Baltimore Ravens: Off-Season Review

BALTIMORE RAVENS
By: Frank White

There has been one story for this team during the past decade, and that is of show stopping defense and an offense that just can't quite cut it. After hoping for 10 years for an offense to show up, the defense still manages to give it everything it has. If that isn't being faithful I don't know what is. In their efforts to turn things around and make some noise they gambled on a small school rookie QB who started from day one (continuing the repression of a certain Heisman trophy winner) and changed their man at the top to one Mr. Harbaugh, who had no head coaching or coordinator experience before.

One might not expect to replace a Super Bowl-winning Brian Billick with a fresh face in order to make a comeback with a fresh face at QB as well. It'd seem even more unlikely given that Flacco was purported to not have played in front of big crowds, with big stakes, or with big time talent around him. Though Flacco barely did the part-time job they gave him, he still did it and showed that having thrown a ball competently before, a few more fans wasn't going to turn him into a bad day for Sage Rosenfels. Still, they took gambles at the top and on offense and it seemed to work out for them in a big way.

The Ravens made a lot of noise in the postseason last year, losing eventually in the AFC championship game to the Steelers. That was further than they were expected to go and there's no shame in losing to the Steelers in Pittsburgh, but it probably stings to get so far only to get shut down by someone you already had a pair of extremely narrow losses to during the regular season. I mean they lost games by 4 points, 3 points, and then with a 2 point deficit in the 4th quarter of the AFC championship game, 3-interception Joe decides to set the bar about ankle high.

Speaking of Flacco and Pittsburgh, they seemed to figure him out over the 3 contests last year, which means Flacco will have to get Cam Cameron to take big steps forward with the offense or have the Ravens' defense play offense too when they visit the Steelers next year. They'll have to do that while maintaining their dominating defense however and the departure of Rex Ryan could be a big blow. The Ravens seem to be able to lose players and coaches and keep on moving; it's rather remarkable the way they do it.

Now Mr. Ryan isn't just riding the coattails of great players but it doesn't hurt that the personnel is so good. Ed Reed still makes it happen and gives the coaches the versatility to do all kinds of things that few teams can replicate on the field or in practice. If your goals are Super Bowls and Super Bowls, it's plain to see that hasn't been enough. Then again even with the uncertainty at the top last season the Ravens bounced back from disappointment, so hopefully they can make even incremental gains going forward with more coaching changes.

The old defense, continuing to defy the common sense predictions of regression because of age has shown everyone and themselves that they are not pussies. Apparently that means a lot to them and we should acknowledge it directly. It's getting really old though, I'm talking like last years' Patriots defense old, and unfortunately it's the stars: Trevor Pryce, Samari Rolle, Ray Lewis, Kelly Greg are 32 or older, while Ed Reed is 30. After these guys leave the team probably won't feel the same at all, and it's coming. Maybe they'll start a nursing home team we can watch and the champion of the league gets the best graveyard plot. Or maybe Baltimore will just cancel football. We just don't know.

Looking to the future, can the offense show up soon enough to support their defense to a division and NFL title? It's young and should progress on its own, especially with Flacco, Gaither and now Oher to combine with good tough runners and interior linemen. Their addition of Michael Oher was a fantastic choice by the way. They'd made an ill-advised trade for Willis McGahee earlier to no effect, and will likely now let their two young tackles ferment to the point that the running game is back to where it needs to be to carry the team.

It seems likely that given the personnel involved on offense and the hopeful continued strength of the defense, they should be able to pace basically any game they get themselves into. I hate to say it but they could really use some young blood, or any blood at receiver but it seems likely they can continue to at least get by with just no-name guys who can catch. The passing game again should not be worrying too many defensive coordinators, so they should expect to get some fairly consistent man to man looks.

The trouble with the combination of defense and running and a little passing going forward is they need to beat the Steelers. Being a Chargers fan there's something you learn about the Ravens and the Steelers: you don't get to run on them. If you have great personnel, you might get 3 yards where you should have had none, but you will not win any games that way. This was again pretty apparent when Baltimore kept stoning the Dolphins. The wildcat has its place and is not the hated big deal the media made it out to be, but at its heart it's still a run play and that means that Baltimore won't be having it.

On that note, its conceivable that the Ravens could try taking more chances to find something that might allow their offense to be better against just this one team. You don't win the Super Bowl by beating one team, but as far as matchups go, the Steelers having a slightly worse defense and decent-good QB in Roethlisberger (no, Super Bowl wins aren't the QB's fault when you're a team like the Steelers) is not something that will favor the Ravens. If Flacco can step it up with his new help up front in the next year or two, it's pretty apparent the Ravens are giving themselves a wonderful chance to succeed. Their defense will fall apart sometime, but Flacco isn't ready for life without great field position. You can't ask for much more than that. I would like to mention again though that going 0-3 in a year by a total of 9 points (almost), even in low scoring games, you could probably just hope the butterfly's wings beat faster next time so you can win.

Speaking of Flacco, he's a hack. It's really asinine when you put a QB in a situation he can't possibly screw up and then laud him for not screwing it up. When you're 4th in the league in rush yards and 28th in the league in passing and everyone knows you aren't going to be passing with your small-school-gamble rookie QB, you don't have a good passer. There's essentially nothing that prescribes he can't be good, especially since they're bolstering the offensive line like sensible people, but it'll certainly cheapen the moment if he actually starts to deliver the ball to his own team. The Ravens gambled when they drafted him and they won. They gambled on their head coach who had no previous experience and they won. Somehow draft analysts feel that Michael Oher, who's remarkable life is being made into a movie to be released during his rookie season, was a gamble. It isn't a gamble, so they're 3 for 3. It seems they can do no wrong and I'd fancy a guess that it has something to do with their defense. You don't earn 2nd and 3rd in the league across the major defensive categories by being a slouch, and the defense was the one constant.

Jared Gaither was a great pick a few years ago in the supplemental draft and appears to be the promising talent they projected him as. Willie Anderson has stepped down, so Oher might get some time immediately and we can see how he will develop. In the offseason Suggs received a giant $60 dollar deal. He's been good but the Ravens are great at moving on without great talents, like Adalius Thomas most recently, and that's quarterback type dough. Lock down your good players sure, but try not to set dangerous precedents. $60 million is serious walking around money. Their draft wasn't spectacular besides Oher but Paul Kruger is an interesting prospect since he switched directly from QB to D-line in college. Will Johnson also set a record for bench reps at his pro day, but unless his pre-snap stance involves lying down on the ground he'll have to get by with his 47 collegiate games played at a major program.

The bottom line is that the Ravens have a window to go all the way if they can avoid Pittsburgh or beat them when it counts. Everything is on the way up, ages included, but there should still be a year or two left before the wheels totally fall off. They'll have to make it count, and if Flacco doesn't improve even a little the running game and defense could still take it to the Super Bowl again like it's the 1960’s and they probably will.


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