2009 Finish -- 9-7, wildcard berth, divisional round loss to Indianapolis
Key Acquisitions -- WR Anquan Boldin, WR Donte Stallworth, K Shayne Graham
Key Departures -- DL Dwan Edwards
The Ravens are another team that did not have a ton of turnover this off-season (like most teams in the NFL), but they brought in some quality free agents. The best being Boldin and the worst easily being Stallworth.
1. The Anquan Boldin trade was the right move for Baltimore. SELL.
The Ravens needed a receiver who could open up the offense. They needed a downfield threat to compliment Flacco's giant arm and I'm sorry but that's not Donte Stallworth who has been out of football since 2008 or Anquan Boldin who looks like Michael Crabtree's older brother. Flacco's completion percentage is going to improve, and this year at least Boldin should put up really big catch numbers, but the desire for a downfield threat is something that Baltimore is still missing.
2. Joe Flacco has proven himself as a good NFL quarterback. BUY.
Flacco's captained his team to the playoffs twice in two years and his numbers follow the line of improvement you love to see out of quarterbacks. In year two his touchdowns went up, his interceptions down, completion percentage and yards per attempt up, and his passing yards skyrocketed. However, football is not a game of stats. What Flacco has shown is a terrific command of the huddle, great pocket presence, and a powerful arm. He still needs some help honing his accuracy (but those problems are lessening) and he needs to play effectively through injuries or he's simply going to hurt his team, but Flacco has a lot of weapons and could come close to a Pro Bowl bid this year.
Projected Stat Line: 330/520, 3848 yards (7.4 YPA), 26 touchdowns, 14 interceptions
3. Ray Rice will challenge Chris Johnson as the best all-purpose back in football this season. BUY.
The best has yet to come for Rice--a Tiki Barber clone without the fumbling problem. The addition of Boldin definitely takes more pressure off of the running game, which means less men in the box. Rice is still the best weapon in Baltimore so teams will have to focus on him, but Rice should have 2000 all-purpose yards for the second year in a row. (1339 rushing, 702 receiving last season). Even if Rice's numbers drop a little, he's going to be a major player in the passing game. He's simply too dangerous on screens.
4. Ray Lewis should hang up the cleats. SELL.
Even though Lewis is basically a complete liability on passing downs (74% completion percentage allowed and a QB rating of 107 against him last year) he's still a great pass rusher from the inside and an awesome run stopper. Lewis had 52 stops last year (the number of solo tackles that constitute an offensive failure), 8 QB pressures and 5 QB hits along with 3 sacks (the sacks are part of the stops category). Lewis eight missed tackles were middle of the road for middle linebackers and he showed last season that he's just as intense about the game of football that he was in 1999 when he first started. It would not hurt Baltimore to take him out on obvious passing downs and replace him with Dannell Ellerbe.
5. The Ravens will bounce back defensively. BUY.
They looked much better after their bye week last season and the secondary that was revamped a year ago is starting to look much better as long as Lardarius Webb stays healthy. Webb was limited last year but allowed just 4.7 yards per attempt and had an opposing QB rating of 72.8. Terrell Suggs is in line for a bounce back year and should really open things up for the Ravens pass rush.
6. The Ravens are Super Bowl contenders. BUY.
I didn't buy it at first, but this is a supremely talented team that is very well coached and has a quarterback who is maturing at a nice pace. This is a team that looks very similar to the Philadelphia Eagles last decade. They could easily find themselves in multiple AFC Championship Games, but will they be able to win more of them then Philly did?
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