2008 BALTIMORE RAVENS PREVIEW

2008 BALTIMORE RAVENS PREVIEW 2007 Record: 5-11 (4th AFC North) Predicted 2008 Record: 5-10 (4th AFC North)

Key Acquisitions: LB Brendan Ayanbadejo, G Adrien Clarke, S Jim Leonhard, CB Frank Walker, CB Jenny Walls, CB Fabian Washington
Key Losses: RB Mike Anderson, WR Devard Darling, C Mike Flynn, DT Kenny King, QB Steve McNair (retired), OT Jonathan Ogden (retired), KR BJ Simms, RB Musa Smith, CB Jamaine Winborn

The Bill Billacheck era in Baltimore is over, enter Special Teams guru John Harbaugh. It is his task to make the Ravens a contender again. Easier said than done. For as far back as anyone can remember the Ravens have been great on Defense and average at best on offense, and they are still 8 years later looking for a solid QB. Finding that QB will be Harbaughs biggest task and then after that becoming a solid team on offense to give that great defense some help. Those are the first steps to becoming a playoff team again, but those could be far away.

OFFENSE
Joe Flacco is the future at QB for the Ravens, but is he the present? Some inside the Ravens organization think that the best thing to do is throw Flacco into the fire right off the bat, but that has sometimes been a very bad idea. Flacco has all the tools to be a solid NFL QB but he may not be ready just yet for the big time. At this time during camp Kyle Boller & Troy Smith seem to be the ones battling for the job at the moment, but neither has impressed anyone. Kyle Boller hasnt turned into a good QB in the 6 years hes been with the Ravens and though he is tough, he has bad decision making and poor accuracy, along with getting rattled easy. Troy Smith is very athletic and brings another dimension to the position and hes far more accurate than Boller, but his arm isnt very strong and he is very small for a NFL QB. At this point Smith may be there best bet to hold down the spot until Flacco is ready and the best chance at winning. Whoever is at QB will be sending most of his passes the way of Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton. Mason is a very reliable possession receiver that makes a ton of catches and is good after the catch. Clayton is a speedy receiver with great change-of-direction that has yet to come into his own. The Ravens plan on using more multi-receiver sets this season which will lead Demetrius Williams, rookie Marcus Smith (New Mexico), Yamon Figurs, & Matt Willis to battle for playing time. Neither has been very impressive in camp and at least 2 need to step up to give the QB somemore options. One option that they will have is the return of Pro Bowl TE Todd Heap. Heap will be used this year much like Antonio Gates is used in San Diego: he will be split out wide sometimes and moved around in motion alot. Willis McGahee returns as the Ravens solid RB whose great vision and patience are his best attributes. McGahee hopes to turn in a stellar '08 campaign and will def. be called upon often enough. Behind him will be rookie Ray Rice (Rutgers) whose great speed and elusiveness make him great in the open field. Rice will be used in the passing game alot as well as spelling McGahee. Lorenzo Neal signed with the Ravens recently and should see alot of playing time at FB, but youngster Le'ron McClain is still the top FB on the team. He is a great lead blocker but he is also a stellar receiver out of the backfield and a good short yardage back. At the least McClain will learn a ton from Neal. Coming off of his surgery its possible that McGahee may miss a few games and if that happens then Ray Rice will start at Tailback with Le'ron McClain backing him up. The Ravens already have a big package with McClain at Tailback and Neal at FB that will primarily be used in short yardage and goal line situations. Whoever is carrying the ball will be running behind a completely reworked Offensive Line with new starters at all 5 spots. Youngster Jared Gaither will replace future Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden at LT. Though Gaither has shown some potential the difference will be major. At RT the solid but not great Adam Terry will hold down that spot while Marshal Yanda will slide over to RG where he played in college and should have a better season there. Jason Brown will start at C where he has shown alot of potential in camp. At LG sliding over from the right side will be all star Ben Grubbs. Grubbs is by far the best player on this very young Offensive Line and should only get better.
Grade: C-

DEFENSE
The Ravens usually gawdy Pass Defense took a huge hit last season when a rash of injuries went over the Ravens secondary. Defensive Cooridantor Rex Ryan was forced to use All Pro FS Ed Reed in deep coverage all year to clean up everyone else messes which in turn kept him out of the run and hurt his and the Ravens season (though he did manage 7 picks). Both Pro Bowl CBs Samari Rolle & Chris McAllister are back this season from injuries. McAllister is 100% and is a very physical corner with a knack for getting his hands on the ball (whether it be to bat the pass down or pick it off). Rolle has suffered from epilepsy as of late but is still an elite corner in the NFL. Rolle is eager to prove that he is still one of the best cover corners in the game and just might do that this season. The Nickelback is a very important position on the Ravens defense since the Nickel package is used more so here than anywhere else. With that in mind the Ravens traded for Fabian Washington who is amazingly fast but a bad tackler. He will be used to his best ability at Nickel where he should prosper and bounce back from a disappointing 2007. SS Dawan Landry is a very solid young player and has a great nose for the ball. Landry also plays close to the line and is a hard hitter. With the DBs healthy and accounted for Ed Reed will be free to roam the secondary more freely and play closer to the line at times which should equal another dominating season for the All Pro. Solid CB play will not only benefit the Safeties but also LBs Terrell Suggs & Bart Scott will be allowed to blitz more this season. Because of all the injuries Suggs & Scott were forced to play back in coverage instead of doing what they do best, getting at the QB. Suggs is also in a contract year which should mean a big season for him. Ray Lewis has lost a step but is still one of the best LBs in the NFL and still a tackling machine. Converted DE Jarrett Johnson will again play on the left at OLB and is great in space and has a great motor. Johnson continues to get better every year and playing beside Lewis doesn't hurt either. These 4 make up a very good starting LB corps. On the line punishing pass rusher Trevor Pryce will man one DE spot while young stud Haloti Ngata mans the other side. Ngata has yet to reach his full potential and the sky is the limit for him. In the middle at NT will be block eater Kelly Gregg who is also great against the run.
Grade: A+

SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker Matt Stover is 40 but still effective. His range is great and his accuracy is dependable––even under pressure. Punter Sam Koch averaged 43.6 yards per boot last season, but he must have fewer touchbacks and returns.Second-year pro Yamon Figurs is the only player in franchise history to return a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in the same season. Figurs has the speed and shiftiness to be elite – He just needs to cut down on his mistakes. Ray Rice will likely join him in Kickoff Returns.
Grade: A

2007 LEADERS
PASSING
Kyle Boller: 168-275, 1,743 yards, 9 TD, 10 INT
Steve McNair: 133-205, 1,113 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT
Troy Smith: 40-76, 452 yards, 2 TD; 12 carries, 52 yards, 1 TD
RUSHING
Willis McGahee: 294 carries, 1,207 yards, 7 TD; 43 catches, 231 yards, 1 TD
Musa Smith: 73 carries, 264 yards, 2 TD
RECEIVING
Derrick Mason: 103 catches, 1,087 yards, 5 TD
Mark Clayton: 48 catches, 531 yards
Devard Darling: 18 catches, 326 yards, 3 TD
DEFENSE
Ray Lewis, LB: 121 tackles (83 solo), 2.0 sacks, 2 INT (35 yards, 1 TD), 10 PBU
Dawan Landry, SS: 83 tackles (68 solo), 1.0 sack, 6 PBU
Bart Scott, LB: 94 tackles (62 solo), 1.0 sack, 5 PBU
Kelly Gregg, NT: 83 tackles (56 solo), 3.0 sacks, 3 PBU
Terrell Suggs, LB: 78 tackles (52 solo), 5.0 sacks, 6 PBU
Jarrett Johnson, LB: 58 tackles (42 solo), 2.0 sacks, 2 PBU
Ed Reed, FS: 39 tackles (29 solo), 7 INT (130 yards), 13 PBU; 10 PR, 94 yards, 1 TD
SPECIAL TEAMS
Matt Stover: 27-32 FGs, 26-26 XPs
Sam Koch: 43.6 YPP
Yamon Figurs: 46 KOR, 1,138 yards, 1 TD; 16 PR, 171 yards, 1 TD