Training Camp Storylines: Meet the Ravens

Last night it took until all of the 5th inning for me to say to myself “this is going to be a walkoff.” The O’s bats did what they do so often- score big and then let it sit. Perhaps if they’d just allowed the Tigers to score first they would have come roaring back. But then again, I have no idea if the numbers back that up. In the offseason I’ll take a look at how often the Orioles really scored a number of runs and then just stopped scoring for the last 6 innings of the game. Either way, games like these break my heart, because they were so clearly in grasp. And now you see it coming, the rising specter of August… the National Football League. With the O’s starting what seems to be their annual free fall (though it is too soon to say for sure), I wanted to take a look at a couple of training camp storylines for the Baltimore Ravens that aren’t about Derrick Mason.

No Longer Playing it Safe with the Rookie
Let’s remember for a moment that Joe Flacco was not light-out last season. He was very good, but very good for a rookie. The playbook was highly limited for him, giving him one or two reads and letting him ease into the game. This team was playing cautious with him, doing everything they could to avoid him getting rattled or seeing him fail. Within this environment he played exceptionally well, but this year will be entirely different. Flacco will be given the entire playbook, and be given more responsibility at the line and in the passing game. Ravens fans will have to hope that he has not only developed mentally (which is to be expected from a second year in the league), but that he has also increased his accuracy on throws 5-15 yards from the line of scrimmage, which tended to sail on him last season, often to disastrous results.

Mike Preston is much more concerned than I am at Flacco’s apparent lack of precision at the start of this year’s training camp, but it will be something to keep an eye on. Even Kyle Boller was impressive at times in his rookie year. Baltimoreans have had 8 months to build up this young quarterback in their minds, let’s hope that even-keeled Joe Flacco can meet the heightened expectations.

Jim Leonhard Out, Dawan Landry Back In
In one season as a starter with the Ravens, Jim Leonhard became the best free safety this team has had lining up across from Ed Reed. He didn’t sit and wait for Reed to make big plays while he stayed back in his zone, he played all over the field, from fielding punts, blitzing, to making electrifying interceptions (particularly in the playoffs); playing hard and playing hurt on his way to becoming a fan favorite. Not much has been made of his departure to the Jets, as the Ravens have safety Dawan Landry back from his season-ending neck injury as well as promising young backups in Haruki Nakamora and Tom Zbikowski. However, it should be noted that Landry is a very different kind of safety than Leonhard. I have been a big fan of Landry’s due to his exceptional coverage skills, but Leonhard brought a unique kind of fire you can only find in a football player who’s 5’8”. Landry’s performance dropped off somewhat in his sophomore season; and with his third year gone he will have to return to his rookie form to secure his place in this defense. I believe that Landry will have a good year, but if not the loss of Leonhard could be much more harmful than Ravens fans- or the front office- expected.

Who Will Win the Running Back Duel?
I was the first one in line to cheer the Ravens when they brought in Willis McGahee. To me he was a running back with exceptional talent who had languished behind a substandard offensive line, and would explode with Baltimore to become one of the best backs in the league. Yea, I was that guy. So far in two seasons, he has been worth far less than the 2nd and 3rd round picks Ozzie Newsome surrendered to get him. After rushing for an impressive 1200 yards in his first season with the team, his production declined last season as injuries and his general performance put Le’Ron McClain in the spotlight instead. Those 1200 yards were nice, but for a team that is meticulous about running the football it wasn’t exactly eye popping. This offseason, Ray Rice has been given the green light for the starting job, though the coaching staff has yet to make any official word. McClain is moving back to fullback on a full-time basis (though I hope for their sake they keep giving him the ball now and then). The second year back out of Rutgers is much shiftier than McGahee and may even have more top-end speed, though it was difficult to tell with how rarely either back got into the open field. Much of this will depend on McGahee’s questionable health throughout camp, but it is likely that the Ravens 3rd running back in the three headed monster could accede to #1 by opening day.

Ravens Free Agent Picture Begins to Take Shape

Of all the “Big Three” linebackers the Ravens have up for free agency this season, the one I most suspected would be allowed to hit the market- Bart Scott- could be resigned in a Baltimore uniform within the next several days, according to agent Harold Lewis. At the beginning of the offseason, I had several key contentions: the Ravens would be willing to pay competitively for Terrell Suggs or spend the franchise tag on him. Secondly, the Ravens would make a strong play for Ray Lewis, and all accounts are saying that management will probably outbid anyone else for the services of the 33-year-old face of the franchise. Finally, I was certain that deep down inside, Bart Scott wanted to be a starter more than he wanted to be in Baltimore- I could easily see him in a Jets uniform at outside linebacker, for instance. Should Scott resign, it would indicate to me that Baltimore is unsure if they will get back Ray Lewis or that Scott is willing to take a discount to stay a Raven. Either way, it would surprise me.

Harold Lewis also represents center Jason Brown, easily the best offensive lineman on the team this season after moving over from guard after the 2007 season. Lewis intimated that EITHER Brown or Scott could resign, but not both- I estimate that Brown is more likely to hit the market. The fact is that offensive and defensive linemen can command a great deal as a free agent, as they are less likely than skill position players or linebackers or defensive backs to have their performance take a significant dropoff from one season (or team) to another. Additionally, the Steve Hutchinson deal in 2006 worth $49 million set the stage for blockbuster contracts for offensive linemen. He will likely be looking for something on the lower end of Jordan Gross’ 6 year deal which paid out $30.5 million over the first three years. He won’t get that, but that will be his starting negotiating point. With the bloated price for linemen, I would not be shocked if Brown decided to resign with the Ravens after free agency begins, but he would be foolish from a financial standpoint not to see what is out there- even in this economy.

However, don’t expect the feel-good story of this season to be back in a Ravens uniform. At the scouting combine late last week, Ozzie Newsome sent a rather clear message that this team could be parting ways with backup-turned-starter Jim Leonhard. Management has told him he would have to compete for a starting job with returning free safety Dawan Landry, and Leonhard obviously would like to be a starter somewhere. Unlike the other Ravens free agents, Leonhard has no tradition of being part of this organization and no inherent loyalty to the coaching staff outside of former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, whom he has described as having taught him more about the game than anyone in his NFL career. Besides, there are significant reasons for the Ravens to avoid resigning Leonhard. From a financial standpoint, Landry is still under his rookie contract and won’t be up for a new one for another few seasons- it wouldn’t make sense to pay what it would take to keep Leonhard with the team. From a football standpoint, this team also has promising young safeties in Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski who could possibly fill the void a la Jarrett Johnson when Adalius Thomas left. Look for Leonhard to bolt for the Jets and serve as a top notch starting safety for another 6 years, while Baltimore takes their chances with another playmaker in Landry.

Finally, Newsome also updated the media on the status of negotiations with the only kicker Baltimore fans have ever known, Matt Stover. He implied that both the Ravens and Stover were looking at other opportunities, but that has not been corroborated by the kicker, who will be conducting his own negotiations with the team. It is clear that the 41-year-old wants to sign a new deal to stay with the team, but has not been contacted by anyone from the front office. I have no problem with the Ravens wanting to move on; Stover has lost his range in recent years and is now questionable with anything beyond 40 yards- Steven Hauschka was brought in for 50+ yard kicks and kickoffs- and Stover only converted 81.4% of his field goal attempts, his worst percentage since 1994. I am sure he can still play, but this might be as good a time as any for the franchise to move on to kicker #2.

Playoff Report Card: Steelers 23, Ravens 14

The word of the game is... ugly. Even for the victors, this game was flat-out ugly. Players on both sides went down with injury and most simply played through the pain. Neither offense got much in rhythm (with the Ravens never getting in rhythm at all), and defenses ruled the day.

It was by far Joe Flacco’s worst game as a professional in my opinion, but he wasn’t alone. The lack of a true deep threat showed itself most clearly in this game, and the Ravens’ inability to beat single coverage deep and take advantage of Flacco’s big arm was a key determinant in the offense never getting started. The gadgetry and creativity of the resurgent Ravens offense during the regular season was nowhere to be found, and it felt like the Billick years all over again.

If nothing else comes out of this game, at least it has been recognized by the football community at large that the Ravens-Steelers rivalry is at or near the top in the NFL. The Steelers beat us up and beat us up badly this year, and hopefully that will help fuel the flame to return the favor next year.

Offense - Overall Grade: D-
Quarterbacks: D-
Flacco looked overwhelmed and confused for large stretches of the game. He had difficulty going through his progression and looked like a rookie for one of the few times this season. He threw three interceptions, one of which returned for a touchdown to seal the game. This grade isn’t all on him however; the coaches did a terrible job of giving him manageable throws to get into a rhythm. Flacco needs a true deep threat for this offense to be effective, and I’ll be repeating this ad nauseam until one is acquired in the offseason.
Running Backs: C+
Actually if you really look at how he ran, Willis McGahee ran pretty well when given the opportunity. The Ravens would have been far better served to let him carry more of the load early in the game, and mix in Ray Rice more than they did. Le’Ron McClain was hurt, so there can be no expectation that he run up to his usual standard.
Wide Receivers: D-
They couldn’t get open consistently, and couldn’t make plays for their young quarterback. Joe Flacco needed some help, and didn’t get much. The dropped passes early in the game absolutely killed any chance for their quarterback getting into a rhythm.
Tight Ends: D
Todd Heap should have been more involved in the offense than he was, and that was one of many mistakes made by the offensive coaching staff. He made one big play late in the game but very little else.
Offensive Line: D
The run blocking was generally poor, and Joe Flacco made the pass protection look better than it really was. Jared Gaither was absolutely taken to school by James Harrison, and it resulted in a few very costly penalties. Success of the offense is built around the success of the line, and in this game they saw little success.

Defense - Overall Grade: B+
Defensive Line: B+
The running game was controlled, contrary to Willie Parker’s pregame comments expressing an expectation of a big game against the Baltimore defense. Haloti Ngata played a huge game (no pun intended), and for most of the game Ben Roethlisberger was kept in the pocket.
Linebackers: B+
The discipline and overall play of this unit went up as the game progressed. Willie Parker was a non-factor, and Roethlisberger was harried just enough to keep the offense off-balance. It was a good final game for the free agent trio of Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, and Terrell Suggs. And a quick note about Suggs: two sacks with one arm? He is the consummate warrior.
Defensive Backs: B-
Not as bad a game as most pundits thought it would be for this group. Frank Walker and Fabian Washington both played solid games, and Corey Ivy actually made a couple of positive plays for the defense. Yes, they were burned for a couple of very long completions, but other than that the performance was acceptable. Ed Reed being a non-factor was more a function of Ben throwing away from him than Ed doing anything wrong.

Special Teams - Overall Grade: B+
Kicker: C
Or more accurately, Stover gets an A, Hauschka gets an F. I don’t know if it was nerves or what, but Hauschka’s kickoffs were abysmal and were a large part in setting the field position game in favor of the Steelers from the very beginning of the game. Stover did all he was asked to do, so he shouldn’t have to be part of the bad grade.
Punter: B+
Sam Koch didn’t do anything spectacular to change field position, but he did his job consistently well and was called on far more often than any punter should. He didn’t slip up under pressure and that’s worth something in my book.
Returners: B+
Boy, it’s the AFC Championship game and the Ravens are still shuffling kick returners. Figurs is going to be in a dogfight to get his job back heading into next season. But you know who won’t? Jim Leonhard. His work yesterday (and for the last several weeks in fact) has been nothing short of game-changing, and it looks like he has more than secured a spot on this team next season, whatever the capacity.
Coverage: B-
Not terrible, but certainly not very good by any stretch of the imagination. They blocked well for Jim Leonhard, but had difficulty stopping Russell on the short kickoffs and nearly let Santonio Holmes go for a long punt return touchdown.

Coaching - Overall Grade: C+
Offensive: F
Absolutely terrible, terrible game plan and execution by Cam Cameron and his staff. The coaches never put Flacco in a position to get into a rhythm early in the game, never tried out the run early to build a foundation for their passing game, and didn’t use enough of the playbook. When this offense is successful, Cam Cameron is letting out all of the weapons at his disposal, most notably including Troy Smith in his single-wing formation. For some reason the playbook closed back up in this game, and Pittsburgh feasted on a vanilla Ravens attack. Trickery can work in big games, just ask the Steelers: they won a Super Bowl with it.
Defensive: A
Considering all of the circumstances, the Ravens defense was brilliant in this game. After a rough first quarter, the defense rallied to make the Steelers offense just as anemic as their Ravens counterparts. Kudos to Rex Ryan and his staff for an excellent game, and we wish all the best of luck to Rex in his new job.

And for my MVP/LVP...
MVP (Most Valuable Player) –Jim Leonhard– Leonhard was offense and defense for the Ravens, as he not only set up the first Ravens touchdown with a big punt return, he recovered a fumble and played solid defense throughout the game. A great day for the young safety from Wisconsin.
LVP (Least Valuable Player) –Jared Gaither– Gaither was overmatched by James Harrison, and in trying to compensate committed drive-killing penalties. Gaither has had a sensational year on the whole, but this was arguably his worst game.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Postgame Report Card: Steelers 13, Ravens 9

The word of the game is... incompetent. The officials and the Ravens offense. Is there any other way to describe it? The officials don’t know the rules and certainly not how to enforce them, and the Ravens offense, well… I believe they were the definition of incompetence today. Joe Flacco couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn for most of the afternoon, and when he did put the ball on the spot receivers couldn’t hang on or were out of position to make the play. The passing game was never in rhythm, Willis McGahee looks like a shell of his former self, and were it not for the superb individual effort of Le’Ron McClain the Ravens might not have put up any points at all.

That being said, the incompetence of the officials is inexcusable. Unlike most of these offensive players, the referees have been in the National Football League for an awful long time. The penalty calls were horribly inconsistent on both sides. The use of replay was an absolute joke, on both the controversial touchdown and the Ravens challenge of a Pittsburgh first down. In the case of the touchdown the replays clearly showed that the ball was outside of the endzone even though his feet were in it, and yet the call was overturned to be a touchdown. And the other: third and one from the 29, no part of the ball carrier or the football gets near the thirty yard line, and every angle confirmed that. And yet, the play stood as called. It could be called highway robbery, but out of respect to the Steelers, I’ll just call it incompetence.



Offense - Overall Grade: F
Quarterbacks: F
Oooh. Ouch. I don’t like saying this about Joe Flacco, but I can’t lie, Joe played very poorly. The coaches did a disgraceful job of getting him in rhythm, as all of his early throws were deep and contested. Running some quick hitting routes could have helped him a good deal. But at the end of the day, Joe Flacco was slow in reading coverage, could not deliver an accurate ball, and for the first time in awhile really did not look confident. Arguably Joe’s worst game as a Raven – is he hitting the proverbial rookie wall? We’ll see.
Running Backs: C-
This might be a mite high considering the poor play of Willis McGahee and the inexcusable dropped passes, but Le’Ron McClain’s tough running was the only offense this group mustered. He didn’t get help from Flacco and got very little from his lineman. Le’Ron continues to be an outstanding workhorse for this team.
Wide Receivers: D+
A poor day all around, aside from a couple of good plays by Mark Clayton. It’s hard to tell from a television viewer’s perspective, but I have to think that the receivers could have done a better job getting open given how long Joe was hanging onto the football. And consider this: if Mason properly times his jump and catches the touchdown pass in the first half, are we even talking about these controversies?
Tight Ends: B
Count me as one who was very impressed by Todd Heap today, both in a blocking and receiving capacity. His work on the weak side of the unbalanced line has been the key to the success of that formation.
Offensive Line: D
The pass protection was pretty good, and Gaither and Terry both had solid games. The two false starts were killers, and this group absolutely has to do a better job run blocking. McClain found his yards on his own, the line did very little to help.

Defense - Overall Grade: A
Defensive Line: A
How can I grade them poorly? They controlled the line of scrimmage for most of the game, shutting down the Pittsburgh running game and forcing Ben out of the pocket. Trevor Pryce and Haloti Ngata both came up big today.
Linebackers: A
Again, how can I grade them poorly? This group was absolutely brilliant in all phases of the game. They wrapped up on Ben Roethlisberger when given the opportunity, and they were disciplined in pass coverage. The Ravens’ ‘backers showed off not only their physical skill, but their mental discipline today.
Defensive Backs: B+
Fabian Washington played an outstanding game today, and for three and a half quarters this group was brilliant. However, the coverage breakdowns on Pittsburgh’s final drive were killer.

Special Teams - Overall Grade: A+
Kicker: A+
Stover was the Ravens’ offense, and he was perfect on his tries. Equally important was the play of Hauschka on kickoffs, as he put all but one kickoff in the endzone.
Punter: A
Sam Koch was his usual self today, getting good location and distance on his punts. This was a battle of field position and Koch helped the Ravens win the battle for most of the game.
Returners: A-
Jim Leonhard’s 43-yard punt return was fantastic, albeit somewhat ill-advised. Yamon Figurs started to look like his old self on kickoff returns, but one his second half kickoff returns could have broken for a big gainer if he had seen the correct hole.
Coverage: A+
If the Ravens won this game, the special teams would have been the decider. This unit was outstanding both in blocking and in coverage, downing two punts within the ten yard line. Pittsburgh’s long return off of the muff was an absolute joke, and I do not penalize the coverage unit for officiating incompetence.

Coaching - Overall Grade: B-
Offensive: D+
Yes, the players on the field were not executing correctly, but that’s no excuse for the end result. Cam needed to mix up the game plan somewhat, throw in some gadget plays to get something going. No, I’m not normally a big fan of them in big games, but with the offense running as it was I believe that gadget plays were necessary to loosen things up. The passing routes were altogether too long in developing, and there was little compensation for the blitz. If you want to know how to counter the blitz, just watch Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward in the two minute drill. Cam’s been an outstanding coordinator this year, just not in this game.
Defensive: B
Were it not for that last drive, and probably if the referees had gotten the call right and the Ravens ultimately kept the Steelers out of the endzone, this grade would probably be an A if not an A+. However, the breakdowns in that final drive were horrendous, and the decision to rush three and drop eight on every play was terrible. Why change your game plan when it matters the most?

And for my MVP/LVP...
MVP (Most Valuable Player) –Le’Ron McClain– Listen, if I could give it to the entire defense I would, but if I’m only giving it to one player I’m giving it to Le’Ron. At the end of the day, if Le’Ron McClain isn’t on this team I have serious doubts as to whether or not the Ravens would manage even one score this game.
LVP (Least Valuable Player) –Joe Flacco– Oh, it hurts my heart to say it, but Joe looked awful today. He needs to make faster reads and his accuracy was sorely lacking today. The defense nearly carried him to a win, but even this defense needs a little more from the offense.