The defending Super Bowl champions had an interesting offseason. They lost many players, but also gained a few. We will look at the players and see what we might expect from them this upcoming season.
Baltimore lost safety Ed Reed, safety Bernard Pollard, cornerback Cary Williams, linebacker Paul Kruger, linebacker Dannelle Ellerbe. Each of these players are starting caliber and can make an impact in the game. Though perhaps the biggest loss is retired future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, who was the Ravens heart and soul for the past fourteen years. His influence in the team was huge, but not one that will take away from their chance at repeating.
The newcomers that have come in to bolster the weak defense when Lewis, Reed, and the others are defensive tackle Chris Canty, defensive end Elvis Dumervil, safety Michael Huff, linebacker Daryl Smith, defensive end Marcus Spears, and quarterback Caleb Hanie. Two players here are Pro Bowl worthy while the others are quality starters. Baltimore did a nice job picking up pieces to retain their identity...defense.
First let's look at the secondary, three starters that were lost including Cary Williams, Bernard Pollard and future Hall of Famer Ed Reed. What's left is Corey Graham, Lardarius Webb, and Michael Huff, and rookie Matt Elam. It's not a bad secondary, but is it one we can trust to consistently stop opposing offenses from scoring? Two decent cornerbacks, a veteran safety who should be able to coach up this secondary, and a rookie. I believe these guys can do their job well, but they're going to need great chemistry working together to pull this off.
Next, the linebackers, Paul Kruger, Dannelle Ellerbe, Brendan Ayanbadejo (who was released), and Ray Lewis who retired. They lost an improving pass rusher in Kruger and their replacement for Lewis Ellerbe, but replaced them with versatile linebacker Daryl Smith. Though second round pick rookie linebacker Arthur Brown might beat out Smith or Jameel McClain for one of the two inside linebacker spots. Then, the Ravens best acquisition of the offseason, Elvis Dumervil will be playing outside linebacker across Terrell Suggs. With the inside pressure on the quarterback coming from Haloti Ngata, the pass rush between Dumervil and Suggs will be fearsome! This squad looks very good with quality depth, and should scare opposing offenses.
The only two players lost on the defensive line were big bodied defensive lineman Ma'ake Kemoeatu and Ryan McBean. Chris Canty and Marcus Spears are good quality layers that can be depended on to do what is asked of them. With Haloti Ngata leading the defensive line again the line must not be overlooked, or opposing teams are certain to lose.
The offense has only a few concerns I see; one at the center position and the other at the wide receiver position. Fourteen-year veteran center Matt Birk retired and has been replaced by second-year player Gino Gradkowski. Questions are will he be solid enough to hold up the offensive line calling the adjustments and and how is his talent? Flacco said that " He’s picked the offense up quickly and he’s making all of his calls quickly and getting our offense going and allowing us to set that tempo." about Gradkowski; so I can only hope he's developing well as a center.
At wide receiver, Anquan Boldin was traded away to the team Baltimore beat in Super Bowl XLVII, the San Francisco 49ers. With him gone that leaves Torrey Smith as the number one receiver. The question is, who will start opposite Smith? Jacoby Jones? Tandon Doss? Deonte Thompson? Those are the three names that have a chance to claim the number two spot. Jones seems like the obvious choice as he's played in the league for six years already while the other two receivers have a combined total of three years in the NFL. Then after the number two spot, who will be the slot receiver? So many questions and an even tougher time for the coaches to figure out who should be where in the wide receiver corps.
Though tight end may be the Ravens biggest problem on offense. Dennis Pitta will be out the entire 2013 season, and stepping in for him Ed Dickson just today suffered a hamstring strain in practice causing concerns for the offense. Dennis Pitta was tied with Ray Rice for second on the team last year in receptions and while Dickson had down year from his 2011 campaign he still has the traits to contribute well for the Super Bowl champs. The only guys behind those two are Alex Silvestro who has done nothing in the NFL and Matt Furstenburg who has done the same thing. If Dickson's injury is serious enough to miss some time during the season, I expect the staff to look for someone through free agency. The answer there would be Visanthe Schiancoe. Just brought in and is a fine replacement for Pitta and Dickson. Though this hurts their overall receiving corps and we can only see how the team will work with these obstacles.
The Baltimore Ravens certainly have a good season to look forward to! There is a ton of talent and great coaching from John Harbaugh and the coordinators. Sure, players left, but the new additions are sure to do a great job securing the Ravens spot as the top team to beat in the NFL. But the Ravens have to be on their toes at all times as they are now the team to beat. They are not chasing teams, but the team being chased at. The two-time Super Bowl winning franchise needs to press harder - even with their added talent - in order to repeat and achieve their goal.
UPDATE: Ed Dickson has a slight hamstring tear and will be out for a couple of weeks.
The team has recently signed tight end Dallas Clark and wide receiver Brandon Stokley to give depth for their injured players.
