Baltimore Ravens Season Preview
By Vernon Croy
The Baltimore Ravens have a lot to be excited about in 2009. If you have been browsing around the internet at NFL betting picks, you will see the Ravens are found among the contenders in the league. Most people believe that they are a playoff team and some consider them Super Bowl contenders. Is there anything to all of the hype? Let's look at what the off-season brought the Baltimore Ravens.
The Good News: The good news is that they were a good team last year with a rookie quarterback. They didn't lose too much in the off-season and the rookie quarterback isn't a rookie quarterback anymore. Joe Flacco has a season of starts under his belt including a couple of playoff games. Last year he went through training camp not knowing whether he would be the starter. He was in a battle with Troy Smith and Kyle Boller. Now he knows he’s the man and everyone believes in him. Last year, he was more of a caretaker on a good team. He had the great defense to bail him out if he needed help. This year, they will open up the playbook a little more and let him show off his gun. They also added a Pro Bowl caliber center in Matt Birk to upgrade their protection for him. It's all about the "Joe Flacco Show" in Baltimore.
The Bad News: The bad news is the loss of a few key ingredients to last years team. One of the leaders on the defense, Bart Scott, bolted to the Jets in the opening minutes of free agency. While the Ravens still have plenty of playmakers on defense, Scott was an important piece of the machine. In addition to Scott, the defense lost its coordinator in Rex Ryan. Ryan was the brains behind the defensive juggernaut in Baltimore and he will be sorely missed. Another question mark hangs over the situation with Derrick Mason. The leading receiver for the Ravens the last few years has said he is retiring. Many believe it’s simply a power play in his negotiation for a new contract. However, the possibility remains that he will not be a Raven this year. Another concern for many is that Joe Flacco was a little underwhelming at times last season. He managed to win most of his games, but most teams didn't really fear the aerial game as much with him behind the wheel. They tended to grind it out on the ground most of the time with a few passes here and there. This isn't what a lot of people expect out of a first round pick at quarterback.
Outlook: The Ravens have a lot of great players and a good young coach to keep the ship heading in the right direction again this season. They have question marks on both sides of the ball, but then again, who doesn't? They could use an upgrade on the offensive side of the ball, but overall, they're solid. If you're looking for free NFL picks, I would put my money on the Ravens to make the playoffs again. They probably won't win the Super Bowl, but they'll be in the hunt.
BALTIMORE RAVENS TEAM PREVIEW
By Marco D'Angelo
The 2008 Season was a thing of beauty for the Ravens as they went 11-5 last year and were one game away from the Super Bowl. So when one looks at the Over/Under Win total for this team this year 8.5 looks like a Lock to take the Over. Well before you get suckered into that bet let me show you why Baltimore doesn't get to 9 wins this year.
Let's start right off at the Top as Baltimore had a new Head Coach last year as John Harbaugh got his first Head Coaching job. First time Head Coaches have an advantage in their first year as opposing coaches don't know how to truly game plan for them as they have no film to break down so knowing a new head coach's tendency's is virtually impossible. That gave Baltimore a huge advantage last year. This year opposing coaches will be better prepared when facing the Ravens.
Next let's look at starting QB Joe Flacco, can he really repeat last years performance? Fact is Flacco was thrown into the fire by default and really wasn't expected to do what he did. It may sound weird but he will have have more pressure on him this year as last year was a free ride and he over achieved but now this year he will be expected to repeat last years performance and the fans will want the next step as they just came up one game short of the Super Bowl. Flacco also was new to the league so there wasn't a lot of film on him either and defensive coordinators didn't know the best way to defend against him. This year the surprise factor is gone and Flacco will have to over come the sophomore jinx. I expect to Flacco to have a major regression this year.
Lastly let's talk scheduling as the Ravens were a last place team in 2007 with a 5-11 record which gave them a very soft schedule in 2008 which aided in their 11-5 season. Since they were a second place team last year they get a second place schedule in 2009 which means they have to play New England and Indianapolis. They will have to face the Steelers twice which they were 0-3 against them last year. Baltimore has to travel to San Diego and to Lambeau field in December which isn't a easy task. That's 6 games that they could lose 5 of them easily.
One final point to remember, this defense is getting old so they will have to rely more on the offense than before and if Flacco regresses as I expect look for the flaws in the defense to show even more.
I see Baltimore as an 8-8 team at best this year so I am Betting the Under 8.5 Wins on the Ravens.