In an expected move following the signing of T.J. Houshmanzadeh, the Ravens have traded former first round selection Mark Clayton to the Rams for a late-round draft choice. This leaves Baltimore without a possible solid slot receiver and with a trio of strong possession receivers with their top receiver spots while Donte Stallworth recovers and can possibly become the downfield threat the Ravens hope he can be. I understand why it was done, but I also can’t help but think that Clayton was never properly utilized in this offense, one that forced him to play as an outside receiver for his entire career while he was so clearly better suited to play in the slot. It also gives the Ravens with 4 top receivers either approaching or beyond 30 years of age, which raises questions about durability over the course of a season. READ MORE >>>
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The Ravens added depth to their wide receiving corps today by signing a position vetran wide receiver in T.J Houshmandzadeh. The 32 year old was cut by the Seahawks this week and according too ESPN.com, signed a one year deal worth the league minimum in Baltimore. Housh will likely be the Ravens number . . . → Read More: Ravens sign Houshmandzadeh The storyline for this games will be Navy’s Ricky Dobbs and the triple option, and it should be. Last season, Dobbs and Midshipmen offense made some teams look silly. The compiled wins against bigger, stronger and faster teams such as Missouri, Notre Dame, and Wake Forest. READ MORE >>> Position: Safety Analysis: Six time Pro Bowler. AP Defensive Player of the Year (2004). USA Today All-Decade Team member. 13 career defensive touchdowns. What can you say about Ed Reed to a Ravens fan that they don’t already know? The future hall of fame safety has earned his nickname, the ball hawk, in his 9 seasons in the National Football League. READ MORE >>> This final round of roster cuts got the Ravens down to their requisite 53, not including their practice squad moves, but there were casualties that will give this team a very different look than in past seasons. The drama of Troy Smith is now officially behind this team, and he is welcome now to look in Cleveland or anywhere else for a potential starting job down the road. The hope and disappointment that followed the enigmatic Demetrius Williams through years of injuries and ineffectiveness is also over after failing to impress even when the Ravens were devoid of receivers. On the other hand, receivers Marcus Smith and Justin Harper (the latter on the practice squad) still remain a couple years after flashing just enough talent to make them late-round and free agent pickups of this team. I wanted to take a moment to look at these moves and more as the Ravens gear up for Week 1. READ MORE >>> Position: Cornerback Analysis: Chris Carr was signed by the Baltimore Ravens prior to the 2009 season to add depth in the secondary and to be the primary punt returner, a role he excelled in during his time with the Tennessee Titans. Carr performance with the Ravens in 2009 was a disappointment. Early in the season he was tentative in the return game and soft in coverage. As the season progressed Carr was more decisive returning kicks, but contributed few big plays. Carr also saw more time at corner as the season wore on. Injuries to Fabian Washington and Lardarius Webb ultimately forced Carr into the starting line-up on defense. Carr turned in his best defensive performance in the play-off win at New England, but he left fans craving for better play after an up and down year. READ MORE >>> The Baltimore Ravens trimmed their roster to 53 players today, and now the wait for the Monday night opener with the New York Jets begins in earnest. Heading into training camp there were relatively few positions unsettled for the Ravens, but that does not mean that the final roster moves did not contain some surprises. It started with the trade of Antwan Barnes, announced earlier today, and then continued with the cuts of a few players that seemed like they would be part of the final 53. Most surprising of the cuts were K Shayne Graham, and WR Demetrius Williams. READ MORE >>> Position: Cornerback Analysis: Last season, Lardarius Webb exceeded expectations as the Ravens third round pick (88th overall) proving to be a valuable asset in the special team’s return game and in the secondary. Coming from a I-AA school, Webb soared as the All-Southland Conference defensive back and returner as a senior, was Nicholls State’s 2008-09 Outanding Male Student Athlete of the Year and was a two time College Sporting News Fabulous Fifty selection. READ MORE >>> The Baltimore Ravens pulled off another late pre-season trade sending LB Antwan Barnes to the Philadelphia Eagles for an undisclosed conditional draft pick. The move is surprising as Barnes has looked good in pre-season and the Ravens have need of pass rushers, Barnes specialty, coming off last season where they failed to generate consistent pressure. There are several scenarios that could explain the Ravens thinking: 1) Perhaps they feel confident that a rejuvenated Terrell Suggs, an improved Paul Kruger and the addition of Cory Redding will bolster therush enough, making Barnes expendable, 2) or the Ravens feel like Jameel McClain is better at OLB, making Barnes redundant, 3) or the Ravens believe that Sergio Kindle is closer to returning than we have been lead to believe. READ MORE >>> Late last night, John Harbaugh informed the media that safety Ed Reed decided to begin the season on the physically-unable-to-play list. Earlier in the week, Jets head coach and former Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan told the Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston, “Ed Reed will play this game. Now he might not play the second game, third game or fourth game, whatever, but Ed Reed is going to play this game. I think part of that is a respect thing. He knows how disappointed I would be if he didn’t play. I want to win the game, but I want to play against Ed. I want them at their best and I know they will be.” Position: Safety Analysis: In 2009, Dawan Landry made a strong comeback from the spinal cord contusion that sidelined him for all but 2 games of the 2008 season. Landry did take a few weeks to knock the rust off, but by the end of ’09 his level of play had risen to match his early career. Landry was tied for the team lead in picks last year with four and passes defended with eleven. He also was 2nd on the team in tackles with 82. Landry is most valuable as a run stuffing safety. He is a physical presence who likes to hit. Landry’s range in pass coverage is average, but he is an intelligent, disciplined player who is rarely out of position. READ MORE >>> In my humble opinion, the Ravens second annual kicking competition was over a long time ago. Billy Cundiff separated himself from Shayne Graham in week one of the preseason after a more successful training camp than the veteran. Yesterday’s game, if you were one of the few fans that endured it, didn’t solidify anything for the final kicking roster cut that looms over the front office. If you ignore their performance in camp and the preseason, the Ravens were probably most likely to go with the proven veteran Shayne Graham, who they went out and spent $2.5 million on (with incentives). READ MORE >>> Well, so much for that. Brad Bergesen’s problem has always been that if he loses his delivery for just a second, he is a batting practice pitcher. When he has his location down, he is almost unhittable. Unfortunately, that is not particularly reliable, at least not this season. The 5 runs he allowed in the second inning doomed the O’s, though it was nice to see the team battle back. Seeing Josh Bell strike out with runners at 2nd and 3rd was painful- you expect it from Cesar Izturis (there was no one else on the bench to take that at-bat?) but you hope that maybe Bell will use this as a breakout moment. Alas, he instead continues to struggle. He needed a lot more time at AAA, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start the season at Norfolk in 2011 if he doesn’t start pulling it together over this last month. Now football season is officially upon us, and so I am more excited than ever to line up for the kick… READ MORE >>> I’m not usually one to make bold predictions, but this is one I just can’t resist. This season will be the one in which a non-BCS school will play in the national championship game, and that team will be the Boise State Broncos. But in order to do so, they will have to do more than just go undefeated. This is because of the new Rose Bowl rule that goes into effect this season that guarantees that a BCS eligible non-BCS school (Boise State) will take the place of a national championship member from the Big Ten. What this means in layman’s terms is that if a team from the Big Ten (possible) or Pac-10 (not possible) qualifies for the national championship game, then a non-BCS team like Boise State will automatically play in the Rose Bowl instead of the national championship game. So basically Boise State needs to go undefeated and hope that Ohio State, or even Iowa, doesn’t qualify to be in the national championship game. The pieces of the puzzle will need to fall perfectly into place for this to actually happen, but I did say it was a BOLD prediction. Position: Running Back Analysis: Ray Rice is a small, but strong running back that took over the starting job from Willis McGahee in 2009. Rice was second in the NFL in total yards from scrimmage last season, gaining 2,041, over 1,300 of which were on the ground. He’s certainly been used in every offensive situation in his short career to this point. Rice will continue to his strength and quickness to excel on offense. |
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