is needed to backup Kelly Gregg.

    MLB People have been calling for the demise of Ray Lewis for some time, but the time is now to draft his successor. Ray is in fact human and will not play forever as some Ravens fans might think.

    OLB Keeping Suggs was huge, but Thomas was not replaced and the pass rush suffered. They have to draft someone to compete with Jarrett Johnson


    Possible Free Agent Solutions

    As I stated before Re-signing Suggs was huge, without him, the OLBs would have basically been trash. Suggs helps, but another edge rushing LB would go a long way into improving a mediocre pass defense. They did sign a couple ST players in Ayenbadejo and Walker but missed out on some opportunities to pick up any FA that could have helped them.

    It seemed as though the Ravens did have some interest in some FA WRs out there, but were never seriously involved with any one specifically and missed the boat.

    Possible Draft Solutions:

    The Ravens currently hold the Following picks

    8th (1st round)
    38th (2nd round)
    Only Compensatory (3rd round pick) The Ravens actual 3rd round pick was sent to the Bills as part of the McGahee Deal

    In addition they have a 4th (102), 6th (164) & 7th (197). This also combined with compensatory picks in the 3rd, 4th, 6th & one in the 7th.


    With only 5 actual picks in 7 round

    With the 1st rounder, The Ravens select DT Glenn Dorsey. Dorsey simply can't be contained one-on-one. He has the awards to showcase his dominance, as he claimed the Bronko Nagurski Award for defensive player of the year, the Vince Lombardi Award for outstanding lineman and the Outland Trophy as most outstanding interior lineman. As a senior, Dorsey had 64 tackles (39 solo), 11.5 tackles for loss and six sacks while playing the second half of the season with a sore knee. He's explosive off the ball, which helped him consistently collapse the pocket. He's more than just an awesome against the run. He has the speed to shoot gaps and strength to fight through double teams and get to the ball-carrier. He can let blockers get in on him sometimes, but he still gets off blocks well. The bottom line is he's just more athletic than a man his size should be and what has NFL scouts drooling is he knows how to maximize his physical gifts. His recent injury concerns have had some teams dropping him and that is a mistake. If Dorsey is there, he will be a Raven which leads to their next pick.

    In the 2nd round, the Ravens select Brian Brohm. There is a chance that the Falcons take Brohm just ahead of Baltimore in Round 2, but I see the Falcons taking Ryan in the first. There will be several teams looking to get a QB in round 2, the Ravens just happen to pick before them all.

    Conclusion:

    In todays NFL teams can rise and fall with regularity. The Ravens are definitely in a transition. They have a new regime in power and need a new Leader at QB. They need a player or 2 in almost every group on offense and defense whether it be from need or for depth. This storm period will take time to weather and need more than a season to make a return to the top level of teams in the AFC.
     
  2. MediaGuy

    MediaGuy Ball So Hard University

    In Ozzie we trust with the card. We have a pretty good record on Draft Day. We have 4 comp picks. We will be a player on Draft Day. :icon_cool:
     
  3. mike oxlong

    mike oxlong The Voice Of Reason

    you have to admit last year's draft is not looking so great but it may still too early to rule on that just yet

    actually now that I think about it, aside from Ngata, 2006 wasn't the greatest year either.

    and if you go back to 2005, they drafted Clayton who hasn't done much and QB Derek Anderson, who is a star for another team
     
  4. Anidem

    Anidem Official demonic presence

    And you will still settle in for a long winters nap at 5-11 and possibly last place in the AFC North.

    Not that I gain any amusement by that in general. :icon_cheesygrin:
     
  5. King Norse

    King Norse Rave-on

    Last Year - Ben Grubbs proved to be a future all pro with a consistently high level of performance. Yamon Figurs was truly explosive and will be an exciting KR for years to come. Marshall Yanda proved he is good enough to be a starter at the RT position. Troy Smith played well enough as a #5 pick to be in consideration for the starters job.

    Year before - Ngata is an absolute monster. Dawan Landry outplayed Ed Reed in his rookie year and has great pro potential. Demetrius Williams has proved a steal in the 4th Round and is the definite slot receiver and go to guy on 3rd downs. Sam Koch has solidified his position as the teams Punter for the present and the future.

    I would not say those drafts are anything else but good, solid drafts.

    Oh, and Jason Brown and Adam Terry are both from the 2005 draft, and started most, if not every game last year. Brown is the teams best lineman and Terry currently stands as the starter at LT.
     
  6. mike oxlong

    mike oxlong The Voice Of Reason

    i see a lot of future potential there and limited production. That's why I said that last year's draft is really too early to judge. I agree that they could END UP being quite solid, right now. I just haven't seen the evidence on the field.