By Zach Wilt, on April 24th, 2012  Matt Stover is a legend in Baltimore. In my 16 years as a Ravens fan, he is still the only guy that I really felt comfortable watching trot out there for a game winning field goal.
Despite being run out of town by the current coaching regime, Stover never turned his back on the Ravens. He was inducted into the Ring of Honor last season and will announce the team’s second and third-round draft picks during the NFL Draft on Friday.
“I’m very, very grateful to do it,” Stover told Ryan Mink at BaltimoreRavens.com. ”It’s such a neat opportunity to represent my team and my city.”
The Ravens should feel very fortunate that Stover holds no harsh feelings towards the franchise. A lesser man probably could have turned their back on a team that gave up on one of its most consistent players. John Harbaugh and the Ravens parted ways with the then 18-year veteran after the 2008 season and brought in Steve Hauschka and Graham Gano to compete for Stover’s position. There was never an option for the veteran to prove he still had enough in the tank to keep his job.
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By Mark Brown, on September 15th, 2011  Week 1 wasn’t really full of surprises if you read my article on who to start and who to bench. I’m here again this week to make sure you start the right guys, and to make sure you win. If your 1-0 then you might as well go to 2-0 and really have a nice jump on the season. If your 0-1, you can’t lose and start 0-2. That’s already a deep little hole to get out of.
This week I’m going to switch up the way I do this, and hopefully this is the way it will stick for the rest of the season. You can expect my article like this every single Thursday throughout the season. I plan on updating it and moving guys around as the injury reports change. So I’m going to take a look at each position and give you the guys that are good starts, decent starts, and bad starts. This way you can compare guys at a certain position to other guys on your team at that position. You don’t have to scroll down the page to find all of your guys at one position this way. The players are in order of the time that their game is being played and not by any sort of rank.
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By Mark Brown, on September 8th, 2011  The NFL season starts tonight!!! More importantly, the fantasy football season starts tonight!!! Why else would any of us watch Cleveland vs. Cincinnati unless we have AJ Green and want to see what our rookie will do in his first game. For that reason, fantasy football is now bigger than the sport itself.
Do you have any questions about who to start over who in the first week? Let’s take a look at all the matchups and determine who are good starts, decent starts, and bad starts. Football is incredibly unpredictable, and it’s almost impossible to read splits the way you can with baseball. Because of that I can tell you all season long who will give you the best CHANCE to perform for you. Nobody can ever predict the day that Mike Tolbert rushes for 3 TD’s. It’s impossible. Keep that in mind. I base the starts on matchup obviously and I also look at how each player has done historically against the opponent. I also factor in who I think will win the game, and whether a team will be more pass or rush oriented in that game. Whether they are up or down on the scoreboard has a lot to do with their weekly values.
New Orleans Saints @ Green Bay Packers:
Good starts: Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Greg Jennings, Marquis Colston, Jermichael Finley, Mason Crosby
Decent starts: Jordy Nelson, Ryan Grant, Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas, John Kasay, Green Bay Defense
Bad starts: Donald Driver, James Jones, Robert Meachem, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, James Starks, Darren Sproles, Garrett Hartley New Orleans Defense
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By Mark Brown, on August 26th, 2011  Kicker’s are a dime a dozen. But….its impossible to tell exactly when a kicker is going to have a good week. So having one that is a top tier guy over the course of a season gives you a better chance to win. The best situation for a kicker to be in is a winning one. If a kicker plays for a winning team he obviously gets more chances to kick. But getting nothing but extra points doesn’t really help either. Although it is very difficult to predict how kickers will do, I will still tell you which ones are better to have than others. Here is my list of the top kickers for the 2011 season. I know everyone has been hitting refresh on their computer’s for the last hour waiting for this list to come up.
1. Mason Crosby (GB)
2. Matt Bryant (ATL)
3. Nate Kaeding (SD)
4. Robbie Gould (CHI)
5. Billy Cundiff (BAL)
6. Dan Carpenter (MIA)
7. Garrett Hartley (NO)
8. Stephen Gostkowski (NE)
9. David Buehler (DAL)
10. Rob Bironas (TEN)
11. Neil Rackers (HOU)
12. Connor Barth (TB)
13. Ryan Longwell (MIN)
14. Nick Folk (NYJ)
15. Alex Henery (PHI)
16. Phil Dawson (CLE)
17. Jason Hanson (DET)
18. Josh Brown (STL)
19. Lawrence Tynes (NYG)
20. Sebastian Janikowski (OAK)
21. Graham Gano (WAS)
22. Ryan Succop (KC)
23. Adam Vinatieri (IND)
24. David Akers (SF)
25. Shaun Suisham (PIT)
26. Matt Prater (DEN)
27. Josh Scobee (JAC)
28. Jay Feely (ARI)
29. Jeff Reed (SEA)
30. Olindo Mare (CAR)
31. Mike Nugent (CIN)
32. Rian Lindell (BUF)
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By Zach Wilt, on April 2nd, 2010 Last week we discussed the possible kicking candidates for the Baltimore Ravens in the 2010 season. You can cross one of those kickers off your list because today the Arizona Cardinals signed Jay Feely.
I was interested to read Jamison Hensley’s view on the signing, specifically when he said, “The Ravens now have the upper-hand in the free-agent market. The Feely deal takes the Cardinals out of the market for a kicker, and it leaves Neil Rackers and Shayne Graham still without teams. The Ravens could have their pick of either one.”
Or, they could have had their pick of one of the three.
Last year, the Ravens made the bold move of parting ways with Matt Stover with no real plan. They had a kicking competition, if you could really call it that, between two guys with no business playing professional football, Graham Gano and Steve Hauschka. To me, it appeared that the Ravens knew they didn’t want Stover, but had no plan for replacing him with an actual kicker.
But you know that story, Billy Cundiff comes in and saves the day. He booted five field goals in his debut against the Indianapolis Colts in Baltimore, talk about pressure.
Since the season came to an end, the rumors about Baltimore kickers have been swirling once again. Despite John Harbaugh’s comments during the season on bringing Stover back to Baltimore, no news about Stover has been reported. Instead, Baltimore has been in the market for some competition for Cundiff, or even a possible replacement.
This year, the kicking market had three viable candidates, unlike last season when, unfortunately, the Ravens decided to leave Stover looking for work. I’m hoping the Ravens have a plan this go around, that they won’t cut a guy if they don’t have a replacement and that they won’t tell the fans they’re holding a competition for a position between two guys that don’t belong in professional football.
But letting one guy go certainly doesn’t leave me feeling like the Ravens have the upper hand. What do you think? Who will we see kicking for the Ravens in 2010?
By Zach Wilt, on August 25th, 2009 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 Sun
With 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.
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By Zach Wilt, on April 13th, 2009 The draft is fast approaching. In fact, in just 12 days, NFL GM’s will line up and make their selections. The Ravens have some flexibility in this year’s draft. They could draft a wide receiver, tight end, center, right tackle, linebacker and center in this year’s draft. The draft is a very hectic situation, to say the least. GM’s are tearing their hair out to figure out who is the most ideal option for their football team. The Ravens may have the most confusing position in the draft. A team like the Lions would benefit from just about anything, while a pretty good team like the Eagles would benefit from an offensive tackle, running back or tight end. The Ravens, on the other hand, aren’t dying for any one position.
A receiver would be nice, but they proved last year they can succeed without a clear cut No. 1 guy. A tight end would also be convenient, but they have some depth, with Todd Heap, L.J. Smith, Quinn Sypniewski and Edgar Jones. A center would be interesting, but it’s not something the Ravens need to address right now, as Matt Birk is a solid vet. A linebacker would be good to have, but obviously, the Ravens have a great linebacking core, with Ray Lewis, Jarrett Johnson and Terrell Suggs and replacing Ray in three years or so could be addressed then. A right tackle would be a good thing to add, but the class isn’t as deep at that position as the Ravens might like. So you see, the Ravens have a confusing draft position, but that’s a good thing, because they don’t have one need they are dying to have and it’ll certainly be interesting to see how Ozzie Newsome handles it. Here’s how I would handle it:
1 (26): Trade pick to the St. Louis Rams for the 34th overall pick. This might sound crazy, but the Ravens have a confusing position in the first round. Kenny Britt and Hakeem Nicks would be available, but are both considered stretches and it’s my personal opinion that Darrius Heyward-Bey will be a Jet, Percy Harvin will be a Bucaneer, Michael Crabtree will be a Raider and Jeremy Maclin will be a Bear. So, to be honest, there is no first round talent at receiver after that. So I think the Ravens should trade their No. 26 overall pick to the St. Louis Rams to get the second overall pick of the second round.
2 (35) – Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers: At this point, I think the Ravens will be fighting themselves: Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt? Personally, I’d take Britt. Nicks is a playmaker, but has gained 15 pounds since the Scouting Combine, and the last guy to do that was Mike Williams, and we saw how that turned out. Britt is taller, and is more of a deep threat. Also, while Nicks had some playmaking receivers around him for UNC who are entering the NFL Draft (Kenny Tate, Brooks Foster), Britt carried the offense by himself. The offense was stung by the loss of current Raven halfback Ray Rice, and Britt stepped up big time. While Britt had 87 catches and 1,371 yards, the runner up receiver had just over 500 yards, so Britt can carry an offense. He’d be the best option and he’d be a solid second round pick. Some scouts call him better than most first round receivers. I’d settle for that.
2 (57) – Jared Cook, TE, South Carolina: In my opinion, the main reason the Baltimore Ravens have been mostly bad producing offensive firepower is bad offensive coaching staff. Now, the Ravens have that. Cam Cameron and Hue Jackson played huge roles in the development of Joe Flacco, Le’Ron McClain and Ray Rice. That’s the main reason I have confidence the team will finally find a big play wide receiver in this year’s draft. Cameron played a huge role in developing a great tight end when he was the offensive coordinator of a great Chargers offense – Antonio Gates. Cook would be a fantastic selection. He screams Antonio Gates clone, in my mind. He has prototypical size (6’5″, 246) and like Gates, is unusually athletic for his position. I’d love Cook and Cameron could develop him into a Gates.
3 (88) – Clint Sintim, LB, Virginia: This is a guy I expect to fall. His durability issues make me think he’ll fall all the way to the late third round – into the Ravens hands. Peter Boulware and Terrell Suggs have been great pass rushers for the Ravens, but no one else has consistently compiled eight to twelve sacks per season for the Ravens. Sintim would be that guy. His production sack-wise improved every year he was at Virginia, including in 2008, when he totaled 69 tackles and ten sacks. With the Ravens having some uncertainty at linebacker, knowing that the man to replace Bart Scott is unknown, Sintim would be ideal. He’s a great pass rushing outside linebacker, and I wouldn’t mind using him on one of our second round picks. After all, he’s the fourth rated outside linebacker.
4 (123) – T.J. Lang, OT, Eastern Michigan: The Ravens are looking for youth on the offensive line. Matt Birk and Willie Anderson are both solid vets, but clearly are not the future on the Ravens line. T.J. Lang would be perfect. He provides versatility, as he can play center, right tackle, guard and possibly left tackle, as well. He projects as a right tackle, and when Anderson leaves, which could be very soon, Lang would take over. He’s a big guy (6’4″, 316), is an extremely underrated prospect and is tough, physical and aggressive – something that fits the Ravens mold perfectly. In Lang, they could find their future right tackle, center or guard.
5 (162) – Gregory Toler, CB, St. Paul’s: Now, I, for one, am sick and tired of hearing the Ravens should address their supposed “need” at cornerback. I am sick of hearing it, as the Ravens have signed free agent Domonique Foxworth and Chris Carr, so cornerback is all but set for next year. However, I am not at ease with the fact that Frank Walker and Samari Rolle will step in should Fabian Washington or Foxworth get hurt. The Ravens should go small school and draft Greg Toler, the cornerback out of St. Paul’s. He’s very fast, and while some project him as a seventh round pick, he has starters talent, and I think the Ravens should grab him in the fifth round. He may not be a starter with the Ravens ever, but he’d be a solid nickel back.
6 (198) – Graham Gano, K, Florida State: While Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome hasn’t ruled out bringing back fan favorite kicker Matt Stover, it doesn’t look as if the 41-year old placekicker will have a job in the NFL next year. The Ravens have always been very good at moving on from losses, and Stover should be no different. Graham Gano, a Florida State kicker, has incredible range and accuracy, and it showed when he hit 60 yarders in the College Football Challenge and went 24-of-26 in field goals during the regular season. With no real stiff competition, only Steven Hauschka, Gano could start next year. In my mind, he projects like another special teams steal, like Sam Koch.
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Matt Stover is a legend in Baltimore. In my 16 years as a Ravens fan, he is still the only guy that I really felt comfortable watching trot out there for a game winning field goal.
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