Raven Mad and Ready for Football!

Football is a big passion of mine. I love the game and I enjoy kicking back on the weekend and watching as many college and pro games as I possibly can. I am from the Baltimore area so naturally, the Baltimore Ravens are my favorite NFL team. I was way too young to feel the hurt that people in Baltimore felt when the Colts rode out of town in those Mayflower vans in the winter of 1984. However, by the time Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore in 1995, I was ready to embrace them as the hometown team.

For the most part, it has been good to be a Baltimore Ravens fan for the past decade. The team was able to build itself into a winner by the 2000 season and won Super Bowl XXXV 34-7 over the New York Giants. That team featured quite possibly the greatest defense in the history of the game and throughout the years, the Ravens have been built on a strong defensive foundation. In the seasons following the Super Bowl win, Baltimore was able to stay competitive and make the playoffs, but they could not recapture the glory of that year. The defense stayed tough and stifling, but for the most part, the offensive side of things dropped the ball.

Now Brian Billick was supposed to be an “offensive guru”, but that never really materialized. Granted, the Ravens go by the philosophy that defense wins championships and the bigger bulk of salary cap space has been dedicated to the defense. But Billick and the team had no luck it seemed trying to build a better offense through the draft or find pieces that could work in free agency. The Ravens became very stagnant under Billick and the team was no longer buying his “brand”. A change needed to be made…enter John Harbaugh.

At the time, not many people knew if it was a good move bringing in the defensive backs coach from the Philadelphia Eagles and installing him as the head coach. The guy was young and had no head coaching experience at any level. But the Ravens’ front office was impressed enough to make the hire and it quickly paid off. Along with the drafting of Delaware QB Joe Flacco, the Ravens quickly jumped back into the elite level of the NFL last year. Unfortunately, the Ravens could not figure out how to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers last season and they fell 1 game short of making it to the Super Bowl. So now the question becomes, what is in store for the Ravens on the road to Super Bowl XLIV?

In my opinion, there is reason to be optimistic this year, but I am not willing to take a full plunge and say that I expect the Ravens to make the Super Bowl and possibly win it. I have never been a blind homer who touts his team as the best and expects them to go out and have an amazing season every year. I think that the Ravens can make a run again and if they are able to figure out how to beat Pittsburgh, then maybe something special could happen. I fully expect a trip to the playoffs and it should be very fun to watch.

On the defensive side of the ball, there are some questions this year. How will the team cope with the departure of defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, who is now the head coach of the New York Jets? Can someone step up and effectively replace Bart Scott, who also followed Ryan to New York and who was developing into an elite level linebacker? How much does Ray Lewis still have in the tank? I am fairly confident that the Ravens will indeed have answers to these questions and the defensive will still remain as one of the top units in the NFL.

The defensive does have some good depth even with the departures from last year and the Ravens have developed a system that works and they have proven over the years that they know how to develop players into stars on the defensive side of the ball. I believe that Ray Lewis still has enough in the tank to get the job done for the next 3 years that he signed for. His passion, dedication, work ethic, and leadership are unquestioned. He knows what it takes to win and he can will his teammates to victory. He also will be able to guide younger players and make them better. The defensive core of Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed, and Haloti Ngata will keep the defensive ship sailing smoothly and will continue to give opposing offenses headaches this season.

As always, it seems that the offensive could still be what holds Baltimore back this year from true greatness. The 2000 defensive unit was a true once in a lifetime group and this year’s version will need more help from Flacco and company. Flacco had a great year last season by rookie QB standards. He was able to effectively manage the game, make a few good plays each time out, and not kill the team with costly turnovers. Of course that finally caught up to him in the AFC Championship game, but none the less, he played well enough to give the Ravens a shot in that game. The reports out of training camp this season have been promising. Flacco seems to be more comfortable with the offense and he has been doing a better job of spreading the ball around and not locking onto one or two receivers. This was evident in the first preseason game against the Redskins as Flacco hit 6 different receivers in very limited action. Truly, it seems as if Flacco will be the franchise QB the Ravens have been searching for.

But even if Flacco takes some steps forward, he is still inexperienced and the Ravens did not get him any help in the offseason at the receiver position. Thankfully, Derrick Mason decided to end his short retirement and return to the team. If Mason left, then the Ravens’ task of even making it back to the AFC Title game would have become much tougher. Mason is not an elite game breaking WR, but he knows how to get the job done and will be a dependable security blanket for Flacco. The other receivers are young and they will have to step up and contribute for the Ravens to go further this year.

The running game should hopefully help out Flacco. The Ravens have three dependable runners in Ron Rice, Willis McGahee, and Le’Ron McClain. McClain will be playing more fullback this year and hopefully will be opening up those running lanes for Rice and McGahee. Talk in camp is that Rice has shown great improvement and his pass catching ability has helped him move past McGahee for the starting job. Willis is responding with a good effort though and showing that he still has gas left in the tank. If all three can stay healthy this season, then that greatly helps and will set Baltimore up to make a serious run.

So in my final analysis, I think the Ravens will be very good this season but most likely will fall short of being super. My prediction is that they will fall one game short of winning the division and have to settle for a wild card spot again. In 2000 they won the Super Bowl as a wild card and that doesn’t seem to be a daunting task anymore. Will history repeat itself? Only time will tell, but my feeling is that the Ravens are still a year or two away from a possible Super Bowl win. If the defense remains strong and they can somehow add more offense for a developing Flacco, then Baltimore might have reason to celebrate within the next 3 years.

The Game’s Quick Hits

Monday Night Football Thoughts: As you can guess, my main thoughts for today were about the Ravens since they battled the Jets on Monday Night Football. The Ravens came away with a 24-23 victory and I have to say that once again, the first string defense and offense looked great. The Ravens’ D looked to be in midseason form and they made Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez look like a rookie. Flacco looked good again, displaying his rocket arm and hitting some nice deep throws. If they are able to stretch the field, good things will be ahead for the Ravens. The second unit and beyond did look a bit shaky tonight, but that is what you get in the preseason. Troy Smith made a few mistakes, but all in all, another solid effort for Baltimore as we inch toward the regular season.

Monday Night RAWind: I will also try to give some quick thoughts in this section about the events of Monday Night Raw every week. This will not be a long recap, just some comments on what stood out to me. And unfortunately, not much did stand out last night and the show seemed like it fell flat and did not carry a great deal of momentum out of Summerslam. The 25 minute opening segment with DX ran too long. It was standard and classic DX shenanigans and the live crowd enjoyed it, but that doesn’t always transfer to TV land. Legacy crashed the party to set up the main event, which seems to kill the idea that some people had of DX moving on to challenge Jericho and Show for the Tag Titles. As predicted, Vince McMahon announced an “I Quit” match between Cena and Orton at Breaking Point for the WWE Championship. And since John Cena always says he never gives up and he never quits, it seems like Orton’s title reign has about 3 weeks left. I was happy to see The Miz continue on his quest to get a shot at Kofi Kingston for the United States Title. Miz has done some great stuff recently and I feel he should win that title and hopefully keep moving up the ladder. Floyd Mayweather’s involvement tonight was minimal and that was a good thing. He played a part in helping to shape a Unified Tag Team Title match at Breaking Point between JeriShow and MVP/Mark Henry. Nothing else stood out to me that is worth mentioning except for a Smackdown commercial which advertised CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Championship inside a steel cage this Friday. So there is your answer to the Matt Hardy Twitter mystery…yes, Jeff will be around after Summerslam, but it will just be 1 more show it seems. Let’s hope the match is a great one on Friday.

- News broke late Sunday night after Summerslam that ROH star “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson has agreed to a contract with the WWE. Now I have to say that I really don’t know much about ROH or Danielson due to the fact that I do not get HD Net and I also do not have the finances to buy ROH DVDs religiously and follow the promotion. However, I do know that Danielson is one of the best in-ring performers in the world (and nicknamed “Best in the World” by ROH faithful) and he could be a great addition to the WWE. But the WWE does have a tendency to ruin performers, so it remains to be seen if they will try to stick Danielson with a stupid gimmick and not allow him to showcase his skills. Without question, he has the ability to get over with his in-ring work, but will the WWE try to hold him down from that and not let him just be himself? I will be extremely interested in seeing what happens and I hope Danielson will bring some great wresting to my TV screen. For more thoughts on this, check out my friend’s blog at http://pureathlete89.blogspot.com. He is a huge ROH and Danielson fan and offers more insights than I can.

- Another day, more Michael Vick news. The New York Post ran a photo this weekend of Vick drinking vodka and pineapple juice at a Philadelphia airport bar. This prompted Vick’s mentor Tony Dungy to tell Vick “you can’t do that.” There is speculation that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated that alcohol was prohibited for Vick, but an Eagles spokesman said that was not the case. In my opinion, as long as Goodell did not specifically put any restrictions on Vick, then the guy should be able to enjoy a drink if he wants. But I guess after what Vick has done, he is going to get this type of scrutiny. I say let the guy drink because it is his funeral if he screws up after drinking too much alcohol. On the field, reports indicate that Vick’s teammates say he looks ready to participate in game action. I am still looking forward to seeing what happens this Thursday night.

-Reports indicate that San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers has signed a 6-year, $92 million contract extension. I have to give credit to the Chargers for this move. Rivers has improved every year and he is starting to move up into the elite levels of NFL QBs. This signing will ensure continuity with the leader of the offense, prevent Rivers from testing the free agent waters next offseason, and allow the club to save its franchise tag. With the nucleus of the team in place, San Diego should remain a contender for the foreseeable future and they have a shot to be in the mix come January for a chance to make the Super Bowl. Also in other signing news, the Seahawks signed RB Edgerrin James to a 1 year contract. I suppose he will help a little bit, but I don’t expect him making a huge impact for Seattle.

- Miami Heat PF and #2 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft Michael Beasley has reportedly entered a rehab center in Houston. Details at this point aren’t that clear and no one knows the full story. Reports indicate that he is being treated for various issues, including depression. I don’t have too much to comment on here and I just hope that Beasley is able to get help. Depression is not understood by many people, but I know first hand that it really is a terrible condition that can have very bad consequences.

- A federal appeals court ruled that sports gambling in Delaware would violate a previous ban on wagering, so this seems to halt the state’s plan to allow it next month. This seems pretty bogus to me and I say if people want to gamble, let them gamble! I don’t buy into the notion that gambling would destroy the neighborhood around where the action is taking place or that young people would just get corrupted by it. No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions and I guess people don’t have enough self control. If someone is willing to take risks to ruin their life, then that is their choice. There is way too much that goes on in society where the actions of a few ruin things for the majority. Let people gamble away the money that they earned and let freedom ring…this is still America right?