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 >>>
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Position: Wide Receiver Analysis: 2009, like much of Demetrius Williams’ career with the Ravens, was a major disappointment. Possessing a great combo of size, speed and athleticism, the talented Williams has not been able to overcome injury and a perceived falling out with Ravens coaches to become the player many thought he could become. Considering the state of the Ravens wide receiver position over the last few years, there has been ample opportunity for Williams to step to the forefront of the Ravens wide out corps. READ MORE >>> Position: Wide Receiver Next time you want to win a bar bet, ask who has the most 100-yard receiving games for the Ravens in their history. The answer is Mark Clayton with 9 of them. Another interesting factoid is that he is the only non-quarterback to throw for a touchdown in Ravens history. It is no secret that the NFL is a year-round business. After a one-week break, the Ravens take the next step in their preparations for training camp and the upcoming 2010 season. The next item on the team’s agenda is a four-day passing camp, which began on Monday and runs through Thursday. This Organized Team Activity (OTA) will be focused on improving the aerial attack; and everyone involved with the team and rooting for the team can hardly wait to see how Joe Flacco and his new receivers mesh together. One of the Ravens’ weaknesses last season was that no one besides Derrick Mason and Ray Rice were seen as a threat in the passing game. With Anquan Boldin, Donte Stallworth, Ed Dickson, Dennis Pitta and David Reed added to holdovers Mason, Rice, Heap, Clayton, and Williams, there are certainly enough targets for Flacco to seek out with his throws. This OTA will be used to get the QB and his receivers on the same page, and will be the first of many steps to get the passing game to become one to be feared in the season to come. Flacco himself isn’t lacking for confidence; he believes that he should throw for over 4,000 yards in the upcoming season. After three games last season, the sky seemed to be the limit for Joe, however he faded down the stretch as the offense started to sputter as the season wore on. The team hopes to avoid that kind of performance; even as Flacco improved in just about every category over his rookie season, there were still areas where he could stand to imprNow that he has the weapons around him, it’s up to the coaches and players to make it happen. Passing camp implies that only the quarterback and receivers are present. In fact, there will be members of the offensive line present, as well as members of the defense. Practicing passing without the offensive line and defense would seem to be counter-productive. When the games start to count, the line will have to protect Flacco and their will be a defense lined up on the other side of the ball attempting to prevent the Ravens from making plays with the pass. Even though Flacco has already spent time working with Boldin and Stallworth, and has a familiarity with Mason, Heap, Clayton and the other veterans, every little bit of work serves to sharpen each player’s skills and fine-tune their communication. The Ravens are expecting Flacco to take the next steps in becoming an elite NFL quarterback; the journey to that destination begins anew this week. I understand that Ray Rice is an incredibly dynamic player, but when your running back leads your team in receptions and isn’t Marshall Faulk circa 1999, your wide receiving corps has issues. In sum, this unit failed to provide a single consistent deep threat for Joe Flacco, but more than that lacked a playmaker capable of getting separation even on short to intermediate routes. In this look back I will try to wince and identify what went wrong, what went right, and who could be back when the gates open back up at M&T Bank Stadium. Derrick Mason: Mr. Reliable, the lone star receiver on this cast of misfits, left to make up for the mistakes of an entire unit and save Joe Flacco before he is eaten alive. That may have been true in 2008, but not quite so much in 2009. I am not sure whether you can call it taking a step back, but while his numbers were largely the same this was not the same Derrick Mason as we saw last year. One handed grabs at the goal line were replaced by uncharacteristic drops and flare ups of a temper we were not accustomed to seeing from the even-keeled veteran. Perhaps it was the almost-retirement that did it to him- the desire to win a Superbowl above all else that created a sense of desperation in him for this season. However, he was still far and away the best receiver the Ravens had, and it wasn’t because he was faster, bigger, or more agile than any corner who was on him. He was still smarter, ran his routes properly, and wasn’t afraid to go after the ball. Despite what he would say to the contrary, Joe Flacco’s first (and sometimes only) read was Derrick Mason, and for good reason. Back on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts staged a tight contest at M&T Bank Stadium that went down to the wire, with the Ravens coming up on the losing end by a 17-15 score. In that game the Ravens offense had plenty of success moving the ball between the 20 yard-lines against the Colts defense, with several time consuming drives that kept the Peyton Manning and the offense off the field. However, they could not finish those drives with touchdowns; they were forced to settle for field goals. I think it’s safe to say that in this upcoming matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Ravens will have to do a better job of putting points on the board or they risk another defeat. READ MORE >>> Now that Ravens’ training camp has wrapped up and we’re half way through the preseason, BSR decided to get the inside scoop on the team by an expert and fellow blogger. We decided to ask Joe Barnes of EbonyBird.com to fill us in on the 2009 Ravens…
Image Courtesy of the Baltimore SunWith training camp coming to a close, what are your expectations of the 2009 Ravens based on their camp performance? I see a season similar to last year’s campaign. Joe Flacco looks solid, the defense looks solid, every position is pretty deep, and things are looking good. With that said, it is possible that the loss of Bart Scott dooms the defense, but when has the team not replaced a linebacker well? If you want a record, I’d say that looking at the schedule, anywhere from 9-7 to 12-4 seems possible, and most likely with playoffs. Who were you impressed with? I was most impressed with rookie Lardarius Webb. He was always buzzing around the field, whether it was rushing the quarterback, picking off a pass or making a tackle in between the trenches on a running play. At the beginning of camp, I thought that the secondary might not be good enough to survive against some QBs like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers, etc. but seeing the depth behind Fabian Washington and Dominique Foxworth, including Webb, has made me think otherwise. Who were you disappointed with? I was disappointed with Mark Clayton more than any other player. He just never was on the field. While I understand that they don’t want to risk an aggravation of the injury, it seems like he could be more involved with the team and have a bigger presence in camp. At least he was running routes the last week of camp, but it seems like he might not be in good enough shape, like McGahee last year, and Joe Flacco needs him to have a very good season this year. What is the team’s biggest flaw? For me, the team’s biggest flaw is the lack of speed with their top receivers. Flacco’s got an arm, we have all seen that, and Yamon Figurs, Jayson Foster and Justin Harper all have breakaway speed. The issue is getting them on the field enough to have them make an impact with their speed. Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams and Kelley Washington will probably get most of the time on gameday, and none of them have exceptional speed. Mason is great on cutbacks, Clayton great with mid-distance passes, but none could beat a safety 40 yards deep. It’s not a huge flaw, but it’s important for the offense to figure out how to get the speedsters on the field. What is their strongest point? The strong point of the team is the defense, in general. The line is great, led by Haloti Ngata. Rookie Paul Kruger looks good enough to start for a lot of teams at DE, but the Ravens’ line is good enough that he’s just depth. The linebackers should be one of the best groups in the league, yet again. And the secondary, led by Ed Reed and strengthened by the return of Dawan Landry and signing of Domonique Foxworth looks to be great as always. This defense is just too good. For years in Baltimore, the purple and black clad faithful have clamored for one thing: a quarterback whose jersey they can feel safe purchasing. After years of amending Zeier, Grbac, Banks and Boller jerseys with duct tape and magic marker, Ravens fans have found their man in Joe Flacco. “Now get ‘im some weapons!” their cries echo through the talk radio and message boards.
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